December 6, 2016

Ben Ruppert's 2016 fantasy football tiered rankings for Week Fourteen wide receivers (WR) - waiver wire pickups, adds & sleepers for PPR and non-PPR. These are NFL WRs to target.

What’s up everyone! Welcome back for your Week 14 fantasy football waiver wire WR options. This week we have a number of options that have emerged, several of whom are likely available in your league and could help out your WR situation.

Below you will find some deeper waiver wire grabs heading into Week 14. Check out my entries from Week 13 as well. If players like Steve Smith Sr. or Cole Beasley are still out there, PICK THEM UP FIRST. These are deeper options who will likely be available in many leagues. If you are forced to pick between two players, find me on twitter @Ben_Ruppert_21, and I will be more than happy to help you out!

Now, let’s get rolling.

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 14 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 14 Waiver Wire - Wide Receivers (WR)

The Shallow End (Under 50% Owned)

Pierre Garcon, WR, WAS - 45% Owned on Fleaflicker

The Redskins offense takes a hit whenever Jordan Reed exits the lineup, but they still managed to put up 23 points on the Cardinals on Sunday. Pierre Garcon led all receivers on the day in targets, receptions, and yards, catching 7-of-9 passes for 78 yards. This is the second time in the past three weeks Garcon has led the team in receiving. He has been consistent this season, even though he has lacked the touchdowns to make him a higher scoring option in standard leagues.

Since the team’s Week 9 bye, Garcon leads the team in targets with 30, three more than Jamison Crowder. He is averaging 15.2 fantasy points in PPR leagues since the bye, having only one game with less than six receptions. On one of the most pass-happy teams in the league, expect Garcon’s consistent play to continue. His upcoming schedule sees him face the Eagles and the Panthers, two teams in the top-10 in fantasy points allowed to opposing WR this season. Garcon owners should expect WR3 production moving forward, with WR2 upside if he can find the end zone like he did in Week 11.

Brandon LaFell, WR, CIN - 33% Owned on Fleaflicker

The Bengals jumped out to an early lead on Sunday over the Eagles, but that didn’t stop Brandon LaFell from scoring an eight-yard touchdown in the third quarter. LaFell led the Bengals in receiving, catching 5-of-7 targets for 95 yards and a TD. Over the past two weeks without A.J. Green, LaFell has seen a team-leading 16 targets. He was much more successful this week with his targets, compared to last week when he caught only three passes for 38 yards.

LaFell still isn’t the most sure-handed receiver, so he will still put up some duds like he did last week. However, if defenses focus in on stopping Tyler Eifert like the Eagles did this past week then LaFell can burn a defense. He had a 44-yard reception on a deep ball on Sunday, and finished the drive with a TD catch in the back of the end zone. His next opponent is the Cleveland Browns, who have given up the sixth most fantasy points to the WR position this season. Tyler Boyd is still the safer add in PPR leagues, but LaFell showed us he is still capable of being a flex option in standard scoring leagues.

Malcolm Mitchell, WR, NE - 25% Owned on Fleaflicker

After his performances of late along with Rob Gronkowski out the lineup for the remainder of the season, and expanded role in the offense was expected for Mitchell. He responded by catching 8-of-10 targets for 82 yards, while playing 85% of the team’s offensive snaps; the most for him this season. As if his job wasn’t already secure enough, Danny Amendola suffered a high ankle sprain, which will be season-ending for the WR. Mitchell seems to be locked into a prime starting role in this Patriots offense for the remainder of the season.

Over the past three weeks, he is second on the team in targets with 22, behind only Julian Edelman with 40. Though there are a bevy of options in this passing attack, Mitchell is carving himself out a nice role behind Edelman on the WR depth chart. His increasing targets (five, seven, 10) show that Brady is trusting him more as the weeks go on. Even with a rest of season schedule that is less than ideal, Mitchell is a solid flex option in a top-notch offense.

Ted Ginn, WR, CAR - 22% Owned on Fleaflicker

Ginn made this list last week at 20% owned, so those 2% of you who picked him up hopefully did the right thing and started him, because he was once again Cam Newton’s preferred deep threat. Though the offense as a whole couldn’t muster up much against the Seahawks defense, Ginn was able to sneak behind the secondary for a 55-yard TD in the second quarter. He finished the day catching 5-of-6 targets for 80 yards and a TD, his third straight game with a touchdown. Kelvin Benjamin led the team in targets with nine, but he turned that into only two catches for 18 yards.

