Week 14 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

Week 14 is here, and it signifies the regular season finale in many fantasy football leagues. This week is a critical one for most of us, and lineup decisions are of premium importance. I am dropping my Week 14 Flex rankings to help you with those tough lineup decisions. I ranked just over 200 players using Half-PPR scoring.

Of course, the fantasy football gods don’t always make things easy on us. On top of the usual litany of injuries we must navigate, four NFL teams are on bye this week. The overall RB1 (Christian McCaffrey) and RB11 (Rico Dowdle) are off this week. There are three additional backs (TreVeyon Henderson, Devin Singletary, and Tyrone Tracy Jr.) who have posted top-24 value at the position over the past month but are on bye. Three top-24 wide receivers (Tetairoa McMillan, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Stefon Diggs) are off. So is Jauan Jennings, who is the overall WR13 in Half-PPR leagues since Week 9. Hunter Henry (TE6) and Theo Johnson (TE11) are idle this week, as is George Kittle, the overall TE3 for November.

Running Back Notes

The Chicago Bears dominated the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in their own building last Friday with their running game. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each finished as top-seven fantasy backs for the week in Half-PPR formats. They have been quite the 1-2 punch since Swift returned to the lineup four games ago. Monangai has posted the better overall fantasy results due to his four-game touchdown streak. But Swift has earned more volume, especially in the passing game. Swift has earned at least 18 touches and accounted for at least 90 yards in three of those four games. Because of that, I am still ranking Swift ahead of the rookie. A difficult matchup with Green Bay looms. However, it will be hard to justify benching either back the way Chicago’s run game is operating.

When Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. missed time earlier in the year, Jordan Mason proved to be a viable fantasy starter. Since the veteran’s return, however, Mason has been unreliable from a fantasy perspective. Jones is dealing with multiple injuries, leaving his status for Week 14 in doubt. Minnesota is on the precipice of playoff elimination. That means they could either roll Jones out in a last-ditch effort to help save their season, or they could waive the white flag and let him rest. With the situation currently up in the air, I ranked both players right in the middle of fringe Flex consideration. Whichever back gets the nod will likely move into the top-50 overall in my Week 14 Flex rankings.

With this being the last of the bye weeks, it is a reminder that fantasy points are relative. Devin Neal finished Week 12 with 8.6 fantasy points in Half-PPR leagues. Last week, he scored 8.4 points. Basically the same, right? Except that Neal was the overall RB25 in Week 12 and tied for 39th among running backs last week. The good news is that he should continue to get volume for as long as Alvin Kamara is out. New Orleans has already been eliminated from playoff competition, so there is no reason to rush Kamara back. Neal earned 17 touches last week, which gives him a decent floor. Even if he does not find the end zone, he should be a decent Week 14 Flex.

Wide Receiver Notes

Adonai Mitchell had career-bests with eight catches, 12 targets, and 102 receiving yards last week. He even caught his first NFL touchdown. Luckily, he caught it as he was falling, so he didn’t have to worry about carrying the ball across the goal line. Mitchell is acclimating himself well on a New York Jets team that is lacking playmakers at the wide receiver position with Garrett Wilson out. He should continue to be among the team leaders in targets this week as well. The primary concern is that he has not yet proven to be a consistent contributor. That makes him a tough player to rank in a do-or-die week for many fantasy managers. Mitchell is a highly volatile WR3 this week.

Devaughn Vele is another player who made the most of increased opportunities last week. The former Denver Bronco set a new career high with 93 yards and tied a career best with eight catches. He is firmly entrenched behind Chris Olave as the new number-two wide receiver in New Orleans. Vele is a different player from Mitchell, as he is much more of an underneath threat. That gives him a decent floor in leagues that reward receptions. Vele has secured 58 of 83 career targets, whereas Mitchell has caught 43 of 96. I ranked Vele inside the top-100 overall in my Week 14 Flex rankings. However, I have him as a WR4 in 12-team leagues. That means he is on the outside looking in for most teams unless you are in a pinch.

Vele has stepped up in New Orleans following the team’s trade of Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks. Shaheed was brought in to provide a deep threat and help complement Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But Shaheed has struggled in his first month in the Pacific Northwest. He has only caught four of 11 targets for 37 scoreless yards across four games. So far, the Seahawks’ version of Shaheed is a lot like the 2022-2023 version. That was a player who would randomly have a huge game sandwiched in between a whole lot of nothing. Shaheed finished outside the top-48 fantasy wideouts in 18 of 28 games during those two years. I have Shaheed outside of my top-50 wide receivers this week. If he goes and scores a long touchdown this week, so be it.

Tight End Notes

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange has seemingly not missed a beat after being out for six weeks. He has posted back-to-back TE5 weeks since returning from a hip injury. Though the results have been encouraging, those who value Strange in that range are making a mistake. Strange was the overall TE15 through the first four weeks of the season. That feels more in line with how we should value him moving forward. Keep in mind that Jacksonville has multiple wide receivers to feed as well as a pair of solid running backs. I do not mind starting Brenton Strange this week if you are so inclined. However, I view him as more of a borderline Week 14 starter than a must-start tight end.

The good news is that last week, I mentioned Isaiah Likely as a value play in this space. He responded by finishing the week as the overall TE10 in Half-PPR leagues. The bad news is that he fumbled going into the end zone, costing him a top-three finish. My logic for mentioning Likely last week was his matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals remain a funnel for tight end production. This week, they face the Buffalo Bills. Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid has been out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. I currently have him as my overall TE17 based on his uncertain status. But I am probably starting him if he is close to 100 percent by gametime.

Check out all of our Week 13 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings