Fantasy Football Storylines: Christian Watson, Justin Jefferson, Ladd McConkey (Week 14)

The final week to qualify for the fantasy playoffs in most leagues could be a doozy for fantasy squads on the bubble. Six teams have a bye in Week 14, including a few with fantasy studs. Still, 26 teams are playing, and there are some intriguing fantasy football storylines in the 13 contests.

• Waiver Wire Advice
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Fantasy Football Storylines

Will Week 14 Begin With a Week-Changing NFC North Shootout on Thursday Night?

The Lions and Packers have adequate defenses, but their offenses are significantly ahead of their defenses. As a result, the Lions are 3.5-point favorites, and the game’s total is 51.5 points. The game has shootout potential, evidenced by the betting info.

With six teams on byes, Jared Goff and Jordan Love should be started in most 12-team formats. The trio of Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Josh Jacobs are also locked-in fantasy starters, and the same is true for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. This contest also has less straightforward fantasy options since it’s a bye-heavy week.

Romeo Doubs was a limited practice participant on Monday, providing hope he’ll return from his one-week absence with a concussion. Doubs has the route participation desired for a dart throw in a shootout, but he had only four receptions for 71 scoreless yards in his past two healthy contests. Nevertheless, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Doubs was third on the team in routes (32) in those contests.

Tucker Kraft (41 routes) and Christian Watson (33) ran more routes than Doubs in Week 11 and Week 12. Watson led the team in routes (27), and Kraft was third (22) in Week 13. Sadly, while Jayden Reed is an electrifying talent, his route participation has left something to be desired because he isn’t frequently used on the perimeter. The following table has the receiving numbers and alignment data for Reed, Watson and Kraft since Week 11 via the data suite at Fantasy Points.

Reed's rapport with Love in scoring territory is a plus for his fantasy potential, but Watson's usage and alignment lately make him slightly more appealing this week. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, the Lions have faced the second-highest target rate wide (50.4%) since Week 10. Doubs should also benefit from teams attacking the Lions on the perimeter. Green Bay's top three wide receivers are all in the WR3/flex mix this week. Kraft has the worst fantasy matchup for a tight end but is a viable low-end TE1 this week because of his talent level.

Sam LaPorta is amidst a sophomore slump. Still, in his last two games, he's had a 75.0% route participation, 20.0% air-yard share, 17.1% target share, 15.2% first-read share and two end zone targets. LaPorta has touchdown potential since the Lions have a juicy implied total, and his matchup is tasty. According to Pro Football Reference, the Packers have yielded 6.0 receptions per game, 63.2 receiving yards per game and four touchdown receptions to tight ends this year. He's a low-end TE1 this week.

Finally, Tim Patrick is a desperation dart throw in deep leagues. Kalif Raymond was placed on the Injured Reserve (IR) last week, removing an ancillary wideout from Detroit's pecking order. As a result, Patrick ran the fourth-most routes (26) for the Lions on Thanksgiving, trailing only St. Brown's 35, LaPorta's 30 and Williams's 27. Patrick parlayed his rock-solid route participation into two receptions for 48 receiving yards. Desperate gamers in 14-team leagues or larger could do worse than taking a chance on Patrick in a likely shootout.

Does Justin Jefferson Have an Eruption Spot Up His Sleeve?

This year, Justin Jefferson is a middle-tier to low-end WR1 in points per game in all scoring formats. He's played well. Nonetheless, expectations are higher for a player of Jefferson's caliber.

Jefferson has fallen short of 100 receiving yards in four straight games, reached triple-digit yardage only three times this season, scored multiple touchdowns in zero games and been held out of the end zone in six straight contests.

Jefferson has a golden opportunity ahead of him this week. According to Pro Football Reference, the Falcons have coughed up the 13th-most receiving yards per game (151.6) and tied for the second-most touchdown receptions allowed per game (1.25) to wide receivers this season. Furthermore, this year, Atlanta is tied for the third-lowest pressure rate (17.6%). So, Sam Darnold should have time to find his No. 1 wide receiver. Gamers don't need to be instructed to start Jefferson, but they could be in for a vintage week-wining caliber performance this weekend.

Can the Chargers Hang With the Chiefs?

The Chiefs have played back-to-back barnburners against the Panthers and Raiders, and the Chargers are a superior team to Kansas City's last two opponents. However, Los Angeles placed J.K. Dobbins on the IR last week, and Ladd McConkey came out of Sunday's eruption a little worse for the wear.

McConkey's availability for this AFC West battle on Sunday Night is crucial to the Chargers's chances to upset the host Chiefs. Among 63 wide receivers with at least 75 routes since Week 10, McConkey is tied for 25th in air-yard share (30.7%), 11th in target share (25.4%), tied for 12th in targets per route run (0.25) and tied for ninth in first-read percentage (33.8%). The rookie has played well and is easily Justin Herbert's top pass-catching weapon.

The Chargers missed Dobbins on Sunday. Gus Edwards, Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins had six, four and one carry for 32, 20 and zero rushing yards in Week 13. The Gus Bus ran eight routes, Vidal ran five and Haskins ran three.

Edwards had the best role in LA's backfield. Still, he's averaged only 3.4 yards per carry this season and has just 32 receptions in 77 career games. Vidal is an intriguing stash, but gamers shouldn't start him.

Sadly, if McConkey's out, Herbert isn't an appealing fantasy starter, either. Finally, if McConkey's injuries prevent him from playing this weekend, the game's scoring environment could be lousy, depressing the value of Kansas City's fantasy options. Put another way, if the Chargers can't apply pressure to the Chiefs, they might be content with chewing up the clock and exiting the contest with a victory. McConkey's practice participation and playing status this week is one of Week 14's biggest fantasy storylines.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.