The Wire - Week 14
By Levi Ellis
Three! Three is the number of wins you need to bring this thing home. Welcome to the Playoffs! It’s win or go home time and the offseason is way too long to go home this early. Take a look at this week's top waiver wire adds.
Quarterbacks
Tier 1 Quarterbacks
Taysom Hill - 27/37 232 yards, 2 tds, 14 carries, 83 yards - Taysom may be a household name at this point. The Saints are undefeated with Taysom at the helm and he’s actually been pretty good. He showed us last week that he can throw some touchdown passes too. This week he faces the tough Eagles defense but I wouldn’t bet against Taysom. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Mitch Trubisky - 26/34 267 yards, 1 td, 3 carries, 6 yards - Why is he a Tier 1 QB this week you ask? Because he’s playing the Texans, that’s why. Trubisky is far from a reliable NFL QB but he is a pretty reliable fantasy QB. What he lacks in the passing game he typically makes up for with his legs although last week was not the case. The Texans defense can be beat and it’s likely the Bears will need to score a lot to stay in this game. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Tier 2 Quarterbacks
Jalen Hurts - 5/12 109 yards, 1 td, 1 int, 5 carries, 29 yards - If Hurts gets the nod to start this week he could be fantasy gold. He could also be terrible so it’s high stakes and not what you typically want in your playoff matchup but if you need the ceiling play, Hurts could be your guy. He is playing the Eagles though so as much as I love Hurts I would temper your expectations. Minimum bid only.
Best of the Rest (Tier 3)
Mike Glennon - 28/42 280 yards, 1 td, 2 ints, 3 carries, 9 yards - Glennon continues to produce but he should be nothing more than a desperation play in your playoffs and only in two QB or superflex league formats. With that being said, he does have a plus matchup against the Titans. Did you see what Baker just did to their defense? Minimum bid only.
Running Backs
Tier 1 Running Backs
Cam Akers - 21 carries, 72 yards, 1 td, 1 target, 1 catch, 22 yards - It may finally be time for Akers to run away with this job with that being said I don’t entirely trust this runningback situation right now and through thirteen weeks we have seen this is a timeshare. Akers is absolutely worth owning but I’m not sure I could start him just yet. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Tier 2 Running Backs
Ty Johnson - 22 carries, 104 yards, 1 td, 2 targets, 2 catches, 13 yards - Ty Johnson isn’t a Tier 1 for me only because he plays for the Adam Gase led Jets. I bet if Old Man Gore is healthy he’s still the starter. If Gore isn’t healthy I’m still sure Gase will find some way to screw this up and I just can’t trust a Jets player in the playoffs. He’s worth the pickup but tread lightly. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Adrian Peterson - 16 carries, 57 yards, 2 tds - Peterson is only on this list in case Swift misses yet another game. If Swift is out, roll Peterson out against the Packers weak run defense. 15% of your remaining faab budget.
Wide Receivers
Tier 1 Wide Receivers
Corey Davis - 12 targets, 11 catches, 182 yards, 1 td - Davis may not be available in most leagues but if he’s available in just one league he deserves to be on this list. This guy has been a late round fantasy gem this season and there’s no reason to stop believing now. 100% of your remaining faab budget.
Tim Patrick - 4 targets, 4 catches, 44 yards, 2 tds - Patrick is easily one of my top pickups of the week. Most people left the Broncos offense for dead after the Courtland Sutton injury but Tim Patrick has easily filled those shoes, so much so that I think he has long term value. It seems like he scores a touchdown every week. Start this guy with confidence against the Panthers defense this week. 75% of your remaining faab budget.
Cole Beasley - Beasley would be higher on this list but John Brown could be back this week so I’m proceeding with caution. His game wasn’t over when this article was written but he was showing out. 50% of your remaining faab budget.
TY Hilton - 11 targets, 8 catches, 110 yards, 1 td - TY is back from the dead. That’s the thing about fantasy football. One week you can be dead to me and the next week you can be a priority pickup and that’s exactly what TY Hilton is this week. 50% of your remaining faab budget.
