Fantasy Football Week 14: Predictions for 5 Key Players
These five players can make your fantasy football experience in Week 14, the start of the playoffs for a lot of people, a smooth ride.
With most fantasy football playoffs now underway, every matchup begins to worry owners. It’s only natural given the stakes at this time of year. Even worrying about the stars who got you here isn’t out of the ordinary. That’s why we’re here—to ease the worries about a few stars and a couple of possible sleepers as well.
Some key divisional matchups rear their head in Week 14. And we’ve already seen one bite viciously with Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr submitting arguably his worst outing in 2016 against the rival Kansas City Chiefs.
Other important games to note for their respective divisions are the Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants on Sunday Night Football.
Divisional games usually bring out the best in each teams’ studs on both sides of the ball. That makes things tricky. But at the same time, honing in on a few of these high intensity games is almost a must.
We’ll take a look at a few players who are must-starts in Week 14 and in most weeks in fantasy football. Additionally, we’ll also cover two players who you may have question marks dancing above your head regarding. And in the end, we’ll ease your worries with predictions for each of these five key players.
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5. Russell Wilson
Former Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson hasn’t exactly turned heads the last two weeks. But Week 14 versus one of the NFL’s mediocre pass defenses may give his owners a glimmer of hope. Wilson has a reputation of being exceptionally better during the second half of the season than in the first and the fact that he’s getting healthier is a great sign in fantasy.
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The addition of Thomas Rawls back into the lineup, and better line play as a hole, really gave Wilson and company the benefit of making plays downfield last week versus the Carolina Panthers.
Since their bye, Green Bay’s defense has allowed 17 passing touchdowns in nine games with an average just shy of two scores a game. Heck, they allowed Houston’s Brock Osweiler to tag them with two touchdowns…in the snow!
This game will also be held in Green Bay and, if Aaron Rodgers can find success against Seattle’s defense, then Wilson will have to respond by throwing the ball well in a favorable matchup. Just as long as Wilson can avoid another porous outing like he did his last time he went on the road, that time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his owners should be able to roll him out there with confidence.
Sunday Prediction: 260 Passing Yards, 42 Rushing Yards, 3 Total Touchdowns
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4. Ezekiel Elliott
There’s no way that you’re benching Ezekiel Elliott if you have him. He leads the league in rushing, but his worst game of 2016 in terms of total production came in Week 1 against the New York Giants, their Week 14 opponent on Sunday Night Football. But hear me out: Elliott will be the fantasy MVP of Week 14.
We all know the offensive line in Dallas is incredible, that quarterback Dak Prescott has played unbelievably well in his first season, and that Prescott’s connection with Dez Bryant has been strong since Dez made his return. However, Elliott is what makes this offense tick.
The Giants are currently ranked 13th versus the run, a respectable mark. That said, this defense got quite banged up in their last Sunday game versus Pittsburgh and lost arguably their best defensive player, Jason Pierre-Paul.
Zeke is currently the No. 2 fantasy running back behind Arizona’s David Johnson. The rookie phenom also hasn’t had a game under 20 touches since his Week 9 game against the Cleveland Browns due to a blowout. With Dallas being on the road and needing to establish the run, Elliott will get his wishes and be fed. The touches are there and the quality of work exhibited from those touches are just on another level.
Sunday Prediction: 26 Total Touches, 145 yards Total Yards, 2 Touchdowns
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3. Jeremy Hill
A Cleveland Browns matchup you say? A full workload you say? Jeremy Hill being relatively healthy with limited offensive options for the Cincinnati Bengals you say!? I’m in! If you have this touchdown-dependent running back, start him—and start him with confidence. Rex Burkhead shouldn’t eat into Hill’s workload much and the game-flow should favor Cincinnati throughout four quarters.
Hill is averaging 15+ touches over his last five games, while increasing his role in the passing game since his counterpart, Giovani Bernard, was lost for the season. The Browns defense ranks 30th against the run and Hill needed just nine carries his last meeting versus Cleveland to compile 168 yards and a touchdown.
It’s also worth mentioning the running back has notched four scores in his last six games, now starting to become a reliable running back two option the rest of the season.
Robert Griffin will be making his return to the helm for Cleveland, the Browns will be hosting the Bengals, so the game may be a bit more competitive than some might expect. Just don’t expect it to effect Hill’s volume of work unless the power back gets nicked up.
Sunday Prediction: 20 Total Touches, 110 Yards, 1 Touchdown
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2. Tyrell Williams
In search of another option after the loss of Keenan Allen and the early suspension of Antonio Gates, the San Diego Chargers were forced to rely on a new free agent and a group of players still on their first team contracts for production. Fortunately enough for Philip Rivers and company, guys like Melvin Gordon, Hunter Henry, and the newly crowned No. 1 receiver on this team, Tyrell Williams, were all able to step in and keep the tide rolling.
Williams specifically has had a breakout season in his second year as a pro. Williams currently boasts 53 receptions and 837 yards with six touchdowns and there are also four more favorable match-ups remaining this season. San Diego heads to Carolina to face off with a vulnerable defense that has worsened since captain, Luke Kuechly, was lost to a concussion. Though Kuechly is now practicing, he’s not solely responsible for covering receivers.
Quite frankly the Panthers were blown out of the water by an offense in Seattle that lacks proficient offensive line play and downfield passing. Rivers mistakenly avoided Williams most of last week, but did connect with the receiver on a 40-yard touchdown pass.
In this game, the second-year receiver should receive another bulk of targets after coming out of last week healthy. Carolina currently ranks 30th versus the pass, which makes Williams a sure-fire WR2 or flex option for the first week of the playoffs.
Sunday Prediction: 5 Catches, 115 Yards, 1 Touchdown
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1. Will Fuller
Will Fuller shot out the gates early on in his rookie season, the Houston Texans receiver has certainly cooled off in recent weeks, quite literally in the snow last week at Lambeau. The first-round pick out of Notre Dame had been dealing with a multitude of injuries and had been vastly invisible to Brock Osweiler Weeks 5 to 11.
These last few weeks, the much maligned quarterback of the Texans has been finally zeroing in again on his No. 2 option, leading to increased targets and catches for Fuller. He has been able to notch back-to-back 10-point weeks versus Green Bay and San Diego. Now Week 14 brings an even juicier matchup against their division rival, the Indianapolis Colts.
With this game being in Indianapolis and Colts offense led by Luck catching fire, something tells me this game could easily surpass 50 points. Vontae Davis presumably will be shadowing DeAndre Hopkins, leaving Fuller with opportunities he should be able to capitalize on if Osweiler continues to look his way.
Indianapolis more than likely will not allow Lamar Miller to beat them again, so this may lead to a tight end-heavy pass game with the No. 2 receiver getting his as well. Snatch up Fuller if he’s available and start him if you’ve held on; he should be able to produce a quality game on Sunday.
Sunday Prediction: 6 Catches, 90 Yards, 1 Touchdown