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.