Fantasy Football Waiver Wire, Week 14: Tyjae Spears, Ezekiel Elliott Step Up

I have only included players who are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. A player’s roster percentage will appear in parentheses next to their name. Denny Carter is mercifully handling the kicker section of this article which will be added Tuesday mornings. Updates from Monday Night Football will be added on Tuesday mornings as well. Be sure to check out the Waiver Wire Q&A Monday at 6PM ET.

Quarterback

Joshua Dobbs, Vikings (45%)

Dobbs dipped below 50 percent rostered over his bye week. He may fall into the Not in My League Hall of Fame, but it‘s worth checking. Dobbs ranks third among quarterbacks in rushing yards and touchdowns. He is fourth in attempts. The rushing output has him as the QB15 on the year. Dobbs is the best add off the wire for teams that need more than one start at quarterback.

Gardner Minshew, Colts (23%)

As most quarterbacks do, Minshew picked apart the Titans’ secondary in Week 13. He threw for 312 yards and two scores en route to a win. It was his first multi-touchdown game in over a month. Minshew gets a similarly vulnerable Bengals defense in Week 14. Before Monday Night Football, the Bengals ranked 30th in EPA per dropback allowed over the past five weeks. With all of the breakout quarterbacks long gone from the waiver wire, Minshew stands as the top option available in over half of all Yahoo leagues.

Jameis Winston, Saints (1%)

Derek Carr is in the league’s concussion protocol while also dealing with shoulder and back injuries. The concussion alone is threatening to sideline him for at least a week. The other injuries make it more likely than not that Winston will get the start. Winston has been back to his old ways in his few appearances in relief of Carr this year. His aDOT of 13.1 leads all quarterbacks. His touchdown rate of 4.3 percent is middling but still better than that of Carr. Of course, his interception rate of 6.4 percent is astronomically high. The full Winston experience is good for the most entertaining QB1 numbers FAAB money can buy.

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Running Back

Tyjae Spears, Titans (36%)

Derrick Henry exited Week 13 in the fourth quarter to be checked for a concussion and did not return. ESPN's Adam Schefter initially reported that he was in concussion protocol, though head coach Mike Vrabel later denied this. Though Henry's health remains a situation to monitor, it looks like there is a strong chance he will be back for Week 14.

Last week, the Titans didn’t have a third running back active, and even if they did, it may not have changed things. No Tennessee back outside of Spears and Henry has a carry this year. When Henry went down, the Titans gave Spears 13 touches over their final four drives. He ended the day with 20 touches for 88 yards.

With Henry potentially available for Week 14, Spears is still worth a stash, though he now falls behind the next player on this list in terms of priority off the wire and for FAAB spending.

Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots (40%)

Rhamondre Stevenson seemingly escaped Week 13 with only an ankle sprain after X-rays did not reveal any further damage. Still, he left early in the game and did not return. With the Pats playing on Thursday, the short turnaround will be too quick for Stevenson to get back on the field, meaning we are getting at least one Zeke start, and likely a few more.

Zeke racked up a season-high, 21 touches versus the Chargers. He crossed 50 yards on the ground and turned four receptions into 40 receiving yards. Ty Montgomery took three snaps at running back, but it was otherwise the Zeke show for New England sans Stevenson. In a low-scoring game versus Mitch Trubisky, the Pats should be able to feed Zeke, pushing him to the top of the RB2 ranks for Week 14.

Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (27%)

D’Andre Swift got popped by 49ers defensive back Deommodore Lenoir near the end of the Eagles’ blowout loss. Swift stayed down on the field for a minute before heading to the locker room.

His status for Week 14 is unknown—I will update this article as we learn more—so for now we are in a holding pattern. If Swift were to miss time, Gainwell would step into a near three-down role. Swift didn’t play much in Week 1 and Gainwell earned 61 percent of the carries plus a 14 percent target share.

