Waiver Favors™: 2019 Week 14 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Week 12 Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As I do every year over the last 7 years, I’m back to help with some waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors™ article!  I’m assuming if you’re a returning reader, you won your fantasy football championship last year, and probably just made your fantasy football playoffs this year, so congratulations!

But we want to keep helping, so I’ll make a couple suggestions after Week 14 of the 2019 fantasy football season.  You’re welcome.  Again.

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.  But not like usual, I’m going to make suggestions of everyone at 51% or under that I think might be helpful in your fantasy football playoffs, regardless of whether I mentioned them before or not (since I’ve mentioned most of these before).

Is it Tevin Coleman or Matt Brieda?  That’s what many of us have been asking for most of the season…until now.  Raheem Mostert rushed 10 times for 69 yards and a TD in a thrilling Week 14 win over the Saints, adding two catches for 40 yards and a receiving TD, and that’s with Matt Breida back from injury and Tevin Coleman healthy.  Mostert lead the 49ers backfield with 12 touches, compared to Breida’s 7 and Coleman’s 3.  Coleman has barely seen the field since being benched last week and Mostert was a monster in his absence with 19 carries for 146 yards and a TD.  Mostert has the Falcons, Rams and Seahawks in the last three games of the year, which are neutral to good matchups.  He’s viable in 12-team leagues or deeper.

Cole Beasley

WR – Buffalo Bills – 38% Owned

I’ve been loving Cole Beasley for a while note, and he continued to be productive in Week 14 catching 4 of 7 targets for 29 yards and a TD, even against a tough Ravens defense.  Beasley has scored in three straight games, and 6 of his last 8.  The Steelers, Patriots and Jets aren’t easy matchups, except for maybe the Jet, but Beasley gets enough volume that he’s worth a look in 12-team or deeper PPR leagues.

Zach Pascal

WR – Indianapolis Colts – 35% Owned

I know, I also tried to trust Zach Pascal earlier this year when TY Hilton was out, and he totally burned me.  But in Week 14, he caught 5 of 9 targets for 74 yards and a TD, after snagging 7 of 10 targets for 109 yards in Week 13.  Sure, he’s only useful while Hilton is out, and he’s going to be inconsistent, but against the Saints, Panthers and Jaguars, all of which look like solid matchups, he’s worth a look in 14-team leagues or deeper.

A.J. Brown

WR – Tennessee Titans  – 24% Owned

Wow, we saw Ryan Tannehill suddenly become relevant again, but he just managed to drag rookie A.J. Brown along with him.  Brown caught 5 of 7 targets for a whopping 153 yards and 2 TDs in Week 14, just two weeks removed from his 4 of 5 for 135 and a TD performance in Week 12.  He has an extremely high ceiling, but also has a pretty low floor.  All that being said, he’s worth a look against the Texans, Saints and Texans again in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Patrick Laird

RB – Miami Dolphins – 20% Owned

Sometimes, due to injury, bad luck, or both, you just need a warm body that will get the majority of backfield snaps to sit in your RB slot.  Patrick Laird at least fits that description.  With Kalen Ballage on IR, Laird managed to rush 15 times for 48 yards in Week 14, adding four receptions for 38 receiving yards.  If nothing else, he’ll continue to get the ball in Miami and has some reception upside, so if you’re absolutely desperate at RB, you could do worse in 14-team PPR leagues or deeper, particularly with the Giants and Bengals on tap.

Anthony Miller

WR – Chicago Bears – 20% Owned

I’m one of those guys that had high expectations for the Chicago offense preseason, and drafted Anthony Miller in several of my leagues.  Clearly, that was a huge mistake…at least until now.  In Week 11, Miller managed to grab 6 of a whopping 11 targets for 54 yards, and he followed that up in Week 12 catching six of 9 targets for 77 yards. In Week 13, he was 9 of 13 for 140 yards and in Week 14, his volume was down but the results were still there catching 3 of 4 targets for 42 yards and a TD.  With the Packers, Chiefs and Vikings on deck, the road won’t be easy, but he’s still worth considering in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Mitchell Trubisky

QB – Chicago Bears – 19% Owned

Mitchell Trubisky looks like he finally managed to got his 2018 groove back, as he came off back-to-back solid outings, most recently completing 23 of 31 passes for 244 yards, 3 TDs and an interception, adding nine runs for 64 rush yards and a rushing TD in Week 14.  The big difference is the return of thus rush yards.  He obviously has the same matchups as I previously mentioned for Miller, which isn’t easy, but he’s worth a look in all 2 QB leagues.

