Hail to the King

Week 14 Loves & Hates

Loves

QBs

Ryan Tannehill (Titans)- After putting up 389 passing yards, 3 TDs, and 1 Int, against a decent Browns defense, this week against the Jaguars should be just as good. The Jaguars have been at the bottom of the league all year when it comes to defending QBs and over the last four weeks, not much has changed. In this time the Jags have allowed the second most passing yards, 1,155, while also giving up the most passing TDs in this span. Although with A.J. Brown banged up, most of the passing game could go through Corey Davis.

Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)- This should be a decent bounce back game for the Steelers if the weather cooperates. After a tough game against the Washington Football Team, which is one of the better defenses against the pass, to get the Bills is a gift. As of recently, the Bill have allowed on average 22.33 fantasy to QBs with a 64% completion rate, 877 passing yards and 5 TDs. A big bulk of this increase are the 2 rushing TDs allowed to QBs, which I don’t think Big Ben will be adding too. But with the plethora of WRs, a stud TE, and James Connor, I like the potential to have a good day through the air.

RBs

David Montgomery (Bears)- If there is one thing I don’t like to do, it is write up a Bears player in successive weeks. But, unfortunately that is just how it worked out. After a strong showing last week against the Lions, he gets another gift with the Texans. The Texans in the last four weeks have allowed the second most rushing yards of 518, the second most rushing TDs with 5, and have given up the most receiving yards to a RB with 253 plus a TD. This all paints a picture that should allow Montgomery to thrive, even if Mitch Trubisky is the QB.

Derrick Henry (Titans)- I hate to write up the top players like this, but it was just hard to ignore. King Henry gets the Jaguars that have allowed the most rushing yards in the last four week (520 yards). With Brown banged up the team will probably lean on Henry often to grind the game out, with some involvement from the passing game. With such a strength this week I would be shocked if Henry was not within the top two performers.

WRs

Justin Jefferson (Vikings)- For being such a tough defense against the run, the Buccaneers have been getting beat up quite badly through the air recently. When I looked at the data I was shocked to see the Buccaneers as the 32nd ranked defense against WRs over the last 4 weeks, so much so I reloaded the page to make sure I was seeing it properly. Turns out I was, and the Bucs have been bad. They have allowed a 73% completion rate to WRs with 805 receiving yards and 6 TDs. With how impactful the rookie Jefferson has been I am excited to see what he can do in this game. In three of the last four weeks Jefferson has been a monster, racking up over 20 fantasy points and catching 4 TDs during this time. With the Bucs seemingly handing out TDs to WRs Jefferson is primed to score.

Corey Davis (Titans)- As I stated above, the Jags are just bad on defense, and Davis has finally begun to look like the talent the Titans thought when they selected him 5th overall in the 2017 draft. When Brown went out and was limited once he returned, Davis was full throttle and did everything he could to get that game back. He finished with 35.20 fantasy points, and 182 yards on 11 receptions and a TD. I think the production should continue with Davis in this easy matchup.

TEs

Mark Andrews (Ravens)- This week Andrews will be available, following his time on the reserve/COVID-19 list. In his first game back in two weeks he the Browns, who have been horrible against TEs this whole season. This season they rank 31st, and over the last four weeks they only slightly improve to 30th. Within these last four weeks the Browns have allowed 21.30 fantasy points to TEs with 272 receiving yards, 22 receptions, and 5 TDs. Now that both Andrews and Lamar Jackson are healthy and on the field together, this should be a good week for Andrews.

Dalton Schultz (Cowboys)- With the Bengals being fairly good against RBs and WRs, it was nice to see that they still had trouble stopping TEs. Over the last four weeks the Bengals rank 24th and have allowed quite a lot of receiving yards (277 yards) and 21 receptions. Although the TD numbers aren’t there, the ability to be an active participant in the offense is. With Andy Dalton looking to Schultz as an outlet there will be targets available. 

D/ST

Saints- What is better than an opportunistic defense getting the Eagles. I know the Eagles made the switch from Carson Wentz to Jalen Hurts, but that doesn’t fix the offensive line that has allowed Wentz to be sacked over 50 times. With the Saints defense having the ability to pressure QBs I expect there to be some errant throws by Hurts.

Hates

QB

Tom Brady (Buccaneers)- What looked like a strong run for Brady and Bucs seems to have simmered down a touch, and now they get a Vikings defense that likes to cause problems. Over the last four weeks the Vikings have improved their defense against QBs from 15th this season to 6th. During these games the Vikings have allowed 874 passing yards and 5 TDs, but they have also forced 5 Ints. With the connection with the WRs not quite there, the Vikings could be able to take advantage and limit his effectiveness.

RB

Dalvin Cook (Vikings)- Although I highlighted Jefferson early and stated the Buccaneers pass defense wasn’t good, well their rush defense has been. The Bucs have been a top 5 team against RBs this entire season by only allowing 614 rushing yards, 7 TDs, 454 receding yards, and 3 receiving TDs. Now over the last four weeks the Bucs have become the 2nd ranked defense against RBs. During this time the Bucs have allowed 144 rushing yards, which is just an average of 48 yards in the 3 games. What is worse is that they have not allowed a rushing TD in this span and have only allowed 37 receiving yards and 1 TD with only 14 receptions.

WR

Stefon Diggs (Bills)- If the Steelers can do what they did to Terry McLaurin to Diggs, fantasy teams will be disappointed. Last week the Steelers blanketed McLaurin and limited him to 3.40 fantasy points, with just 2 receptions for 14 yards. Now in doing so the Steelers allowed other options to beat them. I could see the Steelers implementing this strategy again.

TE

Logan Thomas (Washington Football Team)- I have been a fan of the Washington Football Teams rookie Antonio Gibson, McLaurin, and Thomas and I have advocated that these players be taken seriously. However, this does not seem like a good week for Thomas. The 49ers have been a top defense against TEs all season and I don’t see that changing in this game. Over the last four weeks the 49ers have only allowed 7 receptions for 49 yards and 1 TD. This does not give me much hope that Thomas will have the same performance as last week.