Can you feel it? Of course you can. Who can’t feel that special Week 14 magic where your favorite team is in a life-or-death struggle for a playoff position or have simply sh*t the bed. Woo! Both sides are awfully fun, aren’t they?
As is customary at this point of the week, UPROXX Sports is here to provide some friendly daily fantasy football advice that might come in handy on Sunday. If you’re in the market for traditional fantasy league play advice, popular internet dreamboat Jason Nawara has your back and some suggestions. Let’s hop to the DFS side of things, shall we?
Quarterback
Invest in Dak Prescott: The Giants might have nothing to play for (aside from doing repairs or damage to Eli Manning’s psyche), but with Ben McAdoo gone, this might be the happiest NYG crowd showing up to East Rutherford all season long. That shouldn’t concern Dak Prescott too much, of course. He looked strong battling through a hand injury to knock off Washington 38-14 and faces a Giants squad that’s been soft on fantasy QBs (4th highest fantasy QB points against) throughout 2017. Prescott’s friendly $5,600 DraftKings salary adds a nice budget-conscious ribbon to the package. NFC East matchups can be a bit of a gamble, but this could pay off big for Prescott investors.
Avoid Kirk Cousins: Washington has turned in a 2017 campaign that’s somewhere between NFL wallpaper and a wrestler with no direction. Kirk Cousins hasn’t been awful this season, although this matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers (who have racked up an outstanding 19 turnovers in their last eight games) has the potential for disaster. Even during losses to the likes of Philadelphia and New England, the Chargers weren’t eaten alive by their fantasy monster QBs and Cousins doesn’t appear likely to truly light Los Angeles up either.
Consider Jimmy Garoppolo: Jimmy Garoppolo’s first start for the Niners wasn’t spectacular, but it sure as sugar points to better things for San Francisco (at least temporarily) at pivot. Garoppolo now shifts from a somewhat difficult matchup versus the Bears to a far more exploitable Houston defense who have surrendered huge numbers of QBs this season. This is a favorable matchup for Garoppolo as he develops his game for what San Francisco wants and what the Texans pass defense fears.
Running Back
Invest in LeSean McCoy: The Bills didn’t really deploy McCoy all that frequently against the Patriots in Week 13, although Buffalo did get yardage value out of their lead back’s somewhat trimmed rushing attempts in a grim 23-3 loss. That shouldn’t be an issue this Sunday when the Bills take on the sputtering Indianapolis Colts who give up TDs on the ground and is vulnerable to reception-happy rushers. Outside of a poor showing against the Chiefs in November, McCoy has been putting up an average of six plus yards-per-carry in recent showings and the Colts are destined to be carved up. Clocking in with a $7,200 DraftKings salary, this is a borderline sale price on Shady.
Avoid Christian McCaffrey: This is not a good week to go hog-wild on Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers rookie gets a miserable matchup in Week 14 against a Vikes squad that has won eight straight and held the rising Falcons to a piddly 9 points last week. Minnesota has held running backs to league-wide lows in both rushing and passing TDs which doesn’t favor McCaffrey’s somewhat erratic output and it’s not like the Vikings are going to forget about the dude’s dual-threat status. McCaffrey’s $6,700 DraftKings salary doesn’t serve up the value needed at that price point. At least not against the Vikings, a franchise where grown-up millionaires have pretend horns on their helmets. FOOTBALL!
Consider Peyton Barber: Let’s see how sturdy this bandwagon is, shall we? Peyton Barber made the most out of his status as Tampa Bay’s lead back in Doug Martin’s absence with 102 yards rushing and 41 receiving against the Packers and looked dynamite in the role. Martin’s status for Week 14 is still somewhat TBD (the Muscle Hamster returned to drills on Wednesday), but it might be worth leaning into the promise of Barber either way. Barber gets the visiting Detroit Lions who rank in the bottom five in stopping fantasy running backs and show no signs of reversing that trend.
Wide Receiver
Invest in Michael Crabtree: Michael Crabtree returns from suspension for a division rival game that could see a huge stat line for the Raiders wideout. Oakland gets a gift in the freefalling Chiefs, who were dismantled by the Jets (2017 is weird) and have elected to suspend cornerback Marcus Peters causing further strain on the injury-hampered defense. Jets receivers Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse both hung 20+ fantasy point performances on Kansas City in Week 13, a feat that’s definitely within Crabtree’s grasp.
Avoid Doug Baldwin: Jacksonville’s stifling defense should put the bulk of Seattle’s offensive weapons on the do not touch shelf. That includes star Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin, who is more likely to give you a mid-range respectable fantasy stat line than a blockbuster week anyway. It’s not a friendly matchup and could prove to be a full-on black hole in your fantasy lineup. Steer clear.
Consider Demaryius Thomas: This was not the season the Broncos envisioned. It’s been a bit of a horror show at times for Denver and Demaryius Thomas hasn’t been immune to that especially with the franchise’s carousel of underwhelming quarterback “solutions.” Still, Thomas makes for a very interesting proposition against the league’s 7th most generous fantasy pass defense in the Jets. Thomas was targeted 10 times against the Dolphins last week and is entrenched in the (currently) Trevor Siemian led offense as the primary target. Siemian plays much better at home and that doesn’t hurt the chances of Thomas having a big game either. Give it a think.
Tight End
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLFTUKg1ExM
Invest in Jason Witten: The Cowboys tight end has been a bit all over the map in terms of fantasy production this season, although Week 14’s game against the Giants looks like one you can tick off as having the potential for a big fat fantasy total. No team in the NFL has given up more fantasy points to tight ends than the Giants and that 2017 average includes a solid Week 1 outing from Witten in the season opener.
Avoid Jared Cook: Remember last week when I was all “LOOK OUT GANG, HERE COMES JARED COOK ROLLING DOWN THE TRACK” and the Raiders tight end did f*ck all against the sorry New York Giants all contest long. I’m clearly a stupid dummy idiotface with garbage for brains (I did call Rex Burkhead, though) and everything in my trash brain says stay the hell away from Cook in Week 14 in a far less favorable matchup versus Kansas City. (If nothing else, the Chiefs stop TEs from scoring.) Derek Carr gets Michael Crabtree and possibly Amari Cooper back so into the void Jared Cook goes.
Consider Ricky Seals-Jones: Bring on the alluring and frustrating tight end opportunity that comes with Ricky Seals-Jones this week! The Cardinals rookie has meshed well with Blaine Gabbert and has been a factor for Arizona since Week 11. After squaring off with a tough opponent in the Rams, the visiting Titans (who have only been a .500 team away from home) are a softer tight end matchup and Seals-Jones possesses the talent and gamebreaking ability to punish Tennessee’s defense in a big way on Sunday.
Here’s a friendly visual aide confirming that you can nestle your big investments alongside budget-friendly options.
Have a good football, everybody!
