Key Starters and Tough Calls - Lineup Spotlights for Week 14

Scott Engel provides Week 14 fantasy football lineups analysis, spotlighting key NFL players to start and tougher lineup start/sit decisions to make.

Welcome to Week 14, RotoBallers! Below you will find some of my spotlight choices and players to go with or consider avoiding when faced with tough lineup decisions in Week 14 of the fantasy football season.

These choices are based off my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller's NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a 10% discount and get access to all of my ranks in all formats, plus a full roster of tools and analysis for the remainder of the 2020 season. Weekly subscription options are available.

Skill position picks here are based on my PPR rankings.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Week 14 Running Back Spotlights

Melvin Gordon rushed for a season-high 131 yards last week. He has 80+ rushing yards in 2 of his past 3 games. Gordon disappears when the Broncos have to play catch-up, but Denver should stick close vs. Carolina. The Panthers rank 26^th in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to RBs. Gordon is a quality fantasy RB2 play this week.

The Cowboys have allowed the most rushing yards in the NFC. Last week, they surrendered 290-plus rushing yards for the second time this season after allowing that much just once in a game in the first 60 years of franchise history. But the Bengals offense has been really bad without Joe Burrow, scoring less than 10 points twice in the last three games. Giovani Bernard has rushed for over 40 yards just once this season and does not have a rushing TD in his past four games. Don’t make the mistake of starting him thinking he has upside just because of the matchup. Bernard does not look capable of taking advantage of a good draw right now. He is a shaky RB3/flex option this week and you may have better options.

DeAndre Washington will start vs. Miami, but as we have seen with Jordan Wilkins, Brian Hill and Devontae Booker, opportunity does not always lead to production for backup RBs pushed into an expanded role. The Chiefs are 20^th in FFPG allowed to RBs, but Washington already did not show us much when given an opportunity to carry the ball more. He rushed for just 49 yards on 13 carries in Week 12 vs. the winless Jets and is purely a desperation option.

If you are scrambling for a RB option this week, you may want to consider Chase Edmonds. The Fordham University alum seems to love playing near his alma mater at MetLife Stadium. Edmonds had a career-high 150 scrimmage yards (126 rush, 24 rec.) and career-high 3 rushing TDs in his matchup with the Giants last year in New Jersey. He had 90-plus yards from scrimmage and a TD at MetLife vs. the Jets earlier this season. Edmonds has a TD in 4 of 6 road games this season.

Miles Sanders has 100+ scrimmage yards in 4 of his past 5 games at home. He has 1,449 rush yards on 297 career attempts (4.9 average), the 4th-highest yards per carry since 2019 (min. 275 attempts). But Sanders has averaged just 37 rushing yards per game in his last three outings and has been a big overall disappointment this year. There is hope that playing with an RPO QB like Jalen Hurts can boost his outlook, and Doug Pederson has alluded to using him more frequently this week. But until you see actual success with Sanders again, it is hard to start him with any confidence in your fantasy playoffs. Sit him for a week if you can to see how things work out with Hurts. Survive and advance with another quality alternative if you have one.

Week 14 Wide Receiver Spotlights

Terry McLaurin had an off game last week, but you should maintain high confidence in him. San Francisco has a good pass defense on paper, but McLaurin can show he can bounce back from a down outing against a “quality” opponent. The Niners are not a complete shutdown unit, as they surrendered 34 points and Josh Allen threw four TD passes against themlast week. Stefon Diggs caught 10 passes for 92 yards. Don’t overreact to one bad outing from McLaurin. He  is one 1 of 3 NFC WRs with 7 games of 7+ receptions this season. He has a career-high 71 receptions for 977 yards in 2020. McLaurin remains a solid must-start option.

Marquise Brown is aiming for his 3rd game in row with a TD catch. He had 5 catches for a season-high 101 yards in the Week 1 meeting with Cleveland. The Browns are 26^th vs. WRs. But in his last seven games, Brown has gone over 60 yards just twice with one game of more than four catches in that span. He only has four TD catches this year. Brown has been completely unreliable this season and Baltimore passed for just 107 yards last week. He is too risky of a choice during the fantasy postseason.

T.Y. Hilton set season highs in receptions (8) and rec. yards (110) and had a TD catch last week. He is aiming for his 3rd game in a row with 80+ rec. yards and a rec. TD. Hilton has suddenly re-emerged just as the fantasy playoffs are beginning. Las Vegas is 20th vs. WRs and this is another good matchup for Hilton, who scorched Houston yet again last week.  Philip Rivers has spread the ball around to various targets all year, driving fantasy players crazy in the process. But this is a very important game for the Colts and Hilton is Rivers’ most established playmaker. Start him as a fantasy WR3 this week and you should see good returns again.

Antonio Brown has 7+ receptions in 2 of his past 3 games. The Vikings are 29^th vs. WRs and Tom Brady has to stop a three-game home losing streak in a big NFC matchup vs. Minnesota. Brown has admirably come back from a long layoff and is already looking like he is in good game shape. He has been beating defenders downfield, but Brady has been missing him often. This could be the week when things really come together for the Brady/Brown duo. The Buccaneers need a win and getting the ball to Brown for key plays can help the chances. Brown deserves serious fantasy WR3 consideration this week.

WATCH: The King and Geoff Stein of MyFantasyLeague.com provide their Week 14 Sleeper and Value Plays. 

Week 14 Quarterback Spotlight

Ryan Tannehill completed 29 of 45 passes (64.4 pct.) for a season-high 389 yards & 3 TDs vs.  an INT last week. He passed for 239 yards and 4 TDs vs. 0 INTs in his Week 2 meeting with Jacksonville. He is aiming for his 3rd in row vs. the Jaguars with 2+ TD passes and 0 INTs. Jacksonville is 29^th vs. QBs. You should also note the following from the Associated Press:

“Some of Derrick Henry's biggest plays and most productive games have come against the Jaguars. Just not in Jacksonville, which is about 25 miles south of Henry's hometown.

The Jaguars have an impressive streak going against the NFL's leading rusher this season and last. They haven't allowed Henry to reach 100 yards rushing in any of his four trips home. He managed just 13 yards on the ground as a rookie in 2016, followed by outings of 92, 57 and 44 yards in front of friends and family at TIAA Bank Field.”

Henry can certainly break that trend this week, but the Jaguars will try to put the offense more in the hands of Tannehill and he will burn them for it. He is a prime start this week if you do not roster one of the Top 5-6 Fantasy QBs.

Week 14 Tight End Spotlight

Logan Thomas had a career-high 9 receptions for a career-high 98 yards and. TD last week. He has career highs in catches (43), rec. yards (426) and rec. TDs (5) this season. The 49ers are No. 1 in FFPG allowed to TEs. But you should still lock Thomas in this week if you do not roster a Top 5 TE. You cannot worry about a matchup with him when so many other alternatives are either “TD or bust types” or have have been much less reliable than Thomas. Thomas had his career game against the Steelers last week, who are third-best vs. TEs. If you sit Thomas, the alternative you come up with will likely be much more risky regardless of matchup.

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