Ginn has really begun to turn things on of late, but still carries the tag of being a big boom or bust player. He relies on long touchdown scores to get big fantasy day’s; good news is he has been able to capitalize on his chances lately. His schedule the rest of the season will lead to plenty of passing attempts from the Panthers offense. Ginn is a roll of the dice flex play next week against the Chargers, with big upside.

More Options: Anquan Boldin, DET (48% owned), Quincy Enunwa, NYJ (42%), Tyler Boyd, CIN (41%), Phillip Dorsett, IND (39%), Chris Hogan, NE (37%), Taylor Gabriel, ATL (35%), Tajae Sharpe, TEN (32%), Ty Montgomery, GB (30%), Adam Thielen, MIN (21%), Dontrelle Inman, SD (18%)

The Deep End (Under 15% Owned)

Brian Quick, WR, LA - 14% Owned on Fleaflicker

Quick saw a team leading eight targets from Jared Goff on Sunday, catching five of them for 48 yards. It was the most targets he has seen in a game since his nine in Week 7. Quick is still behind Kenny Britt and Tavon Austin in the WR pecking order, but it was encouraging to see him catch a handful of passes, as opposed to relying on one of two long receptions to gain yards. If Quick can gain a rapport with Goff over the next few weeks, this could be a pair we talk about as a deep sleeper pick next season. For now, Quick is a stash candidate in case he sees his role continuing to grow.

Jermaine Kearse, WR, SEA - 9% Owned on Fleaflicker

With the ground game reestablished by Thomas Rawls, the Seahawks passing game was allowed to flourish against the Panthers on Sunday night. Kearse was a big benefactor of this, tying for the team lead in targets with nine along with Jimmy Graham. Kearse caught five of those targets for 68 yards, his highest total of the season. Kearse and Tyler Lockett both become more valuable with the Seattle offense finally beginning to roll. However, Kearse is much more easily attainable than Lockett given his 9% ownership rate. He is worth a depth stash for the remainder of the season.

Marquise Goodwin, WR, BUF - 7% Owned on Fleaflicker

Marquise Goodwin was second on the team in targets only to Sammy Watkins on Sunday, but Tyrod Taylor could only muster up 191 passing yards. Goodwin caught 4-of-8 targets 35 yards in the Bills loss to the Raiders. The return of Watkins to the offense means Goodwin gets pushed to the WR2 spot until Robert Woods returns; which is looking like Week 15. Goodwin should see a good number of targets until Woods returns, the questions is if Taylor can throw him the ball accurately enough. He is always a threat to catch a deep touchdown, making him an ideal shot in the dark play in a deep league format.

Albert Wilson, WR, KC - 2% Owned on Fleaflicker

With Jeremy Maclin still out of the lineup, Albert Wilson saw extended action again this week. He ended up playing a huge role in this game, though not so much in the receiving game. Wilson was third on the team in targets, catching all four of his targets for 48 yards. On fourth and one early in the third quarter, Wilson took a direct snap on a fake punt and ran it 55 yards for a TD. Much like Tyreek Hill, Wilson found another way to score that didn’t involve Alex Smith throwing him the ball. Once Maclin returns Wilson will likely be moved down the pecking order, but when you make a game-breaking play like that the coaching staff is bound to notice. It remains to be seen whether this prompts head coach Andy Reid to get Wilson the ball more, like he did with Hill after his solid game.

More Options: J.J. Nelson, ARI (14% owned), Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN (14%), Adam Humphries, TB (11%), Seth Roberts, OAK (9%), Justin Hunter, BUF (4%), Charles Johnson, MIN (4%), Russell Shepard, TB (3%), Andre Roberts, DET (2%), Cobi Hamilton, PIT (1%)

That’s all for this week folks, hope you get everyone you claim! For all your WR waiver wire questions, read these articles each week and get at me on twitter @Ben_Ruppert_21. I am more than happy to lend a hand to hungry fantasy owners!