Week 14 Starts and Sits! Best of luck this week, and remember to go with your gut!
START - J.D. McKissic @ SF Antonio Gibson is out this week with turf toe, which leaves just McKissic and Barber to carry the load. Considering McKissic lead the way with 74% of the snaps and considering McKissic has had multiple games with 10+ Targets with Alex Smith, he’s a clear PPR Start regardless of it not being a great matchup. His receptions alone could merit a RB2 week.
START - Ryan Tannehill @ JAC Last time these two teams met, Ryan Tannehill tied his season high with 4 Passing TDs. Except this time, he’s got A.J. Brown in the lineup. If the Jaguars have been good at one thing this season, it’s been making games closer than they should. Tannehill will throw in this game and has real Top 5-10 potential.
START - David Montgomery vs HOU Regardless of how bad poor QB play and his OL make him look, Monty is a great RB as well as a complete workhorse. The matchup makes it that much better and puts him back into the RB1 category for two weeks in a row.
START - Breshad Perriman @ SEA Both Jamison Crowder and Denzel Mims are expected to be OUT this week, which leaves Perriman, Braxton Berrios, and Jeff Smith. Considering the issues at RB, passing game script, and lack of weapons, Perriman should be in for a LOT of targets. Good flex ply with HIGH WR2 upside!
START - Curtis Samuel vs DEN Both D.J. Moore and CMC are out this week. Regardless, Samuel averaged a whopping 17.3 PPG since Week 7. So now with Moore out, Samuel upside gets even higher against a weak Denver Broncos secondary.
Desperate Starts; - Giovani Bernard vs DAL; Bernard hasn’t put together a respectable game in quite some time, but he’ll have a chance to do so now at home against a horrid Dallas run defense. Hopefully he sees an uptick in Targets as well. - DeAndre Washington vs KC; All of Gaskin, Ahmed, and Breida are out this week. Which leaves Washington to a potential workhorse role in a “revenge game” type matchup. Could put up some solid numbers, but his floor is low.
SIT - Todd Gurley @ LAC This guy is just unstartable at this point. He played 33% of the offensive snaps last week and his knee is only getting worse. Don’t expect anything close to a workhorse role from him, and keep him on your bench.
SIT - Jalen Hurts vs NO I’m as excited as anyone that Hurts is getting his first NFL start. But the Saints have been one of the best defenses in the NFL over the last 4-5 weeks. Now is not the time to test the waters and put him out there.
SIT - Raheem Mostert vs WAS I was shaky on Mostert prior to the season, but he showed out in the beginning. There was evidence of him potentially being the workhorse in San Francisco. Now that he had returned from injury, most of us expected him to regain his position as the starter but ended up playing less snaps (44%) than Jeff Wilson. In a very tough matchup it’s almost impossible to trust him this week.
SIT - DeVante Parker vs KC In Tua’s return last week, Parker finished with 4 Catches for 35 yards in what looked like a great matchup. It’s been the Mike Gesicki show lately, and with one the toughest defenses against WRs coming up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that continue.
SIT - Jarvis Landry vs BAL In their last meeting, Landry put up a passable 11.1 Points. But largely in part because of OBJ taking the coverage from Marlon Humphrey. Without that benefit, Landry could struggle in this matchup, causing Mayfield to look elsewhere to get the ball down the field.
Lower Expectations - Josh Jacobs vs IND; Coming off what appears to be a low ankle sprain, Jacobs has a very tough matchup at home against the Indianapolis Colts. Hopefully he can get you 10+ to get you through the week, but there’s already been 3 occasions where he didn’t even do that. - Miles Sanders vs NO; Going up against the best run defense in the NFL, after being practically unstartable the last three weeks. Pederson did say they would focus more on an established run game, and Sanders is excited about the potential read option plays with Hurts. But in the end, it’s really tough to trust him this week.