2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 14: Jameis Winston, Isaac Guerendo, More

It’s here. Bye-Pocalypse Part 2. Our last gasp before the playoffs comes with a tall task. Six NFL teams on bye. Whether you are already locked into a spot or need to survive this week, the 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 14 is still going to be an important factor in your success.

And, wherever you stand, there is precious little fantasy football left to play before the NFL regular season begins and the real playoffs start. We need to cling to this beautiful game for as long as we can before the deep, dark offseason begins.

As always, we’re going to look at the best waiver wire picks. Given the time of season, we are going to lean more into the bye weeks this week and playoff matchups than theoretical stashes. This article will still focus on the best guys for now AND later while the Streamers and Stashes articles will remain focused on their intended goals. So, let’s dig in!

2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 14 Top Targets

If this 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 14 is your first time seeing this series, here’s a little idea of how we break it down.

There are too many articles out there that don’t take into account YOUR team's needs. Whether you just want the best player, you want someone to start now, or you are loaded and you want the best upside stashed, we have you covered. And we break it down like this:

• 2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 14: This is the current article where we focus on the best waiver wire picks for any format or team needs. Guys that can potentially be started now but also have season-long upside.
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Streamers Week 14: These are players that are decent starts for Week 14 but might not have great long-term upside (perhaps it’s just a good matchup or the starter has a short-term injury, for instance).
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Stashes Week 14: These are players that are very difficult to trust in a lineup right now. But we believe in the talent and the possibility of upside down the stretch. Every year there are certain rookies or backups that get a big opportunity and run with it at some point - like Trey McBride last year.

The 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 14 you are currently looking at is free for everyone. The Week 14 waiver wire stashes and Week 14 waiver wire streamers articles are for Fantasy Alarm members only.

If you aren’t a Fantasy Alarm member yet, you can not only get 40% off your annual membership if you sign up right now or 50% off your first month with promo code LETSGO, but we are offering a 7-day free trial RIGHT NOW! You can check out everything we have to offer this week and decide if it's right for you!

P.S. At the very bottom of this article, I will update my Yin & Yang Tight End chart each week!

NFL Week 14 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 16% | ESPN: 10% | Sleeper: 41%  

After last night’s game, Jameis Winston told reporters that he is “praying for the Lord to deliver him from pick sixes”. But the reality for us is that we really don’t care too much about pick sixes. Or turnovers in general. In fact, if it’s going to be a turnover, a pick six is actually one of the better outcomes since our guy gets the ball right back.

These plays are -1 or -2 points depending on your format. That’s not ideal but also not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things. In 2019 Jameis Winston threw 30 TDs and 30 interceptions and finished as a top 5 QB in fantasy football and a top 10 scorer at any position. What we care most about is whether the offense is conducive to big fantasy points and whether the quarterback is capable of delivering them.

The Browns run a high-tempo scheme that has led Jameis to throw 40+ times in four of his five starts with the lone exception being the snow game against Pittsburgh. Winston has now thrown for 334, 395, and 497 in three of those five games. That kind of upside can you win playoff matchups that you otherwise might not.

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5% (more if he starts for you right away)

Russell Wilson - Pittsburgh Steelers, Yahoo: 35% | ESPN: 43% | Sleeper: 41%

We’ll admit it - we were scared. We were scared that these Justin Fields packages could develop into something bigger. Then we could have a Taysom Hill situation on our hands. If your quarterback is coming out of the game at the goal line like Derek Carr would (prior to the Hill injury) it completely saps their upside. 

But this week, outside of some plays to run the clock at the very end, Russ remained in charge. On a per game basis, Russell Wilson has been a top 10 quarterback in fantasy. Just like last year with Baker Mayfield or earlier this year with Bo Nix, folks are doing their best to ignore that. 

But we can’t deny that the Steelers are a good team and Russ is playing well. And last year Russ actually finished as the QB14 (QB13 in points per game) so is it that surprising that he could offer top 10 QB value in fantasy football? You could do worse with so many QBs on bye this week.

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Will Levis - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 12% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 17%

We’ve now been mentioning the end of season schedule for Will Levis for almost a month now in this article. And it’s finally here. For Bye-mageddon Part 2 and the three weeks of playoffs he gets the Jaguars, the Bengals, the Colts, and the Jaguars again. The schedule couldn’t be better.

Quietly in this leadup to this game, however, Will Levis has actually been pretty serviceable without the amazing matchups. He’s given you around ~16 or so points in each of the last three matchups. He’s at least letting the ball fly consistently which can’t be said for a lot of QBs out there. And with all the teams on bye this week, you could do a lot worse than Levis. 

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

NFL Week 14 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Isaac Guerendo - San Francisco 49ers, Yahoo: 5% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 5%

If you saved your FAAB this whole time or have the top priority, now is the time to let it fly. Barring another major running back injury over the next couple of weeks to one of a handful of very specific backs (like Kyren Williams, for instance) you aren’t likely to find a situation as good as this.

Not only is Christian McCaffrey going on IR but Jodan Mason is ALSO going on IR with a hang ankle sprain. And Elijah Mitchell is already on IR. So we have the rare occasion where a back is widely available on waiver wires and he’s inheriting the starting job for a good offense. And we’ve already seen him go out and perform at a high level. TWICE. Spend whatever it takes. This is the big one folks. 

