Fantasy Football: Surprise receiver performances top Week 14 bold predictions
Every week, our Yahoo fantasy football crew will reveal their boldest predictions for the action ahead. It’s time to get bold for Week 14!
Sleeper wide receiver week
Dalton Del Don: If Keenan Allen and/or Mike Williams sit, Jalen Guyton is a top-25 fantasy WR (especially with a banged-up Austin Ekeler). If Elijah Moore sits, Keelan Cole becomes a top-30 WR with Corey Davis also sidelined and facing a pass-funnel Saints defense. With injuries piling up both to Cleveland receivers and Baltimore corners, Donovan Peoples-Jones has real fantasy upside this week. Amon-Ra St. Brown has emerged as Detroit’s WR1 and finished top-12 in WOPR last week (D’Andre Swift remains out again, while T.J. Hockenson is questionable).
Guyton ($10), Cole ($10), Peoples-Jones ($13) or St. Brown ($13) is going to help take down a DFS tournament this week.
Laquon Treadwell clears 70-yards
Liz Loza: The Holiday Season is nice. But Redemption Season is better. Just ask Laquon Treadwell, who has emerged as the Jags leading receiver since Jamal Agnew (hip) was sidelined. Expect more of the same when the former first-round pick (2016) takes on a Titans defense that has allowed an average of nearly 200 yards per game and a total of 16 scores to opposing wideouts.
Courtland Sutton rebounds out of nowhere
Matt Harmon: Someone from the Denver Broncos receiver corps is bound to fall into a massive game this week against Detroit. The Lions rank 28th in pass defense DVOA and 29th in explosive passing rate allowed. This defense was just far too undermanned to start with and has since suffered serious injuries. The Broncos passing game has become an all-out wasteland for fantasy production despite going three-deep with excellent wide receiver talent. Jerry Jeudy might be the target share leader (22.6 percent) over the last four games but his shallow aDOT (7.7) doesn’t lend itself to much upside. He’s also $18 in our daily game, which is a decent bit ahead of his teammates. We can’t trust Courtland Sutton’s $13 volume (3.5 targets per game since Week 9) but he has the highest aDOT in that span at 13.6. Simply put, he’s just too good of a player, frankly so are all these Broncos wide receivers, to not pop a few more times before the season ends. This is the right matchup to chance it.
MVS boosts fantasy playoff hopes
Troy King: I know it seems kind of gross, but hear me out. Over the past two games played, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has averaged a 26 percent target share (9 targets per game) and 87 yards a game. His increased involvement in the offense is apparent, running a season-high in routes (35) in his last game played. It also doesn’t hurt that Aaron Rodgers is the owner of the Chicago Bears, who give up the 11th-most points to fantasy wide receivers.
So, basically, Valdes-Scantling is a high upside flex play who will find the end zone and should contribute to a team’s last-minute push into the playoffs.
[Play in Yahoo's Week 14 Million Dollar Baller DFS contest]
Packers DST puts up 20 or more points
Scott Pianowski: We’re excited to see Justin Fields again; no one wants more of the Andy Dalton experience. But Fields has a massive sack problem, getting dumped 31 times against 198 pass attempts. It hashes out to a 13.5 percent sack rate, 31 percent worse than the league average.
Lopsided game scripts are where defensive mayhem and fantasy points come from, and the Packers are favored by 12.5 points here. Green Bay’s defense is going to have a hometown party Sunday night, and it might be the push you need to wrap up that playoff spot. Happy Holidays.
Cam Newton Bounces Back for a QB1 Performance
Jennifer Eakins: After a week off to rest and lick his wounds, Newton gets a favorable contest in Week 14 where he'll have the potential to post fantasy QB1 numbers. The Falcons surrender the most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season (21.2) and have allowed the second-most rushing yards and ground scores to the position. This divisional matchup should be a close one and Newton could be a difference-maker.
