Well, well, well. Welcome back to the Waiver channel where the LAFB Network tries to get you swell readers some insight on players that might be available in your fantasy leagues. If you read the Waiver article last week and swooped up on Raheem Mostert, then good morrow for you. Mostert had a huge game against the Ravens putting up 23.4 fantasy points.
If you missed the hot pickup, no worries. This week will be much of the same. I’ll try to enlighten some of you fantasy folk with players that are under the 50% radar and you can decide if the players may patch things up on your rosters. Of course, I will be pulling all the player info from the ESPN Fantasy Football App and following the PPR format. This week’s article is being written before the Monday Night game, MIN vs SEA, so if any major injuries occur, adjust accordingly.
Fantasy Football Week 14 Waiver Wire Wonders
Before we begin on the players I have highlighted, congratulations to all those fantasy coaches who are in the first round of playoffs. Some leagues may not have this week as their playoff week but for those that do, hurrah!
And to give a small shout-out to the coaches that have fallen short, I have two pieces of advice.
- There’s always next season and you tried your best, yadda yadda yadda…you know the shpeal.
- Even if you’re out of the playoff picture, that doesn’t mean fantasy football should be over. Think about it. Right now the teams that are already destined for the golden road still need players for their teams. And since you read this highly informative article, you have an upper hand on what players might be getting hot.
Therefore, use your knowledge and take the players that other fantasy owners may be looking at. Your waiver pick might be higher than the playoff teams so take advantage of it.
Quarterback
(JAC) Gardner Minshew II vs Los Angeles Chargers
Owned in 10.4% of fantasy leagues
As of just moments ago, Gardner Minshew is now the starting QB for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Which means Nick Foles is grabbing himself a healthy piece of bench. Dead money doesn’t begin to relate how much Foles is hurting the Jaguars this season. When they were getting shutout by Tampa Bay, Gardner Minshew was the one putting up some points.
Before Minshew came in, Leonard Fournette and Josh Lambo were the only players putting points on fantasy coaches’ rosters. Minshew has familiarity with the team so he might be one of the starting-bench players that I trust the most. His numbers aren’t exactly eye-opening but after only one half of football, Minshew had 12.2 points while Foles had 5.
(CAR) Kyle Allen @ Atlanta Falcons
Owned in 13.8% of fantasy leagues
After an awkward and losing performance to the Washington Redskins, Kyle Allen still managed to get himself 30.1 fantasy points. He’s the 3rd highest scoring QB for the week, not accounting Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins yet, and he too is a starting-backup. Allen has had the reins for a couple of months now but his production has been fairly consistent recently. Including this week of play, Allen has scored 17 points or more in seven of his 10 starts.
This week Kyle Allen is against the Falcons who have allowed the 3rd most fantasy points to QBs (21.6). I know what you’re thinking, “Thaddeus, the Falcons held Drew Brees to only 13 points. How does that stat have any validity?” Well, fellow fantasy scholar, Breesus didn’t have to be the glowing pony this Tukey Day thanks to Taysom Hill. Hill threw a TD and ran for a score, which means clock management for our stud Brees.
(PIT) Devlin Hodges @ Arizona Cardinals
Owned in 1.9% of fantasy leagues
I want to thank all the broadcasting for the Pittsburgh and Cleveland game this past Sunday. I was supremely confused on what this guy’s name actually was. I heard Hodges but saw people wearing duck masks. Either way, he brought a glimmer to the black and yellow that has been missing in recent weeks of play.
Mason Rudolph was benched for his many turnovers and other performance issues. Not to mention JuJu Smith-Schuster was out with a concussion and knee injury and no James Conner. So Mr. Quack Quack had pretty much none of the Pittsburgh flair to help him fight on the gridiron. Yet somehow the Steelers came through with the victory and some WR named James Washington had a career game.
All of this juice and I haven’t even mentioned his lousy opponent. The Cardinals have been letting any and all QBs stomp all over them. Since Week 8, Arizona has been averaging 31.2 fantasy points to opposing QBs. We saw Jared Goff reemerge from a slump this past week, so Señor Quack Quack definitely has a chance this week to prove his worth in feathers.
Running Back
(KC) Darwin Thompson @ New England Patriots
Owned in 5% of fantasy leagues
Anyone else feel like Kansas City RBs are falling like flies? Well with this last Sunday in the books, Thompson gets some headway. Darrel Williams ended up leaving Sunday’s game early because of injury and Thompson came in to save the day… I suppose the day wasn’t going to be lost, so he came in and filled the RB position.
It just so happens that he didn’t have that bad of an outing on a short day, 11 carries for 44 yards and a TD. LeSean McCoy had most of the receiving work but overall Thompson had the workload between the RB committee. This week’s matchup against the Patriots definitely feels like an uphill battle but if Duke Johnson can manage to have a 20 point fantasy game; Darwin Thompson should definitely be in the conversation.
(PIT) Benny Snell Jr. @ Arizona Cardinals
Owned in 16.8% of fantasy leagues
Another backup starting player that had a decent day was Benny Snell. With no James Conner in the backfield, Pittsburgh had to resort to a committee but was primarily doing its dealings with Benny. Snell led the backfield with 16 rushing attempts compared to Jaylen Samuels and Kerrith Whyte’s combined 10 total touches. Benny Snell would be a worthwhile pickup with Conner’s health being a constant issue.
(SF) Raheem Mostert @ New Orleans Saints
Owned in 14.1% of fantasy leagues
I mentioned Mostert in last week’s article because of Matt Breida’s health and lookie there, it paid off. I know you loyal fans don’t want to read something you’ve already read before but I wanted to bring up that he’s still available in roughly 86% of fantasy leagues and the fact that he has outshined Tevin Coleman, once again, this season.