Nelson Agholor - 11 targets, 4 catches, 38 yards - You may see 38 yards and think how is this guy a Tier 1 WR this week. Well I see 11 targets and that’s all it takes. Factor in he almost had a late and long touchdown had Carr not overthrown him and his week was just a few feet away from being a low end WR 1 or a high end WR 2. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Tier 2 Wide Receivers
Keke Coutee - 9 targets, 8 catches, 141 yards - I know right, but did you see the connection he had with Watson? Coutee has always had talent but for some reason Billy never wanted to play him. Maybe it was because he got hurt a lot or maybe there were other reasons but regardless of those reasons that was then and this is now. The fact is the Texans need the WR help and he has talent. I wish I had more shares of Coutee and if I did I would be rolling him out this week even against the stout Bears defense. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Rashard Higgins - 9 targets, 6 catches, 95 yards, 1 td - It’s amazing how good weather and a weak defensive opponent can fix just about any passing game. He’s not higher on this list because he faces the tough Baltimore secondary this week. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Laviska Shenault - 3 targets, 3 catches, 38 yards, 1 td, 2 carries, 30 yards - The talent is there and I think a breakout could happen at any point but even without a huge breakout he has had a good floor. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Best of the Rest (Tier 3 Wide Receivers)
Sammy Watkins - 6 targets, 4 catches, 35 yards - It’s just hard to pass up the talent and the fact that he’s playing with the best QB and arguably the best coach in the league. Six targets doesn’t hurt either. Minimum bid only.
Russell Gage - 8 targets, 4 catches, 51 yards, 1 td - He’s involved in the offense and that’s more than we can say for a lot of more talented players around the league. Minimum bid only.
Dez Bryant - Let’s wait and see how he plays Tuesday night in his revenge game to make this decision. Minimum bid only.
Van Jefferson - 5 targets, 4 catches, 27 yards - Could it finally be his time to shine? Minimum bid only.
Collin Johnson - 6 targets, 4 catches, 66 yards - Seems to have a connection with Glennon. Minimum bid only.
Chad Hansen - 7 targets, 5 catches, 101 yards - Only in desperation. Minimum bid only.
Tight Ends
Tier 1 Tight Ends
##Robert Tonyan## Pickup of the Week - 5 targets, 4 catches, 39 yards, 1 td - Tonyan is a must own in all formats. He continues to produce and Rodgers is having a career year. 100% of your remaining faab budget.
##Logan Thomas## Pickup of the Week - 9 targets, 9 catches, 98 yards, 1 td - With this stat line what else needs to be said. 100% of your remaining faab budget.
Mike Gesicki - 11 targets, 9 catches, 88 yards, 1 td - I hope that last week was a wake up call for the Dolphins organization on what they have been missing all year. Give this man the d*** ball already. 50% of your remaining faab budget.
Tier 2 Tight Ends
Eric Ebron - 11 targets, 7 catches, 68 yards - In the past you could never use the word “consistent” in the same sentence as “Ebron” but this is 2020 and if we’ve learned anything we’ve learned that crazy s*** keeps happening. 40% of your remaining faab budget.
Evan Engram - 8 targets, 4 catches, 32 yards - Engram’s seeing the targets he just isn't doing much with them. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
Anthony Firkser - 7 targets, 5 catches, 51 yards - I have no idea why Jonnu Smith has disappeared and it could be one of the great mysteries of the season but in the meantime Firkser has been pretty decent. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Cole Kmet - 7 targets, 5 catches, 37 yards, 1 td - Pay attention to Kmet down the stretch. He has been more involved than Jimmy Graham the last few weeks. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Best of the Rest (Tier 3 Tight Ends)
Dan Arnold - 3 targets, 2 catches, 61 yards, 2 tds - I can’t believe I’m including him this week but TE is such a bad position. Minimum bid only.
Will Dissly - 5 targets, 4 catches, 28 yards - Love the player and hope that he is almost 100% recovered from last season's injury. Minimum bid only.
Tyler Eifert - 6 targets, 6 catches, 45 yards - You could do worse, but maybe not by much. Minimum bid only.
Drew Sample - 7 targets, 7 catches, 49 yards - Pay attention to who starts at QB this week but either way hard to trust him in the playoffs. Minimum bid only.
Dead to Me (redraft leagues only)
Carson Wentz - It could be time for Jalen Hurts
Phillip Lindsay - Not a consistent role
Malcolm Brown - The least talented back in the timeshare.
Carlos Hyde - Chris Carson is Batman and he doesn’t need a Robin.
Alexander Mattison -He is recovering from surgery and the Vikings don’t seem to know they roster other running backs.
Giovani Bernard - I don’t care if Mixon is still out.
AJ Green - Do you really want your championship aspirations hinging on him?
Jakobi Meyers - Have you seen Cam throw the ball?
KJ Hamler - He’s getting targets but he’s not doing anything with them.
Jerry Jeudy - I hate doing this but Tim Patrick is the Broncos WR to own.
Christian Kirk - I love the player but I can’t trust him in the playoffs right now.
Darius Slayton - Too boom or bust for me in the playoffs.
Austin Hooper - I think the Browns forgot about him?
Hayden Hurst - Maybe he made the OC made or something?
Check me out on Twitter @justanoguysff
