What a time to be alive huh? And what a time to have bye weeks! Are you serious? Many of you fantasy managers are scrambling to find replacements as you try to make that final playoff push. Some may be in a win-and-in situations, going for the bye or simply trying to ruin someone’s season (which can be just as satisfying). How can you replace Justin Fields, Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara (ok maybe you can replace him), Terry McLaurin, Aaron Jones, Christian Watson and Chris Olave? Tough scene I know, but your opponents don’t care, a win is a win. How do we secure those wins? We have to dig deep and hit on the FLEX plays! Let’s get it.
D.J. Chark - WR, Lions vs. Vikings
You should be chasing Chark’s points from last week and also chasing the line on this game, which is set at 52.5. I went with Chark here because let’s be honest, it’d be too cheap to go with Jamaal Williams or D’Andre Swift and you must have pieces of this offense in your lineups in Week 14. Chark has been ramping up the production each week since he’s returned from injury. In Week 11, he looked like an afterthought in the Lions’ offense. The following week he was able to scrounge up five targets for a dismal two receptions and 16 yards, but he scored a touchdown. In the Lions’ Week 13 dragging of the Jaguars, he had his best game of the season going 5/98/0. Furthermore, the Vikings present the fourth-worst defense against wide receivers in fantasy this season and just gave up 13 receptions for 247 receiving yards against Garrett Wilson and Corey Davis. Chark has a chance to shine against the leaky Vikings’ defense.
Adam Thielen - WR, Vikings @ Lions
Same game, but a scarier player to put into your lineups. I was and am all out on Thielen this season, but this matchup is too hard to ignore. Despite Thielen only going over 70 yards in a game just once this season, the Lions are the sixth-worst defense in terms of fantasy points given up to receivers. He hasn’t scored much (only three touchdowns this season), but one of his touchdowns came against the Lions in Week 3. Again, we expect this to be a high-flying, high-scoring game, so you want to try and lock in as many reasonable players in this game as possible. For example, I would not recommend starting Jalen Reagor, but maybe K.J. Osborn if you’re going the DFS route. Over the past four weeks the Vikings have faced respectable defenses like the Jets, Patriots, Cowboys and Bills, things should lighten up against the Lions. I wouldn’t normally recommend Thielen, but go for it!
D’Onta Foreman - RB, Panthers @ Seahawks
Since Christian McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers Foreman has had some ups and downs, but way more of the former. In four of six games since becoming the Panthers’ lead back, he’s rushed for at least 110 yards. The Seahawks come into Week 14 with the fourth-worst defense against running backs in fantasy. In fact, they’re coming off a game in which they let Cam Akers manage a stat line of 17/60/2, by far his best fantasy performance of the season. Foreman has put up two duds in his six-game stretch as the leading back, failing to reach 25 rushing yards each time the Panthers were behind big, but with the Seahawks currently as only 3.5 point favorites, it doesn’t suggest that the game will completely get away from the Panthers and that’ll keep Foreman in play.
Isiah Pacheco - RB, Chiefs @ Broncos
The Broncos will prove to be a tougher matchup for Pacheco as they boast the eighth-best fantasy defense against running backs this season. Things change however, when your quarterback is Patrick Mahomes and your team is favored by 9.5 points. Pacheco has been on a nice little run over his past four games coming in at RB21. In that span he’s either rushed for at least 80 yards or scored a touchdown in every game. The volume has been there as well, averaging 16.7 carries per game in his past four games. The Chiefs signed Melvin Gordon, but there has been no indication that he’ll be suiting up for Week 14 and cutting into Pacheco’s workload. Jerick McKinnon will get some work mixed in, but Pacheco will lead the way. Keep riding the rookie.
Josh Palmer - WR, Chargers vs. Dolphins
Coming off a seven-catch, 60-yard performance on 11 targets, Palmer could be in for another busy day. His results almost directly hinge on whether or not Mike Williams (who’s expected to finally practice this week) will be available in Week 14. With the line set at 52, Palmer and others should get plenty of opportunities to make plays on Sunday Night Football. In Week 13, the Dolphins gave up 13 receptions for 138 yards to 49ers’ receivers (Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Jajuan Jennings). Justin Herbert should be able to throw his YOLO dink-and-dunk passes all day to rack up the fantasy points. Furthermore, we know if the Chargers get behind, Hebert can muster up some garbage numbers to help boost the stat line for him and his receivers. DeAndre Carter is a solid play as well if Williams misses again. Take advantage in what should be another game where Herbert throws the ball at least 40 times.
Jeff Wilson - RB, Dolphins @ Chargers
I’m willing to throw out Wilson’s horrible output against the 49ers where he only had a carry for three yards. Tough defense, tough game script -- the 49ers simply had the Dolphins’ number on Sunday. I expect Wilson to have a lot more than the 11% of rushing he had in Week 13 against a Chargers’ defense which has given up the second most points to running backs in fantasy this season. Raheem Mostert could be a nice play too if the Dolphins ride the hot hand. The leading rusher against the Chargers has had at least 105 yards in three straight games. Wilson should be able to get back to the same form he had when he first joined the Dolphins with ease.
