Fantasy football: Elliott, Browning, Brown among top add/drops for Week 14

MIAMI, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Ezekiel Elliott, Jake Browning and Noah Brown are among my fantasy football waiver wire priorities for Week 14 of the 2023 season.

Gardner Minshew, DeeJay Dallas, Tyjae Spears and Kenneth Gainwell are among my other targets for Week 14.

Players from the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders should be dropped or benched, as those teams have Week 14 byes.

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell, who sustained a season-ending ankle injury in Week 13, can be dropped in redraft leagues.

Those with stock in Trevor Lawrence, Rhamondre Stevenson, Derrick Henry, Tyler Higbee and several other players who were injured in Week 13 should monitor their status before plugging them into starting lineups.

My waiver wire priorities each carry an ownership percentage of 60% or less. Here are my top players to add and top players to drop for Week 14.

ALL-ADD TEAM

QB | Gardener Minshew, Jake Browning; RB | Ezekiel Elliott, DeeJay Dallas, Tyjae Spears, Roschon Johnson; WR | Noah Brown, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jayden Reed; TE | Gerald Everett, Isaiah Likely; D/ST | Houston Texans; K | Jake Moody

HONORABLE MENTIONS

QB | Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield; RB | Keaton Mitchell, Chase Brown; WR | Odell Beckham Jr., Jameson Williams, Tyler Boyd; TE | Tyler Conklin; D/ST | Green Bay Packers; K | Daniel Carlson

TOP DROPS

QB | Kenny Pickett; RB | Emari Demercado; WR | Tank Dell; TE | Luke Musgrave; D/ST | Kansas City Chiefs; K | Matt Ammendola

Quarterback

Jake Browning and Gardner Minshew are the top quarterbacks to target this week on your waiver wire. Browning underwhelmed in his first career start in Week 12, throwing for just 227 yards and a score. He proceeded to light up the Jacksonville Jaguars secondary in Week 14, throwing for 354 yards and totaling two scores in a Cincinnati Bengals win Monday.

Browning, who completed 32 of 37 passes against the Jaguars, appears to be much more comfortable in the Bengals offense. He also leaned on top playmaker Ja'Marr Chase, while also using Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon and Tee Higgins en route to his breakout game.

Browning should only be in fantasy football lineups if your normal starter is on bye, injured or faces a very tough matchup. I will put the Bengals passer in the Top 14 of my Week 14 rankings as he heads into a matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.

Minshew will be on the other end of that matchup. The veteran quarterback threw for 312 yards and two scores in Week 13 and should provide similar production in Week 14 against the Bengals.

The Bengals allowed the sixth-most passing yards so far this season. I also expect this game to be a shootout, with Minshew and Browning each throwing for at least 250 yards. Minshew is a fringe QB1 option for Week 14.

Running back

Several notable starting running backs sustained injuries in Week 13, including Rhamondre Stevenson, Derrick Henry, D'Andre Swift and Zach Charbonnet.

The status of those players should be watched heading into their Week 14 games, but their backups should be added to rosters immediately. Ezekiel Elliott appears to be in line to receive the most work, based on the Stevenson injury.

The New England Patriots veteran, who was already being used regularly, totaled a season-high 92 yards from scrimmage on 21 touches in Week 13. He logged all of that yardage after Stevenson sustained an ankle injury.

Elliott could provide RB2 value this week when the Patriots face the Pittsburgh Steelers and their No. 22 ranked rush defense.

DeeJay Dallas, Tyjae Spears, Kenneth Gainwell, Roschon Johnson, Chase Brown and Keaton Mitchell are among the other running backs worth adding to your bench.

Wide receiver

The Week 14 wide receiver pool isn't especially deep, but I like Noah Brown the best based on his expected opportunities moving forward.

The Houston Texans wide receiver should get more work inside one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league after star pass catcher Tank Dell sustained a season-ending injury in Week 13.

Brown ranks fifth on the team in targets, but logged the fourth-most receiving yards on the team through the first 13 weeks of the season. His 20.9 yards per catch are the most among Texans pass catches who have at least 10 catches this season.

I expect Nico Collins to continue to lead the Texans in targets, but Brown should see an increase in snaps and looks. The Texans pass catcher posted back-to-back games with at least 150 yards before a zero-catch showing in Week 13. Look for this explosive playmaker to provide WR3 production in the coming weeks. He could finish as a WR1 play if he reaches the end zone.

Tight end

Gerald Everett is my primary tight end target. Everett is a typical touchdown-or-bust tight end play. The Los Angeles Chargers veteran logged 44 yards in Week 13 and 43 yards in Week 12. He also scored in three of his last six games.

This week, the Chargers will face the Denver Broncos, who allowed the most yards and tied for allowing the most touchdowns per game to opposing tight ends through 13 weeks.

Everett will be a Top 10 tight end play in Week 14.