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

Week 13 marks the final week of the NFL fantasy football regular season, and with that, it's time for the playoffs.

If you made the postseason, congratulations, but the work is far from done.

If you didn't make the playoffs, it's probably because you didn't follow this waiver wire advice this season!

Kidding, kidding (but not really).

Waiver wire pickups have a few layers to them this week. Not only do you want to improve your team, but playing keep-a-way is also an interesting strategy here.

For example, say your first opponent needs a running back. Well, you could decide, if you have a high waiver priority, to scoop up the best running back on the waiver wire to block them.

Also, if you're out of the playoffs, you can still be a nuisance if your league allows you to make claims even if you're eliminated.

Before we get started, we must mention that Week 13 was also the return of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who played in his first game for nearly three years.

He posted four receptions for 85 yards. It's like he never even left.

But hey, let's get to the players. Enough chit-chat.

Quarterbacks

1. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (10.02 PTS, 16 percent own)

2. Josh McCown, New York Jets (31.14 PTS, 41 percent own)

3. Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (17.60 PTS, 49 percent own)

Running Backs

1. Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18.30 PTS, 4 percent own)

2. Matt Forte, New York Jets (18.10 PTS, 36 percent own)

3. Rod Smith, Dallas Cowboys (8.70 PTS, 14 percent own)

4. Kerwynn Williams, Arizona Cardinals (9.70 PTS, 3 percent own)

Wide Receivers

1. Travis Benjamin, Los Angeles Chargers (10.80 PTS, 14 percent own)

1. Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco 49ers (17.90 PTS, 31 percent own)

2. Ryan Grant, Washington Redskins (18.60 PTS, 2 percent own)

3. Dontrelle Inman, Chicago Bears (10.10 PTS, 17 percent own)

4. Cordarrelle Patterson, Oakland Raiders (13.80 PTS, 14 percent own)

5. Seth Roberts, Oakland Raiders (9.60 PTS, 11 percent own)

6. Mike Wallace, Baltimore Ravens (16.60 PTS, 35 percent own)

Tight Ends

1. Julius Thomas, Miami Dolphins (11 PTS, 32 percent own)

All scoring reflects PPR formats. All qualifying waiver pickups must have 50 percent or less ownership in Yahoo leagues.

Players to Watch

Josh McCown, QB, New York Jets

Abbie Parr/Getty Images

After playing with nine other NFL teams and the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, Josh McCown has found himself having a career season at 38-years-old and on his 10th team.

With the Jets, McCown has been incredible when you consider how his career has gone. He's also been one of the best fantasy quarterbacks to this point.

That theme continued in Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs

Yeah, the Chiefs are weak against the pass, but McCown still had a day against them, throwing for over 330 yards and a touchdown while adding an additional 19 yards on the ground and two scores.

Fantasy-points wise, Week 13 was his best game of the season as he went over 30.

As we head into the playoffs, it's understandable to be skeptical of McCown. You know, his name isn't that of one of the better quarterbacks in the league, so he cannot be trusted, right?

Wrong.

Since Week 6, McCown has just one game in which he didn't account for multiple touchdowns.

Enough already. Go get McCown.

Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

Heading into Week 13 with fellow running back Doug Martin out, Peyton Barber drew the start against the Green Bay Packers.

However, it was speculated that Jacquizz Rodgers might end up being the guy.

This was a fair assumption—in Martin's absence earlier in the season, Rodgers served as the main back.

Well, that wasn't the case here.

In fact, Rodgers had just three carries for 25 yards, whereas Barber went over 100 yards on 23 totes and added four receptions for 41 yards.

So, yeah, there's that.

It's not yet known if Martin will return in Week 14, although what's the rush? The Bucs are virtually out of playoff contention, and Barber is playing well.

Barber needs to be on fantasy rosters as we head into the playoffs. He's clearly the guy moving forward.

And hey, who knows, even if Martin returns, this could still be Barber's backfield—Martin has not been so good this season.

Pick up Barber. Don't drop him like I did!

Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

With the 49ers deciding to go with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, Marquise Goodwin finally has a quarterback that can get him the ball and that showed in Week 13.

On eight targets, Goodwin managed to haul in every last one of them for 99 yards.

Goodwin had his fair share of fantasy performances when C.J. Beathard was at quarterback, but one of those involved an 83-yard touchdown on a single catch.

With Garoppolo and no other notable options on the 49ers offense, Goodwin is looking like a solid low-end WR2/WR3 as we advance into the fantasy postseason.

He's available in a ton of leagues, so if you have a high waiver priority this week, go ahead and snag him.

The next two weeks are matchups against the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, respectively, who ranked 23rd and 16th in DVOA (heading into Week 13) against opposing No. 1 receivers.

Goodwin has two great matchups in a row. Goodwin will help lead you to the fantasy championship!

Scoring stats and ownership stats via Yahoo and current as of Sunday, Dec. 4. Statistics courtesy of Football Outsiders and Pro Football Reference.