Following an exciting Week 13, it’s time to improve our fantasy football rosters through the waiver wire for Week 14. Let’s take a look at the top waiver wire targets and pickups for this coming week.
Week 14 Waiver Wire Targets | Quarterbacks
Which players can help your roster in advance of Week 14? We’ll start with Taysom Hill, who is a must-add for Week 14. All roster percentages are from FleaFlicker.
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (37% rostered)
Fantasy football is not real football. Taysom Hill is not a good quarterback, but he’s a locked-in every-week QB1 in fantasy when healthy. Hill found his way to 20 fantasy points on Thursday night against the Cowboys despite throwing 4 interceptions. He threw 2 touchdowns and rushed for over 100 yards.
Hill’s “mallet finger” injury is a concern, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports he will “try to play through” it. But if you desperately need a quarterback, Hill is worth all the FAAB given his ceiling.
Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups | Running Backs
Week 14 has a few handcuffs on the fantasy football waiver wire worth stashing at running back. There are several high-upside handcuffs with a chance to become starters, such as Devontae Booker, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Samaje Perine.
Devontae Booker, New York Giants (44% rostered)
Devontae Booker is a better football player than an injured or re-acclimating Saquon Barkley. Given Barkley’s continued subpar play Sunday, it’s quite possible Barkley isn’t near 100% healthy. The Giants’ season is over. I wouldn’t rule out them shutting Barkley down at some point.
Regardless, we’ve seen Booker be an RB2 without Barkley. He’s one of the top handcuffs in fantasy football and needs to be on most rosters.
Kenneth Gainwell (42% rostered) and Boston Scott (47% rostered), Philadelphia Eagles
Miles Sanders went down in the second half of the Eagles’ win over the Jets with an ankle injury. It was the same ankle that forced him to the injured reserve for three weeks.
If Sanders has to miss time, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell would form a committee. But wait: what about Jordan Howard? Ah, that’s the other big question. For Scott and/or Gainwell to be startable, they need this backfield to themselves. Howard missed the past two weeks with a knee injury and didn’t appear particularly close to returning. Fantasy managers won’t have the luxury of waiting until we get practice reports on Wednesday, so grab Gainwell and Scott now just in case.
Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals (24% rostered)
Joe Mixon got a little banged up in the Bengals’ loss to the Chargers. Regardless, Samaje Perine is worth throwing on your bench in the event Mixon gets hurt at any point over the next several weeks.
We saw Perine post RB1 numbers in Week 16 of the 2020 season while Mixon was out. With Chris Evans also hurt, Perine would assume nearly all of Mixon’s workload if Mixon were to miss time, making him a likely top-24 RB if given the opportunity.
Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups | Wide Receivers
Here are the wide receivers to target on the Week 14 fantasy football waiver wire. There are no mandatory pickups, but K.J. Osborn, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Laquon Treadwell are worth a shot.
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings (23% rostered)
Adam Thielen hurt his ankle in the Vikings’ loss to the Lions. He did not return. If Thielen has to miss any time, K.J. Osborn would start opposite Justin Jefferson in two-receiver sets. Folks, you need to take Osborn seriously.
Minnesota has had one of the most top-heavy offenses for years. The names occasionally change, but the system hasn’t. A 2020 fifth-round pick, Osborn earned 7 targets Sunday — tied for his most since Week 1. It would be a shocker if he weren’t Minnesota’s No. 2 fantasy receiver if Thielen is out.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (32% rostered)
Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 10 of 12 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown this week. He hasn’t produced consistently all season, but that type of volume doesn’t go unnoticed. The challenge with trusting any Detroit receiver is that Jared Goff is throwing to them. It’s hard to hang your hat on 13 passing TDs in 12 games. So if you want a decent-upside, possible-bust WR, St. Brown is worth a stab as a back-of-the-roster guy.
Laquon Treadwell, Jacksonville Jaguars (2% rostered)
Somehow, Laquon Treadwell has become the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver. By “somehow,” I mean injuries to DJ Chark, Dan Arnold, and Jamal Agnew — combined with the underutilization of Laviska Shenault and Marvin Jones — have contributed to Treadwell’s ascension. Jacksonville boasts the second-worst passing attack in the league. If you need a desperation WR4 to get you a floor of 5-7 points, Treadwell apparently is your guy.
Week 14 Waiver Wire Targets | Tight Ends
Which tight ends should you target on the waiver wire in Week 14? There aren’t many exciting names out there, but Tyler Conklin piques my interest.
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings (44% rostered)
Another likely beneficiary of Thielen’s injury is Tyler Conklin. He caught 7 passes for 56 yards and should be a bigger part of Minnesota’s offense without Thielen. Conklin has the third-best catch rate among the top-16 TEs. This isn’t a random dart throw. All 3 of his touchdowns this year have come inside the 7-yard line. With streaming TEs, you want red-zone threats, and Conklin’s red-zone usage could pop if Thielen sits.