Well I don’t know about you guys, but I am on full tilt after Week 14. The bye week was brutal, and the injuries were worse. You’d think I’d be used to seeing star players go down with injuries week in and week out, but every week I’m shocked and devastated. If you’re reading this, that means you’ve likely made the playoffs. Congrats to you! Hopefully you were able to mark yourself safe from all the injury woes. It’s a long list yet again.
Injuries
The biggest injury of Week 14 was QB Daniel Jones going down with an achilles injury. After fighting through a broken left fibula, it was heartbreaking to watch his season get cut short with a right achilles tear.
QB Riley Leonard entered the game for the injured Daniel Jones and suffered his own injury, a PCL sprain, that is trending toward keeping him out of Week 15.
TE Zach Ertz went down with what was likely a career-ending torn ACL. Absolutely devastating way to end a season, let alone a career.
QB Jayden Daniels is also done for the season after re-injuring the same elbow. Why he was even out there, I’ll never understand. With Washington all but out of playoff contention, there will be no reason to bring Daniels back a second time.
QB Tyrod Taylor left sunday’s game after just two series with a groin injury. We don’t yet know the extent of the injury, but his Week 15 status is in jeopardy. Given that the Jets are officially eliminated from playoff contention, there is always a possibility they let the rookie play to see what they have. Keep an eye out for Wednesday’s injury report.
WR CeeDee Lamb is in concussion protocol and trending in the right direction to play Week 15, which is something fantasy managers love to hear going into the first week of playoffs. Keep watch to make sure there are no setbacks in his progress.
WR Tee Higgins is, once again, in concussion protocol. What’s extremely odd about this is that he was evaluated during the game for a concussion after a pretty significant blow, and then sent back in to get hit several more times. It wasn’t until after the game that Higgins went back into concussion protocol. His status for Week 15 is very much up in the air.
WR Darnell Washington is also in concussion protocol. It remains to be seen if he can progress through to play Week 15, but he does have until Monday at least.
WR Marvin Harrison, as suspected, did not play in Week 14 due to the heel injury he sustained the week prior. He is still questionable to play Week 15, and we have no current updates. His practice status will need to be monitored closely.
WR Drake London hasn’t played or practiced since injuring his PCL in Week 11, and he did not practice again on Monday. With the Falcons playing on Thursday, this does not bode well for fantasy managers.
RB Devin Achane left Sunday’s game with a rib injury and did not return, however Mike McDaniel said he could have if the team needed him. It is looking like Achane might require rest this week, but we won’t have any news on that until the injury report comes out on Thursday (Miami doesn’t play until Monday this week).
TE David Njoku has been dealing with a knee issue for the last three weeks, and he left the game on Sunday due to that same knee. There are no status updates currently, so this will be something to watch during the week.
This season has been an absolute injury nightmare. If you need to replace some of these guys, hopefully some of the players below will get you through your playoff run.
Quarterbacks
Jacoby Brissett (QB – ARI): 37.7% Rostered | Last Week: QB12
We have been talking about Brissett for at least three weeks now, maybe four. I don’t think we need to say too much about him at this point. I am now tripling down on saying he’s most reliable quarterback in the league in the second half of the season. His worst game since Week 6 was in Week 12, and he still scored 18.7 fantasy points in half PPR leagues. This man is a machine. If you do not have Josh Allen, Matt Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, or Dak Prescott, then you should be starting Jacoby Brissett. Over the last five games, he is averaging 19.7 fantasy points which is behind only those names I just mentioned, and actually ahead of Stafford. Let go of your attachment to names, and rely on the data.
Shedeur Sanders (QB – CLE): 10.8% Rostered | Last Week: QB2
Has it finally happened? Is Shedeur a thing now? It might be too early to say, but with all the injuries he might be worth the risk. He’s shown he can sling the ball, and with accuracy. He may not have the strongest arm, but he was still QB7 in deep throws and QB6 in yards per attempt. In Week 14, he threw the ball 42 times. That is monster for fantasy purposes, and something he will likely be doing again in Week 15 against the Bears.
Tyler Shough (QB – NO): 9.9% Rostered | Last Week: QB6
Tyler Shough is not a flashy pick up, and his stat line is pretty gross. But even so, he put up 21.3 fantasy points in Week 14. He’s had at least six rushing attempts in each of his last three games, which is where his upside lies. He also racks up yardage in garbage time, which is also a big plus. Sometimes you don’t need the big play-maker. Sometimes you just need someone nitty gritty that will grind out points. And this just might be one of those times.
