It’s almost time for the fantasy football playoffs, and with many playoff spots to be decided this weekend, the Week 14 waiver wire has some massive values for those in need.
With that in mind, here are ten players to plug and play, stash, or completely avoid in fantasy football this week.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Adds for Week 14 and Beyond
Plug and Play – Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (Titans)
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has turned heads recently with his incredible touchdown streak for Tennessee, but it would seem that fantasy managers are finally starting to take his performances seriously. Over the eight-game stretch since Tennessee’s bye week, Westbrook-Ikhine’s targets have crept up, reaching eight on Sunday as the Titans chased a comeback against Washington.
While the receiver has been incredibly touchdown-dependent in fantasy to this point, his remaining schedule is mouth-watering.
Until the final game of the fantasy football playoffs, the Titans face the Jaguars twice, including Week 17, the Bengals, and the Colts. All three of those defenses rank in the bottom seven this season in passing yards allowed per game, Jacksonville is dead dead-last.
Plug and Play – Adam Thielen (Panthers)
Since arriving in Carolina in the summer of 2023, Adam Thielen has defied popular opinion and excelled as a reliable, high-target-earning slot receiver in an otherwise atrocious offense. The off-season arrival of Diontae Johnson from Pittsburgh dampened those target numbers early on this season, but with Johnson out the door and his health returning, Thielen is back.
The numbers from Sunday’s game can be taken with a grain of salt, as the Panthers are unlikely to go to overtime every week, but Thielen’s were impressive nonetheless. The wily veteran caught eight of ten targets, including an incredible one-handed grab on third down in overtime.
ADAM THIELEN WOW
📺: #TBvsCAR on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/KNAGqBEbUk— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
Thielen will likely struggle to repeat his 99 yards and a touchdown when the team faces Philadelphia this coming weekend, but his target volume should be enough for a flex spot in full-PPR leagues.
With the entire Panthers offense improving, Bryce Young in particular, you should feel comfortable flexing Thielen throughout the fantasy playoffs, when the team faces Dallas, Arizona, and Tampa Bay.
Plug and Play – Isaac Guerendo (49ers)
Christian McCaffrey is likely out for the season with a knee injury picked up on Sunday Night Football. With McCaffrey, and now Jordan Mason, on injured reserve following the team’s horror show in Buffalo, Isaac Guerendo will take center stage.
Guerendo has tallied double-digit carries on two occasions this season. In week six, he took ten carries for 99 yards against Seattle, before carrying 14 times for 85 yards and a touchdown against Dallas two weeks later.
Guerendo has a horrible match-up against the Lions in Week 17, but before that, faces the Bears, Rams, and Dolphins, who have given up the 12th, 10th, and 11th most fantasy points to running backs this season, respectively.
You should be bidding most, if not all of your remaining FAAB budget on the explosive rookie this week.
Plug and Play – Caleb Williams (Bears)
Caleb Williams has had an up-and-down first season with the Bears, but there is no denying that the rookie has all the talent that was promised heading into the 2024 NFL draft.
If you’re lucky, the mind-blowingly awful finish to Chicago’s Thanksgiving day loss to Detroit may distract your league-mates from the fact that Williams has quietly accumulated back-to-back top-five quarterback weeks in fantasy. The rookie has improved dramatically in recent weeks and has formed an awesome connection with Keenan Allen.
37% rostered in ESPN leagues, Williams could easily finish among the top 12 quarterbacks in fantasy every week for the rest of the year, so you should invest if you need help at the position.
Plug and Play – Sincere McCormick (Raiders)
Sincere McCormick carried the ball 12 times for 64 yards at Arrowhead on Friday, against a Chiefs run defense that is tied with Minnesota for the second-fewest yards/attempt this year.
Whilst one game isn’t enough to blow your FAAB budget on, McCormick looked like the real deal against the Chiefs. None of the Raiders running backs have impressed in any great way this year, so it’s very possible that McCormick could earn the starting job full-time with another good game this week.
