Week 14 provides a challenge as not only are six teams on bye, but elite weekly fantasy players are also not available at multiple positions.
Weekly lineups will not have the same fantasy scoring ceiling, so navigating the bench decisions becomes more valuable as the likelihood of a lower scoring week rises.
Best of luck to all the fantasy rosters in their push to make the playoffs.
Week 14 Fantasy Football Starts:
| Week 14 Starts | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Will Levis | QB | Titans |
| Tyrone Tracy | RB | Giants |
| Brian Thomas | WR | Jaguars |
| Will Dissly | TE | Chargers |
Week 14 Fantasy Football Sits:
| Week 14 Sits | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford | QB | Rams |
| Chuba Hubbard | RB | Panthers |
| Jauan Jennings | WR | 49ers |
| Cole Kmet | TE | Bears |
Quarterback Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Will Levis in Week 14
Levis’ last four starts have been his four best in terms of fantasy scoring this season, and the Titans are 3-point home favorites against the Jaguars, making him a start option in Week 14.
The Jaguars defense has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season and is tied for the most games allowing a top-12 quarterback scorer, allowing 9 of 12 QB1 scoring weeks.
The Jaguars' best cornerback Tyson Campbell has been limited in practice, which bodes well for Levis as even with Campbell the Jaguars are allowing a league-high 18.5 passing fantasy points per game.
In a game that has seen the total tick up, I’m content starting Levis if the other fantasy quarterbacks are on bye this week.
Honorable Mention: Aidan O'Connell
O’Connell has two trusted receiving targets and faces a Buccaneers defense allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, making him a streaming start option in Week 14.
O’Connell is coming off a career-high, 340-yard passing performance against the Chiefs and faces a Buccaneers defense that is tied with the Jaguars in allowing 9-QB1 scoring weeks this season.
Both the Raiders and Buccaneers defenses rank bottom-10 in pass DVOA and higher in run DVOA, which increases the odds of a potential shootout.
O’Connell has been credited with a single carry all season, which requires all fantasy points to be earned through the air, but O’Connell has been great at avoiding sacks with a sack rate below 5%, which increases the likelihood of the offense scoring points.
Sit Matthew Stafford in Week 14
Stafford has thrown multiple touchdowns in three consecutive games, but a run-heavy game script from both the Rams and Bills could limit his fantasy ceiling in Week 14, resulting in Stafford being kept on fantasy benches.
Sean McDermott’s defense has allowed only a single top-12 quarterback scorer all season.
Although this game is one of the highest totals of the week, a shootout may be difficult as the Bills limit explosive plays and force teams to string together long drives.
Kyren Williams averaged 6.9 yards per carry on Sunday, his highest average of the season, and fantasy gamers could be let down by a game that involves a high run rate from both teams.
Sean McVay is a good coach to bet on late in the season, and I believe the Rams offense will have success on Sunday, but that doesn’t always translate to a lot of fantasy points.
Running back Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Tyrone Tracy in Week 14
It is difficult to confidently start a rookie running back on a 2-10 team with fumbling issues, but Tracy has a good matchup against the Saints on Sunday and is a start candidate in Week 14.
Tracy saw his rushing volume dip on Thanksgiving, but he ran 26 routes and has back-to-back games with over 25 receiving yards. He also saw the lone running back red zone carry.
The Saints have allowed 13 rushing touchdowns to running backs this season and are allowing a league-worst 5.2 yards per carry to opposing running backs.
It takes a bit of a leap of faith to start Tracy, but the Giants have reached a point in the season in which the rational decision would be to play Tracy over Devin Singletary.
Honorable Mention: Braelon Allen
Breece Hall has not practiced and is trending towards sitting out Week 14, which boosts the rookie into the lead back role.
Allen provides fantasy gamers with a three-down skillset, as the 235-pound back has provided receiving upside this season with a 20.5% target per route rate.
Isaiah Davis was involved last week, but Allen will take on the early down and goal-line work with receiving upside.
The Dolphins have allowed six or more receptions to running backs in four of their past five games, which provides Allen with a solid fantasy floor as the Jets are averaging 7 running back targets per game, which is the fourth highest.
Sit Chuba Hubbard in Week 14
Hubbard outkicked his fantasy draft position for the majority of the season, but he has lost two fumbles in his last three games and is coming off his worst fantasy performance since the opening week of the season.
Multiple factors are working against Hubbard this week, but the biggest is the Philadelphia Eagles defense and the Panthers having the lowest implied team total of the week.
