It is Week 14 and that means that in most leagues it is time for the fantasy football playoffs! If you have made it to the playoffs in your league, congratulations. Now is the time to ride that momentum all the way to the championship. But first, we must get through this week, and my Week 14 rankings will help you do just that.
Week 14 Outlook
The phrase “dance with the one who brought you” does not apply to fantasy football. Fantasy football is a constantly changing organism. We need to look no further than the quarterback position to see examples of this. While Lamar Jackson has had a solid run as a borderline QB1 in recent weeks, Josh Allen has quietly put up much better fantasy numbers. In fact, Allen has the most fantasy points of any quarterback over the last two weeks. Jackson’s prowess rushing the football is well documented, but Allen has outgained Jackson 234-146 on the ground during that span.
Allen was not known as much of a runner in college. He averaged just 3.18 yards per carry on 238 career rushing attempts. But he has really improved that aspect of his game. His 6.82 yards per rush this season is actually higher than his yards per passing attempt. It may not always be pretty, but It is time to seriously consider Josh Allen in fantasy. A matchup with the New York Jets certainly is not one to fear. I have Allen as the QB11 in my Week 14 rankings, ahead of players like Matt Ryan, Jared Goff, and Andrew Luck, all of whom have been top seven fantasy quarterbacks this season.
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The running back position has seen its fair share of recent turnover as well. Owners who rode the likes of James Conner, Melvin Gordon, and Matt Breida (and, of course, Kareem Hunt) to playoff berths now find themselves scrambling to find suitable replacements as the fantasy football playoffs get underway. Jaylen Samuels is the obvious add in Pittsburgh, but I think Stevan Ridley needs to be added in most formats as well. I do not think this is a one-man show and I think the gap between the two is much closer than most expect. Let’s not forget that Samuels has a grand total of 12 career carries under his belt. I do not anticipate Conner-type usage out of Samuels. Both he and Ridley are top-40 running backs for me, but I would prefer to use them as Flex plays rather than relying on either as an RB2.
It took nearly the entire game last week, but the Chargers finally got the memo that Justin Jackson is a capable runner. He finished as a top-10 fantasy running back despite getting just nine touches on the night. He now gets the position’s premier matchup in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati has gifted NFL highs of 2,152 scrimmage yards and 19 total touchdowns to opposing running backs this season. The Bengals have mailed it in after a promising start to the year. Owners who continue to sleep on Jackson are sure to be disappointed. Jackson is the overall RB17 in my Week 14 rankings and that might be too low. Ekeler comes in at RB26 but gets a boost in PPR leagues.
In San Francisco, Jeffery Wilson took over for the injured Matt Breida (stop me if you’ve heard that one before) and parlayed 23 touches into a top-15 fantasy finish. The eight receptions for 73 yards were a welcome surprise for the rookie out of North Texas, who never reached those thresholds in any game during his college career. Wilson’s Week 14 opponent, the Denver Broncos, has been an average defense against running backs this season. With Breida already ruled out and little competition for touches in San Francisco’s decimated backfield, Wilson should get all the work he can handle this week. Wilson is, at the very least, in the Flex conversation based on sheer volume alone. I believe he will be slightly better than that. He is an RB2 for me this week.
Below are the rest of my Week 14 rankings. Be sure to check for updates later in the week. As always, you can follow me on Twitter and ask any start/sit questions you may have regarding your teams.
Week 14 Rankings
Mick Ciallela has been writing for FantraxHQ since July 2017. He has also written for Bleacher Report. He is a lifelong sports fan and has been an avid fantasy sports player for many years. Mick was the Overall Champion of both the 2016 Football Challenge – Roto and 2017 Play 3 Football contests hosted by CDM Sports. Mick was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York and currently resides in New London, Connecticut.
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