After a full Thanksgiving spread of NFL football in Week 13 with no teams on a bye week, the NFL has a much tougher schedule to navigate for fantasy owners in Week 14 with the final six teams taking their bye weeks. Depending on where you are in the standings, this may be the most important week for your season-long fantasy football teams. To get your team ready to roll and pick up a critical win, you may need to hit the fantasy football waiver wire for one of these hot waiver wire pickups.
Every week, players in many leagues’ fantasy football waiver wire step up with big games to emerge as potential waiver wire pickups. DK Network will have coverage throughout the week of all the hot pickups and best additions, but on Sunday night, I get to break down some of the players that popped as early candidates for good additions heading into the week.
In Week 14, the Ravens, Broncos, Texans, Commanders, Colts and Patriots will be on their bye weeks, leaving 26 teams in action.
Another factor to keep a close eye on every week is that new injuries occur that change the fantasy football landscape and open up new opportunities for players. In Week 13, here are some new situations to keep a close eye on moving forward
Players with new injuries from Week 12 to watch:
- QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
- QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- RB Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
- RB Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
- WR DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
- WR Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
- WR Keenan Alen, Chicago Bears
- WR Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers
- WR Noah Brown, Washington Commanders
- WR Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers
- TE Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
- TE Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
- TE Theo Johnson, New York Giants
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my top names to watch on the Week 14 waiver wire.
WR Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars just got Trevor Lawrence ($5,400; 1.24 FPTS) back from a shoulder injury, but he took a vicious (and dirty) hit to the head and was immediately ruled out with a concussion in the Jags game vs. the Texans. He was replaced by Mac Jones ($4,900; 20 FPTS), who struggled in starts earlier this season but looked solid on Sunday, throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns while completing 20-of-32 pass attempts.
Jones’ main target down the stretch was Washington, who racked up 103 yards and a touchdown while catching six of his team-high 12 targets.
.@CPW11_ with an acrobatic grab and tightrope finish!#HOUvsJAX on FOX pic.twitter.com/HZcTN8xCjN
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 1, 2024
Washington has flashed big-play potential earlier this season with his punt return vs. the Patriots in London, but he hasn’t had regular work in the offense. With Christian Kirk (collarbone) and Gabe Davis (knee) done for the season, Washington will work with rookie Brian Thomas Jr. ($5,500; 18.7 FPTS) as the team’s top two receivers going forward.
The Jags defense has struggled the last few weeks and often left the team playing from behind as they were today. In game scripts like that Washington has big-time upside, especially after showing such a strong connection with Jones.
Especially with Lawrence taking such a tough injury in his first game back, it would be surprising if he returns next week in Tennessee vs. the Titans. If Jones gets the start Washington is a high-upside addition off of waiver wires in the over 95% of leagues where he is available.
Other widely available receivers that made splashes this week and deserve a look included Nick Westbrook-Ikhene ($4,300; 21.1 FPTS), who I highlighted here two weeks ago, Adam Thielen ($4,800; 23.9 FPTS) and Tre Tucker ($4,500; 13.9 FPTS). Brandin Cooks ($4,500; 10.6 FPTS) also looked good in his return from injury.
RB Sincere McCormick, Las Vegas Raiders
The shelves at running back are barer than after a Black Friday super-sale this week without any clear options emerging for big roles going forward. If you’re looking for help at the position, you can add one of the players who would be great in case of injury like Zach Charbonnet ($4,400; 12.1 FPTS) or Jaylen Warren ($5,500; 10.4 FPTS), but if you need a player who has stand-alone potential and has shown interesting upside, check out Sincere McCormick ($4,000; 8.5 FPTS) for the Raiders.
Vegas has been without Zamir White (quad) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) for the last two weeks, leaving McCormick and veteran Ameer Abdullah ($4,800; 7.3 FPTS) to carry the load.
McCormick took 12 carries for 64 yards on Black Friday vs. the Chiefs and added two receptions as well. He had five carries for 33 yards in Week 12 against the Broncos.
While he is still on the practice squad, coach Antonio Pierce said he would continue to get opportunities.
