Believe it or not, Week 14 is upon us, which means most leagues are in the midst of their playoffs, or will be starting their playoffs this week. Whether you find yourself playing for big money or simply your pride, we are here to try and help you navigate the waiver wire diamonds in the rough. Happy playoff season folks!
NOTE: All ‘Percent Rostered’ stats are based off ESPN.com fantasy leagues
Quarterbacks:
If you are heading into your playoffs and find yourself in need of a quarterback, unless you are in a league where Kirk Cousins is available, you may be in trouble. Below are your best options.
Kirk Cousins, QB, Min:
Percent Rostered: 58.2%
Stats thru Week 13: 3,032 yds, 23 TD,43 INT; 1 rushing TD
This is getting ridiculous. Not only should Cousins be owned in every league, he should be starting in every league as well. Last week, Cousins’ ownership rose by just 3.2% and he is still available in more than four out of every 10 leagues. Cousins is having an MVP caliber season, yet fantasy owners seem hell bent on making sure they don’t even pick him up. He continues to be ranked in the top ten in every major quarterback category: yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt, QBR, quarterback rating and interceptions.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Mia:
Percent Rostered: 5.4%
Stats thru Week 13: 2,266 yds, 13 TD, 11 INT; 3 rushing TDs
Fitzmagic and his fantastic beard was the highest scoring quarterback this past week. He has six total touchdowns in the past two weeks and is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season. He is a risky start, but the Dolphins have been playing pretty well of late and Fitzpatrick has put up 20+ fantasy points in four of his last seven games.
Ryan Tannehill, QB, Ten:
Percent Rostered: 21.4%
Stats thru Week 13: 1,602 yds, 12 TD, 4 INT; 30 rushes, 128 yards, 3 TD
Like Cousins, Tannehill is here for the second straight week. He has turned himself into a legit starting NFL quarterback in Tennessee and a reliable fantasy starter as well. Since being named the starter in Week 7, he has 15 total touchdowns to just three interceptions and has put up 15+ fantasy points in all six of his starts.
Gardner Minshew, QB, Jax:
Percent Rostered: 10.4%
Stats thru Week 13: 2,432 yds, 14 TD, 5 INT
Foles was here the past few weeks, but after and underwhelming two and a half starts, the Jags have gone back to Minshew and his moustache the rest of the season.
Andy Dalton, QB, Cin:
Percent Rostered: 4.2%
Stats thru Week 13: 2,495 yds, 10 TD, 8 INT; 2 rushing TD
After being benched four weeks ago, Dalton is back starting in Cincinnati and he looked good in his first game back. If you are in the playoffs and desperate at quarterback, you could do much worse than Dalton, especially with three of the Bengals next four games being against the Browns and Dolphins.
Running Backs:
As we have seen the past few weeks, there are actually some options on the waiver wire at the running back position.
Raheem Mostert, RB, SF:
Percent Rostered: 14.1%
Stats thru Week 13: 92 carries, 539 yds, 3 TD; 10 rec, 119 yds, 1 TD
The Niners backfield has been great all season, but with three solid backs and injuries, it has been tough figuring out who to play and when. Well, that is still an issue, but Mostert has shown he can perform and may be worthy of a larger role in this backfield – regardless of who is/is not healthy. Coming off his best performance of the season – 146 yards and one touchdown on just 19 carries – against a good defense nonetheless, Mostert is now averaging 5.9 yards per carry, including back-to-back weeks where he averaged 7+ yards per carry.
Rashaad Penny, RB, Sea:
Percent Rostered: 37.6%
Stats thru Week 13: 50 carries, 296 yds, 2 TD, 3 rec, 34 yds, 0 TD
Penny was the third highest scoring running back this week and all the sudden, there is a legit split backfield in Seattle. Over the last two games, Penny has 236 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. If you are in the playoffs but hurting at running back, Penny may be worthy of a Flex start.
Bo Scarbrough, RB, Det:
Percent Rostered: 46.7%
Stats thru Week 13: 53 carries, 236 yds, 1 TD
Just three weeks ago, Scarbrough was not employed in the NFL and now he is averaging nearly 80 yards rushing per game. He has only found the endzone once, and has contributed nothing in the passing game, but he is getting nearly 18 carries a game and averaging 4+ yards per carry, so sooner or later, he will find the endzone again.
Patrick Laird, RB, Mia:
Percent Rostered: 1.3%
Stats thru Week 13: 16 carries, 36 yds, 1 TD; 12 rec, 109 yds, 0 TD
Though his rushing numbers are terrible, Laird was effective in the passing game and holds value in PPR leagues. With Kalen Ballage’s injury, Laird should see more work the rest of the season. In two of the last three games, he has 4+ receptions and 40+ yards, and 11+ fantasy points.
Derrius Guice, RB, Was:
Percent Rostered: 51.7%
Stats thru Week 13: 37 carries, 203 yds, 2 TD; 7 rec, 79 yds, 1 TD
After spending a few weeks on this list, Guice finally broke through for us, and in a huge way – 129 yars on 10 carries and two touchdowns. While he will still share touches with Adrian Peterson, the talented rookie should get the majority of the work from here on out in the Redskins backfield.
Wide Receivers:
I’m not gonna lie, if you are in need of starting wide receiver entering your playoffs, you are going to have a tough go finding much help. You may have to look for some of the guys below and just hope for the best.
