We are actually here! The final week of the fantasy football regular season is upon us! It would be an understatement to say it has been a whirlwind. It’s hard to believe in just a few short weeks, we will be done with setting lineups for another nine months! Enough doom and gloom. Let’s have a quick look back at last week’s picks, then jump into our Week 14 selections!
Week 13 Hits
Drake London, WR ATL
It was a week to forget for Mr. London. To be fair, it’s a week to forget for the Atlanta Falcons as well. London had the only catch by a Falcons wide receiver in the entire game…let that sink in for a minute. That is beyond awful. Drake had 5 targets and 1 reception for 8 yards, and that was it! If Arthur Smith is not sacked as soon as the season is over, there is no justice in football!
Rashee Rice, WR KC
Rice thankfully got you what you needed in PPR leagues last week. He snagged 8 of his 9 targets for 64 receiving yards. The Chiefs ultimately lost to the Green Bay Packers, but I like to think that we Rice managers were ultimately victorious. Rice has solidified himself as the top receiving option, NOT named Travis Kelce on the Kansas City Chiefs offense. It remains to be seen if we can start hitting the fantasy heights that a title like that should be capable of.
George Pickens, WR PIT
This game did NOT go according to plan in so many ways. Kenny Pickett got injured, and there were severe weather concerns and even weather delays at points. On top of that, the Arizona Cardinals came into Pittsburgh and put a beating on the home team! After the dust settled, Mr Pickens still had a respectable 4 receptions on 5 targets for 86 yards. Considering the absolute carnage most of this game consisted of, I will take it!
Samaje Perine, RB DEN
It was not just Perine who was a disappointment on Sunday; most of the Broncos offense was lackluster against the Houston Texans. Saying that, Perine was particularly ineffective, so I am happy I recommended sitting him. He rushed for 1 yard on 1 attempt and caught 2 targets for 5 yards, which is no bueno in fantasy. Perine remains nothing more than a risky handcuff going forward.
Week 13 Misses
Josh Downs, WR IND
If you had told me that the Indianapolis Colts would have 30+ points in an overtime victory against the Titans and Josh Downs wouldn’t break double-digit fantasy points, I would have assumed you had had a few too many egg nogs. Yet here we are. Downs only accounted for 3 receptions on 5 targets for 14 yards. I still believe in his potential, especially in dynasty, but it may be a slow burner for the rest of this season.
Recap
All in all, it was a very successful week for the flex article. A tally of 4 hits and 1 miss brings the season total to 36 hits and 28 misses. A 56% hit rate is what we are working with heading into the final week of the fantasy regular season.
As a reminder, I am using the FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR) as my guidelines each week. I will be picking wide receivers and running backs outside their top 24 to discuss. I will give a couple I like and maybe one or two I don’t and brief reasons. Hopefully, these studs give you more than 10 PPR points and will all end up in next week’s “hits” section!
Week 14
Brandin Cooks, WR DAL (WR28) ⬆️
Brandin Cooks has been quietly solid over the second half of the season for fantasy football. He has hit double-digit fantasy points in three of his last four games. I don’t see the divisional shootout with the high-powered Eagles as any reason to back down from starting him. The Eagles are one of the worst defenses against fantasy wide receivers this season. They rank in the bottom three in fantasy points allowed, yardage allowed, touchdowns allowed, and total receptions.
Cooper Kupp, WR LAR (WR25) ⬆️
It is crazy that Kupp is even eligible to be talked about in an article of this nature. The fact that the fantasy experts have him ranked in a flex-spot sort of consideration means people are nervous about him. I get it. Statistically, the Baltimore Ravens are one of the toughest matchups for fantasy wide receivers. Add to that the emergence of Puka Nacua, and it’s certainly not as obvious of a lock in the roster as it would have been.
I would say that Nacua has been a little banged up this week, and even though Kupp hasn’t been getting crazy volume, Stafford still looks his way regularly. Last week, Kupp had 8 targets and 6 receptions against a stout Cleveland Browns secondary. If you need a win this weekend, I don’t see how you can sit Cooper Kupp with the upside he can offer.
Adam Thielen, WR CAR (WR30) ⬇️
Ever since the firing of Frank Reich, Thielen’s fantasy season has been in a nose dive. The seeming transition towards seeing what the team may have in younger players like Jonathan Mingo, combined with the overall ineptitude of the Panthers offense, has left much to be desired for the Thielen fantasy manager. Unfortunately, I don’t feel great about sliding Thielen into the starting lineup against the New Orleans Saints in week 14. Over the last 8-9 weeks, the Saints have been, statistically speaking, one of the toughest defenses against fantasy wide receivers. Adam Thielen has only had 4 total receptions in the last two weeks. I don’t feel confident in a bounce-back week for Thielen.
Noah Brown, WR HOU (WR44) ⬇️
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Tank Dell for the season last week. In the absence of Tank, I know a lot of fantasy managers are excited about Noah Brown’s potential for the run-in of the fantasy season. There could be some potential, but I am steering clear in Week 14. The New York Jets are brutal on fantasy wide receivers. They have only allowed 3 receiving touchdowns all season to the position! I am ok watching the proceedings with Brown on my bench this week. However, I am excited to see what happens when an unstoppable force (Stroud) meets an immovable object (Jets’ defense).
Jerome Ford, RB CLE (RB26) ⬆️
Ford has been very underrated in relief of Nick Chubb this season. The Browns have had some truly horrendous luck in the injury department, and Ford has spent most of the season with a sub-optimal supporting cast around him. He has continued producing for his fantasy managers and even hit double-digit fantasy points for five weeks in a row. Kareem Hunt has been nursing a groin injury, and the Jacksonville Jaguars could be without Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk. Ford could have a decent outing against the Jags this week.
Conclusion
Week 14, folks, win and get in! In the iconic words of Herm Edwards, “You play to win the game!” I hope you all get the Week 14 miracles you need and continue your march to dynasty glory!
If you want to chat fantasy football, you can always find me on X/Twitter @FFEvanlution. You can also check out my year-round dynasty fantasy football podcast (@DynastyDebates) on all major podcast listening platforms!
