Week 14: Fantasy Studs and Duds

Studs

Matt Forte- The pick of the week is Matt Forte taking on the woeful 49ers run defence. Starting Forte is the easiest decision you’ll make all week in fantasy. Whilst Forte has not been putting up the monster totals that he was at the start of the season, he has still been consistent. A lot of this has to do with his usage in the passing game. After the embarrassing game the Jets put forth against the Colts on Monday night, look for the coaching staff to take the ball out of the hands of their inept quarterbacks and roll with the run game. The matchup for Forte couldn’t be better, taking on a Niners defence that last week was ravaged by Jordan Howard and the Bears offensive line. Start Forte with confidence.

Jamison Crowder- Who would have thought, that at this point in the season we would be talking about Crowder as the main offensive weapon for the Redskins. Not DeSean Jackson or Pierre Garcon, but Jamison Crowder. Over the past five games Crowder has caught a touchdown in all but one game, and has looks to be the favour target of Kirk Cousins. This week Crowder gets to take on the Philly defence that has been leaking fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Philly currently give up the 7th most fantasy points in the NFL to wide receivers. I have a feeling that this could be a bit of an offensive showdown, and the Skins desperately need this week to stay relevant for their playoff aspirations. Crowder is a must start this week, and could post close to 90 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Jimmy Graham- Well it looks like the Graham of old is back, currently he is the best fantasy tight end in the NFL. A lot of this has to do with the improved offensive that the Seahawks have started to play, yet it is undeniable that Graham is a special talent. Russell Wilson is starting to trust Graham more and more, and is happy to throw it to him in tight coverage. This week’s game against the Packers is a perfect recipe for Graham, as this could be a shootout, look for lots of targets to go to the big tight end. Add into the fact that the Packers are currently one of the worst defences when it comes to stopping tight ends, this will be another big week for Graham.

Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree- Both of these receivers have been fantastic for fantasy teams this year. Look for both to find success against a Chiefs defence that has been giving up a tonne of receiving yards to wide receivers. Whilst the Chiefs have been playing good defence overall, they are playing a bend and not break style of football, meaning that they will give up a lot of yards but seek to limit your ability to get into the end zone. This opens the door for both of the Raiders wide outs to have productive days. It is hard to tell which one will garner more attention from Marcus Peters, whichever receiver spends less time with Peters draped over them, will have the better day. But look for the Raiders to their best offensive weapons around in order to exploit the better matchups away from Peters.

Doug Martin- It looks like Martin might finally be edging his way back to fantasy relevance. Scoring a touchdown and recording over 60 scrimmage yards, the Bucs may finally start to see their star running back break off some monster games. This week’s matchup is the perfect time for Martin to record his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Taking on a Saints defence that has been getting gashed by opposing running backs, Martin should see a lot of volume and will be in a terrific position to capitalise on a good matchup.

Phillip Rivers- Whilst Rivers hasn’t had the best stat line in terms of wins and losses over the past few weeks, he has been pretty consistent as a fantasy quarterback this season, he just need to cut down the intercepts. This week he gets to take on a Panthers secondary that can’t seem to lock down any receivers that come their way. Look for Rivers to exploit this matchup and throw all day in Carolina. He should get close to 300 yards passing and at least 2 touchdowns.

Duds

Marcus Mariota- Mariota has been on fire at the back end of the season. He has posted at least 20 fantasy points in his last four games. Don’t expect this trend to continue this coming week, as he takes on the Broncos and their opportunistic defence. Throwing against Denver is problematic at the best of times, I think the Titans coaching staff will look to win this game on the ground, therefore limiting Mariota’s attempts at passing his way to big fantasy totals. Look for a lot of Murray and the ground attack that has been so successful this season, the Broncos have been giving up large rushing totals all year. Temper expectations for Mariota, he won’t be scoring over 21 fantasy points this coming week.

LeGarrette Blount- The Patriots have continued to roll with Blount ever since Brady returned to the line-up. Blount had a nice day last week, rushing for one touchdown and recording 88 yards on the ground. Don’t expect those sort of totals this week, as the Patriots take on the best defensive unit against the run, the Ravens. Only once this year have the Ravens given up any substantial points to fantasy running backs, and that was against Zeke Elliot and the Cowboys offensive line. Look for the Patriots to try to attack the Ravens secondary, therefore limiting the involvement that Blount will have in this game.

Terrance West- Speaking of the Patriots and Ravens game, another starting running back that could struggle, is Terrance West. The Ravens don’t seem to want to run the ball at all, considering the lead they had last week against the Dolphins, they continued to throw till the end of the game. Whilst West did have a productive day, a lot of this had to do with the surprisingly terrible Dolphins defence and their inability to stop anything the Ravens threw at them. Don’t expect big things from West this week though, as the Patriots are one of the best defensive units against the run.

Kelvin Benjamin- Benjamin has been so inconsistent this season, causing headaches for fantasy owners. Last week albeit against a strong Seahawks secondary, he could not get any separation. This week he has a tough matchup against a Chargers secondary that is very underrated. The Chargers locked down Mike Evans last week to only 38 receiving yards. A lot of this has to do with the exceptional play from Casey Hayward, who is turning into a true lockdown corner back. I would recommend benching Benjamin until the offensive line in Carolina is fixed, and he starts to get consistent targets in the passing game.