Top 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments

Two pass-catching weapons had eye-catching showings in Week 14 and stand out as impact players for the fantasy football playoffs.

Sadly, Week 14 also has some disappointments, including an offense that’s stuck in the mud, a messy tight end rotation and an injury to a signal-caller that could derail an entire fantasy-friendly offense.

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Top 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways

Let’s dive into the biggest takeaways from Week 14.

Fantasy Football Week 14 Surprises

Is Michael Wilson a League-Winner?

Michael Wilson had 16 targets, 11 receptions, 142 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Rams. He’s gone off in three games without Marvin Harrison Jr. this season.

Cardinals WR Michael Wilson in three games this year without Marvin Harrison, Jr.:

15 catches, 185 yards
10 catches, 118 yards
11 catches, 142 yards, 2 TD pic.twitter.com/LRpNMhPeyB

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 8, 2025

Wilson is a no-brainer fantasy starter and a threat for the WR1 overall finish whenever Harrison doesn’t suit up. Harrison didn’t practice at all for Week 14 before missing the contest, potentially setting the stage for more absences with his heel injury.

Wilson’s excellent showing on Sunday warrants calling out his Week 13 effort. Wilson’s three receptions for 36 scoreless yards were disappointing in Harrison’s return in Week 13. His underlying data was more encouraging. According to the Fantasy Points data suite, Wilson recorded the following numbers in Week 13:

• 86.7% route participation rate
• 12.7-yard average depth of target (aDOT)
• 89 air yards
• 31.1% air yards share
• 17.5% target share
• 0.18 targets per route run (TPRR)
• 1 end-zone target

Wilson is a fantasy WR1 without Harrison. However, Wilson should be treated as a top-20 wideout, even after Harrison returns, albeit with a lower floor than without him.

Harold Fannin Jr. is Sensational

Shedeur Sanders had an explosive performance on Sunday. Still, he’s only a Superflex option. Harold Fannin Jr. is the player who is the most fantasy relevant in the widest array of leagues because Sanders is playing well. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Fannin’s 62 snaps were second only to Sanders’ 67 on Cleveland’s offense, and his 40 routes trailed only Jerry Jeudy‘s 45. David Njoku got banged up early, and Fannin balled out with a robust role.

Fannin paced the Browns in targets (11), receptions (eight), receiving yards (114) and caught a touchdown. In Sanders’ three starts, Fannin has recorded at least five targets, three receptions and 40 receiving yards in each contest. He’s also scored touchdowns in back-to-back games. Even before his Week 14 explosion, Fannin had an 80.4% route participation rate, 23.9% target share and 0.27 TPRR in Sanders’ first two starts. Fannin is a set-it-and-forget-it starter.

Fantasy Football Week 14 Disappointments

The Buccaneers are Bumbling

The Saints should have been a get-right matchup for the Buccaneers. Instead, Tampa Bay lost, and its offense was dreadful. Baker Mayfield completed only 14-of-30 passes for 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 42 rushing yards, but it was another lackluster effort from Mayfield.

Mayfield had fewer than 200 passing yards in four straight games and five of his last six, and Mayfield has gone three consecutive games with only one touchdown. Mayfield has produced just one touchdown in five of his last seven games. Gamers would likely do better streaming than using Mayfield.

Sadly, Mayfield’s underwhelming passing production has impacted the fantasy value of Emeka Egbuka. The rookie wideout turned nine targets against the Saints into two receptions for 15 scoreless yards. Egbuka hasn’t scored a touchdown in four straight games, tallying 40, 32, 42 and 15 scoreless yards in that stretch.

The targets have been there, with nine, eight, eight and nine during his cold streak. Gamers might be stuck holding their nose and hoping Egbuka’s target volume leads to a turnaround, but they can be forgiven for starting someone else in tight fantasy football start sit scenarios.

Chris Godwin has logged back-to-back adequate performances. The veteran wide receiver recorded the following statistics in Week 13:

• 60.6% route participation rate
• 9.8-yard aDOT
• 25.3% air yards share
• 17.9% target share
• 0.25 TPRR
• 22.2% first-read share
• 1 end-zone target
• 3 receptions
• 78 receiving yards
• 3.90 yards per route run (YPRR)

Godwin was more involved as a route runner in Week 14, tying Egbuka for the team lead with 32 routes run. Godwin’s eight targets were the second-most on the club, and his five receptions and 55 receiving yards led the team. Godwin is a potential WR3/Flex in a plus matchup against the Falcons in Week 15.

Bucky Irving had a team-high 55 rushing yards, two receptions, 26 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. It wasn’t a slate-breaking effort. Still, it was rock-solid. A look under the hood wasn’t as encouraging. Irving’s 15 carries led the backfield, but they were only 45.5% of Tampa Bay’s backfield’s rush attempts since Rachaad White had 11 and Sean Tucker had seven. Tucker also scored a rushing touchdown.

Fortunately, Irving ran 19 routes versus 13 for White and four for Tucker. Irving’s role was OK, but it puts pressure on him to be efficient or score a touchdown to avoid falling short of fantasy expectations as a fringe RB1/high-end RB2.

Mike Evans could return to the club for Thursday Night Football in Week 15. Maybe his return will open up the offense. Tampa Bay’s offense isn’t exactly a treasure trove of fantasy value, and it’s an uneasy feeling to use any of their fantasy-relevant players in the fantasy football playoffs.

Miami’s Rotation at Tight End Could be Problematic 

The Dolphins have a dreamy schedule for tight ends in the fantasy playoffs. Sadly, it might be all for naught. Darren Waller had a 65.5% route participation rate in his return from injured reserve (IR) in Week 13, followed by Greg Dulcich‘s 34.5% and Julian Hill‘s 13.8%. It appeared Waller, even if slightly limited, would be the club’s clear-cut top tight end.

It didn’t shake out that way on Sunday. Instead, Waller’s 13 routes led the position group, but Dulcich ran 12 and Hill ran five. Moreover, Waller’s 24 snaps were behind Dulcich’s 35 and Hill’s 33. The Dolphins scored the first 21 points of the game in an explosive first quarter, and Tyrod Taylor was knocked out of the game and relieved by rookie Brady Cook. The game script likely impacted Waller’s snaps, but the route participation rate was suboptimal.

Waller had only three targets, one reception, 13 scoreless receiving yards and a four-yard rush. Waller is a riskier fantasy option now, but the risk might be worth taking for gamers alive in the playoffs when the Dolphins play the Bengals in Week 16.

What’s Next for the Colts?

Daniel Jones left Sunday’s game with a torn Achilles. Rookie Riley Leonard relieved Jones, completing 18-of-29 passes for 145 scoreless yards, with one interception and one sack. Leonard also had two rush attempts for five yards and a touchdown. Leonard’s passes were distributed as follows…

Notable Colts targets with Riley Leonard

– Michael Pittman Jr. 10
– Alec Pierce, 5
– Tyler Warren, 5
– Josh Downs, 4

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) December 8, 2025

Michael Pittman comfortably paced the Colts in targets from Leonard. Alec Pierce still has big-play ability as a burner, and Tyler Warren could stick in the low-end TE1 mix. Nevertheless, all of Indianapolis’s players take a hit to their fantasy value, including Jonathan Taylor.

Shane Steichen will almost certainly feed Taylor as often as he can, but if it’s apparent to a fantasy-football scribe such as myself, opponents are also aware and will probably sell out to slow him down. Obviously, gamers shouldn’t bench Taylor. They should recalibrate expectations, though. Taylor’s floor is lower, and his value will be dependent on volume and springing big plays.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.