2021 NFL Fantasy Football Start/Sit – Week 14

This is the final week of bye weeks, so rosters should be more stable the rest of the season.

The Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles are all out on bye this week.

You could be in need of someone to replace Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle or (maybe) Patriots QB Mac Jones in deeper leagues.

Will Titans QB Ryan Tannehill bounce-back from a bad performance and have a solid fantasy outing against the Jaguars?

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 14 of the 2021 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of QB Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

  • QB Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) – The Packers are coming off their bye week and are taking on the Bears, which Rodgers owned in his previous match-up. He’s had an extra week to help cure his (not) COVID toe. I expect him to look more like pre-COVID Rodgers this week.
  • WR Russell Gage (Atlanta Falcons) – Gage had an amazing game against the Bucs. He caught 11 of 12 targets for 130 yards. He faces the Panthers this week, who are thin in their secondary. He’s becoming a larger part of the offense.
  • TE John Bates (Washington Football Team) – WFT TE Logan Thomas injured his knee last week and rookie Bates has stepped up as his backup in recent weeks. Washington uses their tight end more than most teams and Bates should get a handful of targets against the Cowboys.
  • RB Antonio Gibson (Washington Football Team) – Gibson is playing his best right now. He has ran for 200 yards and has 12 receptions over his last two games. I expect Washington will run the ball a lot against Dallas this weekend.
  • QB Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee Titans) – Tannehill has struggled in Derrick Henry’s absence. He has a good match-up this week at home against the Jaguars. I expect him to lean on RB Dontrell Hilliard and have a better overall game. He needs a running game to function at quarterback.
  • Denver Broncos Defense & Special Teams – The Broncos defense is underrated and they face the Lions this weekend. Detroit have been playing better than their record for awhile, but I think the Broncos defense will have a big advantage.
  • WR Darnell Mooney (Chicago Bears) – Mooney didn’t have a great game against the Cardinals, but it was still targeted seven times. He had five receptions for just 27 yards in the loss. He should be targeted the same or more against the Packers. He was coming off back-to-back 100+ yard games, so last week’s game may be an aberration.
  • RB Alexander Mattison (Minnesota Vikings) – Mattison had a pretty good overall game against the Lions. He gained 90 yards on the ground (and a touchdown) and added another 34 receiving yards. The Vikings could be without WR Adam Thielen this week and they’ll need some short-yard receptions from somewhere and Mattison has good hands.
  • TE David Njoku (Cleveland Browns) – The Ravens secondary is ravaged by injuries and will have trouble covering anyone this week. Njoku grabbed a touchdown in their last meeting against the Ravens. He should be a red zone target this week again. Njoku is out with an illness, so I would suggest starting Browns TE Austin Hooper this week.
  • WR Jerry Jeudy (Denver Broncos) – Last week, Jeudy caught four passes for 77 yards against the Chiefs. He has been good when he’s healthy. He has only played in six games this year. I expect him to get a half-dozen targets this week against Detroit.
  • RB Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers) – Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey injured his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. Carolina needs a running game to compete since they haven’t had great play at quarterback this season. Hubbard will be RB1 for Carolina the rest of the year.
  • Green Bay Packers Defense & Special Teams – The Packers defense showed up big in their last meeting against the Bears. Chicago’s offense has been simple and uninspired in recent weeks. The Packers should be able to know what’s coming this weekend.
  • QB Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) – Burrow injured his pinkie last week, but it didn’t affect his play. The injury seemed to wake him up a bit and he played better after his pinkie swelled up like a thumb. He is playing at home against the Niners, whose secondary has been rough at times this season.

SIT’EM

  • RB Sony Michel (Los Angeles Rams) – RB Darrell Henderson Jr. missed last week’s game against the Jaguars and Michel took advantage of the extra touches. He ran for 121 yards and caught three passes for eight yards. It looks like Henderson will suit up this week, so Michel will be relegated to mop up duty again.
  • QB Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars) – The days of expecting Lawrence to ‘turn it around’ in the second-half of the season is over. He has only cracked 200 yards passing once in his past five games. I wouldn’t even use him in the deepest of leagues.
  • WR Mecole Hardman (Kansas City Chiefs) – Hardman is owned in over 30% of leagues and it’s not warranted. He hasn’t had more than three targets in a game since Week 9. He isn’t getting the touches to be owned in that many leagues. I’d rather start Vikings WR K.J. Osborn or Raiders WR Zay Jones this week.
  • RB Zack Moss (Buffalo Bills) – Moss has lost touches to RB Matt Breida and he hasn’t done much with the handful of carries he’s given. He’s still owned in 51% of leagues and it makes no sense. I’d rather own Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard or Titans Dontrell Hilliard, who have similar ownership percentages.
  • QB Derek Carr (Las Vegas Raiders) – Carr is coming off a very accurate outing in the Raiders loss to Washington. He didn’t try too many passes down the field and he didn’t throw any touchdowns. He faces the Chiefs this week and I don’t like the match-up for Carr.
  • WR Jamison Crowder (New York Jets) – It looks like rookie WR Elijah Moore has leapfrogged Crowder as the Jets first-look in the passing game. The Jets passing game also took a step backwards when QB Zach Wilson starts the game.
  • TE Gerald Everett (Seattle Seahawks) – Everett is getting targets in Seattle’s offense, but he isn’t doing a lot with those. He caught four passes against the Niners, but only gained seven yards. He isn’t much of a red zone target either.
  • Pittsburgh Steelers Defense & Special Teams – This Thursday could be a wreck for both the Steelers and Vikings. They are dealing with some injuries at key positions. The Vikings still has WR Justin Jefferson and RB Alexander Mattison, who could start with good position many times on Thursday.
  • TE Zach Ertz (Arizona Cardinals) – Ertz was gaining momentum in the Cardinals offense, but that was with backup QB Colt McCoy under center. Arizona got QB Kyler Murray back last week against the Bears and Ertz only received two targets. Tight end doesn’t appear to be a priority when Murray is in the game.
  • Las Vegas Raiders Defense & Special Teams – It’s the wrong time for the Raiders to face the Chiefs. Kansas City’s offense has been playing better of late and they didn’t fare well in their previous meeting this season. I’d rather stream Chargers D/ST, Broncos D/ST or Saints D/ST this week.

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sweetbob-author-picAbout the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.