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| Thursday, December 8, 2022 |
| Last night, we told you who Jamey Eisenberg is starting in Week 14, including his Start of the Week, Lions running back D'Andre Swift. Now, it's time for Dave Richard to tell you his Start/Sit calls for this week. |
| But, obviously, that's not the only help you're going to get from the Fantasy Football Today team before tonight's first lineup lock. Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Football Today YouTube channel and join Adam Aizer and me at 2 p.m. ET for our start/sit live stream . We'll be discussing all of the latest news and answering your toughest lineup questions there, and it's your best chance to get direct answers to your questions before tonight's lineup lock. |
| In tomorrow's newsletter, I'll have previews of every game on the Week 14 schedule, including the latest injury updates, plus all of the key takeaways from tonight's game. Get ready for Week 14 with all of our preview content here: |
| Week 14 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | RB | WRStarts, sits and sleepers for every game Week 14 Position Previews: QB | RB | WR | TE Week 14 Rankings: Jamey | Dave | HeathMy rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE |
| Here's what else today's newsletter will cover: |
| 1️⃣4️⃣Dave Richard's Week 14 Preview🆚TNF Preview: Raiders at Rams🚑Week 14 Injury Watch |
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| 1️⃣4️⃣Dave Richard's Week 14 Preview |
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| There are the obvious calls, and then there are the ones you need help with. Dave Richard goes through each game to identify the most interesting matchups and biggest lineup dilemmas for Week 14. Here are some of his top picks for this week. You can find the rest of his advice for Week 14 here : |
| Starts |
| Derek Carr, QB, Raiders -- "Carr's been playing great ... okay, fine, Davante Adams has been playing great. That's helped. But it's about the Rams defense going from fabulous to faulty that makes Carr a reasonable starting option. I'd start him over Kirk Cousins, Tom Brady and Mike White." |
| Zonovan Knight, RB, Jets -- "Expect Knight to once again work as the primary runner for the Jets, giving up third-down work and the hurry-up offense to Ty Johnson . Since I expect the Jets to keep the game close, Knight's a candidate to score and pick up work in the passing game, though I'd be surprised if he topped 100 total yards again. I'm aggressively ranking him as a No. 2 Fantasy RB in PPR this week ahead of the Dolphins, Bills and Buccaneers RBs. He's lower in non-PPR." |
| Sits |
| Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns -- "If Patrick Mahomes couldn't get more than 20 Fantasy points against the Bengals last week, what are the chances that Watson can this week? I expect Watson to be less rusty, but it's still a treacherous matchup. I'd rather start Jared Goff or Ryan Tannehill." |
| Devin Singletary, RB, Bills -- "Two problems are at play: One, there's too much uncertainty in the Bills run game to count on Singletary to for-sure come through, and two, there isn't much upside. View him as a low-end starter or a bye-week replacement at best. His low-ceiling status keeps him behind Dameon Pierce, Zonovan Knight, Jamaal Williams and Rachaad White in non-PPR, and all of those guys plus Leonard Fournette and Cook in full PPR." |
| Sleeper |
| Foster Moreau, TE, Raiders -- "Let's be real, the only reason why you'd start Moreau is that you're stuck streaming a tight end, perhaps as a bye-week replacement. You'll have to hope he finds a touchdown, which is the case every week for him, but this time he's playing a team that's allowed a LOT of touchdowns to tight ends. If you're weighing him against other low-volume tight ends like Austin Hooper or Dawson Knox, you might as well go with the guy with the better matchup. I would put Hunter Henry ahead of him, however." |
| Bust Candidate |
| Gabe Davis, WR, Bills -- "Davis' role never really expanded like we had hoped, and now he's watching Stefon Diggs and even Isaiah McKenzie pick up shorter throws. Those will be the types of throws the Bills may have to settle for on Sunday, just as they did in Week 9 in New York. If you just can't stomach sitting Davis because of his upside, I get it, but at the very least consider your other options -- anyone with a consistent track record of getting 9 non-PPR/12 PPR points is worth taking over him. I'm ready to start Mike Evans, D.J. Moore, Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster over Davis in PPR." |
