Quick Grades Week 14 (Fantasy Football Start or Sit Advice)

 
Welcome back, and thanks for joining me as we go through this week’s quick grades!

You’ll notice this week’s article looks a bit different. Instead of the screen grabs of my Google Sheets, we’re rolling out new tables that are sortable AND searchable. If you’re looking for a particular player, type his name into the search bar, and have at it. The content is the same, but ’tis the season, so we’re updating the wrapping paper.

Once the season begins, the most difficult part of any fantasy manager’s week is start or sit decisions. These lineup choices can make or break a week, but unfortunately, not everyone has time to sit down and read lengthy fantasy advice articles. That’s where Quick Grades comes in. Each week of the football season, I’ll be providing a condensed and easily digestible chart of grades for over 250 fantasy-relevant players based on the following four criteria:

Fantasy Ability
Despite a tough matchup, Derrick Henry broke through on a long run last week

Expected Volume
Travis Kelce is always heavily targeted as one of Kansas City’s top pass-catching options

Matchup
Tyreek Hill got loose for 200 yards against Cincinnati’s porous secondary

Surrounding Talent
Sam Darnold has one of the weakest receiving corps in the league

Each of those criteria will be graded on a scale of 1-25, with the cumulative total resulting in a final grade (A+ to F) and a recommendation based on that grade. The criteria are weighted differently based on position, so it’s not a direct 1-for-1 conversion. Surrounding talent refers to offensive line for RB, quarterback play for WR and TE, and skill-position talent for QB.

The players are sorted by grade in descending order with the highest grades at the top and the lowest at the bottom. The highest-graded players receive A+ (Must start), and the lowest receive F. However, there are varying degrees of the F grade, and some players with this grade are flex plays, desperation plays, Hail Mary plays, or should remain on your bench, depending on the grade and position.

I’ll also include DST grades, and just like the skill-position players, there will be four criteria used for grading on a scale from 1-25, and final grades will be from 1-100. The four criteria for a DST grade are: Matchup, Turnovers, Sacks, and Points Allowed.

The link to the original Quick Grades Google Document can still be found below. In addition to the player grades, I’ll provide:

  • Start of the Week: A player outside of the elite, weekly must-starts who could have a big week
  • Stream of the Week: The best player who will likely be available on your waiver wire
  • Deep-League Stream of the Week: The best player who is less than 5% rostered in Yahoo leagues
  • Fade of the Week: A notable player who could be in for a let-down performance

Link to Full Quick Grades Document

It’s easy to see that an ‘A+’ or ‘A’ grade makes a player a must-start, but it might not make sense at first glance why some players are rated ‘C’ or worse and still have ‘Start,’ ‘Strong Start,’ or ‘Flex’ attached to their names. Because of all the different variables that go into a player’s performance in any given week, only those players with the absolute highest potential, best matchup, and strongest talent get ‘A+’ or ‘A’ grades. Therefore, even solid plays will earn grades that may appear sub-optimal on the surface, but it’s all relative from position-to-position. The hard cutoff is 50 for every position, as grades lower than this will earn a ‘Desperation’ or ‘Hail Mary’ tag in every situation.

Now that I’ve covered the basics, let’s get to the grades. Best of luck in all your matchups this week, and if you have any questions, please hit me up on Twitter @ZaktheMonster.

Note: As always, remember to check back on FantasyPros ahead of kickoff to get the latest injury news. I’ll provide “what-if” grades in the event that an injured player doesn’t suit up, but otherwise, these grades assume full health at the time the article is published on Friday morning. 

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Running Backs

Derrick Henry and Aaron Jones have smash-spot matchups this week, while David Montgomery will look to add a third straight RB1 performance. If D’Andre Swift is cleared to play this week, he’s got top-10 upside all over him. Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb fall out of the top-5 due to difficult matchups, but they remain elite plays every week.

Start of the Week: J.D. McKissic

Stream of the Week: Ty Johnson

Deep-League Stream of the Week: Ito Smith 4% rostered

Fade of the Week: Zack Moss

*If D’Andre Swift is out, Adrian Peterson becomes a ‘C Start’
*If Frank Gore is able to play, he is a ‘C Start,’ and Ty Johnson becomes a ‘D Flex’

Wide Receivers

Davante Adams has been an absolute machine this season, so it’s no surprise seeing him atop our grades here. Keenan Allen will look to exploit Atlanta’s lackluster defense, and is this the week we finally see DeAndre Hopkins re-emerge for a monster game?

