Week 14 RB/WR/TE Waiver Wire Options: Tyjae Spears, Ezekiel Elliott, Jonathan Mingo and More

Week 13 of the NFL season is nearly in the books, so it’s time to start lining up your waiver wire targets.

Let’s take a look at some of the best waiver wire options from the running back, wide receiver and tight end positions that are sparsely owned.

We’ll discuss Tennessee Titans’ Tyjae Spears, New England Patriots’ Ezekiel Elliott, Indianapolis Colts’ Alec Pierce and Kylen Granson, Los Angeles Rams’ Demarcus Robinson, San Francisco 49ers’ Jauan Jennings, Detroit Lions’ Jameson Williams, Cleveland Browns’ Elijah Moore and Harrison Bryant, New York Jets’ Xavier Gibson and Carolina Panthers’ Jonathan Mingo.

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Week 13 Showings

Spears got 20 touches in the Titans’ overtime loss to the Colts. He rushed 16 times for 75 yards, with a long of 19. He added 13 receiving yards on four catches and six targets.

Spears played 57 offensive snaps, which was 67% of the team’s total. Starter Derrick Henry played 34 offensive snaps and is now in the concussion protocol. 

In the same contest, Pierce finished with 100 receiving yards and a touchdown while catching half of his six targets. He only trailed No. 1 wideout Michael Pittman by 5 yards, although Pierce got his numbers on eight less catches.

It was the second straight game in which Pierce had six targets. He hadn’t topped 53 receiving yards in a game coming into week 13, and the score was his first of the season.

Granson finished the contest with four touches and 74 scrimmage yards. He caught all four of his targets for 72 yards, including a 46 yarder. 

It was Granson’s best showing of the season. He’s now topped 50 yards twice and has under 25 yards in all but three contests.

Elliott got some more work for New England after Rhamondre Stevenson left with an injury. Elliott finished with 21 touches and 92 scrimmage yards against the Los Angeles Chargers. He rushed 17 times for 52 yards and caught 4-of-5 targets for 40 yards.

It was the most scrimmage yards this season for Elliott, who has now topped 50 scrimmage yards four times. If Stevenson is out for a bit, Elliott will be the Patriots’ lead back, and although the offense has been rough to watch, he might get a big enough workload to be worth starting.

Robinson had a breakout game for the Rams in their win over the Browns. He caught 4-of-5 targets for 55 yards and a score.

Robinson had just five catches on as many targets for the season, but all of that is over the past four contests. The Rams already have a good wideout room, but maybe Robinson will play himself into a larger role.

Moore was targeted 12 times for the Browns in week 13. He only caught four passes, but went for 83 yards.

Amari Cooper left the contest with an injury, so it’s possible Moore could be the team’s top receiver if Cooper is forced to miss some time. 

Bryant outplayed starter David Njoku in the Browns’ loss. Bryant caught all five of his targets for 49 yards and a score.

It was Braynt’s first big showing of the season, but he does now have three touchdowns on 10 receptions. If Joe Flacco remains the starter, Bryant could be a sneaky starting option moving forward.

The 49ers crushed the Philadelphia Eagles in week 13, and Jennings kind of flew under the radar as several of his teammates delivered big games. Jennings caught 3-of-4 targets for 44 yards and a score.

It was Jennings’ first score of the season, and he’s only topped 40 yards on three occasions now. He’s had at or under 31 yards in the rest of the team’s games, including three weeks with no grabs.

The maddening case of Williams continued when he scored a touchdown in the Lions’ win over the New Orleans Saints. Williams caught an 11-yard pass and scored on a 19-yard run.

Williams has shown flashes of brilliance, but he’s been far too inconsistent to trust in starting lineups. Most leagues have Williams available as a result.

The Jets had another disappointing loss in week 13, but at least Gibson was a bit of a bright spot. Gibson caught 5-of-6 targets for 77 yards and also had a 1-yard run.

There’s not too many bright spots on the Jets’ offense, so anytime a player is this productive, he will get plenty of attention. He could be a bigger part of the team’s offensive focus going forward.

The Panthers lost another game this week, but at least saw their rookie receiver have another nice outing. Mingo caught 6-of-10 targets for 69 yards.

Mingo now has 129 receiving yards on 10 catches over the past two weeks. Adam Thielen’s production has dropped off, and Mingo should remain a focal point as Carolina builds toward the future.

How to Prioritize the Players

There’s a handful of players in this discussion that I really like moving forward. Some are better options for the next week or two, while others should remain fantasy relevant the rest of the season. Here’s how I’d prioritize them.

Spears and Elliott are at a premium position, so that’s where my attention goes first. Both have been getting a decent amount of work this season despite being No. 2 backs for their teams. You’ll be able to start either back if the team’s regular No. 1 guy misses any time. 

Spears is the more dynamic player with the ball in his hands, but I’d prefer Elliott over him. Elliott has gotten more work this season, so that’s the main reason why I’d want him.

Moore is the best wideout option for week 14 if Cooper misses the contest, but his long-term value is a bit lower than Mingo, at least in my opinion. Mingo has the chance to be his team’s No. 1 option the rest of the season, while Moore will fall back to the No. 2 role when Cooper is healthy.

The rest of the players were more breakout guys in week 13, so they are all in the next tier.

Pierce has been the best player of late, so I’d take him here. There’s another dropoff before the next guy, which would be Gibson for me. I’d go with Bryant just after him.

The remaining four guys are all tossups. The guy with the most upside is Williams, so I’d take a chance on him. I’d try Granson next, followed by Jennings. I’d like to see another week of production from Robinson before feeling confident adding him.

Final Thoughts

These are players that aren’t owned in too many leagues. There’s a few options in the group that I like, but there’s also a decent chance there’s a better waiver wire option available in your league.

Don’t let week 13 solely drive your decision on your top waiver wire priorities. Group your league’s best free agents up and then look at each player’s game logs for the past few weeks and determine the best options this way.

You can see a bit of that in the order I ranked these players. I value season-long production over a single game breakout. Sure, sometimes these breakouts turn into multiple games of success, but more often than not, the stats accumulated over the season are a much better indication on what kind of fantasy players these guys can be going forward.