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Fantasy Football: Early waiver wire pickups for Week 14

It's never too early to look toward your next matchup and a chance to bolster your fantasy football lineups. Here are two options to consider on the waiver wire ahead of Week 14.

Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions (50 percent rostered)

Consider this your last call for the Detroit Lions quarterback, as Jared Goff has officially met the 50 percent threshold. The Lions crushed the Jaguars in the Week 13 battle of the big cats, 40-14, and Goff notched another 300+ yard game. He also threw two touchdowns, both to fantasy darling, Amon-Ra St. Brown.

We're not recommending Goff as some quarterback savior for the fantasy playoffs, but he has proven to be able to get it done in the right matchups — and one of those could be coming up in Week 14. Goff will face the Minnesota Vikings, whose defense let Mike White complete 31 passes for 369 yards (and a rushing score) on Sunday; the week prior, Mac Jones dropped 382-and-2 on the Vikes. Consider Goff a high-upside streaming option at quarterback with six teams on bye in Week 14.

James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills (23% rostered)

Rookie running back James Cook delivered his best performance of the season in Week 13. He rushed 14 times for 64 yards and caught all six targets for 41 yards. It's the first time this season he's out-carried Devin Singletary (13 rushes).

James Cook #28 of the Buffalo Bills has fantasy value
James Cook should be added in more fantasy leagues. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

It's probably too early to say Cook has supplanted Singletary (by now we probably all know the Bills tend to use Singletary in close, back-and-forth games, and their Week 13 victory over the Patriots probably doesn't qualify), but if nothing else, now we know Cook is not only Singletary's direct backup but he potentially has standalone value as a receiver as well.

Cook has some tough matchups ahead in the Jets and Dolphins, but he should be added if for no other reason than he represents a high-upside backup RB on an elite offense.