It is Week 14 and we have just a couple of weeks left in the fantasy football regular season. These next couple of games can make or break your season, so I’m here to help out with those tough lineup decisions. Here are my start and sit recommendations to give you the edge.
Quarterback
Start ‘Em
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team – Heinicke has been legitimately impressive in recent weeks for Washington. The team are on a four game winning run and he leads the NFL in quarterback efficiency rating since Week 9. This weekend’s game against Dallas sees him face a defense that rank 28th in passing yards allowed and 22nd in explosive passing plays.
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints – Hill had a rough game against the Cowboys last week but this didn’t stop some impressive fantasy production. He scored 20.7 points, despite his four interceptions and sub 50% completion rate. He is as reliable as they come in fantasy terms and has a much easier matchup this weekend against the Jets.
Sit ‘Em
Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders – The Raiders face an in-form Chiefs defense this weekend. Kansas City’s defense rank third in EPA per play since Week 9 and have allowed just four passing touchdowns in four games. They also limited the Raiders to just 14 points in their last meeting and Vegas could be without Darren Waller this time.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers – The matchup against the Falcons looks good on paper, but there is just too much uncertainty with Newton this weekend. He was a disaster against the Dolphins in and the Panthers have now fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Their new run-heavy approach could help Cam, but I’m not sure the risk is worth the reward.
Running back
Start ‘Em
Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos – Williams is coming off an excellent performance against the Chiefs that saw him rack up 178 yards and 29.8 fantasy points. This weekend he faces a torrid Detroit defense who rank 29th in points per game to running backs. Even if Melvin Gordon shares the load I would still expect high level production from Williams.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers – If reports are to be believed, Matt Rhule wants the Panthers to run the ball 30+ times per game. With Christian McCaffrey out that will work in Hubbard’s favour. He also faces a Falcons defense who rank 28th in points allowed to opposing running backs.
Sit ‘Em
Devonta Freeman, Baltimore Ravens – Freeman’s fantasy production has been erratic and is overly reliant on touchdowns. He hasn’t exceeded 52 rushing yards in his last four games and has averaged less than 3.8 yards per carry in each game. He also faces a Browns defense who contained him in their last meeting and who have allowed just eight rushing touchdowns from running backs all season.
A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers – Dillon produced admirably in the absence of Aaron Jones, averaging 21 points per game since Week 10. Jones looks set to be back to full fitness this weekend though and that will eat into Dillon’s production substantially. Prior to Jones’ injury, Dillon had exceeded 13 points just once.
Wide receiver
Start ‘Em
Chase Claypool, Pittsburgh Steelers – Claypool hasn’t matched his rookie production so far this season, but this matchup is too good to ignore. He comes up against a Vikings secondary allowing 189.9 yards to wide receivers per game. This is also the defense that gave up 29 points to a previously winless Lions team last week.
Julio Jones, Tennessee Titans – The Titans designated Jones to return from IR this week and, assuming he plays against the Jaguars, he should be a fantasy starter. A.J. Brown remains on IR, leaving Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Chester Rogers as their other receiving options. Jones should command a large volume of Tannehill’s targets against a poor Jaguars defense.
Sit ‘Em
Odell Beckham Jr., Los Angeles Rams – Beckham has a tough matchup against an in-form Cardinals defense. He also did little against them as a member of the Browns earlier in the season, being held to just two receptions for 27 yards. He hasn’t been getting enough targets in this Rams offense to make this worth the risk either.
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants – I’m not going near Shepard in this game. For starters the Giants are set give Jake Fromm his first start as an NFL quarterback. If that wasn’t enough of a reason to be wary, they also face a Chargers defense who rank fourth in points allowed to wide receivers this season.
Tight end
Start ‘Em
Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals – Ertz comes up against a Rams defense who have struggled to stop tight ends all season. He also has Kyler Murray back at quarterback, which is bound to help the production of this offense. I would expect him to put up some good numbers, particularly with DeAndre Hopkins still not at 100 per cent.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks – Everett had a shocking game last weekend, but I don’t see that happening again here. He actually ranks second in targets amongst tight ends since Week 10 and is facing a terrible Texans defense. This has bounce back game written all over it.
Sit ‘Em
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams – The additional of Odell Beckham Jr. has pushed Higbee further down the pecking order and he no longer looks like the reliable fantasy starter he once was. He has just 16 targets through his past three games which have gone for a paltry 71 yards.
Jared Cook, Los Angeles Chargers – Cook just isn’t doing enough to warrant a starting spot these days. He has just one touchdown in his last six games and hasn’t exceeded 50 yards since Week 4. I don’t like the matchup against the Giants enough to overlook that.
Defense
Start ‘Em
Green Bay Packers – The Packers defense have been pretty impressive this season and they have a great matchup this weekend. The Bears have a propensity to turn the ball over and have issues in pass protection. The last time they met the Packers forced a turnover, had four sacks, and gave up just 277 total yards.
Sit ‘Em
Las Vegas Raiders – The Chiefs are on a five game winning run and look like one of the hottest teams in the AFC right now. Their offense also leads the NFL in yards per drive and drive success rate. They put up 41 points the last time they faced this defense and I expect similar things this weekend.