Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups You Can’t Snooze On
One week. A classic Barenaked Ladies song, but also the amount of time left in the regular season for most fantasy players. Hard to believe the withdrawals from our little addiction are less than a month away. For some this week means little, but for many it will make the difference between the post season and packing up early for the year. That means it’s time to drop the long shots and lotto tickets; this week’s waiver moves should be dedicated to winning now.
It also means this will be the last of my waiver wire articles this year. Hopefully I, and the rest of the Snooze crew, have made an impact on some of your teams. So here’s to one last week with everything on the line — the waiver wire pickups you definitely can’t snooze on.
Cameron Brate, TE TB (55% owned)
Tight end has been a real nightmare this year. Maybe that’s not so different from most years, but currently in 0.5PPR there are only eight tight ends with over 100 points through 13 weeks. One of them is Cameron Brate, and with Jameis Winston back under center the favorite red zone target has returned to the lime light. I’ve written a lot about how touchdown-dependent the TE position is, and with Winston finally healthy Brate wasted no time hauling in two more scores, now tied for third among tight ends. He should be added by every Gronkowski and Ertz owner looking to replace that upside.
Trey Burton, TE PHI (1%)
Speaking of tight ends, if Brate isn’t available to fill your need Burton certainly is. He’s not nearly as talented as Zach Ertz, but might actually see the field this week with Ertz in the concussion protocol. Burton has been a serviceable replacement, grabbing a touchdown against Denver in Week 9 and drawing seven targets after Ertz’s departure last week. Philly looks at the TE position a lot, so the potential is there for a good outing.
Dede Westbrook, WR JAX (28%)
And the award for the most suggested waiver pickup goes to… Westbrook has certainly been a player you could afford to snooze on, but finally showed some production last week with a 9–6–78 line. He benefited from Leonard Fournette’s struggles against the Colts defense, struggles he may run into again when he faces the Seahawks this week. If the Jaguars need to turn to the air, Westbrook will be there.
Mike Davis, RB SEA (9%)
With the mess that has been the Seattle Seahawks’ backfield this year, Mike Davis turned in perhaps the best showing of the season. It’s a shame it took until Week 13 for it to happen. Going 16-for-64 on the ground and 4-for-37 in the air, Davis was a reliable weapon in the offense. He’ll get the start in an intimidating matchup against the stout Jaguars, making him only a deep flex play if necessary.
Peyton Barber, RB TB (6%)
Barber stepped up in the absence of Doug Martin and turned in a better performance than the Muscle Hamster has all year. He was leaned on heavily with 23 carries, and rushing for over 100 yards. He did all this while Tampa was missing two starting offensive linemen, something that gave Winston trouble all day. He’ll likely retain the feature role whether Martin has recovered or not, and the Detroit Lions are more susceptible on the ground than through the air.
