RADIO
The second bye-mageddon of the year came at the most inopportune time for the fantasy season, Week 14. For fantasy managers aiming to punch their tickets to the playoffs, having numerous impactful players on bye was a worst-case scenario at this point in the year.
However, even with so many playmakers unavailable, there were plenty of widely available players throughout Sunday’s games that would’ve made great spot starts. In addition to the great spot starts, there were plenty of strong performances from players that hadn't made too much noise recently as well.
With plenty of strong outings from unexpected players, this week could’ve been a lot worse than it was for fantasy. After an entertaining Week 14, let's look at some of the most unexpected boom performances with the fantasy playoffs on the horizon.
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Fantasy Football Risers - Surprise Performances
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
The poster boy for this week’s unexpected performances came from the Jacksonville Jaguars with tight end Evan Engram. Over the course of the season, the Jacksonville tight end has had a few decent performances here and there. But this week was different as Engram decided to go out and have a career day against a Tennessee Titans defense that had no answer for him.
.@eazyengram is a baaad man.#JAXvsTEN | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/6yP6H4Aiah
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 11, 2022
In Week 14, Engram caught 11-of-15 targets for a career-high 162 yards and two touchdowns in Jacksonville’s shellacking of the Titans. Those statistics resulted in 33.7 Half-PPR points, the highest total for any player on the week. For a player that has consistently had the potential for success due to his athletic ability, this must feel great. Any fantasy managers that decided to start him probably punched their ticket to the playoffs in large part because of his outing.
Engram has always been an up-and-down player, but this kind of performance is baffling. While managers shouldn’t expect these kinds of performances from him often, maybe we see a boost in targets for the tight end going forward. Even with tough matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets coming up, Engram should still be viewed as a solid start for those that made the playoffs with him.
D.J. Chark, Detroit Lions
Coming off a solid outing in Week 13, D.J. Chark continued his productive stretch in Week 14 with this surging Detroit Lions offense. With an incredibly favorable matchup against the Minnesota Vikings' helpless defense, Chark took full advantage.
.@JaredGoff16 dialing up another deep one!#MINvsDET | 📺 FOX | #ProBowlVote | @DJChark82 pic.twitter.com/d58UP6Dt3I
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 11, 2022
Against the Vikings, the former Jaguar caught six-of-seven targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. His strong day resulted in 18.4 Half-PPR points, good for WR6 on the week. In his last two games, Chark has now topped 90 yards both times while grabbing five and six receptions, respectively.
He’s looked good since returning from injury, and he appears to be carving himself out a strong role in this offense that is only on the rise as of late. If he’s still available on waivers, Chark could be a solid add for the playoffs, even with rookie Jameson Williams seeing more work.
Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos
With Courtland Sutton being ruled out for Week 14, the Denver Broncos needed one of their other receiving weapons to step up. Luckily, Jerry Jeudy showed up to fill the role of top target. That absence of Denver’s WR1 and the Broncos having their most productive offensive performance of the season led to a career day from Jerry Jeudy.
Against the Kansas City Chiefs, the third-year receiver caught eight-of-nine targets for 73 yards and THREE touchdowns. While the yardage was solid, his ability to rack up touchdowns led to by far his best fantasy performance of the season. His stat line led to 29.3 Half-PPR points and a WR1 overall finish on the week.
HAT TRICK, @jerryjeudy! 🎩
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/zL62e2iJO6
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 11, 2022
Jeudy has had his fair share of struggles despite being one of the most hyped-up receivers in the league since being drafted in 2020. Maybe this performance can be a step in the right direction for his career and fantasy value, especially if Sutton misses more time.
Jerick McKinnon, Kansas City Chiefs
What a performance by the journeyman running back. Coming into Week 14, Jerick McKinnon was seen as a decent play due to the sheer amount of teams that were on a bye, but nobody would’ve guessed what eventually ensued for the nine-year veteran.
McKinnon exploded against the Denver Broncos as he saw heavy receiving usage out of the backfield. He finished with six carries for 22 yards along with seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Those crazy numbers resulted in 28.9 Half-PPR points, making him the RB1 overall on the week.
THE JET HAS LIFTOFF 🛩@JetMckinnon1 | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/B4OiGnObXn
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 11, 2022
With this being the best fantasy performance of McKinnon’s entire career and his role being mostly a pass-catching weapon, this shouldn’t vault him into regular starter territory. But it definitely moves him into a solid play based on matchups.
Luckily for McKinnon, the Chiefs get to play the Houston Texans, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Broncos again over the next three weeks. The Texans and the Seahawks offer loads of fantasy potential due to their inability to adequately defend opposing running backs while the Broncos have recently looked weaker at defending backs.
For those that made the fantasy playoffs with McKinnon on their roster, he could provide some strong production down the stretch.
Chris Moore, Houston Texans
The Houston Texans came into Week 14 with very few fantasy-relevant players on their roster for a dreadful matchup against the red-hot Dallas Cowboys. However, to the surprise of everyone, the Texans decided to make it a game with some strong production from some of their little-known playmakers.
In a game that was closer than it should’ve been, wide receiver Chris Moore took over. Moore isn’t typically the receiver that gets the work in Houston, but the team was missing their top two receivers, Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins. The seventh-year veteran finished the game catching 10-of-11 targets for 124 yards. That strong performance resulted in 17.3 Half-PPR points on the day, making Moore this week’s WR10.
CHRIS MOORE. ONE HAND.
📺 » FOX pic.twitter.com/Ez8bQjsoCD
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 11, 2022
This was a great outing from an unexpected source, and it could sustain for the rest of the year. At 1-11-1, the Texans are done and looking toward the draft. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Houston’s top-two receivers miss time while the team keeps them out of meaningless games. With them both out, Moore would continue to operate as this offense's top receiver for the remainder of the season.
So, while it might look incredibly ugly, Chris Moore could offer fantasy relevancy for playoff teams down the stretch.
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