Start of the Week: Robby Anderson

Stream of the Week: Tim Patrick

Deep-League Stream of the Week: Collin Johnson 1% rostered

Fade of the Week: Henry Ruggs III

*These Grades assume Julio Jones is out.
*If Mike Evans is out, Chris Godwin becomes a ‘B+ Must Start,’ and Antonio Brown becomes a ‘C+ Strong Start’
*If A.J. Brown is out, Corey Davis becomes a ‘B Strong Start’
*If Tyreek Hill is out, Sammy Watkins becomes a ‘C Start’

Quarterbacks 

Russell Wilson is our highest-graded option for Week 14  as he faces a Jets’ defense that hasn’t been able to stop anyone this season. After a huge letdown against the Patriots in Week 13, Justin Herbert looks primed for a bounce-back performance against Atlanta, and he comes in just behind Russ. The usual suspects make up the rest of the top-10, with Ryan Tannehill sneaking in as well. The AFC South clash between the Titans and Jags could be valuable to fantasy managers no matter which signal-caller you start.

Start of the Week: Tom Brady

Stream of the Week: Andy Dalton

Deep-League Stream of the Week: Mike Glennon 3% rostered 

Fade of the Week: Baker Mayfield

*If Daniel Jones plays, he is a ‘C Start,’ and Colt McCoy will not be a playable option

Tight Ends

It’s not worth mentioning that Travis Kelce remains the unquestioned TE1 every week, but after Darren Waller‘s enormous Week 13 game, can he be anything less than TE2? Oh, yes. A tough matchup with the Colts drops him to our third-highest ranked tight end of the week, just behind Hunter Henry (in case you haven’t caught on to the theme, stack your Chargers against Atlanta this week). Mark Andrews looks to be healthy enough to take the field again, and he’s a top-5 option against Cleveland.

Start & Stream of the Week: Dalton Schultz

Deep-League Stream of the Week: Jacob Hollister 1% rostered

Fade of the Week: Logan Thomas

*If Jonnu Smith plays, he is a ‘B Must Start,’ and Anthony Firkser becomes an ‘F Hail Mary’

DST

The Saints’ defense has been rockin’ and rollin’ as of late, and that’s not expected to change in Week 14 when the team faces Jalen Hurts and the struggling Eagles. Seattle will look to rebound from an awful showing against the G-Men in Week 13 with a favorable matchup against that other New York team. Despite Kirk Cousins‘ hot streak, Minnesota is still giving up a lot of fantasy points to opposing DST’s. Fire up Tampa Bay without hesitation.

Start & Stream of the Week: Carolina Panthers

Fade of the Week: Kansas City Chiefs

Player Search, Find

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Quarterback

Tight End

DST

  • New Orleans Saints B+ Must Start
  • Seattle Seahawks B Must Start
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers B Must Start
  • Arizona Cardinals C+ Must Start
  • Carolina Panthers C Must Start
  • Washington Football Team C Must Start
  • Indianapolis Colts C Strong Start
  • Pittsburgh Steelers C Strong Start
  • Cleveland Browns D+ Strong Start
  • Baltimore Ravens D+ Strong Start
  • Tennessee Titans D Start
  • Dallas Cowboys D Start
  • San Francisco 49ers D Start
  • Green Bay Packers D Start
  • Chicago Bears D Start
  • Cincinnati Bengals D Desperation
  • Houston Texans D Desperation
  • Atlanta Falcons D Desperation
  • Kansas City Chiefs F Desperation
  • New York Giants F Desperation
  • Miami Dolphins F Desperation
  • Philadelphia Eagles F Desperation
  • Minnesota Vikings F Desperation
  • New York Jets F Bench
  • Denver Broncos F Bench
  • Buffalo Bills F Bench
  • Las Vegas Raiders F Bench
  • Los Angeles Chargers F Bench
  • Detroit Lions F Bench
  • Jacksonville Jaguars F Bench

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Zachary Hanshew is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.

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Blessed father of 4 and lucky husband. WVU Alum. Member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.

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