Analysis

12/9/22

10 min read

Wheeler’s NFL Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings

By Kev Wheeler

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Below you’ll find my Week 14 fantasy football rankings for PPR/Half-PPR leagues. Included are my top-25 QB Rankings, top-50 RB Rankings, top-60 WR Rankings, and top-18 TE Rankings. I actually submit these rankings to two different rankings competitions, one with PPR scoring, and the other with Half-PPR. They are far more accurate for PPR simply because PPR scoring is less influenced by touchdowns.

When I look into weekly matchups, I only use the past five games of data. Anything that happened six weeks ago is just going to cloud our judgment.

We are looking at another bye-pocalypse with six teams not playing in Week 14; Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, and The Washington Football Team (Commanders).

Quarterback

Over the past five games, the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals have been allowing the most fantasy points to the QB position. 

Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Ryan Tannehill, Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones appear to be the best match-up-based streaming options. 

Week 14 Fantasy Football injuries:

• Lamar Jackson (knee) is out 1-3 weeks.
• Tua Tagovailoa (ankle) is expected to be limited in practice early in the week, but that shouldn’t prevent him from playing in Week 14.
• Jimmy Garoppolo (foot) is out 4-8 weeks.

Trevor Lawrence in his last three games:

🐆 77.2 completion %
🐆 815 passing yards
🐆 6 TDs
🐆 0 INTs
🐆 114.9 passer rating#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/zHFzU0dM0r

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) November 28, 2022

With Jackson injured, Tyler Huntley went 27-for-32 for 187 yards passing, with one interception. Huntley also added 41 yards rushing with a rushing TD, becoming a safe streaming option with his rushing floor. 

Justin Fields returned from a shoulder injury that kept him out of Week 12 with a 21.26 point (254 Pass YDS, 71 Rush YDS, one Rush TD, two INT) performance. Fields is on bye in Week 14, but he’s a top-six QB for the rest of the season.

Running Back

Most analysts look at fantasy points allowed when judging matchups, but for the RB position, I look at yards per carry (YPC) allowed. YPC is generally a misused metric that tells us less about running back efficiency but does give us a good indication of defensive efficiency.

Running Backs with the best Week 14 matchups are; Cam Akers against the Las Vegas Raiders, D'Onta Foreman against the Seattle Seahawks, Rhamondre Stevenson against the Arizona Cardinals, Samaje Perine or Joe Mixon against the Cleveland Browns, and Nick Chubb against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Week 14 Fantasy Football injuries:

• Kenneth Walker (ankle) - Walker is said to be having tests on Tuesday for what coach Pete Carroll called a "jammed" ankle. Never believe anything Carroll tells us, he’s probably out 4-6 weeks.
• Aaron Jones (shin)

Christian McCaffrey played 81% of San Francisco's offensive snaps in Week 13. While Jordan Mason is playing at 19%. McCaffrey's Week 12 snap share was 63%, his Week 11 share was 66% and his Week 10 was 65%.

Joe Mixon logged limited practices all week but remained in concussion protocol for the Week 13 game. I nearly missed the news Sunday morning, with an earlier start time this week we should know in plenty of time if Mixon is going to play. Zac Taylor says many great things about what Perine has done. Also says, “Mixon is our starting running back, he had five touchdowns the last time he played.”

Zac Taylor says many great things about what Samaje Perine has done. Also says, “Joe Mixon is our starting running back, he had five touchdowns the last time he played.”

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 7, 2022

Aaron Jones hobbled during the Week 13 game, AJ Dillon had 93 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 26 receiving yards, and 3 receptions.

D'Andre Swift played 51.4% of Detroit's offensive snaps clocking 62 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 49 receiving yards, and 4 receptions. It was his highest snap share since Week 8. As a result, Jamaal Williams had his lowest snap share (31%) of the season.