Bryce Young(QB – CAR): 21% Rostered | Last Week: BYE
Bryce Young is coming off his bye week, and if you were with us last week I said to grab him while no one is paying attention. He’s got a decent schedule coming up, and before the bye he was really starting to light it up. I actually really like Bryce Young here, and if Brissett isn’t available I might consider pivoting to Young.
Running Backs
Blake Corum (RB – LAR): 23% Rostered | Last Week: RB3
Blake Corum is everybody’s new favorite handcuff with standalone value. Corum’s snap percentage has been hovering around the 30% range, but if Kyren Williams’ usage comes down at all (and it very well could to preserve him for the Rams’ playoff run), Corum could be in line for a significant workload.
Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL): 37% Rostered | Last Week: RB32
Tyler Allgeier is everyone’s other favorite handcuff (unless you’re a Bijan owner). Week 14 was sort of average for him. He had 11 attempts for 34 yards, and two receptions for 33 yards. But the thing that makes him stand out is the fact that he has seven rushing touchdowns to Bijan’s four. What’s even better is that the Falcons have the Buccaneers and the Cardinals coming up, both of which are at the bottom for fantasy points allowed to running backs. You can’t ask for a better matchup.
Jaylen Wright (RB – MIA): 2.9% Rostered | Last Week: RB11
Jaylen Wright is becoming an intriguing waiver wire add. He has pulled himself up into the RB2 role, and if Achane does miss time he’ll then be the RB1. Either way, he’s a good pick up this week. As I said last week (and probably the week before), if you have the opportunity to get an RB1, DO IT.
Wide Receivers
Jayden Higgins (WR – HOU): 42.7% Rostered | Last Week: 50
Jayden Higgins has been a steadily rising WR2 behind Nico Collins. In the last five games, he’s averaging 6.6 targets and 7.1 yards per target. He’s also averaging 63.6% catch percentage on those targets. Higgins is proving to be a reliable wide receiver with a fairly safe floor.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB): 43.1% Rostered | Last Week: 35
Jayden Reed came out of Week 14 as the WR2 for the Packers behind Christian Watson. In Week 14 he caught all four of his targets for 31 yards, playing only 47% of snaps. If this is what easing him into the game looks like, sign me up. We speculated last week that Reed would be the most likely player to take over the Tucker Kraft role, and I feel more confident in that assertion now. There is definitely enough play action to feed both Watson and Reed going forward.
Tight Ends
Mason Taylor (TE – NYJ): 18.7% Rostered | Last Week: TE14
While I don’t love the Jets offense AT ALL, I do like the matchup Mason Taylor has this week against the Jaguars. The Jags defense has been on the decline, especially their pass rush. They’ve also struggled defending the middle of the field. This is the perfect recipe for Tight Ends to thrive. In the last five weeks, Taylor has averaged 4.6 targets per game with a 65.2% catch rate. At this point, he might be the only Jets player worth starting in Week 15.
Darren Waller (TE – MIA): 33.8% Rostered | Last Week: TE37
While I don’t love the matchup this week against the Steelers, I do love his Week 16 matchup against the Bengals. If you’re streaming Tight Ends and you have a spot to spare, you might want to pick him up this week and stash him for Week 16. Week 14 did not go well for Waller, but it was his second game back from IR so I won’t hold it against him too much. In the three games he played before getting injured, Waller had a total of 10 receptions for 117 yards and FOUR touchdowns. I can absolutely see him having a monster game against a Bengals defense that just got torched by Dawson Knox AND Dalton Kincaid.
Colby Parkinson (TE – LAR): 3.4% Rostered | Last Week: TE11
Colby Parkinson has cemented himself as the clear TE1 for the Rams. Over the past three games, he has been the overall TE2 in redzone targets and touchdowns. In the last five games, he has scored a touchdown in all but one. He’s a great streaming Tight End with huge upside.
Other Players to Consider
TE Ben Sinnott (Ertz done for the season); WR Isaac TeSlaa ; TE Gunner Helm; QB Phillip Rivers/Riley Leonard (whoever the Colts starter is this week); RB Rasheen Ali (current backup to Derrick Henry); WR Ryan Flournoy (if Ceedee can’t go); WR Luther Burden
Other Injuries to Watch
I think we actually covered all of them in the main section this week.