Chris Rodriguez, Commanders (0%)

The Commanders lost Brian Robinson to a hamstring injury early in their Week 13 loss to the Dolphins. Antonio Gibson took the bulk of the snaps in his absence. Gibson is rostered in just over 50 percent of leagues but is worth checking on. Rodriguez rushed seven times for 29 yards. The Commanders would likely operate a committee with Gibson as the lead-back if Robinson misses time. Washington is on bye in Week 14, so this is only a situation worth buying into for teams that can afford the dead roster spot for a week.

Wide Receiver

Curtis Samuel, Commanders (38%)

Samuel is the high-scoring FLEX player (WR/RB/TE) this year who is available in over half of Yahoo leagues. He has been at or near the top of that list for the majority of the season. After a brief slump because of a lingering toe issue, Samuel has gotten back on track over the past two weeks, tallying 13 receptions for 165 yards. Samuel has a 21 percent target share and a 29 percent air yards share over his past two appearances. Coming out of the Commanders’ bye, Samuel will rank as a WR3.

Elijah Moore, Browns (43%)

Amari Cooper suffered a concussion in Week 13 and did not return. Moore set a season-high in targets but only caught 4-of-12 looks for 83 yards. Moore earned a 28 percent target share and accounted for half of the team’s air yards. Though maybe not the most predictive, Moore has also shown a solid connection with Joe Flacco dating back to their time in New York.

If Flacco starts in Week 13 and Cooper is sidelined, Moore could push for WR2 status.

Alec Pierce, Colts (2%)

Pierce hasn’t shown up in the box score often this year, logging one game over 50 yards and a single touchdown heading into Week 13. He re-emerged in a big way with three receptions for 100 yards and a score versus the Titans. Pierce will be a risky WR4/5 for Week 14, but he does get a Bengals defense that has struggled at preventing big plays from opposing receivers.

DeVante Parker, Patriots (3%)

Parker operated as the Pats’ No. 1 receiver in Week 13 and it was roughly as uninteresting as you would expect. He caught four balls for 64 scoreless yards. He did, however, log a 38 percent target share and a 52 percent air yards share. His outlook for Week 14 will depend on the status of Demario Douglas, who is currently in the league’s concussion protocol. If Douglas remains sidelined, Parker will cling to WR5 life for another week.

Parker Washington, Jaguars (0%)

Washington took over for Christian Kirk after he went down with a groin injury on his first catch of the game. Kirk was unable to return. Washington ran a route on 74 percent of the Jaguars’ dropbacks and earned a 16 percent target share. He also made this dramatic reception for the first touchdown of his career.

The drawback for Washington is that Trevor Lawrence suffered an ankle injury late in the game and will likely miss a few weeks. The downturn in offensive output will keep a low ceiling on Washinton’s production, but he is worth a stash in deeper leagues.

Tight End

Isaiah Likely, Ravens (36%)

Likely has run a route on 83 percent of Lamar Jackson’s dropbacks in three partial or complete absences from Mark Andrews. He got up to four targets before the Ravens’ bye and should see more first-read looks as the team integrates him into the offense. Likely won’t be a direct replacement for Andrews, but even taking just a part of his role would put Likely on the TE1 border.

Tucker Kraft, Packers (6%)

Kraft has run a route on 81 percent of the Packers’ passing plays over the past two weeks. He saved a quiet fantasy day with a touchdown in his first start and then upped his target share to 15 percent in Week 13. With Luke Musgrave on injured reserve, Kraft should be good for weekly TE2 numbers going forward.

Brevin Jordan, Texans (15%)

Dalton Schultz missed Week 13 with a hamstring issue. Brevin Jordan got the start and ran a route on 74 percent of C.J. Stroud’s dropbacks. He earned a 19 percent target share and caught three passes for 64 yards. Schultz’s status for Week 14 is up in the air, but Jordan would be a high-end TE2 if he is sidelined again.

Chig Okonkwo, Titans (31%)

Okonkwo hasn’t been overly involved in the Tennessee offense this year, but tight end is weak this late into the season and Okonkwo has some juice. He has seven catches for 107 yards over the past two weeks. The Titans also lost Josh Whyle, who was occasionally subbing in for Chig, to a knee injury in Week 13.