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| 🆚TNF Preview: Raiders at Rams |
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| All lines from Caesars Sportsbook |
| Line: Raiders -6; 44.5 O/UImplied totals: Packers 22-Titans 19 |
| Baker Mayfield very well may end up playing for the Rams tonight, just two days after they claimed him on waivers. That's where we're at, with the Rams season having collapsed into disaster. Matthew Stafford is out for the season; so is Allen Robinson, and Cooper Kupp probably is, too. So, we're looking at potentially Mayfield -- or John Wolford or Bryce Perkins, not that would make it any better -- throwing to Brandon Powell and Tutu Atwell and Van Jefferson. There isn't a Rams player inside of my top-70 Flex rankings this week. The Raiders, of course, only have Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams in my top 70. There isn't much to watch here, in other words. |
| Toughest lineup decision: Cam Akers -- Sit. You might not have a choice, of course, and Akers does have a pretty great matchup on the way against a Raiders defense allowing the sixth-most Fantasy points to opposing running backs right now. However, he's coming off his best game of the season which saw him rush for all of 60 yards on 17 carries (3.53 YPC) with one yard-less catch. He did score two touchdowns, but finding the end zone is probably the only way you're going to feel good about having Akers in your lineup. He'd be an easy sit if not for six teams on bye. |
| Injuries: John Wolford (neck) is questionable for the game, and it seems like we may not know who is going to start for the Rams until closer to game-time. Not that it matters much, obviously ... Josh Jacobs (quad/calf) is also officially questionable for tonight's game after being limited throughout the week of practice, but we're assuming he's good to go. If not, or if he's limited, Zamir White figures to step in as the lead back in a very good situation. |
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| 🚑Week 14 Injury Watch |
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| The Big News: Michael Carter was not listed on the practice report Wednesday, a sign that the ankle injury that kept him out last week is healed up. However, it's not clear what kind of role he's going to be coming back to after Zonovan Knight played so well in his absence. Knight rushed for 159 yards and added 62 yards on eight catches. He showed a playmaking ability and burst the Jets offense has been missing since Breece Hall's season-ending injury. Will they go back to Carter as the lead back? Honestly, I would be a little surprised if they did -- Carter never had more than 12 carries in any of the games after Hall's injury, so they pretty clearly view him as a complementary piece. I would still start Knight as an RB2, especially in PPR scoring, ahead of Carter. |
| I'll have a full breakdown of the injury report in Friday's newsletter along with my previews of each game, but here's a look at the first practice participation reports of the week. |
| FP = Full participation in practice.LP = Limited participation. DNP = Did not practice. |
| Injuries to watch for Week 14 |
| It's not clear what these injuries mean quite yet. |
| Patrick Mahomes (foot) -- FP. There was some concern coming out of Sunday's game, but Mahomes seems to be good to go. |
| Trevor Lawrence (foot/toe) -- DNP. Lawrence was unable to practice Wednesday, but his status for Sunday's game is still up in the air. It's something to keep an eye on, given a solid matchup against the beat-up Titans, and he's a low-end QB1 if he does end up playing. |
| Ryan Tannehill (ankle) -- LP. Tannehill aggravated a lingering ankle issue last week, but seems likely to be able to play through it. He's a mid-range QB2 without a ton of upside at this point. |
| Najee Harris (oblique) -- DNP. Harris missed the first two days of practice last week with this injury before playing Sunday, and he actually played pretty well, rushing for 86 yards on 17 carries. He's not a superstar, but it's pretty dang hard to go away from Harris at this point. |
| Kenneth Walker (ankle) -- DNP. DeeJay Dallas (ankle) also didn't practice Wednesday, while Travis Homer (knee) was limited. That leaves Tony Jones Jr. and Wayne Gallman (practice squad) as the only healthy running backs the Seahawks have right now, but with two more days of practice left and so many moving parts, it's impossible right now to say how to approach this. If you're desperate, Jones is worth adding just in case. |