Diontae Johnson

WR – Pittsburgh Steelers – 12% Owned

Diontae Johnson broke out in a big way catching 6 of 8 targets for 60 yards and a TD, all after returning a punt for a TD.  He’s fast and showing some solid connection with Duck Hodges, and although he didn’t have much in terms of yards in Week 13, he still led the team with 5 targets.  Maybe things change once JuJu Smith-Schuster comes back, but until then, his two tough matchups and one moderate matchup agains the Bills, Jets and Ravens aren’t ideal, but he has enough upside to warrant some attention in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Drew Lock

QB – Denver Broncos – 2% Owned

Don’t look now, but that 2nd round QB Denver draft pick is making some waves after returning from injury.  And he hit a fever pitch in Week 14 against a Houston defense that just managed to beat the Patriots.  And he didn’t just win, he WON BIG completing 22 of 27 passes for 309 yards, 3 TDs , and one INT.  He joined John Elway and Tim Tebow as the only rookie quarterbacks for Denver to throw for at least 300 yards in a game, and he did it in his first ever road start.  I’m not recommending Lock for single QB leagues, but as your QB3 in 2 QB leagues, he’s an interesting stash with the Chiefs, Lions and Raiders on deck.

UPDATED FOR INJURIES

DeAndre Washington

RB – Oakland Raiders – 7% Owned

With Josh Jacobs missing Week 14 with a shoulder injury, DeAndre Washington rushed 14 times for 53 yards and one touchdown against the Titans, adding 6 receptions for 43 receiving yards.  Jacobs is headed for an MRI to check out his fractured shoulder, so who knows how soon Oakland may decide to bench their franchise RB.  If Jacobs is out, Washington becomes the lead back in Oakland and viable in all 12-team leagues or deeper with some decent matchups against the Jaguars, Chargers and Broncos

Russell Gage

WR – Atlanta Falcons – 9% Owned

Looks like Calvin Ridley is now on IR due to a abdomen injury, so Russell Gage is likley the next guy up.  He’s already averaging 6.6 targets a week over the last 5, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s his floor moving forward.  He has a tough matchup next week against the 49ers, but then ends on two decent ones against the Jaguars and Buccaneers.  He’s had some connection with Matt Ryan previously and is worth a look in 14-team leagues or deeper.

Breshad Perriman

WR – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 0% Owned

Mike Evans has what looked like a serious hamstring injury, and in his absence, Breshad Perriman caught 3 of 5 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown in Week 14.  For now, it’es unclear who will be the No. 3 or 4 behind Chris Godwin and one or both of OJ Howard and Cameron Brate, as Justin Wilson will probably also be involved, but there’s some upside here with Jameis Winston slinging it all around the field, particularly with the Lions, Texans, and Falcons on tap.  He’s worth a stash in 14-team leagues or deeper.

And here’s who I’ve recommended in previous weeks that I still think deserve a look (I’ve identified in RED the ones I want to highlight again for Week 14):

10-Team Leagues

None

12-Team Leagues

QBs – Jimmy Garoppolo, Ryan Tannehill

RBs – Carlos Hyde, Bo Scarbrough, Raheem Mostert, Jamaal Williams

WRs – Cole Beasley (PPR), John Brown, Marquise Brown, DJ Chark Jr., Terry McClaurin, DK Metcalf, DeVante Parker, Deebo Samuel, Golden Tate

TE – Jared Cook, Gerald Everett, Ryan Griffin, Jacob Hollister, David Njoku

14-Team Leagues

QBs – Sam Darnold, Ryan Fitzpatrick

RBs – Derrius Guice, Ronald Jones II, Adrian Peterson

WRs – A.J. Brown, Randall Cobb, Jamison Crowder (PPR), Alex Erickson, Allen Lazard, Diontae Johnson, Anthony Miller, Zach Pascal, Hunter Renfrow (PPR), Darius Slayton, Benny Snell Jr., Demaryius Thomas, James Washington

TE – Noah Fant, Darren Fells, Kyle Rudolph

16-Team Leagues

QBs – Kyle Allen

RB – Jaylen Samuels, J.D. McKissic (PPR), Jonathan Williams

WR – Corey Davis, Phillip Dorsett, Russell Gage, Mecole Hardman, N’Keal Harry, Tim Patrick, Josh Reynolds, Demarcus Robinson, Mohamed Sanu, Kenny Stills, Auden Tate

TE – Cameron Brate, Mike Gesicki, Dawson Knox, Jonnu Smith

Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!