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John's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 14 of 2025. Are the breakout performances from Dontayvion Wicks, Adonai Mitchell, Devaughn Vele legit or flukes?
Green Bay Packers wide receiver, Dontayvion Wicks, New York Jets wideout Adonai Mitchell, and New Orleans Saints receiver Devaughn Vele all had surprisingly great outings in Week 13 for their fantasy football managers.
All of them were rostered in fewer than 10 percent of Sleeper leagues heading into the week, so it's not like anyone expected this. But it certainly commands the attention of fantasy managers moving forward. Players with that kind of upside need to be highly rostered in leagues.
With the playoffs coming up and waiver talent continually getting thinner, it makes sense to try to grab whatever's left for the taking. We're almost to the point that one loss will end your season. So did these players have legit breakouts or were they flukes? And what's the fantasy football outlook for each of yhem moving forward? Let's dive in.
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Was Dontayvion Wicks' Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Wicks caught six of his seven targets for 94 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant performance against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. His day was thanks to Packers quarterback Jordan Love throwing for four touchdowns in a dominant win over their divisional rival.
It's not very difficult to explain Wicks' performance, from my perspective, at least. Wicks has always been an excellent beater of man coverage throughout his career. He's struggled more against zone looks, and the Packers prefer to look the way of other receivers against these defensive shells.
Dontayvion Wicks made the first touchdown of Thanksgiving a good one. 🔥 @TCL_USA
GBvsDET on FOX/FOX One/Tubi
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/gBygaRpF87— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2025
Wicks is a talented receiver that was viewed as a breakout candidate heading into 2024 before he started struggling with drops. And the Packers have one of the most diffuse passing offenses in the league, preferring to spread the ball around as much as possible.
But all three of tight end Tucker Kraft (knee), WR Jayden Reed (clavicle), and WR Matthew Golden (shoulder) weren't able to play in Week 13. So Wicks got more work. And he was facing one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.
The Lions have a rash of injuries in the secondary, and they run a high rate of man coverage. This was an ideal matchup for Wicks to go off. It helped that Love played well. It's hard to expect him to be great moving forward, though. Reed and Golden will return, they'll face tougher pass defenses, and Wicks won't face as high a rate of man coverage for the rest of the season.
That makes him a fine add in deeper leagues. But when Reed and Golden are back, things could get ugly for him again.
Week 14 Outlook: Add in Deep Leagues
Was Adonai Mitchell's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Mitchell's situation is quite different than that of Wicks. While he faced an ideal schematic matchup, he served as the team's WR1 last week. Mitchell is one of the most talented route-runners and separators in the NFL that hardly has any production suggesting so.
Mitchell's struggled mightily with drops in his career. He's one of the worst WRs in the NFL at the catch point. It was hard for him to get much playing time in Indianapolis as a result. He was benched after catching a pass and having a free run to the end zone only to commit a major gaffe and fumble it away on his own.
Ball is out before it crosses the goal line. It’s a touchback!
INDvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/DtuT1kDX9s
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
The talent at doing everything other than hanging on to the ball from a purely physical standpoint has been notable on tape. There's been times where he's appeared to have run the wrong route, but it's hard to know that without knowing the playbook, which we don't know.
But Mitchell caught eight of his 12 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown in Week 13, scoring 24.2 PPR fantasy points. The Atlanta Falcons, who the Jets faced, run a high rate of single-high coverage, which Mitchell does a great job against downfield.
Tyrod goes DEEP to AD Mitchell for the 52-yard TD!
ATLvsNYJ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/1Vn37w4nNN
— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2025
Mitchell caught a 52-yard touchdown on a play in which the defender guarding him fell down. It's not totally a fluke, as he won on the route, though. And Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been a huge upgrade over QB Justin Fields, who is probably the worst passing QB in the league.
Still, the elephant in the room is the eventual return of WR Garrett Wilson (knee), the team's true WR1. It's not yet clear when he could return, but it could be as soon as next week. Mitchell is worth a speculative add and flex start for Week 14. Wilson's return will be key to determining what happens here.
Week 14 Outlook: Add in All Leagues/Start in Week 14 if Wilson doesn't play
Was Devaughn Vele' Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Vele served as the WR2 for the New Orleans Saints in Week 13 and caught all eight of his targets for 93 yards and a touchdown. It was easily the biggest game of his career. The second-year pro had never eclipsed 15 PPR fantasy points in any of his previous games.
It's worth wondering if he had a bigger role because the Saints WR1, Chris Olave (back), was dealing with an injury and saw a limited role in the passing game compared to what he usually sees. We often see players play a lot of snaps through an injury but get less opportunities with the ball to help lower the risk of re-injury.
What a throw by Shough 🎯
What a catch by Vele 🙌
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/yS9bPOvCmU
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 30, 2025
But Olave is the team's WR1 and the Saints faced an extremely soft Miami Dolphins defense that's struggled all year. They've had some good games, and they did win the turnover battle against New Orleans, but they've been demolished by more than one opponent this season.
They don't match up very well in the secondary, where they have a glaring lack of talent, so Vele had quite easy matchups. It's unlikely that he continues out-producing Olave moving forward, but he's at least worth a bench stash for now, and can be started in very deep leagues.
You probably shouldn't blow the rest of your FAAB on him, but putting in a claim lower in your priority list in case you miss out on Mitchell makes sense. Vele has lower upside than Mitchell until Wilson returns.
Week 14 Outlook: Add in 12+ Team Leagues, Start in Deep Leagues
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 14 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Dontayvion Wicks, Adonai Mitchell, Devaughn Vele. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 14. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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Popular Week 14 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 14 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 14 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Need a replacement? Below are some popular Week 14 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Dontayvion Wicks, Adonai Mitchell, Devaughn Vele compared to others:
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