| D'Onta Foreman (foot) -- DNP. Foreman acknowledged earlier in the week that he isn't 100% healthy, but he does expect to play. We'll take his word for it, but make sure Chuba Hubbard isn't available in your league because he could be in line for a significant role this week. Hubbard would be a low-end RB2 if Foreman is out against the Seahawks, a pretty good matchup. |
| Mike Williams (ankle) -- Williams made his return to practice Wednesday, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be back this week against the Dolphins -- we saw Williams try to come back from this injury back in Week 11 and suffered a quick setback. The Chargers are sure to be extra careful with Williams whenever he makes his return, and he'll be a startable WR2 if he is cleared to play. |
| Jaylen Waddle (fibula) -- LP. Waddle played through the injury last week and was a bit limited, so this is one to keep an eye on. Hopefully he can get through a full practice, but he's been productive while hobbled before this season, so you're probably still starting him. |
| Nico Collins (foot) -- DNP. This is a new one for Collins, who has been getting a ton of targets lately -- 36 over the past four games, in fact. He hasn't done much with them, but there's room for a breakout here if Collins can stay healthy and get on the same page with Davis Mills -- who will return to the starting lineup for the Texans after being benched the past two weeks. It helps that Brandin Cooks (foot) was also unable to practice Wednesday. |
| Corey Davis (illness) -- DNP. The Jets seem to be having a bit of an outbreak, as they had several plays on the injury report with an illness Wednesday. Given that it's this early in the week, hopefully Davis will be good to go for Sunday, and he's a viable streamer. |
| Kadarius Toney (hamstring) -- LP. The oft-injured Toney hasn't played since Week 11, but he could be able to return. He remains a talented stash candidate, but not necessarily someone you want to trust against a tough Broncos defense even if he does play. |
| Trending up for Week 14 |
| This doesn't mean they will play, but we got good news about them Wednesday. |
| Tua Tagovailoa (ankle) -- LP. Tagovailoa left last week's game with the injury, but downplayed it, so this is a good sign for his chances of playing. |
| Joe Mixon (concussion) -- FP. Mixon was expected to clear the concussion protocol some time this week, and this represents his first full practice since suffering the injury. I'm expecting him back, and he should be in his usual role as the clear RB1 for the Bengals, making him a must-start option. Samaje Perine returns to the bench, but he should remain rostered in all formats after showing us how much upside he has if something happens to Mixon. |
| David Njoku (knee) -- LP. Njoku was limited Wednesday after missing all of last week with the injury, a sign of improvement, at least. Njoku would be a viable starting option, though actually one I'd feel less comfortable trusting after watching how much Deshaun Watson struggled last week. |
| Trending down for Week 14 |
| This doesn't mean they won't play, but they aren't moving in the right direction yet. |
| Lamar Jackson (knee) -- DNP. At this point, I'm not expecting Jackson to play this week, with Tyler Huntley ranking right around QB15 in his stead. Huntley isn't nearly the passer Jackson is -- and Jackson has had his own troubles moving the ball through the air with a week receiving corps -- but Huntley's rushing floor makes him a viable starter if you need one. |
| Courtland Sutton (hamstring) -- DNP. Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett told reporters "it's not looking good" for Sutton to play against the Chiefs. Jerry Jeudy played through an ankle issue on a limited basis last week, but should be in line for a solid role if he's healthy. |
| Treylon Burks (concussion) -- DNP. Burks will have to clear the concussion protocol before he is allowed to play this week against the Jaguars, which seems like a long shot. Robert Woods would be the No. 1 WR for the Titans, but is a real long shot to produce enough to matter for Fantasy. |
| Hayden Hurst (calf) -- DNP. Hurst has already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Browns. |
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