The Buccaneers’ run defense is tied for the eighth-most yards/attempt allowed this season. While you shouldn’t be starting McCormick over more proven running backs, he could help you out this week with six teams on bye.
If he does impress again this week, the Raiders face the Falcons, Jaguars, and Saints over the fantasy playoffs.
Stash – Bryce Young (Panthers)
Whilst Adam Thielen should be considered an immediate flex play in full-PPR leagues, starting Bryce Young this week will depend on your other options at quarterback.
The Eagles’ defense has given up the third-fewest passing yards per game, and the fourth-lowest completion percentage in the NFL this season. Bryce Young should be starting in super-flex leagues, but you’ll have to check his availability there as he has been putting up top top-24 numbers for many weeks now.
Whilst starting Young in your fantasy playoffs might take a level of bravery that not all possess, the second-year quarterback faces Dallas, Arizona, and Tampa Bay in that stretch. On top of this, the Panthers’ defense remains a problem, so Young has plenty of work coming his way.
Stash – Chris Rodriguez (Commanders)
Second-year running back Chris Rodriguez enjoyed the second-best fantasy week of his young career on Sunday, carrying the ball 13 times for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Aside from injuries and garbage time though, Rodriguez likely offers almost no fantasy value moving forward. All but one of Rodriguez’s carries on Sunday came in the fourth quarter, with the game essentially wrapped up for Washington. Lead back Brian Robinson played the very first snap of the fourth quarter but had no further involvement.
With Austin Ekeler on injured reserve, Rodriguez is one injury away from a big role in a good offense, besides one of the league’s most mobile quarterbacks. Washington is on bye this coming weekend, before facing New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Atlanta over the fantasy football playoffs.
Stash – Jaleel McLaughlin (Broncos)
Jaleel McLaughlin came out of nowhere on Monday Night Football to comfortably lead the Broncos in carries with 14. He took those 14 carries and turned them into 84 rushing yards, the most of his NFL career.
While he ultimately ranked 29th among running backs this week, he looks to be Denver’s most explosive running back by a distance.
Fantasy managers have been burned by Sean Payton in similar circumstances once before this season, when rookie Audric Estime also enjoyed a breakout game, with exactly 14 carries. Estime was a top waiver add that week, but hasn’t managed to reach another 14 carries in all of the following three weekends combined.
The Broncos are on bye this coming weekend, before facing the Colts, Chargers, and Bengals over the fantasy playoffs.
Stash – Tommy Tremble (Panthers)
With rookie Ja’tavion Sanders sidelined with a neck injury he picked up in week 12, Tommy Tremble stepped up for the Panthers on Sunday.
Tremble caught five of eight targets for 77 yards as Carolina came agonizingly close to upsetting the Buccaneers in Week 12.
Whilst he only ranked 14th among tight-ends in week 12, his 12.7 half-PPR points would land him inside the top 12 in 11 of 13 weeks this year. The Panthers offense has started to purr since Bryce Young’s return to the starting lineup, and the second-year quarterback hasn’t been shy about throwing to his tight ends.
As with Young, though, you may want to avoid Tremble against an intimidating Eagles defense in Week 14 but should feel confident in him after that, providing Sanders remains out. If Sanders returns, however, he is likely the better move going forward.
Avoid – Parker Washington (Jaguars)
The WR5 in half-PPR in Week 13, Parker Washington turned 12 targets into six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, as the Jaguars chased a three-score game well into the fourth quarter.
Washington should continue to see an increased snap-share with both Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis sidelined, but the 12 targets will likely be his highest of the season by a distance. His previous high was six targets in week nine, and then four the week prior.
Washington will also be up against some stingy pass defenses in the next two weeks, with the Titans and the Jets ranking top two in passing yards allowed per game this year.
All in all, Week 13 is very likely an outlier week for Washington and there are other, more reliable targets at the position moving forward.
That’s all for this week’s fantasy football waiver adds, now it’s time to place those bids.
Best of luck in your crucial Week 14 match-ups, whether you’re already playoff-bound or scrapping for the final places. Be sure to check back in for next week’s fantasy football waiver adds.
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