Fantasy Football Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Joe Flacco, Ravens (23% Owned): Bye weeks are over, so you’re more than likely set at QB. But what if you are the Kirk Cousins owner with a brutal matchup at Philadelphia? If you are in a similar spot, give Flacco a try. No, this is not an overreaction to a ridiculous 381-yard, four-touchdown eruption vs. the Dolphins. It’s a play based on New England’s poor pass defense, and the Ravens’ high-volume offense. There will be yards aplenty for Flacco, and hopefully at least two touchdowns.
Running Backs
Kenneth Dixon, Ravens (46% Owned): Dixon rushed just six times last week, but that was a product of Joe Flacco going nuts; Terrance West only received 10 carries. Dixon continues to be the more impressive of the two, averaging 9.3 yards per rush vs. Miami against West’s five. Dixon is averaging 4.5 yards per carry in limited work, is clearly the most talented rusher in Baltimore’s RB stable. One problem, however, is tough matchups with the Patriots and Eagles.
Rex Burkhead, Bengals (5% Owned): Don’t laugh at Rex Burkhead, he can play. With Gio Bernard out for the year, Burkhead is more than capable of filling that role. He saw 12 touches last week and totaled 56 yards. Think of him as Bilal Powell with greater opportunity.
Christine Michael, Packers (44% Owned): Michael did nothing impressive this week in his first real Packers action, rushing nine times for 19 yards. But the nine times is the key. James Starks has flopped with a chance to be the lead back, opening the door for Michael to take over as a guy who can tote the rock 15+ times. You won’t want to start him, but if you’re banged up you can do worse moving forward.
Charles Sims, Buccaneers (13% Owned): It looks like Sims will be active this week, and will likely assume third-down duties immediately. If Doug Martin gets hurt, Sims becomes a must start.
Alfred Morris, Cowboys (12% Owned): Morris has no standalone value. He’s purely a must-own for Ezekiel Elliott owners in the nightmare scenario your star goes down. Morris is NOT Zeke, but if he had a full workload he’d be a Top 10 play easily.
Wide Receivers
Adam Thielen, Vikings (16% Owned): You don’t have to start him, but he shouldn’t be unowned. Thielen has seen 11 and nine targets, respectively, in his last two games and has seen at least five targets in in his last three. Thielen has good hands – he’s caught 74.3 percent of his targets – and he’s amassed at least 50 yards in four of his last five. He’s not amazing, but he’s solid; in deep leagues this kind of guy is gold in a FLEX role.
Dontrelle Inman, Chargers (20% Owned): Inman has scored in back-to-back weeks, seen five or more targets in his last four games, and has cushy matchups vs. Carolina and Oakland in the next two weeks. If you have some underachieving star like DeAndre Hopkins or Allen Robinson frustrating you on a weekly basis, ignore the name value, and plug in Inman instead. He’ll most likely provide better production.
Malcolm Mitchell, Patriots (29% Owned): Mitchell is becoming an under-the-radar favorite of Tom Brady, registering 17 targets – and two touchdowns-- in the last two weeks. New England doesn’t have easy matchups coming up, but favorites of Brady are really matchup-proof. He’s a deep-league starter, and definitely qualifies in the Inman category if you have an underachieving big name.
Tight Ends
C.J. Fiedorowicz, Texans (40% Owned): With TE being as barren as it is, it’s weird that Fiedorowicz is still only 40 percent owned. Go get him! He’s the second-most targeted pass-catcher in Houston’s offense.