The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 14
The Fantasy Footballers went over their Week 14 Starts of the Week on Thursday’s show. Andy, Mike, and Jason discussed the players they chose as starts of the week and the reasoning for those selections. Below is a summary of who the fellas selected. If you haven’t listened to the podcast yet, you can find it here. Also, give JoinTheFoot.com a visit as it provides a ton of extra resources exclusively for #FootClan members.
Andy’s Picks
QB: Ben Roethlisberger vs. MIN
Andy likes both Jason and Mike’s quarterbacks significantly more than he likes Big Ben this week. That being said, the Vikings did lose to the Lions in Week 13, and Jared Goff was Offensive Player of the Week. Minnesota’s secondary is not good, as they’ve been the fourth-best quarterback matchup over the last eight weeks. The Steelers have game-changers in wide receivers Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson. Tight end Pat Freiermuth is an additional weapon for Roethlisberger. Andy points out that this is not a case of good player – good matchup, but more of an ok/bad player – good matchup. Roethlisberger has had two top-12 performances over the last three weeks, and he should be able to gain another top-12 performance on Thursday night.
RB: Leonard Fournette vs. BUF
The Steelers squad is worst against the run in four weeks, but the Bills are right there as second-worst. The Tampa Bay running back has been a stud this season. He leads all running backs in receptions. Fournette averages 4.8 per game, a nice floor as Andy highlights. 60-percent of the touchdowns given up by Buffalo come on the ground, number one in the NFL. Fournette is a definite smash play for Andy this week.
WR: DK Metcalf @ HOU
As of late, Metcalf has been brutal. Even though this has been the case, Houston will have a problem with Metcalf this weekend. This season, the Texans allow the fourth-most plays per game. The Seahawks will force-feed the ball to Metcalf. Last week, Metcalf obtained 50-percent of his team’s air yards. The yards will pile up for Metcalf in Week 14, and Andy states he thinks Metcalf will end up with two touchdowns.
TE: Evan Engram @ LAC
Let the laughing commence (and it did). Andy didn’t want to pick an easy selection here, so he chose Engram as his tight end start for the week. The Chargers, who the Giants face this week, are horrid against tight ends, allowing the ball to be funneled to the position often. Andy points out that you are basically streaming the position if you don’t have one of the top-two tight ends. Tight ends are putting up similar numbers in that 3-to-10 grouping. If you require a tight end start this week, Engram is who Andy suggests because he is necessary. The Chargers’ defense will funnel the ball to the TE, giving Engram plenty of opportunities. Now, he just needs to catch the ball when given those opportunities. If he can hold onto the ball, he should find the endzone.
Jason’s Picks
QB: Aaron Rodgers vs. CHI
In the last game Rodgers took on Chicago, the Green Bay QB yelled into the stands, “I still own you.” Rodgers does, in fact, own Chicago as he is 21-5 as a starter versus that organization. The veteran QB has not lost to the Bears at home since 2015. At Lambeau this year, Rodgers has averaged 23 fantasy points a game and had three top-five finishes. In Week 6, Rodgers had three total touchdowns against Chicago. Additionally, Rodgers is a must-start this week with Green Bay coming off the bye.
RB: Javonte Williams vs. DET
Melvin Gordon is officially back at practice, but Jason is still a fan of starting Williams this week. Even if Gordon is back, Jason will start Williams. This week, Williams has a nice matchup against Detroit, a team giving up the fifth-most yards and fourth-most fantasy points to the running back position. Detroit is a delicious defense to face, which lead the guys to about Jason’s bread pudding love. Last week, with Gordon out, Williams had 178 total yards, 102 of those in the rushing department. Williams has forced 47 missed tackles on his rushing attempts this season, second-most in the league behind only Jonathan Taylor (who has 101 more carries than Williams).
WR: Darnell Mooney @ GB
Mooney and the Bears face Green Bay at Lambeau Field this weekend. Last week, Jason advised against keeping Mooney in your starting lineup. With Justin Fields back as the starting quarterback for Chicago, Jason is putting Mooney in his lineup. The speedy receiver sees a great matchup with GB, a defense seeing the highest percentage of 20+ yard targets in the NFL. Jason is confident in Mooney as a start this week. He was right about Mooney last week and looks to be right about him in Week 14 as well.
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
TE: Dawson Knox @ TB
Last week’s snow bowl was a disaster for the Bills’ tight end. It was hard to catch passes, but Knox could have won the game for Buffalo if he came down with the ball towards the end of the game. The targets were there for him in last week’s contest. Knox has seen 93-percent of the snaps since he returned from injury, and he put up two top-10 performances in that span. The Buccaneers allow the highest opposing pass rate in the league and the seventh-most fantasy points to tight ends. This contest showcases two great defenses, both taking over this game. Knox will find success with plenty of scores to go around.
Mike’s Picks
QB: Taysom Hill @ NYJ
Mike is selecting Hill for his quarterback start of the week, facing the New York Jets. Since NYJ had their bye week, the team has allowed top-10 quarterback production in five of seven contests, including Gardner Minshew coming off the bench and turning into a viable fantasy starter. Hill had 101 rushing yards last week, but he also tossed four interceptions. This situation does not matter as, in fantasy football, the quarterback scoring is broken for running quarterbacks. The Jets allow the highest yards per attempt, highest quarterback rating, and highest first down rate. Hill is a cheat code for fantasy, so fire him up against this bad Jets’ defense.
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire vs. LVR
This week, Edwards-Helaire faces the Raiders, a team conceding top-10 production to the running back position over the last month, good for fourth-worst in the NFL. This season, Vegas allows the seventh-most rushing yards and sixth-most points per drive. CEH was on the field for 51-percent of the snaps last week in his return, seeing 17 opportunities. Mike notes this is CEH’s floor. Mike believes the Chiefs will find their mojo against the Raiders, resulting in a great game from CEH. The RB could even see a few targets in this match.
WR: Ja’marr Chase vs. SF
Mike is feeling a bounce-back game for Chase this week. In last week’s performance, Chase had a touchdown that he bobbled. His week was not ideal, but he will turn it around for this head-to-head with San Fransisco. Over the last month, the 49ers have been the best matchup for wide receivers. Chase still sees plenty of targets, and he even leads his team in endzone targets. Keep an eye on Chase in Week 14, as he has an excellent shot at getting into the endzone.
TE: Tyler Conklin vs. PIT
Conk! Conk! Mike’s selection for tight end start of the week is a man who went from streamable to Mr. Neccessary. Conklin had nine targets in last week’s contest, with Adam Thielen going down at the game’s beginning. The Vikings’ tight end sees 28 routes per week on average and 10 yards per reception. It only takes a few play-action opportunities near the endzone for Conklin to put up huge numbers. Conklin will collect plenty of points against the Steelers’ secondary.