In the final week of the fantasy football regular season for most leagues, owners can ill-afford to have any lineup holes. With just two teams on bye, the player pool is close to normal depth, adding another layer of pressure on fantasy owners to make the right lineup decisions. Shying away from potential Week 14 bust candidates like Zach Charbonnet, Dallas Goedert, and D'Andre Swift is essential if you aim to end the regular season in the win column.
Of course, even "must-starts" can have off-days (Austin Ekeler, we were counting on you) but you won't see those types of players among our bust picks unless we legitimately advise benching them. We're looking for players on the start-sit bubble -- not obvious starters and not players owned in just a small percentage of leagues. You might not have enough depth to bench the players below -- or you might just disagree with our picks -- but either way, it's your team, so make the decisions that work best for you.
We clutched up in an uber-important Week 13, nailing the majority of our bust selections after Brian Robinson Jr., Kyler Murray, Garrett Wilson, Jerry Jeudy, Hunter Henry, Pat Freiermuth, the Chiefs D/ST, Bengals D/ST, and the 49ers D/ST all struggled. We plan to replicate that same level of success this week.
Be wary of these potential underperformers with your season on the line.
WEEK 14 FANTASY ADVICE:
Sleepers | Projections | Start-sit
Fantasy RB Busts Week 14
Jerome Ford, Browns vs. Jaguars (Nick Musial). Despite Ford ending Week 13 with a strong 14.2 PPR point showing, he salvaged an ineffective day on the ground (nine carries, 19 yards) thanks to a 24-yard receiving TD. Kareem Hunt operated as Cleveland's RB1, logging 12 carries for 48 yards, indicating that Ford's touches could be limited against the league's No. 6 run defense.
D'Andre Swift, Eagles @ Cowboys (Vinnie Iyer). Swift is seeing less work down the stretch, as Kenneth Gainwell is getting more involved and the defense consistently puts the Eagles' offense in negative game scripts. It also doesn't help that Jalen Hurts is dominating the rushing TDs. Dallas is another tricky matchup like San Francisco was.
Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks @ 49ers (Matt Lutovsky). Charbonnet came through in a tough matchup in Week 13 despite exiting early because of a knee injury. Assuming Kenneth Walker III (oblique) is out again and Charbonnet gets the start, we expect a performance more in line with what he did in Week 12 (18 carries, 58 total yards) against San Francisco’s No. 2 run defense. If KW3 is active, then Charbonnet is an easy "sit."
WEEK 14 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy QB Busts Week 14
Geno Smith, Seahawks @ 49ers (Musial). Smith looked like his 2022 self last week, ending as the overall QB1 in his 334-yard, three-TD effort against what's been a reliable Cowboys' stop unit. However, fantasy owners shouldn't chase points and start him against his division rivals this week, as San Francisco's elite defensive line could live in the Seattle backfield. Geno posted just 8.3 fantasy points against the 49ers in Week 12, and another underwhelming effort will prove that last week's showing was a one-game anomaly.
C.J. Stroud, Texans @ Jets (Iyer). You probably need to use him as a starter in 12-team leagues, but in shallow leagues, you can pivot from this terrible matchup. The Jets have limited Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts to modest days, and this is a tough spot for a rookie on the road with weather in December.
Matthew Stafford, Rams @ Ravens (Lutovsky). Stafford is on a roll, throwing for 508 yards and seven TDs over the past two games. We think the hot streak comes to an end, as Baltimore is allowing the fewest fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs, and Stafford has struggled on the road this year with a 7:5 TD-to-INT ratio.
WEEK 14 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy WR Busts Week 14
Drake London, Falcons vs. Buccaneers (Musial). Although London draws a favorable matchup against a Buccaneers defense allowing the fourth-most FPPG to WRs, Atlanta's sporadic passing game should force owners to leave London on their benches. If your playoff hopes come down to your Week 14 result, you simply can't trust this year's PPR WR43 on a run-heavy offense.
Rashee Rice, Chiefs vs. Bills (Iyer). This is the first bad matchup for Rice in several weeks, as he's a big receiver who often plays in the slot, which means he'll get the toughest Buffalo corner matchup remaining vs. Taron Johnson. This feels like a Travis Kelce blowup game with random other receivers getting occasionally involved.
Jordan Addison, Vikings @ Raiders (Lutovsky). Addison did just fine when Justin Jefferson was in the lineup earlier this season, but the superstar’s return figures to hurt this rookie given Minnesota’s shaky QB situation. There are only so many catches and TDs to go around, and in a sneaky-tough matchup against a Raiders’ defense that regularly limits WR2s, Addison is a risky play.
WEEK 14 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks
Fantasy TE Busts Week 14
Pat Freiermuth, Jaguars @ Browns (Musial). Although Kenny Pickett's been far from a world-beater this season, Mitch Trubisky's ineffectiveness in relief duty last week gives us no interest in riding with "'Muth" this week. Little to no offense is expected in Thursday's Steelers-Patriots tilt (over/under 30 points), and there are plenty of better streaming options out there (Brevin Jordan, Cade Otton, Gerald Everett) in more favorable spots.
David Njoku, Browns vs. Jaguars (Iyer). So it was nice to see Joe Flacco lock into a tight end in taking over Cleveland's fill-in starting QB job against the Rams. Unfortunately, he decided to unlock ace blocker Harrison Bryant a lot more in the passing game at Njoku's sudden expense. The Jaguars aren't the easiest spot for the position and are much more giving to wide receivers downfield.
Dallas Goedert, Eagles @ Cowboys (Lutovsky). Goedert hasn’t played since injuring his forearm against these same Cowboys in Week 9. He was having a solid game (three catches, 50 yards), so there’s reason to trust him this week, but we're not quite so optimistic, as Dallas has only improved against TEs since then. Moreover, we’re worried about Philadelphia’s offense in general and Goedert being on a snap count.
Fantasy Defense Busts Week 14
Minnesota Vikings vs. Raiders (Musial). In the Raiders' most recent contest, Las Vegas' offensive line did not allow a sack or quarterback hit against a solid Chiefs pass rush. That bodes well for the Raiders' offense this week against a blitz-heavy Vikings defense, as plenty of clean pockets for Aidan O'Connell could lead to a field day.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Eagles (Iyer). This is a bit of a public service announcement that the best fantasy defense in 2023 is headed to hitting a wall and is unplayable down the stretch vs. top offenses that aren't the Giants, Jets, Commanders, etc. They busted vs. the Seahawks, so this isn't nuts. After this game, it's the Bills, Dolphins, and Lions to close the fantasy football season before the Commanders again in Week 18.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Bills (Lutovsky). Josh Allen will turn the ball over, but he’ll also post big stats against a Chiefs’ defense he’s regularly diced up in the past. Kansas City managed just two sacks and no takeaways against the Packers, indicating you can do better with a D/ST streamer like Houston, Detroit, or Green Bay, among others.
