Week 14 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football's Top Breakout Candidates and Pickups

While we are far past the point of the fantasy football season when waiver-wire moves make or break a campaign, all it takes is one shrewd addition to take home a championship. The dark-horse running back or the overlooked wide receiver who just so happens to explode during the fantasy football playoffs can overshadow an entire season of dominance from Adrian Peterson or others.

The only problem with looking to the waiver wire heading into Week 14 is the lack of viable free agents.

There aren’t many quality players remaining with the fantasy playoffs a week or two away for most leagues, and that means owners must dig a bit deeper than just checking the injury wire and looking for possible fill-ins (picking up a Cleveland Browns receiver just because Travis Benjamin got hurt probably isn't the best strategy).

With that in mind, here is a look at some waiver-wire options to target heading into Week 14 based on recent production and matchups moving forward. Players were considered potential waiver-wire options if they were owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN.com leagues, as of Sunday.

Player	Team	Week 14 Opponent	Percent Owned (as of Sunday)
Quarterbacks
Marcus Mariota	Tennessee Titans	New York Jets	41.5
Tyrod Taylor	Buffalo Bills	Philadelphia Eagles	45.9
Running Backs
Kerwynn Williams	Arizona Cardinals	Minnesota Vikings	0.2
Ameer Abdullah	Detroit Lions	St. Louis Rams	46.9
Wide Receivers
Doug Baldwin	Seattle Seahawks	Baltimore Ravens	57
Dorial Green-Beckham	Tennessee Titans	New York Jets	9.9
Tight Ends
Richard Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	Dallas Cowboys	47.8
Ryan Griffin	Houston Texans	New England Patriots	0.5

Players to Watch

Kerwynn Williams, RB, Arizona Cardinals

In theory, the Arizona Cardinals backfield should have been a mess Sunday against the St. Louis Rams since Chris Johnson suffered a fractured tibia and Andre Ellington was out with turf toe. Instead, it ran for 175 yards behind David Johnson and Kerwynn Williams.

Picking up Williams is a risky move, because rookie running back David Johnson looked the part of a potential game-changer with 99 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown Sunday. Still, Williams was the only Cardinal to find the end zone on the ground, and he averaged 9.8 yards per carry on his six rushes.

He demonstrated explosiveness with the ball in his hands and likely earned more touches in the future given Arizona’s health in the backfield. David Johnson has been an effective receiver all season (four touchdown catches), and given the other injuries, Arizona could look to use him as more of a pass-catcher to minimize his hits. 

That would, in turn, open up another five to 10 carries a game for Williams, which is more than enough to be an impact fantasy option off the waiver wire if he runs like he did Sunday against the Rams. Josh Weinfuss of ESPN was impressed with Williams:

Williams can be a change-of-pace back for a team in the thick of the playoff race that led the NFL in points per game coming into Week 13. The Cardinals put up major fantasy points every week, and Williams will slide right in for the rest of the season.

Ameer Abdullah, RB, Detroit Lions

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Overshadowed in the incredible ending of the Thursday night showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions was the effectiveness of running back Ameer Abdullah.

While he didn’t score a touchdown, he was the only Detroit back with more than eight carries, and he parlayed his 13 rushes into a team-high 67 yards. It was clear the Lions were looking toward the future in what may be a lost season, and establishing the talented rookie as the No. 1 running back is a big part of that.

It was Abdullah’s third straight game with at least 12 carries and second straight game with more than 60 rushing yards.

While the Nebraska product hasn’t put up head-turning numbers yet, the workload is all fantasy owners can ask for if they are going to the waiver wire heading into Week 14. Self-confidence is also in Abdullah’s corner, given his comments to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:

"

At the end the end of the day I know I'm one of the better playmakers on this team. So I just got to do a better job of staying on the field and making sure I'm helping my team, 'cause when I'm not on the field I'm not helping out and they need playmakers on the field and I am a playmaker. So just I got to do a better job of just being a reliable option in all areas so I can help out this team and be a playmaker. 

"

Abdullah is a healthy back who is seeing double-digit carries on a consistent basis heading into the stretch run. That alone makes him worth a waiver-wire flier.

Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Tennessee Titans

Fantasy owners are largely looking for upside at this point of the season on the waiver wire, and wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham offers just that. 

The rookie has largely been a non-factor this year since he caught two touchdowns in his first three games, but he looked like a 6’5” star in the making Sunday with 119 receiving yards and a touchdown. Just look at his physicality in the open field, per the NFL:

Sunday was the fourth time in the last five games that Green-Beckham saw at least five targets, and there seems to be a growing rapport between the first-year receiver and Tennessee’s rookie quarterback, Marcus Mariota.

Like the Lions, this is a lost season for the Titans in terms of the playoff race. Look for Tennessee to develop its rookie with an eye on the future, which will lead to fantasy points for the young pass-catcher.