December 13, 2015

RotoBaller's 2015 Week 14 fantasy football rankings analysis and tiered ranks, for both PPR and non-PPR leagues, and all NFL positions (QB, RB, WR, TE, DEF). Rankings advice for your Week 14 matchups.

What's up RotoBallers. Week 13 is complete and we hope you managed to secure the win and make your fantasy football playoffs. To celebrate, today we are bringing you our Week 14 fantasy football playoff rankings to help prepare you for your Week 14 matchups.

Below you will find both PPR rankings and standard league rankings for Week 14, brought to you by Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades) and Edward Gorelik (@EdwardGorelik). Lead fantasy football columnist Edward Gorelik also highlights some rankings analysis for Week 14, broken out by position, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 14.

You can also check out our 2015 fantasy football ranking dashboard, for more in depth rankings analysis on all positions including rookies and dynasty leagues.

Rankings are subject to change leading up to the games, but the analysis written might not.

Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings - All Positions

Week 14 Quarterback (QB) Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

Jameis Winston faces the New Orleans Saints defense at home this week, making him a big major QB1 candidate. There just hasn't been any defense more significantly worse than the Saints this season, and the entirety of the Buccaneers crew will be seeing boosted rankings this week.

Matthew Stafford has enjoyed a short renaissance over the past few weeks - but going on the road, against a defense that's allowed an average of 15 points per game to opposing offenses, isn't going to go over well for a QB that's struggled against nearly every good defense he's faced this season (see: ARI, DEN, KC, SEA). However, one saving grace is that ever since Robert Quinn's been out, the Rams defense have been a bit more mortal.

Drew Brees on the road and Drew Brees at home has been such a stark difference this season that it shouldn't be ignored. Brees has thrown 17 touchdowns at home vs only six on the road. He's seen a drop of 10% in completion percentage on the road. He's thrown an INT every ~35 attempts on the road, compared to one INT every ~50 at home. His ranking is going to stay low.

Week 14 Running Back (RB) Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

Fire up LeSean McCoy this weekend as he faces an average Eagles defense on the road. But wait, aren't the Eagles McCoy's former team? That's right, it is. Going back to Philadelphia to play against the coach that traded him, in the stadium he used to play in, after throwing comments about Kelly's racism out to the media - you know he's angry and you know he's going to play hard.

There's people out there considering benching Todd Gurley because of his last two weeks, but I'm not one of them. Gurley's struggled to be fantasy valuable in his last two weeks, but both matchups came against two of the leagues top teams in the Cardinals and Bengals. This week he's facing the Lions at home. That's not even close to the same thing that's kept him off the fantasy map the last two weeks, and a return to RB1 scoring should be expected.

Shaun Draughn will have the chance for RB1 relevance this week against one of the league's worst run defenses, who also has one of the league's least consistent starters. The Manziel-led Browns have had trouble sustaining drives all year long - if things go just right for the 49ers, they might actually have a lead to sit on, and be running Draughn throughout the game.

The Browns have allowed the 6th most fantasy points on the season to RBs, while also allowing above average receiving yards to RBs (important to note due to Draughn's heavy targeting in the passing game), and being among the bottom five teams in run defense DVOA.

Despite Buck Allen's two great weeks as a first-time starter, I really don't believe he's talented enough to outplay the Seahawks defense. Volume should give him the ability to put together a decent floor - but when it comes to expecting another RB1 week from him, that seems far-fetched to me.

The Dolphins and Browns are among the two worst defenses in the league against RBs, and Allen benefited greatly from defensive misplays leading to big touchdowns for him. I don't expect the same to come from the Seahawks.

Week 14 Wide Receiver (WR) Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

A.J. Green returned to being the A.J. Green of the past, but that has obviously coincided with the loss of Tyler Eifert to the Bengals offense. If Eifert returns this week, expect Green's ranking and production to take a hit.

Thanks to the complete breakdown in their defense, the Eagles are now allowing the most fantasy points to opposing WRs. Only three teams have given up more yards against WR1s this year, and Sammy Watkins is coming into their house with tons of momentum. The Eagles have been only average in Watkin's best territory (the deep ball), so it wouldn't be surprising to see him make a big catch or two on them after doing it to two defenses that were better than average against it.

Despite Brees' issues on the road, Brandin Cooks has been able to maintain nearly the same stats regardless of where he's playing. The Buccaneers have not been anything better than average against the pass, and especially WR1s, so Cooks could see a lot of passes his way if the Bucs manage to get ahead early on. Even more-so if the recent Mark Ingram injury news turns out to be true.

Assuming he's healthy, Stevie Johnson should be ready to bounce back against the Chiefs this week. The Broncos are no one's favorite matchup this year - they've been the #1 pass DVOA on the season, and have kept WRs in all positions at least 15 yards below the averages allowed around the league. Seeing the Chiefs defense, who's allowing the highest amount of yards to WR1s (101 yards average) should set him up for a great return to relevance.

Week 14 Tight End (TE) Rankings Analysis

By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)

Austin Seferian-Jenkins' return wasn't met with a dominant game, but facing the defense that's allowed the most fantasy points on the season to TEs should change that. No team has allowed more receptions or yards to TEs, and only one team has allowed more touchdowns. ASJ should be looking at a big week, with the potential to be the top scoring tight end (assuming neither Rob Gronkowski or Eifert return).

Antonio Gates is great against bad TE coverage, and anywhere from bad to average against good TE coverage. He's just at that point in his career where his talent isn't enough to offset bad matchups. The Chiefs defense held him to one catch for six yards in their last matchup, and since then they haven't been any worse.

They've only allowed 5.45 fantasy points to TE's over the last four weeks (6th lowest in the league), and only 36 yards to the position on average for the year, which is nearly 20 yards less than the NFL average. There might be better options than Gates out there this week.

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