Last-Minute Week 14 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Decisions: Jaylen Waddle, AJ Dillon, DeAndre Hopkins, Saquon Barkley and More
Discussing the best fantasy football options for the pair of week 14 Monday night games.
Week 14 of the NFL season has a pair of Monday night games for consumption, but it also creates a few more start/sit decisions than normal. Let’s take a look at both games and determine the best fantasy options.
The Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins battle in one of the games. The over/under for the contest is 46, with the Dolphins serving as a 13.5-point favorite. I think the Titans force a couple field goals which should keep them in the game. My final score prediction is Miami 27, Tennessee 17, so give me the under and the Titans to cover.
The Green Bay Packers and New York Giants battle in the other game. The over/under is 37, with the Giants at +6. I think we get some more points in this one, with the Packers adding a late field goal to win by two scores. My final score prediction is Green Bay 27, New York 16.
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Quarterback Breakdown
Green Bay’s Jordan Love has been the best fantasy quarterback from these four teams this season.
He’s thrown for at least 250 yards and two touchdowns in each of the team’s past four games. Love has eight touchdowns and no picks over the past three weeks.
Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa has cooled off a bit after a strong start to the season.
Tagovailoa has at least 240 yards and a touchdown in each of the past three games, but also has thrown three picks in that span. He’s thrown at least one touchdown in each game this season, and only has five games without multiple TD passes.
Tommy DeVito is the Giants’ starter again after his recent hot streak.
DeVito has seven touchdown passes to three interceptions across the past four games. He’s had at least 175 passing yards and a touchdown in three of those games.
Will Levis will start for the Titans.
Levis has avoided an interception in three straight games, and has three TD passes in that span. He’s topped 150 yards in all six games he’s appeared in, reaching 199 yards or more in four of those.
Verdict: Tagovailoa gets the slight edge over Love for my top starting option for the night, simply because I like his matchup a touch more. I’d take Levis against the Dolphins over DeVito against the Packers.
Running Back Breakdown
The running back outlook is a bit murky because of some injury concerns. The biggest question mark is Packers’ Aaron Jones, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be playing. I’ll still include him in the discussion in case something were to change and he suits up.
Jones has been banged up all season, so missing him won’t be anything new for the Pack. He’s only gotten 85 touches for the season, but just 22 over the past four games.
AJ Dillon will lead the backfield in Jones’ absence. He’s gotten at least 17 touches in each of the past three games. He’s scored just one touchdown on the season despite tallying over 700 scrimmage yards.
Patrick Taylor will likely serve as Dillon’s backup if Jones isn’t playing. Kenyan Drake and Ellis Merriweather are RB options on the practice squad. I don’t think any Green Bay backup will do a whole lot in Monday’s game.
Saquon Barkley leads the Giants’ backfield. He’s scored five touchdowns this season and accumulated over 800 scrimmage yards. Barkley has at least 13 touches in the team’s past three games.
Matt Breida backs Barkley up, but has just seven touches over the past three contests. He won’t be all that involved unless Barkley gets injured.
The top three backs from the Tennessee, Miami game all appeared on the injury report this week, but all three are without an injury designation.
Titans’ Derrick Henry has 41 touches over the past two weeks and has rushed for eight scores this season. He’s got over 1,000 scrimmage yards already.
Tyjae Spears is Tennessee’s backup RB and had 20 touches a week ago. He’s over 500 scrimmage yards for the season, but has scored just once.
Raheem Mostert is the Dolphins’ top fantasy option, but De’Von Achane had eight more touches than Mostert last week.
Jeff Wilson could get a few touches as well, but only had four a week ago. He hasn’t scored this season.
Verdict: Barkley is my top fantasy back for Monday’s games. I like Achane next, followed by Dillon and then Henry. Mostert is the top backup in my eyes, with Jones slotting in next if he plays. Spears is my next choice. Next for me is Wilson, and then Breida rounds things out.
Wide Receiver Breakdown
Packers’ Christian Watson is out for Monday’s game, while Giants’ Parris Campbell is questionable. Every other wide receiver should be good to go.
Miami’s Tyreek Hill is easily the best fantasy receiver in this game. He’s been elite this season, with 12 touchdowns and nearly 1,500 receiving yards.
Teammate Jaylen Waddle is a great No. 2, with 743 yards and three scores on the season. Cedrick Wilson, Braxton Berrios and River Cracraft all played 20+ snaps last week, but only Cracraft had any targets (2).
DeAndre Hopkins is the Titans’ only somewhat consistent option at WR. He’s caught five touchdowns and tallied 774 yards this season.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Chris Moore were the only receivers on the team to play over 10 snaps last week. Westbrook-Ikhine combined for only four targets.
Minus Watson, the Packers will lean on Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks.
Reed has over 500 receiving yards and five receiving scores, and is also involved in the team’s run game a touch. Doubs also has over 500 receiving yards and leads the team with seven touchdowns. Wicks has 374 yards and a score on the season.
The Giants’ wide receiver room has been hard to figure out all season.
Darius Slayton leads the team in most stats now, but only has 435 yards and one score for the season. Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins, Sterling Shepard and Campbell are also options.
Verdict: Hill is the obvious No. 1 option for tonight’s games. I’d take Hopkins next, followed by Waddle. Give me Reed and Doubs next, and then Slayton. The rest of the guys are pretty much tossups, but I’d go in this order: Wicks, Hyatt, Robinson, Westbrook-Ikhine, Hodgins, Moore, Wilson, Berrios, Shepard, Cracraft and Campbell.
Tight End Breakdown
Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft, Tennessee’s Chigoziem Okonkwo, Miami’s Durham Smythe and New York’s Daniel Bellinger are the top TE options in the contest.
Okonkwo has 11 targets over the past two games and has 313 yards on the season. He’s yet to score.
Kraft is probably the second-best fantasy option, even though he’s only started for a couple games. He’s got 95 yards and a score on the season, but is coming off a six-target game last week.
Bellinger is questionable going into Monday’s game, so his status is one to watch. He’s only got 15 targets on the season, but has 145 yards on just 13 catches. Lawrence Cager would start in his place, but hasn’t done too much this season.
Verdict: I’d take Okonkwo as the top TE option for Monday’s games. I like Kraft next, and think he could outscore Okonkwo if he finds the end zone. I’d take Smythe and then whatever Giants’ TE starts last.
Final Thoughts and Preferred Flex Players
There’s not too many great fantasy options in this game, but there are some trending names on the FantasySP start/sit tool.
If you have flex spots to fill, here is how I’d rank all the players in this game: Hill, Barkley, Achane, Hopkins, Waddle, Okonkwo, Dillon, Henry, Reed, Doubs, Mostert, Slayton, Jones, Spears, Kraft, Wicks, Hyatt, Robinson, Westbrook-Ikhine, Hodgins, Jeff Wilson, Moore, Cedrick Wilson, Breida, Berrios, Shepard, Smythe, Cracraft, Bellinger/Cager and finally Campbell.
When talking about an offensive position (OP) spot, I’d move Tagovailoa and Love behind Hill. Levis and DeVito would fall behind Waddle for me.
#start-sit-decision
