December 10, 2016

Ben Ruppert's 2016 Week 14 wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings analysis and tiered ranks. His rankings and start/sit advice for your Week 14 wide receiver matchups.

Below you will find our Week 14 wide receiver rankings, to help determine your WR starts/sits for this week, brought to you by Bill Dubiel (@Roto_Dubs), Nick Mariano (@NMariano53) and Ben Ruppert (@Ben_Ruppert_21).

Featured writer Ben Ruppert also highlights some WR rankings and matchups analysis for Week 14, 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 RotoBaller's overall player rankings here.

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Week 14 Wide Receiver - Rankings & Matchups Analysis

Julio Jones’ toe injury is going to limit him at the worst possible time for fantasy owners. After aggravating his turf toe injury last week, he has been limited in practice all week and is expected to be a game-time decision on Sunday. When he is on the field he is excellent, but this is an injury that he has dealt with in the past. Some have speculated he won’t play at all, while others are saying if he plays it will only be as a decoy. Regardless, it looks like Jones’ role will be diminished to try and keep the injury from getting worse. With Mohamed Sanu already being ruled out, it’s going to be the Taylor Gabriel show this week. Gabriel has been excellent over the past five games in limited work, with five total TD and several big plays in the receiving game. He will obviously not be able to fill Jones’ shoes completely, but a coupe extra touches could be all Gabriel needs to have a huge breakout game. Gabriel is our 100^th rated player this week, but his upside could be a top-20 player.

After a disappointing start that got him dropped from plenty of fantasy teams, Golden Tate has turned into the receiver we all drafted him to be over the past several weeks. He supplanted Marvin Jones as Matthew Stafford’s favorite target in Week 6 and never looked back. He is coming off his second 100-yard game of the season, catching 8-of-10 targets for 145 yards and a TD in the impressive in over the Saints in New Orleans. The Bears have been good at limiting WR production since their Week 9 bye, limiting Mike Evans and Rishard Matthews to mediocre performances. Tate should see steady production the rest of the year with the amount of looks he receives, but this Bears defense should not be taken lightly.

In the two games since his return from a foot injury, Sammy Watkins has been a bit disappointing from a fantasy perspective. In his first game back he caught 3-of-3 targets for 80 yards, including a nice 62-yard reception down the sidelines. Last game he only caught three of his team leading nine targets for 38 yards, though that wasn’t all his fault. Tyrod Taylor had an off game, struggling to hit open receivers due to his inaccuracy and jitteriness in the pocket. As Watkins continues to improve and get back to a full slate of snaps, his production will hinge on Taylor’s ability to get him the ball in good places. They will need to make this connection work this week if they want to beat the Steelers, who boast one of the best offenses in the NFL. Watkins is a WR3 this week with WR1 upside if he can get a long reception or two. He will have no problems getting enough targets.

The loss of Rob Gronkowski in the Patriots offense is a huge blow, but it gives us the opportunity to see how Tom Brady can play without his favorite red zone threat. In his absence, Julian Edelman has dominated targets, while Malcolm Mitchell has seen his role increase as he evolves into one of Brady’s preferred targets. Over the past three weeks he has averaged six receptions for 74 yards and a TD per game. With the Pats now using more three WR sets, Mitchell saw his snap count jump from 47% the week before to 85% last week.  He received a healthy 10 targets, catching eight of them for 82 yards. With Danny Amendola done for the year, Mitchell has his role solidified for the remainder of the season. If he is available in your league still, he is a strong pick up for this week. Though they are playing the Ravens, the Patriots are a dynamite team at home and will likely be passing often while they stuff the run. Mitchell is a solid play this week and should be the rest of the year as a WR3 with upside.

The most reliable receiver over the past few weeks for the Panthers hasn’t been Greg Olsen or Kelvin Benjamin, it’s been Ted Ginn. He has either five receptions or a TD in seven straight games, with TD scores in each of the past three weeks. He leads the team in targets over the past three weeks with 20, one more than Olsen and Benjamin (each with 19). Ginn scored a career-high 10 TD last season, fueled by Cam Newton’s ability to chuck the ball deep and let Ginn use his speed to go and get it. The same thing has been happening the past three games, with his scores coming from 40, 88, and 55 yards. The Chargers have given up the 11^th fewest fantasy points to opposing WR this season, but have been beat by deep threats this season like DeVante Parker in Week 10. The Carolina offense has been struggling of late, with the only thing working being the Newton-to-Ginn connection. Expect that connection to continue this week.

Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings - Wide Receivers