I’m back on the Akers bandwagon, he had a 73% snap share in Week 13. It's the first time he's been over 50% all season long, recording 17 rushes for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

It feels like Brian Robinson Jr. is starting to take over the Washington backfield. Robinson and Antonio Gibson split snaps fairly evenly. However, Robinson out touched Gibson 23-13 in Week 13.

James Cook appears to have the dominant role in the Buffalo backfield with 14 for 64 rushing yards, adding 6 receptions on 6 targets on 41 receiving yards.

Cordarrelle Patterson (11 rush, 60 yards) and Tyler Allgeier (10 rushes for 52 yards) are pretty much splitting snaps evenly at this point. Neither can be relied on for much more than a bye-week fill-in.

Wide Receiver

I examine a few different statistics when trying to find good or bad wide receiver matchups, but yards per game and fantasy points allowed are the primary gages. 

Week 13 Fantasy Football injuries:

• Treylon Burks (concussion)
• Courtland Sutton (hamstring)
• Quez Watkins (shoulder)

Alongside Deshaun Watson returning, Amari Cooper seems like his favorite target with nine of a possible 21 targets for a 43% target share.

Keenan Allen had a 31% target share against the Raiders, which was his highest mark of his season.

D.J. Moore is back, and Garrett Wilson is a must-start for the rest of the season, same with Treylon Burks when healthy. 

Elijah Moore ran just one fewer route than Corey Davis, and he played 69% of New York's offensive snaps (Davis at 81 %). Moore's highest snap share since Week 4 (75% from the slot, per Next Gen Stats).

Christian Watson had a 21% target share in Week 13. That's a target share above 20% in three of his last four games. Watson's also been a top-10 wide receiver in each of his last four. He’s not just a TD machine. 

Drake London saw 12 of 24 team targets (6 receptions, 95 receiving yards) in Week 13 for a 50% target share. He hasn't been over 20% in each of his previous two games heading into the week.

Darius Slayton has six straight 58-plus yard games.

Welcome back Isaiah McKenzie w/ season-highs in targets (10), target share (25.6%), & receiving yards (96) vs DET. McKenzie ranked 11th in slot routes per game & the Lions allowed the 3rd-most PPR to slot WR.

McKenzie also had a season-high 13.1 AY/T vs 5.7 before Week 12. pic.twitter.com/66xg6YmdXf

— Corbin (@corbin_young21) November 25, 2022

Even though Diontae Johnson saw a season-high 46% target share in Week 13. Johnson finished with five catches for 60 yards. He hasn't scored a touchdown this year on 105 targets.

Tight End 

During the past six weeks, you looked smart starting a TE against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, LA Rams, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Tight Ends with the best matchups appear to be Foster Moreau, Hunter Henry, Gerald Everett and Chigoziem Okonkwo. 

Week 13 Fantasy Football injuries:

• Hayden Hurst (calf)
• Isaiah Likely (shoulder)

In Week 13, Greg Dulcich tied for the Broncos team lead in routes-run and saw a season-high 38% target share (8 targets, 6 receptions, 85 yards).

Cole Kmet led the Bears in routes run and targets in Week 13. He averaged 2.5 targets per game from Weeks 1 through eight, but is averaging six per game since then (Darnell Mooney out).

Daniel Bellinger is back, and he ran 29 routes for the Giants, third-highest on the team in Week 13. His five targets were good enough for an 18% target share.

Okonkwo has seen a 20% or higher target share in three of his last six games.

When examining these rankings, consider that I am really only looking at positional ranks, not flex or overall rankings. When it comes to who you start in the flex, a lot will depend on your specific league rules and roster construction. If players are ranked within three spots of each other, the difference between them is negligible.

Good Luck this week!

WATCH: Week 14 Fantasy Advice

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Kev Wheeler

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Kev Wheeler is a former high school baseball and football coach who has been a fantasy football addict for more than 25 years. As a coach, Wheeler's teams accomplished five county and two regional championships. Wheeler has translated his on-field success to the fantasy football arena.