Your fantasy football playoffs are quickly approaching, with many of your leagues beginning in Week 15. If that’s the case, you only have one more week of the regular season to jump into playoff contention, making your Week 14 waiver wire pickups the most important waiver wire pickups of the season.
Players like Christian Watson, Kenneth Walker, and others have played the hero off of the waiver wire this season, and there is a chance that one of the following players does the same for your teams moving forward. Whether you need depth to replace an injured QB (Lamar Jackson), an injured RB (Michael Carter), or an inefficient option, this week has plenty of depth options.
Another potential option that is not on the following list is Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant and now the starting QB for the San Francisco 49ers moving forward. With Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury throwing a major wrench into the plans for the Niners to make the postseason, Purdy came in against the Miami Dolphins and looked extremely competent.
Purdy is not on this list because of a few reasons – first, there are a few other options at the QB position that are safer players to bet on, and second, it is very possible that Purdy is replaced by Baker Mayfield (who was just put on waivers) or another veteran quarterback option currently on the street.
As always, all of the following players are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN fantasy football teams, making it highly likely that you will be able to include most of them in your waiver wire pickups this week.
Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups
10. Taylor Heinicke – QB
17.0% Rostered
Washington Commanders
Playing the role of folk hero extremely well for the Washington Commanders, Taylor Heinicke actually looked pretty good against the Giants in their Week 13 tie. Heading into their bye in Week 14, the Commanders have a healthy shot at making the postseason, provided teams like the Giants and Seahawks struggle at some point.
9. Tyler Huntley – QB
0.3% Rostered
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson’s knee injury has him on a week-to-week outlook, with HC Jim Harbaugh noting his status for Week 14 as being ‘less likely.’ In his absence, Tyler Huntley and his dual-threat abilities came in against the Broncos and led the Ravens to a tough win, and he will reprise the starting role yet again against the Steelers.
8. Noah Fant – TE
32.7% Rostered
Seattle Seahawks
Over his last three games, Noah Fant has averaged four targets from Geno Smith, which includes five targets and a TD from Fant against the Rams in Week 13. With both Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf having solid seasons catching the ball from Smith, Fant is typically the third in line in the offense, making him a little shakier when it comes to consistent production for your fantasy football roster.
If you need to add a tight end to your waiver wire pickups for this week, Fant should be one of your top targets.
7. Jared Goff – QB
29.6% Rostered
Detroit Lions
It is quite a weird phenomenon for the Detroit Lions to have some relevancy this late into an NFL season, but Dan Campbell and his scrappy team have been making some long-awaited noise in the NFC. With Jared Goff leading the charge at QB, this fun offense has a super high ceiling, making him one of the better injury-replacement QBs likely available.
6. Greg Dulcich – TE
38.6% Rostered
Denver Broncos
Tight end talent is hard to find, especially at a position that is already super top-heavy. Rookie TE Greg Dulcich, who definitely does have quite an inconsistent track record, has a chance to be the best TE pickup of the week, especially coming off a strong game (6/85) in the Denver loss.
5. DeeJay Dallas – RB
0.6% Rostered
Seattle Seahawks
With Kenneth Walker’s early ankle injury, DeeJay Dallas (after overcoming an injury of his own) became the leader of the backfield for the Seahawks. With early reports saying that Walker still has a shot at playing this week after suffering a jammed ankle, Dallas may hold nothing more than RB3 value.
But if Walker is on a pitch count or held out entirely, then Dallas has a nice shot at being a solid RB2 choice this week for Seattle against the Carolina Panthers.
4. Mike White – QB
13.8% Rostered
New York Jets
The weird QB carousel this year has put the New York Jets on a wild ride, but Mike White may actually be the guy for them going forward. Looking like he fully grasps the Jets’ offense and is more than competent enough to run it, White can very easily step in for the rest of the season (faces the Bills, Lions, Jaguars, Seahawks, and Dolphins).
3. Demarcus Robinson – WR
8.2% Rostered
Baltimore Ravens
Trusting anyone on the Baltimore offense is tough, especially with Jackson out of commission. But with how Demarcus Robinson has been playing the last few weeks, it’s hard not to trust him as some much-needed receiver depth.
By incorporating Huntley into the offense, a heavier throwing emphasis may be ushered into the offense play calls, something that certainly will help raise the ceiling for Robinson, making him the top WR addition in this week’s waiver wire pickups.
2. Zonovan Knight – RB
39.3% Rostered
New York Jets
In the absence of Michael Carter, undrafted rookie free agent Zonovan Knight stepped up in a big way in the past two games for the Jets. Commanding 14+ targets and 17+ total touches across their matchups with the Bears and Vikings, Knight has proven that he is more than capable of holding a long-term role in the Jets’ offense moving forward.
While holding RB2 value currently, Knight would be relegated to a backup role upon Carter’s arrival, but he likely would still hold RB4 value as bench depth.
1. James Cook – RB
25.3% Rostered
Buffalo Bills
Was the Week 13 Thursday Night Football game a changing of the guard for the Buffalo Bills and their pecking order in the running back room? It was rookie James Cook who earned the majority of touches over Devin Singletary (20 touches to 13 touches), and Dalvin’s younger brother certainly has looked the part.
If the Bills want to be able to trust their rushing attack, then they will need to incorporate both Cook and Singletary more and more each week to try and take some off of Josh Allen’s plate. While Singeltary likely has not fully handed the starter’s role over to Cook, it is safe to say that Cook has definitely earned the trust of the coaching staff and a higher workload is likely in store.
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