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Week 14 Waiver Wire: Marcus Mariota, James White Highlight Pickups to Know

Fantasy Football
December 7, 2015

It’s the time of year when fantasy football owners must make the toughest decisions of all, such as leaning on a rookie quarterback fresh off the waiver wire. 

With a player such as Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota available in more than 50 percent of leagues, though, it’s something owners have to make peace with if they want to make a serious bid for contention.

Waiver adds explode each week. Baltimore Ravens running back Javorius Allen proved the theory well enough on his own with 22 points this past weekend.

The key would be finding the Allen amid the countless other names. Let’s attempt to do so below.

 

Week 14 Waiver-Wire Pickup Targets

 

Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans (41.8 Percent Owned)

Normally, this spot might go to a lesser-owned player, but this is just silly.

Rookie or not, Mariota exploded out of the gates with 15 or more points in each of his first three games before struggling with injuries. He then hit on 32 points in Week 9 before a down week. Now he has 17 or more in three straight, the latest being a smooth 35-point outing.

Granted, a large chunk of Mariota‘s production came from an 87-yard touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but that should encourage ownersnot dissuade them.

Mariota now has two or more touchdown passes in six games this year. He touts a strong floor even for a rookie, looks like he’s healthy and appears more acclimated to the league, meaning plenty of production for owners in need.

 

James White, RB, New England Patriots (26.5 Percent Owned)

This past weekend, the New England Patriots decided it was a good idea to finally unleash James White.

The move should have owners scrambling to the wire. White came through big-time for the Patriots in the Dion Lewis role, rushing just two times but catching 10 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.

ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss broke down the usage rate:

White proved himself when given a chance, which means this usage rate won’t go away.

Granted, Rob Gronkowski will return at some point. But Lewis sat as one of fantasy’s top backs earlier this season, a role now taken by White.

Pass production might be a scary factor to lean on at running back, but not for one who suits up in New England.

 

Torrey Smith, WR, San Francisco 49ers (28.6 Percent Owned)

The San Francisco 49ers might have taken the “no-fly zone” role from the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this year, but slowly the team continues to create fantasy producers with Blaine Gabbert under center. 

Go ahead and read that sentence again. It’s been an odd year.

The latest to see quality production? Torrey Smith, who had only reached double-digit points twice before this past weekend in his first year with the team. On Sunday, he grabbed two catches for 76 yards and a score, good for 14 points—capping the day with the game-winning grab, as captured by the 49ers:

This might seem fluky, especially with Anquan Boldin getting most of the attention in the passing game. But the San Francisco offense will continue to open up as Gabbert gets more acclimated.

Smith remains a high-ceiling player worth a look, especially if the matchup is right. It is in Week 14, when the 49ers get the Cleveland Browns, the team that entered last week allowing the fifth-most points to wideouts on average.

 

Ryan Griffin, TE, Houston Texans (0.6 Percent Owned)

It’s time for owners to pay attention to Ryan Griffin.

The globe just let out a collective “Who?” That is fine, but over the last two weeks, Griffin has broken out as Houston’s primary pass-catching tight end.

Griffin appears to have stolen the gig from C.J. Fiedorowicz, catching four passes for 72 yards and a score in Week 12 for 13 points and another three for 29 and a score for eight this past weekend.

This doesn’t sound like much, but the Texans are much better than one would guess through the air with quarterback Brian Hoyer healthy. With Griffin carving out playing time for himself, he’s going to see consistent targets with defenses focused on DeAndre Hopkins, too.

This is one of those later-season adds an owners makes that leads to a couple of wins. Griffin isn’t the biggest name, but the path to production seems clear.

 

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats as of December 7. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com.

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