Wide Receiver
(IND) Zach Pascal @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Owned in 24.9% of fantasy leagues
I’ll be straight forward with you guys on this one. I don’t love Pascal. But that’s because with T.Y. Hilton’s injuries this year, I expected Pascal to blend with Jacoby Brissett as if he were some player in Madden coming in for substitution. Pascal is a player in Madden but more importantly, he’s a human in real life. So expecting him to have the same production that Hilton and Brissett were having was a bit unrealistic.
What I love about Pascal, his target share this past week against the Titans. This week he finished with the stat line of 10 targets for 7 receptions and 109 receiving yards. This is the first time he’s hit double digits since Week 9. And it is a lot better than his goose egg last week against a division rival in the Houston Texans. Pascal has no doubt been boom or bust this season but this week has some upside. They’re going against a team who can’t cover a WR to save their life and because of their big point total potential, Brissett may have to throw another 40 balls to keep up. Add Pascal for the targets that he’s been accumulating, they could pay off eventually.
(NYJ) Robby Anderson vs Miami Dolphins
Owned in 46.9% of fantasy leagues
Good ol’ Robby Anderson. This season has not been kind to Mr. Anderson but in the past two weeks, Anderson has been going off, relatively speaking of course. Robby Anderson is another WR that I am not super confident about because of the QB situation. He and Sam Darnold haven’t been on the same page a lot of the time they are on the field, but when they’re hitting the same line together, we can see that there’s some real fire cooking between these two.
Anderson has some nice appeal for pickup because of his targets this past week (10) and his remaining schedule. Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. I don’t know about you guys, but this has some blowout potential. Usually, you want the players that are doing the blowing out but garbage time points are still points, so having Anderson on the losing side makes him kind of valuable. If they play from behind for most of the game, they’re not going to be feeding Le’Veon Bell, they’re going to heave it up to Robby Anderson and the WR corps. Stash Anderson if you have a spot.
(PIT) James Washington @ Arizona Cardinals
Owned in 22.6% of fantasy leagues
Have you noticed yet that the Cardinals are playing the Steelers? Well they are and they give up a lot of fantasy points, that’s why I keep mentioning their opponents. The real question is what is going on in Pittsburgh that all of their starters keep getting hurt. Each player I have mentioned has taken the starting opportunity from another player through injury, sorta. Mason Rudolph didn’t get hurt but he was hurting the team, and they technically are filling the role for QB because of an injured Ben Roethlisberger.
Benny Snell was replacing an injured James Connor. And this last week, Washington replaced JuJu as the top WR in Pitt. Washington has done the best out of all the replacements but what is eye-opening for me is Washington scoring in three of his last four games. Then four of his last five games, he’s finished with double-digit fantasy numbers. Washington clearly resonates better with the backup QBs so a claim on James could do you some good.
(CHI) Anthony Miller vs Dallas Cowboys
Owned in 10.3% of fantasy leagues
(BUF) Cole Beasley vs Baltimore Ravens
Owned in 24% of fantasy leagues
Again, I know you readers are faithful to the LAFB Network so I don’t want to bore you with repetition but both players are still highly available in most formats of fantasy. In Chicago, Miller had one more target (13) than fellow WR Allen Robinson and this will mark his 3rd week of double-digit fantasy points in a row.
Beasley, on the other hand, had the revenge game that any spiteful fan could ask for and led his WR corps in targets (7). I would prefer Beasley because of Josh Allen’s success in Buffalo but we all know Mitchell Trubisky definitely has the means to make it rain in any situation.
Tight End
(IND) Jack Doyle @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Owned in 45.9% of fantasy leagues
I realize Jack Doyle might be a higher commodity compared to my other TEs but with Eric Ebron’s absence, Doyle should become a must add for all fantasy formats. This past week Doyle was targeted 11 times. Like I mentioned when preaching about Zach Pascal, the Bucs are easily beatable through the air so who else would you want in your lineup than some players getting those double digit targets?
(LAR) Tyler Higbee vs Seattle Seahawks
Owned in 0.6% of fantasy leagues
(NYG) Kaden Smith @ Philadelphia Eagles
Owned in 0.1% of fantasy leagues
Boom, you guys wanted TEs that would actually be available, there’s two. Both have the cautionary tale of backup to Cinderella story, yet one is on a barely better team. Tyler Higbee signed a major contract this season but has been outshined by Gerald Everett. Everett was ruled out this past week, so Higbee had the limelight all to himself and boy did he shine. 8 targets for 7 receptions, 107 receiving yards, and a TD, not too bad for a man owned in practically no leagues. Higbee is actually this week’s best performing TE, not accounting for the Monday game, and no one got to taste the elegant fruit.
Kaden Smith has been mentioned before on a Waiver article of mine because of Evan Engram’s injury, but I wanted to bring up that this is now the second week in a row where Kaden Smith has been an asset to Daniel Jones in the passing game. This past week Smith hauled in 6 receptions on 8 targets and had 70 yards. So far in the three active weeks that Smith has played this season he is averaging 8.9 fantasy points.
D/ST
Tennessee Titans @ Oakland Raiders
Owned in 29% of fantasy leagues
In the past two weeks, the Oakland Raiders have scored 12 total points. Nine against the Chiefs and three against the Jets. I don’t know about you guys but neither of those defenses scare me, yet the Chiefs finished with the 4th best D/ST this Sunday that passed, still not accounting for Monday’a game, and the Jets concluded the week prior with the 3rd ranked defense when opposing the Raiders. The Titans might be a safe option this week if you find yourself in any sticky situations.
NY Jets Wide Receiver Robby Anderson. Photo Credit: Tom | Under Creative Commons License