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We're at the point in the season where, barring injury, most fantasy owners that are still alive have their playoff quarterback set in stone. If that's not the case for you, then this article will offer some options that are good for both the upcoming Week 14 games and for the fantasy playoffs.
Tough matchups this week include Kirk Cousins at Seattle, Jared Goff at Chicago, Carson Wentz at Dallas, and Matthew Stafford at Arizona. Owners of those quarterbacks might want to consider alternatives this week.
In standard one-quarterback leagues, the waiver wire is usually pretty rich with talent at the position, unless the league is full of owners that like to hold backup quarterbacks. In two-quarterback leagues, nearly every starter is rostered, and the waiver wire tends to be quite barren for quality arms. That’s why a few quarterbacks owned in 15% of leagues or less are included, so even owners in deep leagues have someone to consider. Ownership is based on Yahoo leagues and is current as of December 2.
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Week 14 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston – TB vs. New Orleans Saints – 57% Owned
Jameis Winston is the most under-owned quarterback in fantasy leagues. Combined, he and Ryan Fitzpatrick have scored 292.42 points in standard fantasy leagues, which makes them the second highest scoring quarterback behind Patrick Mahomes. Tampa Bay is the perfect storm for average or slightly above average quarterbacks to thrive. They are full of offensive weapons, they have a head coach known for his ability with the offense, and their defense is so bad that the Bucs are practically in a shootout every week. A date with New Orleans at home next week should allow Winston to let loose against a bad pass defense. Winston should be started over plenty of more highly owned players. Here are some examples to create an idea of his value.
- Kirk Cousins (96% Owned @ Seattle): Seattle has allowed the sixth-fewest points to opposing quarterbacks this season and Cousins has failed to produce against tough opponents. 40% of Cousins’ overall point total has come in three games, one against the Saints and two against the Packers.
- Carson Wentz (90% Owned @ Dallas): Faces a tough Dallas defense and has scored a combined 17 points in his last two games (Monday night game pending).
- Matt Stafford (67% Owned @ Arizona): Duh. Why is Stafford even this highly owned? He has scored more than 20 points just twice this season and hasn’t done so since Week 4. Now he takes on a team that has allowed the fourth-fewest points per game to opposing quarterbacks.
If you own any of those quarterbacks or are questioning your current options, Winston deserves strong consideration. His matchups after this are rough, taking on Baltimore and Dallas in Weeks 15-16, but for this week he is top quarterback add where available.
Dak Prescott – DAL vs. Philadelphia Eagles – 56% Owned
Prescott disappointed his fantasy owners this week, putting up just 14.12 points against the Saints at home. That shouldn’t deter us from going back to the well on Prescott against the Eagles defense. Philadelphia’s secondary has been decimated by injury this season. They are without their top three cornerbacks and have three other defensive backs on injured reserve already. Prescott scored 21.7 points against the Eagles the last time he faced them in Week 10, and now that he has a decent rapport with Amari Cooper should have a legitimate number one receiver to utilize against this banged up secondary. While Jameis Winston is the better play for Week 14, Prescott has the schedule advantage for the entire fantasy playoffs. His three games in the playoffs are against Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Tampa Bay. It doesn’t get much better than that for a quarterback.
Lamar Jackson – BAL @ Kansas City Chiefs – 46% Owned
Jackson continues to get it done with his legs, rushing 17 times for 75 yards and a touchdown in Baltimore’s win over Atlanta in Week 13. He also went 12-for-21 passing for 125 yards, if you care. Since taking over for the injured Joe Flacco Jackson has lucked into some amazing matchups, facing the Bengals, Raiders, and Falcons in his first three starts. The fun doesn’t stop, as he takes on Kansas City next week and Tampa Bay in Week 15. In theory, matchup matters less for a quarterback like Jackson. It’s all about his rushing, and his currently limited passing ability can’t exactly shred these awful secondaries. Still, we’d much rather have him face teams like the Raiders and Buccaneers than actual good defenses. Passing he is barely better than the likes of Josh Rosen, so if he doesn’t score a rushing touchdown or top 100 yards on the ground Jackson’s owners are in trouble.
Derek Carr – OAK @ Pittsburgh Steelers – 18% Owned
Carr put up his best fantasy game since Week 8 this week against the Chiefs, throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns in Oakland’s 40-33 loss. He faces a similar opponent in Week 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Similar in that both Pittsburgh and Kansas City have high-powered offenses and should beat Oakland easily, but have a weakness in the secondary. Pittsburgh is a little better than Kansas City, but still can be targeted by Carr in deeper leagues. He finally made use of Jared Cook and Jordy Nelson again, and hopefully by throwing to them over the likes of Seth Roberts and Marcell Ateman Carr can boost his numbers. If the more highly owned quarterbacks aren’t available, then Carr makes for a decent fallback option. He may even be out there in two-quarterback leagues since Carr had such a long stretch of futility.
Deeper League and Two-QB League Options
Josh Allen – BUF vs. New York Jets – 5% Owned
Allen is outdoing Lamar Jackson at his own game, rushing for 135 yards in Week 13 after rushing for 99 in Week 12. He also put up decent numbers through the air, going 18-for-33 passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns along with two interceptions. He’s not exactly Patrick Mahomes, but Allen has the arm strength and temperament to take chances in situations that other rookie quarterbacks haven’t this season. It helps that the Bills aren’t playing for anything but pride and player development at this point, but Allen can hurl a decent deep ball and seems to have created a good connection to Zay Jones. Is Lamar Jackson preferable to Allen? Of course, but in deeper leagues don’t count Allen out. He might commit a few turnovers, and brace yourself for a potential disaster game, but no other quarterback owned in this few leagues has Allen’s ceiling.
More Waiver Wire Analysis
Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!