Anthony Miller, WR, Chi:
Percent Rostered: 10.3%
Stats thru Week 13: 38 rec, 489 yds, 0 TD (62 targets)
Miller was a top six receiver this week in fantasy football and over the last three weeks, has seen 33 targets, pulling in 21 of those for 271 yards. While he has yet to find the endzone, he has clearly become a favorite target for Mitch Trubisky.
Darius Slatyon, WR, NYG:
Percent Rostered: 23.5%
Stats thru Week 13: 37 rec, 505 yds, 5 TD (61 targets)
Slayton has been here a few weeks now and while his emergence has largely been a part of injuries, he has managed to earn a bigger role in the offense even when everyone is healthy. For the third straight week, he saw seven or more targets. Over the last three weeks, Slayton has 30 targets, 20 receptions, 232 yards and two touchdowns.
Cole Beasley, WR, Buf:
Percent Rostered: 24.0%
Stats thru Week 13: 55 rec, 635 yds, 5 TD (80 targets)
He was here last week and after a big game in Dallas, he is here again. Beasley’s value is, and always will be, higher in PPR leagues, but he has a consistent role in this offense. Over the last four weeks, he has 26 targets and has caught 20 of those for 298 yards and two touchdowns. Beasley has seen six or more targets now in six of his last sevens games and has a touchdown in five of his last seven. He has worked himself up to a legit Flex option in PPR leagues.
Robby Anderson, WR, NYJ:
Percent Rostered: 46.9%
Stats thru Week 13: 29 rec, 445 yds, 3 TD (58 targets)
He was here last week and he is back again after a second consecutive solid outing. The 2019 version of Anderson has been completely boom or bust on a weekly basis, but with Darnold back and playing well, maybe that changes down the stretch. Despite the Jets offensive struggles this past week in Cincinnati, Anderson put ups his second straight 18+ fantasy performance (PPR) and his first 100-yard game since Week 6. With a matchup this week against the Dolphins, Anderson could have another solid week.
DeVante Parker, WR, Mia:
Percent Rostered: 64.7%
Stats thru Week 13: 53 rec, 854 yds, 6 TD (86 targets)
I have been banging on this drum all year, and while Parker is now owned in nearly 65% of all leagues, I am going to bang this drum again because Parker is still somehow available in 35% of all leagues. Guess who was the top scoring receiver this week? Yep, DeVante Parker! Despite playing for a terrible Dolphins team starting a journeyman quarterback, Parker ranks 18th in receiving yards and t-10th in receiving touchdowns. Parker had his best game of the season – seven catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns – and for the fourth straight week and fifth time in the past seven games, he saw at least 10 targets. Over his last seven games, Parker has 65 targets, 40 receptions, 625 yards and four touchdowns. At this point, Parker is a solid WR2, borderline WR1.
Tight Ends:
Week 12 was an unbelievably terrible week for tight ends all around the league with only three tight ends scoring more than 13 points in PPR leagues. Things came back around in Week 13 with 10 tight ends putting up 13 or more points and 16 ending the week with double digit days. If you need a tight end going into your playoffs, there are actually some good options for you this week.
Jacob Hollister, TE, Sea:
Percent Rostered: 38.0%
Stats thru Week 13: 25 rec, 203 yds, 3 TD (36 targets)
Hollister keeps landing here because few keep picking him up…in fact, somehow, his ownership went down 5% this past week…go figure. Over the last four weeks, Hollister has seen 28 targets and pulled in 20 of those for 165 yards and three touchdowns…that makes him a starting tight end for any owner lacking a top-tier tight end.
Ryan Griffin, TE, NYJ:
Percent Rostered: 24.9%
Stats thru Week 13: 33 rec, 312 yds, 5 TD (39 targets)
Griffin is here for a third straight week because he keeps contributing and continues to be available in most leagues. Over the last six weeks, he has 28 targets, 24 receptions, 266 yards and four touchdowns. In PPR leagues, Griffin is a starting tight end.
Tyler Higbee, TE, LAR:
Percent Rostered: 0.6%
Stats thru Week 13: 33 rec, 319 yds, 2 TD (41 targets)
With starting tight end Gerald Everett out, Higbee had a career day – seven receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. Monitor Everett’s health, because if he is out again, Higbee is a starting tight end.
Mike Gesicki, TE, Mia:
Percent Rostered: 10.3%
Stats thru Week 13: 36 rec, 401 yds, 2 TD (57 targets)
Gesicki was here last week and he produced…so he is back. This past week, Gesicki pulled in five of his seven targets for 79 yards and a touchdown and now has favorable matchups the next three weeks against the Jets, Giants and Bengals. If you need a starting tight end for the playoffs, don’t look past Gesicki.
Ian Thomas, TE, Car:
Percent Rostered: 0.1%
Stats thru Week 13: 5 rec, 28 yds, 0 TD (9 targets)
Thomas has had zero value all season because the Panthers have Greg Olsen, and surprisingly, Olsen has been healthy all season. Well, that changed this week when Olsen left with a concussion. In Olsen’s absence, Thomas pulled in all four of his targets. If Olsen can’t go next week, Thomas is a quality tight end who can put up points – especially in PPR leagues.
