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Early Week 14 fantasy pickups: Helping your playoff cause

If you’re looking to making roster moves in Week 14, you likely made the playoffs in your league. Now that you made fantasy’s second season, don’t stop now. Liz Loza offers up three players on the waiver wire if you need a plug-and-play option for your first-round matchup.

Rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell has come on strong for the New England Patriots in recent weeks. He caught eight balls for 82 yards in a win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. That gives him 17 receptions with three touchdowns over the past three contents. With Rob Gronkowski done for the season, there are Tom Brady targets up for grabs. Mitchell appears to be a beneficiary and is owned in 28 percent of Yahoo leagues. Added bonus, he gets the New York Jets in Week 16 (Fantasy Super Bowl).

If you’re in need of a running back, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Wendell Smallwood might not be the first name that comes to mind. While he struggled on Sunday, the same could be said for the whole team against the Cincinnati Bengals. He managed just 19 yards rushing but did lead the team with eight carries. The Eagles have dropped three straight and their playoffs chances are slim at 5-6. That could lead to more opportunities to see what the rookie can do down the stretch instead of continuing to split carries with Darren Sproles. Smallwood’s owned in 37 percent of leagues and has a friendly matchup against Washington next week.

The Green Bay Packers are still in search of a front-man for their running game, which has Christine Michael back on the fantasy radar. He led the team with nine carries against the Houston Texans on Sunday. While he didn’t do much with the opportunity, finishing with 19 yards, he’s still new to the system and his use is on the rise. He is admittedly a Hail Mary play, but tied to an offense that could pay off down the stretch. Michael faces his former team in the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14. He’s owned in 44 percent of leagues.