December 5, 2017

Deeper waiver wire sleepers and pickups to add for Week 14 of the NFL season. Justin Carter finds lightly owned players for fantasy football owners to target.

It's fantasy playoff time, y'all, which means your waiver claims have to stop being lottery tickets and start being pieces that you believe can actively contribute to your playoff run. That makes everyone's job harder, because there's much less room for error. Thankfully, there are some good options for this week, especially at quarterback!

For that reason, the way this column is going to operate this week and the rest of the season changes, because your goals as a fantasy owner have changed. I'll be highlighting players who can contribute for you now or for the rest of the playoffs, with an emphasis on this playoff round.

Let's look at deeper waiver wire targets and sleepers for Week 14, players whose ownership is currently under 20% and are likely available in many of your leagues. Note: All ownership percentages are for Yahoo leagues.

Deeper Waiver Wire Targets for Week 14

QUARTERBACKS

Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers - 16% owned

Yes, Garoppolo's first start as a 49er ended with five Robbie Gould field goals and no other scores, but this week San Francisco plays the Texans, who allow the second-most points to opposing fantasy quarterbacks. To make it more enticing, San Francisco themselves allow the most points to opposing quarterbacks, which could be setting us up for one of the weirdest high scoring games of the season (provided Texans quarterback Tom Savage has enough offensive weapons healthy this week). The 49ers will find the end zone this week.

Brett Hundley, Green Bay Packers - 12% owned

It's tough to know which Hundley you're going to get--the one who threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers in Week 12, or the one who for 84 yards and an interception against the Buccaneers in Week 13. It's really, really hard to jump aboard the train this week after the performance we just saw, but Hundley plays the Browns this week. This might be the ultimate boom-or-bust play, which isn't usually a thing you want in the playoffs, but he's in the right situation here.

Tom Savage, Houston Texans - 2% owned

JUSTIN. JUSTIN WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING HERE. I know, I know. Tom Savage is not a good quarterback. But here are two true statements: First, the Texans lost a ton of players over the course of their Week 13 loss to Tennessee (C.J. Fiedorowicz, Alfred Blue, Bruce Ellington, and Braxton Miller, in addition to wide receiver Will Fuller, who was ruled out before the game) and Savage still finished with his best game of the season, throwing for 365 yards and a touchdown. Second? As mentioned above, the 49ers have the worst defense against opposing fantasy quarterbacks. This could be a shoot-out, though Savage is probably a better DFS play than he is a play in season-long formats.

(Note: A few quarterbacks who may have made this list other weeks but don't now: Jacoby Brissett (IND) (the Bills defense held Tom Brady out of the end zone in Week 13 and hasn't been that bad against opposing quarterbacks, Jay Cutler (MIA) (the Patriots defense continues to improve), and Joe Flacco (BAL) (plays the Steelers, though he does have an enticing match-up in Week 15 against the Browns))

RUNNING BACKS

Mike Davis, Seattle Seahawks - 9% owned

Please let the Seattle Running Back Roulette 2k17 be over. Mike Davis came back from a groin issue and had 16 carries (and was the recipient of an impressive (and possibly illegal? IDK IT LOOKED CLOSE) lateral that might not have counted in that carry number) against the Eagles. The closest Seahawk running back to that? Thomas Rawls, Eddie Lacy, and J.D. McKissic each had one carry. Last week I was convinced that it was Eddie Lacy's time, so take this all with a grain of salt, but Davis looks like the best option going forward, even with Seattle playing Jacksonville this week.

Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 6% owned

Many (including me in this column last week) expected Jacquizz Rodgers to be the beneficiary of Doug Martin's absence, but Rodgers received just three carries. Instead, Tampa Bay leaned on Peyton Barber, who ran the ball 23 times for 102 yards, and added four catches for 41 yards, which made him the Buccaneers leading receiver. Martin (concussion) could return this week, but Barber might have played well enough to still end up seeing the bulk of the carries.

Kerwynn Williams, Arizona Cardinals - 3% owned

With Adrian Peterson (neck) missing Week 13, Kerwynn Williams carried the ball 16 times for 97 yards. He looked agile and explosive at times. Peterson's Week 14 status is still uncertain, but with Arizona playing at home against a Titans team that just surrendered almost 100 scrimmage yards to Houston's Lamar Miller, Williams is worth flex consideration in deeper formats if Peterson is out again.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Dontrelle Inman, Chicago Bears  - 17% owned

This should be Inman's last week on this list, as his ownership numbers continue to go up. He only caught two passes against the 49ers, but he found the end zone on one of those and continues to be a major piece of the Bears offense as rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky warms up to the NFL game.

Trent Taylor, San Francisco 49ers  - 0% owned

Taylor recorded season-highs in receptions and yards in Week 13 and is set up to have another good game this week against the Texans, who allow the fourth-most points to opposing wide receivers. Taylor might be the 49ers receiver who benefits the most from the team's move to Jimmy Garoppolo.

TIGHT ENDS

Stephen Anderson, Houston Texans - 0% owned

Houston's primary tight end, C.J. Fiedorowicz, suffered his third concussion of the season on Sunday; not only is Fiedorowicz unlikely to play this week, but I'd be personally shocked to see him on the field again for Houston again during this lost season. Houston also lost a lot of wide receiver depth this week, which led to Anderson playing a big role in the team's offense, finishing with five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. This came on 12 (TWELVE) targets, the most for any tight end in Week 13. Anderson should play a large role against the 49ers.

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