#Raiders HC Antonio Pierce on Sincere McCormick:
“This is a dude, he’s earning more reps. He’ll keep playing for us. And the way he’s running — tough, physical, hard-nosed, bouncing off, fresh legs… His style of play and physicality really showed up.”
Pierce has a 75%… pic.twitter.com/dcr2IXOXZ0
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) November 30, 2024
McCormick is an undrafted free agent out of UTSA, but the Raiders have found running backs late in the season in the past. His role is tricky to forecast with Abdullah, White and Mattison potentially in the mix, but if he plays, he has the potential to be a great snag off the fantasy football waiver wire. The Raiders play the Bucs, Falcons, Jaguars and Saints over the four remaining weeks of the season-long schedule, which will be a favorable forecast for whoever is Vegas’s primary running back.
QB Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers went on the road to Cincinnati and got a convincing 44-38 win to improve to 9-3 and increase their hold atop the AFC North. Russell Wilson ($5,700; 30.86 FPTS) was the No. 1 QB of the week through Sunday afternoon, and his ownership percentage is still under 25% in season-long leagues.
Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns in the Steelers’ division triumph.
MUUUUUUUTH TUDDIE‼️ @pat_fry5
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/1WMsZcVSYa
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 1, 2024
Wilson is now 5-1 as the starting QB for the Steelers and has shown the ability to put up QB1 numbers in almost any matchup. His only real down game was in the snow last week in Cleveland. He doesn’t bring much rushing potential at this point in his career but still has a high ceiling as he showed in this road matchup.
Next week, Russ will look to keep cooking at home in a rematch with the Browns. He has tough road games against the Eagles and Ravens in the following weeks but will likely have to throw more to keep up with those offenses. He’s a very strong one-week fill-in with QB1 upside moving forward.
Other available QBs to consider include Will Levis ($5,000; 16.18 FPTS) who will look to bounce back vs. the Jaguars and Bryce Young ($4,700; 23.62 FPTS), who continues to show huge improvement compared to earlier this season.
TE Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
Names like Pat Freiermuth ($3,500; 18.8 FPTS) and Luke Schoonmaker ($3,400; 8.3 FPTS) will be popular adds this week along with Noah Gray ($3,300; 9.8 FPTS) and Jonnu Smith ($4,300; 24.2 FPTS), who were both featured in this spot in past weeks.
Looking ahead, though, there’s another option that is set up for what could potentially be a huge finishing stretch to the season, and that’s Titans’ TE Chig Okonkwo ($3,100; 5.7 FPTS).
Okonkwo had one of the few highlights of the Titans’ season last week, helping push them to a win vs. the Texans with this massive 70-yard grab.
OkonkWOAH @ChigTweets
📺: Watch #TENvsHOU on @NFLonCBS stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/tXm6y3GClK
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 24, 2024
This week, he didn’t get loose for a big play but did set a season-high with six targets and caught three passes for 27 yards.
He’s developing a strong rapport with Levis and has the big-play potential that gives him high upside in any matchup. He has great matchups for tight ends the rest of the way, facing the Jaguars twice, the Colts and the Bengals.
This week, the Titans will look to bounce back from their tough loss in D.C. as they come home to host the Jaguars. While he’s still a speculative pickup, he has enough potential upside to be worth a look in deep leagues or if you need a scoop-and-start option.
Saints DST
The Saints DST ($2,400; 22 FPTS) heads on the road next week to take on Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock and the Giants, who have been the sixth-best matchup for opposing defenses so far this season. The Cowboys got six sacks and two takeaways against the Giants on Thursday and also scored a defensive touchdown. The Giants have scored just 27 points in their two games since replacing Daniel Jones at QB with 10 sacks and three turnovers.
The Saints have some playmakers on their defense and looked strong at home vs. the Rams this week. They have allowed 21 points or fewer in three straight games under interim coach Darren Rizzi with multiple sacks in each game and one takeaway. The special teams are also strong under Rizzi, and they should be in a good spot vs. the Giants in Week 14
Other top streaming options to check out for Week 14 include the Titans DST (vs. the Jaguars) the Dolphins DST (vs. the Jets) and the Bengals DST (vs. the Cowboys).
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
