Waiver Worthy: Week 14 (2018): Digging Deep To Identify Options For Your Playoff Run (Marcus Murphy, Curtis Samuel & More)

by Will Overton

At this point in the season you aren’t really making moves to stash players. If you’re on the waiver wire you’re there because you are looking for a hole to fill, and most likely trying to find someone to start for the coming week. Keep that in mind as we dive into this week’s waiver wire report, as I’m highlighting players who I think could make decent plays this week based on increase in opportunity or upcoming matchup:

Derek Carr – QB, Oakland Raiders
Carr takes a lot of heat in the media and on social media, but I think he may get more heat than he deserves. He isn’t the best QB in the league and may not even in the top half of starting quarterbacks, but there are a whole lot worse out there. From a fantasy point of view he’s really coming on right now too with 8 TD and 0 INT in his last four games combined, including games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh. He is now set to square off with the Bengals and I have to think he’s probably good for at least another 250 and 2 TD. If you’re looking for someone to stream this week this is not a bad option at all.

Marcus Murphy – RB, Buffalo Bills
This is one of those weeks where I just hope you are set at running back, but if you do need to find someone in a pinch you may want to look at Murphy. Both LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory left yesterday’s game hurt and if they can’t go that leaves Murphy as the featured back against a mediocre Lions’ defense. Murphy hasn’t gotten a ton of looks this season, but he is averaging 5.5 YPC in his limited work and a full workload is hard to ignore at this time of year.

Elijah McGuire – RB, New York Jets
This is one where I am not as much intrigued by the matchup as the opportunity. Isaiah Crowell got hurt yesterday leaving McGuire to carry the load and with the Jets struggling and wanting to see what he can do I’m not sure there is any rush to get Crowell back on the field. McGuire finished with 60 yards on 17 carries and three catches for 23 more yards in Week 14. The Texans are tough against the run, but again if you need someone the volume McGuire could see if going to be appealing.

Curtis Samuel – WR, Carolina Panthers
I still would argue that D.J. Moore is the receiver you want to own in Carolina, but Samuel has been coming on the last few weeks. He caught four passes on eight targets yesterday, racking up 80 yards receiving for the second week in a row. Now with the Panthers looking at a possible shootout coming up with the Saints, Samuel looks awfully nice. The undersized receiver is a playmaker and the Panthers like to get the ball in his hands, which is why he runs a fair amount of reverses too. If you need someone this week he is one of my top choices.

Tim Patrick/DaeSean Hamilton – WR, Denver Broncos
All the buzz this past week was about Courtland Sutton rising to the top of the Broncos receiving chart with Emmanuel Sanders going down. Instead it was Tim Patrick and DaeSean Hamilton stealing the show. Patrick caught seven passes on 10 targets for 85 yards while Hamilton had seven catches on nine targets for 47 yards and a TD. It’s hard to parse out which one is the better play, but I lean slightly towards Hamilton as he went into the game higher on the depth chart. I will say I wouldn’t want to start either outside deep leagues, as I do think Sutton got locked down by Richard Sherman and could very well be back at the top of this list this coming week.

Vernon Davis – TE, Washington Redskins
Well it took a long time but the inevitable toe injury to Jordan Reed has taken place. That means it’s Vernon Davis time in Washington. I would be a lot more excited if they weren’t going on their fourth QB in the last four weeks, and this one is a running QB which limits receiving opportunities. That said the tight end position is shallow and finding a guy to stream off the wire is hard. Davis is still a talented TE who could be starting for a lot of teams in the league, so if you need someone he might be your best bet.

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