Secondly, Jonathon Brooks saw his snap total triple in his second game and caught three passes, which lowers Hubbard’s floor as he did not earn a target on Sunday.
Neither running back was overly successful, but Hubbard has been more of a fantasy point compiler this season, and any reductions in volume hurt his fantasy stock.
If possible, I’m keeping Hubbard on the bench this week and observing the usage of this running back tandem as Brooks had both running back carries inside the 10-yard line against the Buccaneers.
Subscribe to the Sharp Football Email Newsletter to receive FREE BETS from NFL expert Warren Sharp this weekend:
Wide Receiver Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Brian Thomas in Week 14
Last week, Parker Washington made a lot of noise for the Jaguars offense, but Thomas had 10 targets of his own and now faces a depleted Titans secondary in Week 14.
As noted in Rich Hribar’s Worksheet, Thomas ran a season-high 15 routes in the slot, which has increased in back-to-back weeks since the season-ending injury to Christian Kirk.
Thomas has crushed in the big-slot role this season, averaging 3.07 yards per route while scoring 4 touchdowns from the slot this season.
That bodes well against the Titans, who have been a slot-receiver funnel defense this season.
Thomas projects well in his Week 14 matchup despite the loss of Trevor Lawrence and should be started this week.
Honorable Mention: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Touchdowns matter in fantasy football, and a player getting deep targets can produce spike weeks without volume.
Westbrook-Ikhine will not catch a touchdown on 25% of his receptions the rest of the season, but his volume has improved since DeAndre Hopkins was traded, and Tyler Boyd did not practice on Thursday, which provides a path to an increased target share against the Jaguars porous pass defense.
Coming off a season-high 8 targets and 20.5% target rate, Westbrook-Ikhine has the potential to keep his magical touchdown run of 8 touchdowns in his previous eight games going in Week 14.
Sit Jauan Jennings in Week 14
Jennings has led the 49ers in receiving yards in three of the past four weeks, but this is a passing offense trending in the wrong direction with injuries to Trent Williams and Brock Purdy.
The offense has been held under 200 passing yards in three consecutive weeks after nine consecutive weeks of eclipsing 200 passing yards.
The 49ers and Bears head into this game with different mentalities as the 49ers' playoff chances are slim after reaching the Super Bowl last year and the Bears although eliminated from the playoffs enter in a positive mindset after their head coach was fired.
The Bears have shut down opposing top receivers this season, allowing a league-low 10.3 fantasy points.
Purdy has clearly been limited by his injury as he has averaged 5.7 and 5.2 air yards per target over his past two starts, a stark contrast to earlier in the season when he was slinging the ball downfield at will.
In a difficult matchup, I’m avoiding the current 49ers passing offense if possible, and that includes Jennings this week.
Tight End Lineup Advice, Fantasy Football
Start Will Dissly in Week 14
Week 14 provides a buy-low and start opportunity for Dissly after the veteran tight end was shut out in Week 13.
The Chargers are unable to run the ball while the Chiefs have been elite at stopping the run, which creates a pass-heavy attack for the Chargers.
As pass catching options are thin on the Chargers, Dissly has been targeted on 23.7% of his routes this season, which could get a boost with Ladd McConkey dealing with numerous injuries.
Over the past two weeks, the Chiefs defense has allowed 8.1 yards per pass attempt to Bryce Young and Aidan O’Connell compared to 6.4 yards per attempt in the 12 weeks prior.
The Chiefs have allowed a league-high 78.5 yards per game and 9.1 yards per attempt to opposing tight ends, which elevates both Dissly’s floor and ceiling in Week 14.
Honorable Mention: Chig Okonkwo
Okonkwo remains on the list from last week and may hold this spot for the remainder of the season.
Okonkwo had a season-high six targets and a 21.4% target rate on Sunday as the rapport with Will Levis is improving.
The Titans face a Jaguars defense that allowed Dalton Schultz to score for the first time this season and has allowed 7 touchdowns to tight ends this season.
Sit Cole Kmet in Week 14
Kmet had 4 or more receptions in 11 games last season compared to four games this season, making him a volatile weekly starter.
In their first game without Matt Eberflus, I envision a fully engaged Bears team, which creates some hesitation to list Kmet, but the matchup against the 49ers remains difficult for tight ends.
The 49ers have only allowed two top-12 tight end weekly scorers this season and have remained in the top five throughout the season in fantasy points allowed to tight ends.
