If you’re here, you likely made the playoffs in your league, so congrats. You may be dealing with some injuries or you just don’t like the matchup ahead for one of your players. Have no fear, this is the article for you. This is the most important week of the season, so let’s get through it together.
Streaming has become an integral part of fantasy football over the last few years. Whether it be quarterbacks, tight ends, defenses, or heck, even running backs and wide receivers at times. If you don’t know what streaming means, it’s where you’ll play a different player at that position each and every week. While it may sound nuts, it works if you know how to approach the waiver wire.
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How many times have you watched your fantasy matchup on Sunday/Monday, only to go search the waiver wire for your streamer next week and see a player available who has a premier matchup that everyone will attempt to pick up? Not anymore. This article is designed to give you a leg-up on your competition. That’s right, we’ll be adding the players before they’re able to. With that being said, here’s the players you should be adding to your fantasy roster on Sunday morning. I’m going to be using Yahoo as the gauge for ownership, and we’ll stick to players who are less than 40 percent owned.
Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson (BAL) at KC
Let’s start by saying that too many quarterbacks are more than 40 percent owned. The decisions I’ve had to make for this section were brutal, but Jackson is the best of the bunch. I’m assuming he’s owned in a lot of competitive leagues, but if available, he’s a great option against the Chiefs. They’ve allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, and that’s even though they’ve allowed just a 4.27 percent touchdown-rate. Opponents average 69.5 plays per game against them, so there’s going to be volume that will carry almost anyone through, especially a mobile quarterback like Jackson. They’ve also allowed four rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks this year, which suits him well. He’s an extension of the run-game, and the Chiefs have allowed the third-most points per game to running backs.
Case Keenum (DEN) at SF
While some quarterbacks need to worry about weather in Week 14, Keenum should be playing in warm weather in San Francisco. He’s not someone who’ll win you a fantasy week, but he should present a solid floor against a 49ers defense that’s lacking depth in their secondary, and they just lost safety Jimmie Ward for the year. There’s been just two quarterbacks all year who’ve finished outside the top-18 quarterbacks against them. They were Josh Rosen and Derek Carr, a few players you rarely see inside the top-18. Outside of those two, every quarterback has thrown at least two touchdowns in every game, making Keenum an option who shouldn’t cost you a win.
Josh Rosen (ARI) vs DET
If you’re looking for a last-ditch option, Rosen is someone who’s in a plus-matchup. It’s not great relying on a guy who’s thrown 39 passes the last two weeks, but the Lions are a team you can pass on over-and-over. Though it may say that the Lions allow the 11th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, they’ve allowed 8.65 yards per attempt (2nd-highest), a 69.1 percent completion-rate (4th-highest), and a 7.34 percent touchdown-rate (2nd-highest). They’ve only faced 29.7 pass attempts per game this year, so to see they’ve allowed the 11th-most points is alarming. Rosen comes with risk, but his matchup is pristine.
Running Backs
LeGarrette Blount (DET) at ARI
We don’t know if Kerryon Johnson will play in Week 14, but considering the Lions are completely out of contention, it’d make little sense to rush him back from an MCL sprain. Blount was featured against the Bears last week, which produces abnormal results against them, but the Cardinals are a matchup that’s perfect for his role. There’s no chance the Cardinals jump out to a two-touchdown lead, which means that gamescript should be on his side. The Cardinals have allowed 14 rushing touchdowns this year, which is the most in the NFL. They’ve also faced the most carries in the NFL and it’s not even close, as their 313 attempts faced (28.5 per game) is 25 more than the closest team. Even if Johnson returned, Blount should see 12-18 carries in this game.
Elijah McGuire (NYJ) at BUF
It’s not every week the Jets have the chance to run the ball 20-plus times, but against the Bills, they should. Many will look at the Jets last two games that netted McGuire 16 total touches and say no thanks, but the Bills face an average of 26.9 touches per game. With Isaiah Crowell getting 18 touches over the last two games, it’s near a 50/50 split between the two, so McGuire should net at least 10-12 touches this week against a team that’s allowed eight running back touchdowns in the last five games.
Justin Jackson (LAC) vs CIN
Some are automatically assuming that Austin Ekeler is the running back to own in Los Angeles, and while I agree, it’s not as clear-cut as some think. Since they trusted Ekeler in London when filling in for Gordon, where he failed, the Chargers have been hesitant to give him many carries since then. He’s totaled just 17 carries in the four games since and was even out-carried by Jackson last week. It’s not to say that Ekeler won’t receive the majority of touches, but you need to see the trends to account for potential risk. Jackson ran very well last week, totaling 57 yards on seven carries. The Bengals opponents average 70.9 plays per game and running backs have averaged 29.7 touches per game, which should create enough opportunity to give Jackson plenty of opportunities.
