It’s Week 14 of the NFL season and it’s been termed Fantasy Bye Week Armageddon because so many crucial teams with fantasy relevance have a bye week. It’s just a week before the Fantasy Playoffs start in most leagues including Washington and Baltimore. This means no Jayden Daniels or Lamar Jackson in lineups this week. Here are the picks to help you get through this week in DFS and redraft from Total Apex.
Quarterback Must Starts for Week 14
Jalen Hurts ($7,800 Draft Kings, $9,200 FanDuel)
Hurts will most likely have Devonta Smith back into the lineup after Smith was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. This means the passing game will return to semi-normal with the threat of that wide-receiver duo of Smith and AJ Brown. Also, the Panthers’ run defense will give Jalen some great opportunities in the run game as well. BOTTOM LINE START HURTS THIS WEEK!
Josh Allen ($8,000 Draft Kings, $8,900 FanDuel)
The betting favorite for NFL MVP, Josh Allen travels to LA for a matchup with the Rams this weekend for week 14. Josh Allen is going to have a huge week once again as he has been phenomenal this year for the Buffalo Bills especially in that Snow game last weekend. Allen threw for two touchdowns, rushed for one, and caught a touchdown on the lateral play from Amari Cooper. Expect Allen to continue his trend of over 25-plus fantasy points from the last two games this week.
Baker Mayfield ($6,400 Draft Kings, $8,100 FanDuel)
Mayfield has a great matchup this week against the Vegas Raiders even though he had a lackluster performance against the Panthers last week. I expect Mayfield to bounce back this week as the Buccaneers need every win they can get to get back into the Playoff race and keep up with the Falcons in the NFC South.
Quarterback Must Sits for Week 14
On the flip side of things, here are a few of the players we are sitting in Week 14.
Brock Purdy ($6,200 Draft Kings, $8,000 FanDuel)
Purdy is suffering because of the Niners injuries to his weapons this year and you can tell in his performances. In Buffalo last week, he only had 3.2 fantasy points at the position last week which is putrid in any format, especially in DFS formats. I expect Purdy to have a little more than that this week but not that much more to warrant a start this weekend.
Matt Stafford ($5,700 Draft Kings, $7,200 FanDuel)
Stafford is going up against that Buffalo Bills defense that held Purdy to 3.2 fantasy points last weekend. I think Stafford could potentially keep up with Allen but the Bills have been opportunistic at times with turnovers this season and having Matt Milano back is a huge plus for the Bills defense. Sit Stafford in Week 14.
Kirk Cousins ($5,500 Draft Kings, $7,000 FanDuel)
Cousins is coming off a game where he threw FOUR interceptions in the loss to the Chargers. I think his mobility has been limited this season and if he gets off his spot enough he’ll make several crucial mistakes in games and Brian Flores’s defense will get him off his spots this weekend. He was close to being my Fade of the Week because of that alone.
Lock of Week 14
Joe Burrow ($7,300 Draft Kings, $8,400 FanDuel)
Joe Brrr is the most obvious lock of the Week due to how the Bengals’ offense has been playing this season as they just put up 38 points against a talented Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Every Bengals game is going to be a shootout the rest of the way because Burrow will continue his stellar play the rest of the way. Even though the Dallas defense has been playing better, Burrow and Chase will have huge nights on Monday night.
Fade of Week 14
Patrick Mahomes ($6,800 Draft Kings, $7,900 FanDuel)
Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense have been struggling at times in the passing game all season long to this point and the Chargers’ defense is coming off a game where they had 4 interceptions including a pick-six. That combination of things will lead to Mahomes having a bad week in fantasy with the Chiefs having another sub-par performance on the offensive side in a fantasy perspective.
Sleeper of Week 14
Caleb Williams ($5,600 Draft Kings, $7,300 FanDuel)
Caleb Williams will have some free reigns in this offense with the departure of Matt Eberflus and the promotion of Thomas Brown to the interim head coach. Look for a more relaxed and mentally recharged Caleb Williams this week in San Francisco. Williams has been over 20 fantasy points the last few weeks and the Niners defense hasn’t been consistent. Williams should be monitored as a great budget option this week.
Conclusion
Week 14 is going to be a tough week to navigate in the redraft leagues and DFS will have some struggles as well without the likes of Lamar and Jayden Daniels but with these quarterback picks I’ve laid out in this piece you should be in a great spot this week. For more great fantasy analysis follow along with Total Apex Fantasy for more great fantasy articles.
