Fantasy Football Sleepers: Week 14
It’s the final week of the 2023 regular fantasy football season, meaning the fantasy playoffs are about to get underway. Whether you’ve locked in a playoff berth or are still competing for seeding, amassing talent on fantasy rosters is the best way to ensure success down the stretch. There are only two teams on Bye in Week 14, Arizona and Washington before Byes conclude in Week 15, so we’ve got a ton of accessibility to players, unlike Week 13, when six teams were resting on their Bye Week.
Monitoring a team’s injuries is a big factor in staying ahead of other league managers on the waiver wire. You may have stashed a player or two off of waivers in previous weeks on your bench, waiting for the perfect time to deploy him into lineups. Week 14 could be the time to do so, but it depends entirely on the situation, ranging from injuries, usage, and the team’s playoff trajectory. We saw Ezekiel Elliot step into the RB1 role for New England on Thursday night against Pittsburgh and thrive, logging 23.5 fantasy points with 140 scrimmage yards and a touchdown.
Maximizing points in fantasy lineups is the ultimate goal. In this fantasy football sleepers article, we account for injuries, usage, scheme, and rest of season schedule to determine which players qualify as “sleeper” prospects in fantasy football leagues. NFL fantasy analyst Matt MacKay is back to provide his latest analysis for Week 14 fantasy football sleepers, using half-PPR scoring to assess each player mentioned in this article to assist fantasy managers with making the correct start/sit decisions during the final slate of the 2023 fantasy football regular season schedule.
Tyjae Spears (RB – Titans)
Tennessee doesn’t have much to play for other than pride at 4-8, three games behind the rest of the AFC South division, but rookie running back Tyjae Spears is worth reviewing. Spears saw 16 carries in Week 13, converting these touches into 75 rushing yards while also hauling in four receptions for 13 yards on six targets. Derrick Henry is currently questionable in the league’s concussion protocol, so Spears may see an elevated role against the Dolphins in Week 14. Miami is a tough running back matchup, but Spears’ versatility out of the backfield, while also playing in a run-centric offense, could elevate him into low-end RB2 value if Henry winds up missing in Week 14. Spears then gets two matchups against Houston, 17th against fantasy running backs, intersected with a top-five fantasy running back matchup against Seattle in Week 16, so he’s worth stashing at the very least.
Ty Chandler (RB – Vikings)
I’ve been hammering home Ty Chandler for weeks and he managed two double-digit fantasy point outings in Week 10 and Week 11 before logging a disappointing 1.6 fantasy point performance against Chicago in Week 12. The Vikings now have star wideout Justin Jefferson back on the field, which will open up the run game more due to defenders being forced to respect his talent. Alexander Mattison remains Minnesota’s RB1, but Chandler still earns targets, while also seeing touches in the red zone. Las Vegas is a top-six fantasy running back matchup, meaning Chandler could return to 10-12 fantasy points if he is afforded 10-15 touches like he earned during his two pop games. Chandler should be stashed, even if you don’t want to start him in Week 14, as he’ll face Cincinnati (14th) and Green Bay (10th) which present more plus-matchups in Week 15 and Week 17 during the fantasy football playoffs.
Jameson Williams (WR – Lions)
Detroit’s run-centric offensive scheme likes to implement wideout Jameson Williams in unique ways. The Lions give him touches as a ball carrier on pre-snap motion plays or allow Jared Goff to run play-action and target Williams deep downfield. Williams remains a player who must be hyper-efficient to return value, as he’s only earned two to three touches in his past five games played, but he’s recorded 6.1 – 11.4 fantasy points in each of his past three games played. Chicago’s run defense is stout, meaning Detroit may wind up passing more, leading to an increased role for Williams in the passing attack. Williams is a fringe WR3 with WR2 upside if he earns five-plus targets moving forward and can be inserted into starting lineups in Week 14 as a boom-bust WR3 against Chicago on the road.
Elijah Moore (WR – Browns)
Joe Flacco’s cannon arm benefits the Browns’ wide receiving corps quite a bit, which includes Elijah Moore. Moore saw a season-high 12 targets from Flacco during his first start as the Browns’ QB1 against the Rams in Week 13, earning 12 targets and turning them into four receptions for 83 yards. In Week 14, Cleveland hosts an injury-decimated Jacksonville Jaguars team that has been susceptible against the pass all season. The Jaguars just got torched by Jake Browning, so Flacco shouldn’t have difficulty moving the football through the air to Moore in an easier matchup than the Rams presented a week ago. Moore is a WR3 with WR2 upside and can be inserted into fantasy football lineups in Week 14.
Gerald Everett (TE – Chargers)
Despite Los Angeles only scoring two field goals in Week 13, Gerald Everett still managed to log 6.4 fantasy points against the Patriots. Now, Everett and the Chargers return home to host division-rival Denver in Week 14, which is among the softest matchups (2nd) for fantasy tight ends. Everett remains heavily involved within the Chargers’ passing attack, earning four to five targets in each of the past two games, while scoring his third touchdown of the season against the Ravens in Week 12. Everett is a low-end TE1 worthy of streaming in lineups during Week 14, especially due to the lack of healthy or talented receiving options on the Chargers’ active roster.
Jake Browning (QB – Bengals)
A 26.2 fantasy-point performance during a 34-31 overtime win against Jacksonville in Week 13 may have been an outlier moment, but it’s still worth investing in Jake Browning ahead of a Week 14 home game against the Indianapolis Colts. Browning torched a bad Jaguars pass defense, completing 86 percent of his pass attempts for 354 yards and a touchdown, while also scoring a rushing touchdown to elevate his fantasy output. The Colts are ranked 17th against fantasy quarterbacks, a pedestrian matchup for Browning, but they defend poorly against the run, meaning Browning will have opportunities in the red zone. The Bengals still have talent throughout their offensive personnel, so if Browning can even give us 70 percent of what he showcased in Jacksonville, he’s a fringe QB1 in a game that projects to have a high-scoring point total.
