Stars of Week 14

QB: Matt Ryan, ATL: 24-39, 375 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT

RB: Le’Veon Bell, PIT: 26 carries, 185 yards, 2 TDs

WR: Julio Jones, ATL: 11 catches, 259 yards, 1 TD

WR: AJ Green, CIN: 11 catches, 224 yards, 1 TD

TE: Mychal Rivera, OAK: 7 catches, 109 yards, 1 TD

Fantasy owners have plenty of familiarity with the first four names on this list.  Matt Ryan took advantage of a relaxed Green Bay secondary, as did Julio Jones. My condolences to those of you who faced teams which started both players (I was one of them). AJ Green has been fantastic since his return, and his great game against the Steelers should surprise no one. It felt wrong to leave either player out, so both get honors this week, and both WRs will be top 5 at the position for next year. Not much else to add about Le’Veon Bell – he’s been a fantasy monster this year.  Bell will compete for the top overall spot in next year’s drafts. Mychal Rivera has been a sleeper TE this year in deeper leagues, and he had a nice week against the cross-bridge rival 49ers.

Week 14 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Teddy Bridgewater, QB – MIN: 19-27, 309 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT

Analysis:         Teddy Bridgewater has had a solid but not spectacular rookie season for the Vikings. Well, he arguably had the best game of his young career against the Jets this past Sunday, crossing the 300 yard plateau while finding the end zone twice. For the season, Bridgewater has performed just as you would expect for a rookie QB – inconsistently. Despite the nice performance this past Sunday, I would not recommend starting Bridgewater these last few weeks unless you are desperate for a QB option. With that said, keep tabs on his performances the next few weeks, with an eye towards next season. With a few more promising performances, he could inch his way into solid QB2 status for next season.

- Andre Williams, RB – NYG: 24 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD

Analysis:         Andre Williams came up big for those fantasy owners who started him this week. That’s the good news. So what’s the bad news? It came against the Titans, a putrid run defense. Earlier this season while Rashad Jennings was injured, Williams had a chance to show that he should be the lead back, and he failed to impress. With Jennings battling injury again, Williams stepped up to the plate against a swiss cheese defense. So, based on his body of work and the eye test, don’t overrate Williams. Rashad Jennings is the better RB, and he should remain the starter when healthy. In games where Williams does start, he should be viewed as a flex option against solid run defenses, and as an RB2 only against junk run Ds like the Titans. Don’t overreact to this performance.

- Kerwynn Williams, RB - AZ: 19 carries, 100 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis:         With Andre Ellington out for the season, head coach Bruce Arians announced that Stefan Taylor would be the starting RB for the Cardinals. So of course, little known Kerwynn Williams ends up rushing for 100 yards against the Chiefs, getting 19 carries to Taylor’s 6. While the Chiefs do not have a strong run defense, Williams did look impressive. As for Williams’ outlook for the rest of the season, we’ve got a good news (he’s the Cardinals RB to own) and bad news (brutal schedule) situation. Because of his schedule, I can’t put him higher than flex category – at least not possibly until the season finale against the 49ers. But if you need an RB, you should definitely pick up Williams.

- Charles Johnson, WR – MIN: 4 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD

Analysis:         Who’s the top WR for the Vikings? At this point, you can begin to make a case for Charles Johnson, as he has really come on the last four weeks. Johnson has been targeted seven or more times in three of the last four games, and has pulled in TD catches in two of the games. Of course we need to see much more before we crown him as an upcoming fantasy stud, but he can possibly help you for these last few playoff games if you need another WR. For me, he’s just off the cusp of a starting flex, so I see him more as a high end WR4. But, in deeper leagues, he should get some play. If you need a WR, take a look at Johnson. Even if you don’t need a WR now, keep an eye on Johnson – he could be a nice sleeper pick in drafts next year.

Rapid Fire Pickups 

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.

QB:                  Johnny Manziel, CLE (wrote about him last week, he’s starting this week)

RB:                  Jonathan Stewart, CAR (available in surprising number of leagues)

RB:                  James Starks, GB                   

WR:                 Marquise Lee, JAC

WR:                 Jarius Wright, MIN

TE:                  Marcedes Lewis, JAC

Week 15 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. Andrew Luck

3. Drew Brees

4. Peyton Manning

5. Matt Ryan

6. Tom Brady

7. Matthew Stafford

8. Ben Roethlisberger

9. Jay Cutler

10. Russell Wilson

11. Philip Rivers

12. Tony Romo

13. Mark Sanchez

14. Johnny Manziel

15. Joe Flacco

16. Ryan Tannehill

17. Eli Manning

18. Ryan Fitzpatrick

19. Andy Dalton

20. Kyle Orton

Running Backs

1. Le'Veon Bell

2. Arian Foster

3. DeMarco Murray

4. Jamaal Charles

5. Matt Forte

6. C.J. Anderson

7. LeSean McCoy

8. Marshawn Lynch

9. Justin Forsett

10. Joique Bell

11. Eddie Lacy

12. Mark Ingram

13. Isaiah Crowell

14. Alfred Morris

15. Latavius Murray

16. Rashad Jennings

17. LeGarrette Blount

18. Chris Ivory

19. Jeremy Hill

20. Ryan Mathews

21. Daniel Herron

22. Jonathan Stewart

23. Lamar Miller

24. Fred Jackson

25. Giovani Bernard

26. Tre Mason

27. Steven Jackson

28. Andre Williams

29. Doug Martin

30. Chris Johnson

31. Terrance West

32. Matt Asiata

33. Frank Gore

34. Darren Sproles

35. Reggie Bush

Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown

2. Demaryius Thomas

3. Calvin Johnson

4. Odell Beckham Jr.

5. T.Y. Hilton

6. Dez Bryant

7. Jordy Nelson

8. Julio Jones

9. A.J. Green

10. Alshon Jeffery

11. Emmanuel Sanders

12. Jeremy Maclin

13. Randall Cobb

14. Josh Gordon

15. DeAndre Hopkins

16. Mike Evans

17. Sammy Watkins

18. Jordan Matthews

19. Julian Edelman

20. Kelvin Benjamin

21. Golden Tate

22. Brandon Lafell

23. Steve Smith

24. Mike Wallace

25. Keenan Allen

26. Kenny Stills

27. DeSean Jackson

28. Martavis Bryant

29. Donte Moncrief

30. Andre Johnson

31. Jarvis Landry

32. Larry Fitzgerald

33. Eric Decker

34. Pierre Garcon

35. Charles Johnson

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski

2. Jimmy Graham

3. Julius Thomas

4. Martellus Bennett

5. Antonio Gates

6. Greg Olsen

7. Larry Donnell

8. Jason Witten

9. Travis Kelce

10. Coby Fleener

11. Jordan Reed

12. Heath Miller

13. Jared Cook

14. Dwayne Allen

15. Mychal Rivera

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM.  He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.