• Waiver Priority: Top Priority
• FAAB: 100%

Tank Bigsby - Jacksonville Jaguars, Yahoo: 44% | ESPN: 32% | Sleeper: 48%

We mentioned Bigsby last week as an add but there were no bye weeks so not a lot of folks were feeling the pain. Well, this week there are 6 bye weeks so you might need someone to actually start. Tank Bigsby is one of the few options out there who is actually getting around half of the workload and, in general, looks good doing it. 

If the Jaguars were being honest with themselves, Bigsby would carve out a bigger role just like Bucky Irving did vs. Rachaad White. Bigsby got hurt then the Jaguars had their bye during the nightmare bye weeks of Week 12 which allowed him to hit the wire in a surprising number of leagues. 

• Waiver Priority:  Late Priority
• FAAB: 5-10%

NFL Week 14 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine-Ikhine - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 18%| ESPN: 20% | Sleeper:27%

I would take a little peek to see if Romeo Doubs was dropped in your league with the concussion. He’d be the top add for me if available but he’s still rostered in 50-60% of leagues depending on platform. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine-Ikhine, however, is still widely available. And he should be rostered here.

We laid this out last week but the short and sweet is that we won’t JUST chase touchdowns. When those touchdowns come with a 90-100% snap charge and 5+ targets a week, however, we will chase that. And that’s what Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine-Ikhine has offered. It doesn’t hurt that he has 8 TDs over his last 8 games, however. And that he has one of the best possible schedules for a wide receiver to close out the fantasy season, as we mentioned above with Will Levis. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium to Late Priority
• FAAB: 5-10%

Xavier Legette - Carolina Panthers, Yahoo: 27% | ESPN: 36% | Sleeper: 47%

Honestly, with Bryce Young playing the best football of his career, all three of the current starting Carolina Panthers are on the table. But many folks have to pick one here to add and then pick one to actually start, if they are streaming. Here’s my thought process for picking Legette. 

Adam Thielen is a fine option for full PPR leagues. But they essentially have him playing slot WR for three WR sets them coming out for two WR sets. He doesn’t offer much in the YAC department at this stage which caps his upside. 

David Moore and Xavier Legette are the two outside wide receivers. But do we really think David Moore is actually breaking out now, at 29 years old, on his fifth NFL team. Give me the role and the upside that comes with rookie first round pick Xavier Legette of this crew. And I’ll settle for the other if I have to.

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Marquez Valdes-Scantling - New Orleans Saints, Yahoo: 31% | ESPN: 23% | Sleeper: 41%

I usually don’t like chasing after players like this. And by “this” I mean a journeyman field stretcher who couldn’t really pop playing with some of the league's best quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And these are desperate times in Week 14.

What has changed here is the loss of Taysom Hill. Say what you will about him but he was a huge element in this offense. He removed practically any possibility of a red zone passing touchdown as Derek Carr was often coming out of the game for Hill.

 His removal from the equation means a much more normal offense where they will need to throw more in general. MVS is the top WR here playing across from Kevin Austin until Chris Olave gets back. Derek Carr can likely find him for a few each week. 

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

NFL Week 14 Waiver Tight End + Yin & Yang TE

Juwan Johnson - New Orleans Saints, Yahoo: 3% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 6%

We’ve been preaching the gospel of guys like Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz, and Will Dissly for weeks now. But they’re all rostered in most leagues at this stage. If they are out there, we still prefer those guys (though Will Dissly might be more hampered by a recent groin issue than the team is leading on). 

With Taysom Hill done for the year, Juwan Johnson is not only free to operate as the pass-catching tight end but they have one less guy to scheme up plays for. You can only give the ball to Alvin Kamara so much so guys like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jamaal Williams, and Juwan Johnson are going to have to pitch in. Johnson played 49 snaps including 24 at WR. He is a converted WR after all. 

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Chig Okonkwo - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 54% | ESPN: 31% | Sleeper: 57%

Chig Okonkwo has not been super consistent. But very few tight ends have. Okonkwo does have a couple of appealing narratives on his side. 

First, he’s one of only a handful of uber-athletic tight ends like George Kittle and Jonnu Smith that are capable of ripping off big plays. In fact, over the last five years, the only tight ends to have three or more plays in the same season of 40+ yards are George Kittle, Kyle Pitts, Jared Cook (retired), and Okonkwo. He just had a ~70 yard touchdown the week before last. 

On top of that, the Titans have one of the best remaining schedules for passing including two games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the worst teams against the tight end. And they play the Jaguars this week if you are dealing with bye weeks.

• Waiver Priority: Late or free add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Week 14 Rest Of Season Tight End Rankings

At this stage in the season, we are gearing up for playoffs. You may still be hanging onto two tight ends using our Yin & Yang tight end strategy but we will increasingly be focusing on having one guy we can trust for the three weeks of fantasy playoffs.

With that in mind, we’ll be going with a linear set of “rest of season” rankings for the next few weeks before we start focusing on actual playoff matchups.