Other viable alternatives: Rex Burkhead (NE) at MIA, Jalen Richard (OAK) vs PIT, Frank Gore (MIA) vs NE
Wide Receivers
Christian Kirk (ARI) vs DET
After seeing Josh Rosen as a potential streamer, you must like one of his receivers, right? He’s seen at least six targets in five of his last six games, which is great news against a Lions team who’s allowed the most fantasy points per target in 2018. They’ve allowed a massive 2.23 PPR points each time a receiver is targeted, which includes 10.3 yards per target and a touchdown every 11.7 targets. To give you an idea as to how bad that is, Julio Jones averages 10.4 yards per target on the season.
Bruce Ellington (DET) at ARI
He’s only been on the Lions roster for two weeks but has seen 16 targets over the last two weeks that have netted 12 receptions for 80 yards. When they head to Arizona, he’ll need to be heavily involved, as Patrick Peterson will match-up against Kenny Golladay, making it one of the tougher matchups he’s ever seen. The Cardinals have been demolished in the slot this year, as Budda Baker and Leonard Johnson have combined to allow 40-for-44 passing for 456 yards and a touchdown.
Taylor Gabriel (CHI) vs LAR
While it seems Mitch Trubisky is likely out another week, he should be back for the game against the Rams, which helps Gabriel. The Rams have allowed 46 pass plays go for 20-plus yards, which ranks as the second-most in the NFL. They’ll also likely have Aqib Talib back, which means Marcus Peters would go back to his RCB slot, which is where Gabriel is most of the time. Peters has allowed 16.6 yards per reception and a touchdown every 8.5 targets in his coverage.
Curtis Samuel (CAR) at CLE
If Devin Funchess has to miss more time with his back injury, Samuel is the one who benefits most. He may have only seen two targets last week, but he played 54-of-59 snaps in a full-time role and destroyed Shaquill Griffin for a touchdown. The Browns would surely have Denzel Ward on D.J. Moore, which would put Samuel against T.J. Carrie and Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Wide receivers average 24.1 targets per game against the Browns, so there’s plenty of volume to go around. He’s someone who would possess a decent floor and a massive ceiling if Funchess were out.
Other viable options: Cole Beasley (DAL) vs PHI, Zay Jones (BUF) vs NYJ, David Moore (SEA) vs MIN, John Ross (CIN) at LAC
Player you should add but not necessarily play in Week 14: Chris Conley (KC)
Tight Ends
Dan Arnold (NO) at TB
Some may be saying “who?” but Arnold may be the tight end to play on the Saints moving forward, as he’s seen 13 targets over the last four games totaling 115 yards and a touchdown, while Ben Watson has seen just four targets for 21 scoreless yards in those games. Going against the Bucs, you really want to play the one who’ll see targets. They’ve allowed 9-of-11 tight ends to finish top-12 against them this year, and Arnold just happens to play for the top-scoring offense in the league.
Matt LaCosse (DEN) at SF
After watching Jeff Heuerman go down with a season-ending injury, the Broncos must go to the next man on the depth chart once again. They’ve targeted tight ends 7.6 times per game this year, so to know that he doesn’t have Jake Butt and Heuerman to compete for targets, he should be on the streaming radar against the 49ers. It’s not a standout matchup on paper, but the 49ers have played well against the run allowing just 3.88 yards per carry, so we should see Keenum drop-back more than he typically does. Similar to quarterbacks, there aren’t many viable options who are under 40 percent owned.
D/ST
Tennessee Titans vs JAX
We don’t know what the Jaguars offense will look like after they fired their offensive coordinator, but we do know that they’re down to their third-string left tackle, backup center, and are likely to be without guard Andrew Norwell. It seems to be Cody Kessler‘s team right now and he’s much less mobile than Blake Bortles, which bodes well for a Titans defense that has 26 sacks over their last 10 games. They’re going to be at home in a must-win game for their playoff hopes, so they have everything to play for. The Jaguars opponents have finished with at least 7.0 standard fantasy points in eight of the last nine games, providing a solid floor.
Arizona Cardinals vs DET
Not only has Matthew Stafford been sacked 22 times in the last five weeks, but he’s also been intercepted five times, the Lions have lost four fumbles, and allowed two defensive touchdowns. Combine that with the Cardinals racking up 27 sacks in the last seven games, including at least four sacks in each of the last four games and six of the last seven games. They haven’t generated many turnovers, but we’ll take the high floor at home.
Buffalo Bills vs NYJ
The Bills defense is another one who’ll be at home in Week 14 against a struggling Jets offense who scored just 10 points against them in New York back in Week 10. The Bills now have 10 interceptions over the last five games and it seems likely that they’ll face Sam Darnold, who has thrown 14 interceptions on just 289 pass attempts this year (one every 20.6 attempts). The Bills defense has allowed more than 22 points just twice in their last nine games and has generated at least two sacks in 9-of-11 games.
Last ditch options: Detroit Lions at ARI, New York Jets at BUF
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
