It is officially IDP fantasy football playoffs time. Week 14 generally kicks off this pressure-packed portion of the season and it’s time to win or go home. Championship trophies and bragging rights are on the line making each lineup decision that much more nerve-racking.
It’s all good. There is no reason to lose sleep as we have you covered. Hours and hours (who needs sleep) of research have gone into putting together the best possible Start/Sit options for Week 14. Let’s stop dilly-dallying and get to it, shall we?
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Start
Carlos Dunlap (DL – CIN)
The veteran seems to have shaken off his slow start to the 2019 season in a very big way. Last week, he dominated the Jets’ offense, putting up seven total tackles, three tackles for a loss, and three sacks. In the last three games, he has 19 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and has put up nine quarterback hits. He is benefitting from the emergence of fellow defensive end Sam Hubbard who has put up sacks in back to back games and now has five on the season. Look for another big game against a Browns’ offense that allowed five sacks last week.
Maxx Crosby (DL – OAK)
The rookie defensive end out of Eastern Michigan saw his sack streak halted at three games last week. He was also held without a quarterback hit by the Chiefs’ offense. He did manage to post four solo tackles with two being for a loss. He continues to see a high volume of snaps logging 96% last week and remains a top-10 defensive lineman in balanced scoring formats. He has a great matchup this week against a Titans’ offense that has allowed 49 sacks on the season with defensive linemen accounting for 33.
Tremaine Edmunds (LB – BUF)
It’s clear he will not repeat the top-12 finish among linebackers that he put up in 2018 as Edmunds currently sits outside the top-25 through 12 games. All is not lost. It may surprise some folks to learn that Edmunds is on pace to finish with 120 total tackles, which would be just one less than he posted in his rookie season. It’s the dip in big-play production that has hampered his numbers as he has just 1.5 this season after finishing with six last year. The matchup this week is a positive one against a Ravens’ offense that averages 67 offensive plays per game. In the past three games, Baltimore has been a top-10 offense in allowing production to the opposing linebackers.
Lavonte David (LB – TB)
The Colts’ offense has been fantasy gold for opposing linebackers over their past five games. In that time, they are allowing an average of 20.4 solo tackles to the position and have given up 15 big plays. While his rookie teammate Devin White has been the more productive Buccaneers’ linebacker lately the veteran can still get it done in all facets of the game. He has played 100% of the snaps in all but two games and has racked up 58 solo and 91 total tackles on the season. The big plays have been there as well as he’s put up a sack, interception, forced fumble, and recovered a fumble. Look for a very nice game against a Colts’ offense that averages 31 rush attempts per game.
Tre Boston (DB – CAR)
Through 12 games the Falcons’ offense has been the most generous in handing out points to opposing defensive backs. They are allowing an average of 31.6 tackles and 1.5 big plays to the position. The veteran safety has been producing well of late but it’s been overshadowed by the huge season that his teammate Eric Reid is having. Boston is averaging seven total tackles per game and has posted one interception in the past three weeks. He is a sneaky good Week 14 start in a great matchup.
Eric Weddle (DB – LAR)
The veteran safety should benefit from getting to face the Seahawks’ offense at home on Sunday night. On the road this season Seattle is allowing roughly 55 tackle opportunities per game to their opponents. That plays right into Weddle’s wheelhouse as he comes off a down Week 13 performance in a bad matchup against Arizona. He managed just a single tackle last week as Los Angeles posted a cakewalk victory. This week, he will definitely add to the 82 total tackles he has put up in 2019. On a side note, that tackle total is his highest since the 2014 season. It’s a great week to roll with Weddle.
Sit
Dee Ford (DL – SF)
The good news is that after missing Week 13 with knee and quadriceps injuries he has returned to practicing on a limited basis. The bad news is that his first season in San Francisco has been an injury-riddled disappointment. Ford has been dealing with knee tendinitis all season and now has the additional injuries to deal with. He has managed just 6.5 sacks in the 10 games he has played and just 14 total tackles. The matchup this week is a negative one against a Saints’ offense that protects Drew Brees pretty well. Through 12 games they have allowed just 13 sacks to the defensive line position. There’s no reason to start Ford this week at this crucial point in the fantasy season.
Frank Clark (DL – KC)
An injury-marred season just continues to hamper Clark in his first year with the Chiefs. He has been dealing with a pinched nerve in his neck all season long and was forced from Week 13 due to a shoulder injury. The worst part is that on a team desperate for a pass rush he had been coming to life. In his last three games prior to last week, he had put up 14 total tackles, four tackles for a loss, four sacks, and two forced fumbles. Even if he does play this week the matchup is not a very good one against the quick release of Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense. It’s also hard to trust a banged-up player that is not a guarantee to finish the game.
Rashaan Evans (LB – TEN)
Things continue to trend in the wrong direction for Evans from both snaps as well as a production standpoint. In the past two weeks, he has played his lowest snap counts of 67% and 76% respectively. While some players have shown the ability to post nice totals on limited snaps he has not been able to do so in those games. In that time, he pas a total of just five tackles. The Raiders’ offense is a middle of the road matchup for linebackers so things are not likely to improve in Week 14. In the past three games, Oakland is allowing an average of only 21 total tackles and one big play per game to opposing linebackers.
Anthony Hitchens (LB – KC)
On its face value, this matchup appears to be a very nice one for the veteran linebacker. The Patriots’ offense runs an average of 67 plays per game with 27 being rush attempts and they give up roughly 53 tackle attempts per game. The problem is that Hitchens has not played more than 77% of the snaps in the past three games and his production has been spotty at best over the season. He has not registered a big play since Week 7 and has posted double-digit tackles in a game just once this season. He does bring upside to the game but there are just too many better linebackers options to roll with during the IDP playoffs that can be trusted more.
Justin Reid (DB – HOU)
After a rookie season that saw him put up top-12 defensive backs numbers, the Texans’ strong safety seemed poised for another big year. Unfortunately, things have not worked out that way. Perhaps it’s due to a shoulder issue that he has been dealing with for most of the season, or the concussion that cost him a game, but the numbers have dropped for Reid. He did have six total tackles last week but that is the highest total he’s registered in his last six games. He currently sits outside the top-65 defensive backs in balanced scoring formats and has a negative Week 14 matchup. Denver is among the three stingiest offenses when it comes to giving up production the defensive back position through 12 games.
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Walton Spurlin is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Walton, check out his archive and follow him @waltonspurlin.
