The 2022 fantasy football regular season is close to the end with the playoffs looming. The must-win games are here. Our Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 14 picks help you identify values to target and fades to avoid.
It is also crucial to know which waiver wire pick to make and to stay up-to-date on the injury report.
Here are our Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 14 picks.
Editor’s note: This article is written by Bradley Stalder.
QUARTERBACKS
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Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) – Streaming your QBs against the Vikings is an underrated take. The Vikings allow the most receiving yards to WRs on the season, and Mike White finished as the QB7 last week. That was without a passing TD along with 2 interceptions. Surprisingly, the 5-7 Lions are favored against the 10-2 Vikings in Detroit this weekend. Goff is also coming off a QB4 finish where he threw for 340 yards and 2 TDs to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Derek Carr (Las Vegas Raiders)- If you’ve got Carr, he’s a must-start Thursday night against the Rams who might be playing Baker Mayfield. Carr has finished as QB13 or better in four of his last five games. In each of those five games, Carr has thrown for at least 248 yards and 2 TDs. The Rams may be without Aaron Donald, and the Raiders are projected to have a 41% Pass Block advantage, per PFF. This game could get out of control and with the Raiders desperate for an emphatic win, Carr is poised to smash.
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Daniel Jones (New York Giants) – We’ve seen some scary floors for Daniel Jones this season: four weekly finishes of QB20 or worse aren’t encouraging. Outside of the Detroit Lions game, Jones hasn’t thrown for more than 228 passing yards in any game this year and hasn’t cracked more than 200 pass yards in eight of twelve games. The Eagles allow the fewest fantasy points to QBs on the season and whose defensive line is projected to have a 25% Pass Block advantage, per PFF, over the Giants offensive line.
Tom Brady (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Brady didn’t pass the eye test for the majority of the night against the Saints on Monday Night. It took him 54 pass attempts to get to the QB8 finish overall and still didn’t get 300 yards passing. Brady’s finished as a top-10 weekly QB only three times in 12 games, and the matchup against the 49ers isn’t promising. The 49ers give up the 5th fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks and whose defensive line is projected to have a 25% Pass Block advantage over the Buc’s OL. In what projects to be the lowest game total O/U on the week, Brady’s ceiling is severely limited.
RUNNING BACKS
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Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys) – It’s not just that Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys get the Houston Texans this week. Though, that is a major factor. It’s that Zeke has finished as the RB13 or better in six of the last eight games. The Cowboys are 17-point favorites at home against a Houston club that just allowed 3 DS/T TDs to the Cleveland Browns. It’ll be a blood bath and Zeke will get 15 carries along with goal-line work in this matchup.
Latavius Murray (Denver Broncos) – On a week with bad matchups and six teams on a bye week, Murray should project as a comfortable volume-based RB2. He’s handled 47 carries over the last three weeks, finishing on average as the RB24 during that span. The Broncos may be 9.5 underdogs at home this week, but the Chiefs allow the most receptions per game to the RB position and Murray has four receptions in two of the last three weeks. He may not win the week, but he won’t lose the week either.
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Jamaal Williams (Detroit Lions) – Williams has made his living off of TDs this season. But the rushing inefficiency has come against even the most generous rush defenses. Williams has averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per carry every game since Week 9. And in Week 14, he faces the Minnesota Vikings who give up 3.89 yards per carry to opposing running backs. Williams played the fewest snaps of the season in Week 13 and has decreased his snap share each of the last 3 weeks as D’Andre Swift has ascended. Play Williams at your own risk.
Dameon Pierce (Houston Texans) – We’ve seen Pierce game-scripted out of games before, and this matchup against Dallas doesn’t look good for the rookie. In a two-game stretch before his Week 13 matchup against the porous Browns defense, Pierce combined for 16 rush yards on 15 carries and zero TDs. In those contests, Pierce averaged out as the RB50. Fifty. The Cowboys are 17-point favorites at home, and while Pierce may get some sprinkling in the passing game, his floor is far too risky to play him.
WIDE RECEIVERS
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Zay Jones (Jacksonville Jaguars) – Call it unlucky, but the sure-handed Jones only caught 2-of-7 targets in the game against Detroit. But, he gets another shot at it and fantasy managers shouldn’t be left on tilt. The Titans give up the most TDs to opposing WRs and allow the most points to opposing wide receivers. Especially with how stifling the Tennessee run defense has been as of late, passes may be funneled Jones’ way.
