Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 14
QB: Philip Rivers - Indianapolis Colts
Philip Rivers is owned 16.5% of ESPN leagues. In week 13 against the Houston Texans he put up 19.2 fantasy points with a stat line of 27/35 (77.1%) passing for 285 yards and 2 passing touchdowns. Points-wise, Rivers has quietly put up some decent fantasy weeks. In week 8 he had 22.28 points, in week 10 he had 16.32 points, in week 11 he had 21.42 points, in week 12 he had 17.8 points and most recently put up 19.2 fantasy points. His has 3 games have been the most impressive though as he has thrown 7 touchdowns to 2 interceptions while averaging 289.3 yards. The biggest key to his success thus far is his budding relationship with former Pro Bowl WR TY Hilton. The utilization of Hilton unlocks the offense and allows Rivers to pad his stat line. Rivers and the Colts play the Las Vegas Raiders next week who almost lost to the New York Jets (0-12). This Raiders team is in the bottom third in terms of pass defense and allowed Sam Darnold to put up 20.04 points against them. As the Colts continue to fight for a playoff spot and as Rivers starts to get more comfortable with this offense, look for him to pick up his game and put up better numbers
Prediction: 24.8 points
RB: Cam Akers - Los Angeles Rams
Cam Akers is currently owned in 35.8% of ESPN leagues. In week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, Akers scored 16.4 points with a stat line of 21 carries for 72 yards (3.4 ypc) and 1 touchdown while adding 1 reception for 22 yards. Akers has been heating up for the last couple of games by putting up point totals of 14.4 and 16.4 points. He missed a couple of games at the beginning of the year due to injury but has been working his way back into this running back rotation ever since. He was a highly touted 2nd round pick out of Florida State and Sean McVay absolutely loves the guy so he looks to get him as many looks as possible. The Rams employ a three headed backfield but Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown only combined for 6 carries and 9 total touches against the Cardinals which means that Akers was the most productive running back for 2 weeks in a row. When we look at snap counts against the Cardinals, Akers led the way with 52 snaps (63%) followed by Henderson with 18 (22%) and Brown with 13 (16%). Head Coach and offensive playcaller Sean McVay rides the “hot hand” when it comes to running backs and Akers’ hand is the hottest right now. The Rams offense is absolutely firing right now after putting up 463 yards against the Cardinals. Better offense means more opportunity and fantasy points to go around. Up next, the Rams play the New England Patriots who have a decent defense. On average, the Patriots give up 118 rushing yards per game but I have full faith that Sean McVay’s offensive genius will figure out a way to get Akers more yards.
Prediction: 18.4 points
WR: TY Hilton - Indianapolis Colts
TY Hilton is currently owned in 47% of ESPN leagues. In week 13 against the Houston Texans, Hilton scored 25 fantasy points with a stat line of 8 receptions on 11 targets for 110 yards (13.8 ypc) and 1 receiving touchdown. TY Hilton is alive! He is back to being his old productive self after taking the majority of this off but you know it is 2020 so it makes sense. The 4x Pro Bowl (2014-2017) and NFL receiving yards leader (2016) has finally developed rapport with Philip Rivers In the last 2 games, he has scored 18.1 points against Tennessee Titans and 25 points against Houston Texans. His stats for those last two games: 12 receptions on 16 targets for 191 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. Hilton has been very productive every year when he has been healthy so this is nothing new to him. Up next he faces off against a soft Raiders secondary. He is my waiver wire pick for every reason why Philip Rivers was my QB pick of the week. A stack of Philip Rivers and TY Hilton can potentially be very productive against the Raiders.
Prediction: 22.8 points
TE: Logan Thomas - Washington Football Team
Logan Thomas is currently owned in 24.9% of ESPN leagues. In week 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers (who might be the best defense in football), Thomas put up 24.8 points with a stat line of 9 receptions on 9 targets for 98 yards and 1 receiving touchdown. If you have listened to the podcast, you know how much I love Logan Thomas as a TE option. He has been my waiver wire TE pick multiple times and that is because he has plenty of opportunity in Washington. Thomas has always been targeted a decent amount in this offensive scheme (6, 5, 5, 4, 9). On the season, he has 70 total targets which is second only to Terry McLaurin. In terms of RedZone targets, he leads all pass catchers in Washington. Up next, Thomas faces off against the San Fransisco 49ers which is an above average defense but he just played against what might be the best defense in football and put up monster numbers so maybe who he plays just does not matter. Look for Logan Thomas to build on this great game.
Prediction: 12.4 points