Finally, that fantasy football playoffs have arrived. It’s very important to keep checking back with my Week 14 rankings, but it’s also important to trust yourself at this time of the year. Play the guys who got you here and try not to overthink things. I’ve been cute with my lineups several times over the years, and it usually doesn’t pan out. Upside is nice, but so is a safe steady floor. I’m just as intrigued with Jaylen Samuels, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Justin Jackson as the next, but there are better plays out there in Week 14. Having said that, they both have the potential to fill holes left due to injuries at the running back position. I’ve highlighted a few players I feel different about when it comes to the consensus on FantasyPros. If you have any questions you can always reach out – @chrismeaney.
Week 14 Waiver Wire Recommendations
Key Week 14 Injuries & Notes
Quarterbacks
Mitchell Trubisky (shoulder) – fully practicing
Colt McCoy (broken fibula) – done for the season
Joe Flacco (hip) – INACTIVE; Lamar Jackson to start
Sam Darnold (foot) – plans to play
Running backs
James Conner (ankle) – RULED OUT
Melvin Gordon (knee) – RULED OUT
Kerryon Johnson (knee) – RULED OUT
Chris Carson (finger) – expected to play
Matt Brieda (ankle) – RULED OUT
Malcolm Brown (clavicle) – week-to-week
Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham Jr. (quad) – RULED OUT
A.J. Green (toe) – placed on IR
T.Y. Hilton (shoulder) – will play
Emmanuel Sanders (Achilles) – placed on IR
Sammy Watkins (foot) – RULED OUT; out 4-6 weeks
Keke Coutee (hamstring) – RULED OUT
DeSean Jackson (thumb) – not expected to play
Christian Kirk (foot) – placed on IR
Pierre Garcon (knee) – questionable
Danny Amendola (knee) – questionable
Marquise Goodwin (personal) – questionable
Cole Beasley (foot) – doubtful
Trey Quinn (ankle) – placed on IR
Tight Ends
Evan Engram (hamstring) – questionable
Greg Olsen (foot) – likely out for the season
Kickers
Graham Gano (knee) – RULED OUT
Week 14 Rankings
Aaron Rodgers, QB – Green Bay Packers vs. ATL
If you have Aaron Rodgers you’re likely starting him. Let’s just get that out of the way. It’s also possible you missed the playoffs as an owner. He hasn’t thrown more than two passing touchdowns since Week 5 and he’s been held to under 200 yards passing in two of his past four games. Atlanta is just the matchup you need to get back on track, plus the Packers just fired Mike McCarthy. I’m still not sold on him being a top 10 QB, though.
Josh Allen, QB – Buffalo Bills vs. NYJ
This was last week’s blurb about Josh Allen against Miami…
Josh Allen is a top-20 quarterback for me this week due to his rushing ability. Of course you wouldn’t start him in a standard 12-team league, but you should in two-QB leagues. Allen only had 160 yards passing last week, but it was against as strong secondary in Jacksonville. It gets a bit easier this week against a Miami squad that has allowed the fourth-most total yards and rushing yards per game. Allen has four rushing touchdowns on the season and had 99 yards on the ground last week. His 14 red zone rushing attempts are two back of LeSean McCoy for the team high and he’s only played seven games.
Allen ended up with 231 passing yards in Week 13 and his two passing touchdowns were a career-high (should have had three if not for a Charles Clay drop). Allen did even more damage on the ground by racking up 135 yards on nine caries. He now ranks second among QB’s in rushing yards with 389 and he’s only started seven games. That’s a solid floor you have to love.
Justin Jackson, RB – Los Angeles Chargers vs. CIN
The Chargers are the biggest home favorites of the week and Justin Jackson did enough in the second half last week to earn more touches. Jackson hardly touched the field in the first half and managed 63 yards on the ground, including an 18-yard TD run. The Bengals are a mess defensively and have allowed the most rushing yards per game. Expect Austin Ekeler to go back to his 7-12 touch roll he had when Melvin Gordon was active. Ekeler is not suited for 10-14 carries and he hasn’t had a lot of success when given that kind of work.
Jaylen Samuels, RB – Pittsburgh Steelers @ OAK
If you missed the Week 14 waiver wire piece, I went into great detail about Jaylen Samuels and his ability to catch the football. James Conner ranks inside the top 10 in touches this season and I’m not saying Samuels will get as many looks while being as productive, but not many thought that’d be the case with Conner when he took over for Le’Veon Bell. Samuels could be a big player in the passing game as he has seven catches in his last three games and two of them were for touchdowns, which came on red zone targets. Can’t you just see Ben Roethlisberger throwing the ball 40 plus times if the run game doesn’t work out? He may not have to this week as the Oakland Raiders are allowing the most rushing yards per game
Get more Chris Meaney on his new podcast, By Any Means. Each week he’ll bring in guests from around the industry to break down all the fantasy news you need to know for your march to the championship.
_______________________________________________________
Fantrax is one of the fastest growing fantasy sites of 2018. With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up for a free year at Fantrax.com.