D.J. Chark (Detroit Lions) – Chark has made his way back from an injury that cost him six games. Over his last two contests, Chark has either a TD or 98 yards receiving. In a game against the ever-porous Minnesota secondary that could turn into a divisional shootout in Detroit’s Ford Field, Chark is an interesting play. I’m not concerned about Jameson Williams just yet. Williams will have to take all of Kalif Raymond & Josh Reynolds’ snaps before we worry about his impact on Chark.
Rondale Moore (Arizona Cardinals) – Moore may have left the Week 11 contest against San Francisco early due to a groin strain, but his coach expects him to be ready for Monday night against New England. Prior to that injury, Moore had finished as WR21 or better in three consecutive weeks. Moore also had at least seven receptions and 69 receiving yards in every game. Hollywood Brown may be back, along with DeAndre Hopkins, but Zach Ertz is out for the season and Moore’s safe slot routes are insulated.
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Juju Smith-Schuster ( Kansas City Chiefs) – The Broncos may be struggling on offense, but their secondary has kept them in games. The Broncos are PFF’s best-graded coverage unit and have allowed the fewest receptions and fewest fantasy points to wide receivers on the season. Even though Juju has worked his way back into the lineup after a scary concussion against Jacksonville, he’s finished as the WR69 and WR58 each of the last two weeks. The Chiefs are 9.5-point favorites in this game, and may not need Juju in this matchup in Denver.
Gabriel Davis (Buffalo Bills) – Look, anything can happen when Josh Allen and Gabriel Davis share the field. But the Jets, and in particular ROY candidate Sauce Gardner, have been locking down opposing outside wide receivers. New York’s secondary is PFF’s second-best coverage grade unit. But, what’s more, the Jet’s defensive line also projects a 29% pass block advantage over the Buffalo Bills. This is a sneaky tough matchup, and Davis has finished outside the top 30 of WRs each of the last three weeks, and five of the last six.
Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Even on Monday Night’s broadcast, it was reported that Chris Godwin is operating as the WR1 in Tampa Bay. But for those paying attention lately, this isn’t news. Evans has finished as the WR44 or worse each of the last three weeks. It hasn’t helped that he hasn’t caught a TD since Week 4. Evans hasn’t earned even a 20% target share in five of 11 games this season and is coming off a 7.5% target share game with Godwin, Gage, and Jones also in the receiver rotation.
TIGHT ENDS
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Hunter Henry (New England Patriots) – Henry gets the Arizona Cardinals, who allow the most fantasy points (15.5) to the TE position. It’s like streaming an average day at the office for Travis Kelce. If you’re in need of a TE streamer this week, Henry’s matchup is a nice one. Many other TE streamers are an all-things-being-equal roll of the dice.
Chigoziem Okonkwo (Tennessee Titans) – Okonkwo earned a 20% target share in Week 13 and out-snapped Austin Hooper. Is this a changing of the guard? Perhaps. Treylon Burks missed the majority of Week 13 due to the concussion protocol. The Titans’ lack of receiver depth may cause Okonkwo to step up and play nearly 62% of his pass snaps. That’s permitted the athletic tight end to make some plays downfield. Okonkwo is the TE20 in yards after the catch on the season.
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Tyler Conklin (New York Jets) – The last time Conklin played the Buffalo Bills, he caught 1 pass for 7 yards on 2 targets. Since then, he hasn’t finished better than TE17 in any week. With the emergence of Garrett Wilson, the improved health of Corey Davis, and the resurgence of Elijah Moore’s snap share, Conklin has struggled to be a consistent piece of the Jets’ offense. He’s also projected to line up most of his snaps against Tremaine Edmunds. That’s one of the most difficult TE/LB matchups on the week.
Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) – Don’t get cute with McBride. He’s only earned 8 targets over the last 3 weeks. Worse, he’s totaled 6 catches for 22 yards. He’s not a focal part of the Cardinals’ offense. With Rondale Moore expected back, along with a healthy Hollywood and Hopkins, there’s no room for McBride in to command any sort of target share. It doesn’t help that McBride’s matchup against LB Wilson is one of the worst PFF-graded disadvantages for TEs this week.
