Week 14 Heat Index: Rashaad Penny, Ben Roethlisberger, Allen Lazard (2021 Fantasy Football)

The bye weeks are all past, and the playoffs loom for most leagues. But even if you’ve made it this far, injuries still happen frequently in the NFL. You can never have too much depth if you are competing for a fantasy championship.

As such, below are the players whose performances during Week 14 jumped out to us the most. Along with their stats and positional rank for the week (half-point PPR scoring), we’ll rank their fantasy playoff prospects on a scale of 🔥-to-🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 in case you still have a chance to improve your roster.

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Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger (QB – NO)

Stat-line: 28-40 passing for 308 yards and 3 TDs plus an INT; 5 yards rushing

QB Rank: 5

Analysis: Big Ben had to get busy in the second half of last Thursday night’s game against the Vikings as the Steelers trailed 23-0. He was a dropped-pass-in-the-endzone-as-time-expired away from pulling off what would have been an incredible comeback. Ben may be on the last legs of his hall-of-fame career, but as a fantasy QB, he’s been serviceable this season. It’s worth considering him for your roster as he has one of the most fantasy-friendly schedules for a quarterback the rest of the way. If you need an injury replacement for someone like Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL) or are in a 2 QB or SuperFlex league, he’s a decent option, especially the next two weeks vs. The Titans and The Chiefs.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥

Wide Receivers

Allen Lazard (WR – GB)

Stat-line: 6 catches on seven targets for 75 yards and a TD; 14 yards rushing

WR Rank: 7 (tied)

Analysis: This is Lazard’s second mention on The Heat Index this year, as he made it after Week 7 as well. A shoulder injury and a stint on the COVID list kept him out of a few games since then, but Sunday’s performance was his best of the year (several Packers had big games this week). Lazard has the talent to contribute to your fantasy team, but his production has been inconsistent throughout his career. Still, if you are desperate, he has favorable matchups this week against a banged-up Ravens secondary and Week 17 against the Vikings.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥

Robby Anderson (WR – CAR)

Stat-line: 7 catches on twelve targets for 84 yards and a TD

WR Rank: 7 (tied)

Analysis: Anderson also had his best game of the season Sunday in a year that has been very disappointing for those who drafted him. Sunday’s performance marked only the third time he scored more than 10 points this season. It came against a bad Falcons pass defense in a game the Panthers trailed in for the entire second half. Anderson is not startable next week against the Bills but has good matchups Weeks 16 and 17 against the Bucs and Saints. Even so, you’d have to be pretty desperate as he’s done little to warrant fantasy trust in 2021.

Heat Index: 🔥

Jakeem Grant Sr. (WR – CHI)

Stat-line: 1 catch on three targets for 46 yards and a TD; punt return for a TD

WR Rank: 9

Analysis: If you missed Grant’s two TDs Sunday night, go back and try to find them as they are fun to watch. This dude is fast! He’s now got 3 TDs in his last two games for the Bears. Despite his explosiveness and a good Week 15 matchup vs. the Vikings, he’s probably not someone you want to invest in for your fantasy roster. He’s still fourth on the Bears’ wide receiver depth chart and doesn’t see enough targets to be relevant unless he takes it to the house.

Heat Index: 🔥

Running Backs

Rashaad Penny (RB – DEN)

Stat-line: 137 yards rushing on sixteen attempts and 2 TDs; 1 catches on one target for 1 yard and a TD

RB Rank: 3

Analysis: Penny became the latest featured back on the Seahawks on Sunday and made the most of it with the best game of his career. He dominated snaps and touches among the RBs and established himself as the back to roster on Seattle down the stretch. Outside of a Week 17 matchup against the Lions, the fantasy playoff schedule for Penny isn’t the greatest. He will face the Rams in Week 15 and the Bears in Week 16 – two teams that have fared well against opposing RBs this season. Still, if the volume is there, Penny can be helpful as a low-end RB2 or Flex play if you need help at the position.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥

Melvin Gordon III (RB – DEN)

Stat-line: 111 yards rushing on 24 attempts and 2 TDs

RB Rank: 5

Analysis: Gordon’s teammate, Javonte Williams (RB – DEN), was featured on both the Week 12 and Week 13 Heat Indexes. Perhaps Gordon was jealous, as he returned from his hip injury Sunday and put up his best fantasy performance of the season against the porous Lions’ run defense. Williams, by the way, had another excellent game as well. The only concern for Gordon is that he injured his thumb during the game, which could put his availability in doubt for next Sunday. If he’s good to go, he should be in your lineup the rest of the way, as the Broncos’ RBs have a great fantasy playoff schedule on tap.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (if healthy)

Tight Ends

Albert Okwuegbunam (TE – DEN)

Stat-line: 5 catches on five targets for 41 yards and a TD

TE Rank: 4

Analysis: Okwuegbunam is yet another player who had a career day on Sunday. Though he trails Noah Fant (TE – DEN) on the Broncos’ depth chart, he has played a fair number of snaps in recent weeks. Even with an excellent upcoming schedule and the lack of tight end depth, it’s hard to trust him in your lineup at this point of the season, however.

Heat Index: 🔥

Austin Hooper (TE – CLE)

Stat-line: 5 catches on seven targets for 30 yards and a TD

TE Rank: 5

Analysis: Hooper saw a season-high in snaps and receptions with David Njoku (TE – CLE) and Harrison Bryant (TB – CLE) unavailable on Sunday. The veteran TE might be worth streaming next week against the Raiders as well if Njoku is still out, but you can probably do better Weeks 16-17 when he faces The Packers and The Steelers.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥

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