December 12, 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.

Happy playoffs, y'all! If you're still checking Rotoballer, you've probably either made the playoffs or you care very deeply about crushing some opponents in the consolation bracket. We're here to help you with whatever your current goals are!

Waivers are pretty bare at this point, but not all is lost--there are still some under the radar players who can contribute to your playoff success. (Not on this list because he's still owned in 81% of leagues (which is obviously well above the 20% threshold here) is Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who returns from injury this week. If you're in that 19% of leagues where someone dropped him and you need a quarterback still, go grab him.)

Let's look at deeper waiver wire targets and sleepers for Week 15, 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 15

QUARTERBACKS

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens - 14% owned

Joe Flacco threw for 269 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception against the Steelers. In Week 13, he also threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He's got the Browns and the Colts (both in the top ten for points allowed to quarterbacks) the next two weeks. There's nothing exciting about owning Flacco, but he's got a good floor these next couple of weeks that'll help out fantasy owners who are streaming quarterbacks.

Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles - 0% owned

Nick Foles might be the most known unknown quarterback in the league right now. He has plenty of game tape that suggests he can be an above-average starting quarterback and also plenty of game tape that suggests he will not be an above-average starting quarterback, but both of those tapes can be taken with a grain of salt, since Foles was at his best under Chip Kelly and his worst under Jeff Fisher. Those might actually be the worst two coaches by which to judge a quarterback's performance, especially Fisher, who made Case Keenum look very bad with the Rams. Here's what we do now about Foles: he looked serviceable in relief of the injured Carson Wentz, he's surrounded by a very good offense, and in his past twenty starts he's thrown twenty interceptions. That last stat suggests Foles won't be a good fantasy option, but he played fairly well last season with Kansas City. The Eagles current head coach, Doug Pederson, is from the Andy Reid coaching tree, so I'm expecting Foles to look more like last year's Foles than St. Louis Rams Nick Foles. It also helps that the Eagles play the New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders over the next two weeks. The Eagles are in trouble come playoff time, but season-long fantasy doesn't last into the real playoffs!

RUNNING BACKS

Rod Smith, Dallas Cowboys - 13% owned

Alfred Morris is still the main back in Dallas, but Smith has come on strong lately, finding the end zone twice in Week 14. He's got big play ability in a way that Morris doesn't and is extremely active in the passing game, leading his team in receiving yards and catches this past weekend. The Raiders have been vulnerable to receiving backs this year, allowing almost 50 receiving yards per game to them, and Smith could take advantage of that.

Kerwynn Williams, Arizona Cardinals - 11% owned

Williams was a workhorse against the Titans, running the ball twenty times for 73 yards and adding one catch for 15 yards. With Washington this week--a team that's allowing the sixth-most points to opposing running backs--and the Giants the week after, Williams is a potential RB2 as long as Adrian Peterson remains sidelined. At 6-7 in a competitive NFC, there isn't much of a reason for Arizona to rush Peterson back into their lineup either, so I'd expect Williams to remain the starter for at least Week 15.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills  - 17% owned

After receiving seven or more targets in four straight games, Jones didn't see a single target against the Colts. Taken out of context, that is bad. But hold on! Go Google some pictures of that Colts/Bills game and then come back to this column. [Waits.] Alright, so let's excuse this one to some of the worst weather I've seen in awhile and assume that isn't going to happen two weeks in a row. Here's why I like Jones the next two weeks: games against Miami and New England. He's got some flex potential in both of those match-ups, though it might be worth monitoring the quarterback situation. If Tyrod Taylor returns? Good. If Nathan Peterman is healthy and plays? Not terrible. If Joe Webb ends up getting the call? Pass on him.

Albert Wilson, Kansas City Chiefs  - 1% owned

My wife is a Chiefs fan and she gets mad every time Alex Smith throw the ball to Albert Wilson, since Wilson isn't the same kind of threat as Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, or Kareem Hunt. But Wilson has been catching the ball more--he had five receptions for 72 yards and was targeted one more time than Hill was. Kansas City's list of pass catchers seems to be shrinking more and more at this point, with only two wide receivers seeing targets against the Raiders. Wilson has a chance to put up decent numbers as the team's third option in the passing game, even if he doesn't possess a Hill or Kelce-like ability to bust huge plays.

TIGHT ENDS

Trey Burton, Philadelphia Eagles - 8% owned

Trey Burton's viability as a fantasy option depends entirely on whether or not Zach Ertz is back from his concussion. He more than likely will be, since he was close to suiting up this week, but with the NFC East crown officially locked up and quarterback Carson Wentz already done for the season, it would be too much of a shock to see the team play it safe with Ertz. If he's out again, here's a fact that might persuade you to grab Burton: in the two games Ertz hasn't played this year, Burton has found the end zone three times.

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