Keoni's Week 14 Starts and Sits
Week 14 is one of the most important weeks in the fantasy football season. For the majority of leagues, it is the last week before fantasy playoffs. It is your last chance to make it into the fantasy “postseason”, the final opportunity to get a crucial bye week and one final week to play spoiler for people on the verge of making it in. It is also a major week for byes with 6 teams getting an extended break. This creates a perfect storm for needing to play the right players as well as sit those who aren’t going to get it done. Luckily, I am here to provide those for you, so without any further ado, I’m going to bring you all the presents because I’m not… The the the THE GRINCH!
Starts of the Week
QB
Jared Goff: DET Lions vs MIN Vikings
Like the Katy Perry song, Goff has been “Hot and Cold” all season or as JJ refers to it… Jared Goff is gonna Goff. However, he also has shown moments of brilliance and has had a smattering of top ten performances. This week, the Lions face the Vikings which is a defense that allows a good amount of points to the quarterback position.
They are a bottom 10 defense vs the QB and have allowed the most passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks with just shy of 300 per game. They allow nearly 20 fantasy points per game, and Goff can get that mark if they are in the zone. This may be another high scoring game which is the perfect scenario for a guy you’re putting in due to bye week woes. Jared Goff can be the hero you need him to be this week, so start him up.
RB
D’Onta Foreman: CAR Panthers vs SEA Seahawks
He is coming off the bye, and he’s had some up and down weeks the past few weeks before that. He is a little boom or bust, but he faces a vulnerable Seattle defense that is second to last vs the run. They have given up 11 touchdowns to the running back position which is tied for 5th worst on the year. They are also allowing over 6 more fantasy points to backs than the league average. I think this can be another 100+ yard game for him and that may include him breaking one off for a touchdown. It's a good matchup, and I think he can deliver despite any potential injury. However, if he is ruled out for the game, the same applies to Chuba Hubbard.
WR
Michael Gallup: DAL Cowboys vs HOU Texans
He has been getting targets the past few games with 3 out of the past 4 games with 7 or more targets. He didn’t have a ton of yards in the past game, but he importantly found the endzone. He finds ways to have decent games, and he is becoming a good part of the passing game. They face Houston which is a decent defense vs the receiver position, but the Cowboys have had a traumatic childhood the past few years.
They like to continue the cycle of violence by bullying other teams. They have no problem running up the score on people and they can certainly do so against one of the worst teams in the league. While that does benefit guys like Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, they still have to set up the run. That happens through the air and Gallup is healthy and can sneak into the endzone. He was a waiver wire suggestion for this week, so hopefully you picked him up since he has a chance to do well in the first week on your team.
TE
Hunter Henry: NE Patriots vs ARI Cardinals
I am taking this one from Ryan but he has a lot of great points as to why Henry should be on your team in week 14. His matchup is the best in the league for tight ends as he faces the dismal defense of the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are last when it comes to receptions per game allowing just under 7 per game to tight ends. They are last in yards per game to the tight end allowing just over 73 yards per game. They are last in touchdowns allowing 9 total over the course of the season to tight ends. Henry has also seen 5 targets each in the past two games, so they are trying to get him the ball in some capacity. I think he can get more in this game and might find his way into the endzone as well.
Sits of the Week
QB
Tom Brady: TB Buccaneers vs SF 49ers
He and the Bucs are coming off another classic 4th quarter comeback, so they are probably riding pretty high right now. However, their joy ride might be short lived as there is a gigantic brick wall in the middle of the road in the form of the San Francisco defense. You saw what they did against Tua Tagovailoa last week, and he is playing way better than Brady is this season.
The Bucs have already been struggling this season and this game will likely be that on steroids given what the 49ers pass rush is capable of. They are a top 5 defense vs the QB and have allowed only 11 passing touchdowns on the year. All of this bodes poorly for Tom Brady and the Bucs.
RB
James Conner: ARI Cardinals vs NE Patriots
I don’t really like anyone for this week that isn’t already obvious, so I’m going to go with a guy who just has a super tough matchup. James Conner is facing the New England Patriots who have always seemed to have had a good to great defense under Bill Belichick.
They are the second best vs the run and are allowing around 5 fantasy points fewer than the rest of the league per game. This could be a tough game for the Cardinals and they could easily be playing from behind at some point early. The defense will be teeing in on Deandre Hopkins, but he is too good to stop. THat leaves Conner as the next best player so they may put a lot of effort into stopping him.
WR
Juju Smith-Schuster: KC Chiefs vs DEN Broncos
Juju has had some great games throughout the season but after coming back from concussion protocol, he has 3 catches per game and less than 40 yards each with no touchdown in either.
The Broncos defense is also one of the best in the league and is unfortunately being overshadowed by their terrible offense on that team. However, the Broncos are the 2nd best defense vs receivers and there are a lot of other weapons for Patrick Mahomes to throw to in this offense. I don’t expect a big game for Juju because it might be a game where Mahomes throws to 7+ different pass catchers.
TE
Pat Freiermuth: PIT Steelers vs BAL Ravens
The AFC North is what I like to call the “Throwback Division” in the NFl. They typically rely on hard nosed running attacks used to compliment their sturdy defenses. Many of these games can be low scoring and this matchup has all the elements for that to be the case this week. Lamar will be out and Pickett is still figuring himself out in this league.
This game has a chance to be pretty low scoring with it potentially coming down to a last minute hail mary of a kick by Mr. Automatic, Justin Tucker. This of course affects the pass catching options in this game, and one of those is Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers tight end. He has had a decent season and ranks as a top 5 tight end on the year, but the Ravens defense can shut down the position. They have allowed 5 touchdowns to the position and none after week 9. They have also allowed just over 41.5 yards per game to tight ends which is 8th best in the league. I can see Big Pat getting around that amount and not seeing the endzone while having 5 or less receptions. That’s a recipe for a sit in my book.
I hope this advice serves you well, and it makes your heart grow three sizes after a big win. Good luck in your last game before playoffs, and stay dreamin’!
