Big Blue View
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 14. I think we all need to catch our breath after wall-to-wall NFL and college football (and food) from early on Thanksgiving Day through Monday night. Don’t spend too much time looking away, though. For most fantasy leagues, Week 14 is the final showdown before the playoffs start. Need a win to get in? One small complication: Four teams are taking their Bye. Timing is everything, right?
The Waiver Wire is especially thin this week, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking to tinker. There are still some options to consider, so read on.
The Process***:*** Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch.
Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the Week 13 Monday night game (NYG@NE).
Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Joe Burrow, Jacoby Brissett, Bam Knight, Tyler Allgeier, Chris Godwin, or Michael Wilson, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.
WEEK 14 BYES: CAR, MIA, NE, NYG
Week 14 Waiver Wire
Quarterback:
Quarterback availability varies widely between 1-QB and Superflex/2-QB leagues.
Rather than going through the usual listing of QBs who might be able to help you if you need a streamer, or an injury replacement in a 1-QB league, I’m going to provide strength of schedule (SOS) rankings for the fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15-17) for the more viable QBs that are outside the Top-15 for the season, and therefore often available in 1-QB leagues.
Favorable SOS***:*** Tyrod Taylor (@JAC, @NO, NE), Tua Tagovailoa (@PIT, CIN, TB), J.J. McCarthy (@DAL, @NYG, DET), and Shedeur Sanders (@CHI, BUF, PIT, and before that he gets the Titans at home this week). I think you need to be somewhat desperate to roll with any of these options other than Taylor.
Neutral SOS: Bryce Young (@NO, TB, SEA), Aaron Rodgers/Mason Rudolph (MIA, @DET, @CLE), Tyler Shough (CAR, NYJ, @TEN), Kirk Cousins (@TB, @ARI, LAR),and Sam Darnold (IND, LAR, @CAR). Darnold is the most reliable of this group, while Young can provide the occasional spike week.
Unfavorable SOS: C.J. Stroud (ARI, LVR, @LAC), Geno Smith (@PHI, @HOU, NYG), Trevor Lawrence (NYJ, @DEN, @IND), and Cam Ward (@SF, KC, NO).
Before we leave the quarterbacks, Justin Herbert broke a bone in his hand during Week 13 and is having a procedure on Monday. The Chargers don’t play until Monday Night (vs....
