8 Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 14 (2024)

Death, taxes, and the Kansas City Chiefs winning on the game’s last play. Some things, as they say, are inevitable.

For most leagues, Week 14 represented the regular season’s finale, with managers crossing their fingers to clinch the final playoff spots or secure a first-round bye. A tip of the cap goes out to everyone who made it into the playoff this year – hopefully, the hard work, research, and recommendations by everyone here at FantasyPros aided you along the way.

For the folks who weren’t able to continue, fear not. One always has the option to pivot to DFS instead or perhaps temporarily take a break from the format. The NFL is a year-round machine meant to always have something right around the corner for fans to look forward to, such as the Combine, free agency signing period, and the beloved Draft.

For everyone still in the thick of things – keep chugging along! Work hard to set the best roster and continue playing the waiver wire if possible (for those with any money left after the Isaac Guerendo sweepstakes). Each week presents new challenges, opportunities, and players worth considering for FLEX spots. This game is equal parts luck and preparation – always place yourself in the best possible position to succeed!

Week 14 was filled with plenty of epic performances and severe busts. I hope that you were on the right side of the equation!

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Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 14

Quarterback

STUD: Josh Allen (QB – BUF) – Even though I typically refrain from writing about the same player in consecutive weeks, it isn’t easy to pivot from Allen’s achievements against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. With Buffalo’s defense unable to stop Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford picked the Bills secondary apart, forcing Josh Allen into a pass-first approach all afternoon. Allen completed 22-of-37 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns, contributing an additional 82 yards on the ground and another three touchdowns as a runner. Outside of Sam Darnold, Allen’s six-touchdown performance nearly doubled the point total from other top-five options at the position, and this output eclipsed Allen’s point total from the prior three weeks combined. Fantasy managers willing to reach at the QB position for Allen during the draft season were richly rewarded when it mattered most. Week 15 features a potential Super Bowl matchup, with Buffalo traveling to Detroit to take on the 12-1 Lions. Early betting totals have the total opened at over 54 points in what promises to be an outstanding game. Hopefully, both teams continue to put up massive point totals in a shootout.

DUD: Will Levis (QB – TEN) – Levis came into Week 14 off consecutive strong performances, and the hope was that he could continue that trend against a struggling Jacksonville defense incapable of putting pressure on their opponents. Instead, Levis fell short, completing 19 passes on 32 attempts for 168 yards and no touchdowns. Levis aggravated an AC joint sprain in his shoulder on the final play before halftime, and although he could play through the pain, it was evident that he wasn’t at full strength coming out of the locker room. Calvin Ridley drew more than a third of the Titans passing targets but did little with it, and the remainder of Tennessee’s receiving core failed to take advantage of a weak Jaguars secondary. With Tennessee now 3-10 and firmly out of playoff contention, the team is in no rush to pressure Levis into returning earlier than necessary. The Titans are home in Week 15 against Cincinnati, a unit that currently surrenders the sixth-most passing yards per game and the second-highest point total per game. If Levis can take the field, the matchup is enticing for a bounce-back effort.

Running Back

STUD: Zach Charbonnet (RB – SEA) – It was announced early Sunday morning that Kenneth Walker would be inactive for this contest against Arizona, leading to Charbonnet receiving the bulk of backfield touches versus the Cardinals. Charbonnet royally capitalized on the opportunity, rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, adding another 59 yards as a receiver on seven receptions. Charbonnet continues to come through for fantasy managers when Walker is on the shelf, and his strong performance pulled Seattle two games ahead in the competitive NFC West division. Walker was able to participate in a limited practice last Wednesday before sitting out the remainder of the week, but the team was reluctant to say that he experienced any setback from his ankle/calf injuries. Managers should keep a close eye on the practice breakdown and beat writers’ reports from Seattle, with the Seahawks set to square off against Green Bay in Week 15. Charbonnet would be an upside RB2 play if Walker needs additional recovery time.

DUD: James Cook (RB – BUF) – In a game where Buffalo scored 42 points and had over 100 rushing yards and three rushing scores, one would assume that Cook played a significant factor. Not so much. Cook received just eight touches total all afternoon, rushing for 20 yards on six attempts and catching two passes for nine yards. If there is a silver lining and positive spin that we can put on the situation, at least Ray Davis and Ty Johnson weren’t vulturing rushing opportunities away from Cook – this was simply a matter of circumstances where Buffalo needed to pass almost every down to remain competitive. Cook will have an uphill battle against a stout Detroit Lions defensive front in Week 15, a unit that surrenders less than 94 rushing yards per game on the season. Cook’s sporadic output makes him difficult to trust as anything more than an RB2 next week – he has less than 15 rushing attempts in eight of the 12 games he has started this season.

Wide Receiver

STUD: Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) – I was near-certain that Jordan Addison was going to finish as the WR1 this week after a career day (8/133/3) against Atlanta, but Nacua managed to top those totals in the late slate. The clear focal point of the offense for Los Angeles, Nacua snagged 12 receptions on 14 targets for 162 yards and a touchdown, adding another 16 yards on the ground and a score on five rushing attempts. Multiple highlight-reel receptions that extended drives were a welcomed sight, and Nacua’s effort managed to keep Los Angeles in playoff contention in the hyper-competitive NFC West division. Sunday marked Nacua’s third 100-yard game in the last four weeks, and he has again asserted himself as the alpha wideout over Cooper Kupp. It is a shame that he was sidelined from Weeks 2-7, as he had a real chance to match his gaudy totals from his freshman season. The Rams face their divisional rival, the San Francisco 49ers, in Week 15, and the 49ers secondary currently ranks as a top-three option in passing yards allowed per game. It’s a must-win contest for both sides; I’m looking forward to tuning into this contest.

DUD: A.J. Brown (WR – PHI) – Many thought Philadelphia would have a cakewalk matchup against Carolina on Sunday (including the well-publicized bettor that wagered a staggering $3.1 M), but the Panthers proved to be a tough out. A clear point of emphasis for Carolina was removing and shutting down Brown, who finished with his second-lowest fantasy point total of the season, just four receptions for 43 yards. His four targets were the lowest volume all year, and after the game’s conclusion, Brown was visibly frustrated with his usage in the offense. Simply put, with Saquon Barkley in the backfield churning out yards at a historic clip, the urgency to pass hasn’t been there for Philadelphia, who is perfectly content grinding out games and winning the time of possession. This philosophy shift bodes poorly for Brown and his counterpart DeVonta Smith. Brown has just one touchdown reception since Week 7 and only four games over 100 yards all season. It might be high time to start downgrading Brown’s projections each week, especially with two difficult matchups upcoming against Pittsburgh and Washington.

Tight End

STUD: George Kittle (TE – SF) – Welcome back, George Kittle! The YAC monster has returned. Kittle led all San Francisco receivers with 151 yards and six receptions on Sunday in a 38-13 throttling of the Chicago Bears. Able to move the ball at a whim against Chicago, no matter the play, Kittle enjoyed minimal defensive attention and ran unopposed continually down the seam for Brock Purdy. With San Francisco’s back firmly against the wall and needing to win out to have a shot at the postseason, Kittle will remain a focal point for this offense to rely upon. Down to their third and fourth-string running backs due to a myriad of injuries, head coach Kyle Shanahan will look for veteran leadership to stabilize this team in the weeks to come. In a thin tight-end position void of consistency and reliant upon touchdowns, Kittle will remain a top-5 option moving forward. Kittle has leapfrogged over Deebo Samuel in the pecking order for targets in the second half of the season, and his rapport with quarterback Brock Purdy is evident.

DUD: Brock Bowers (TE -LVR) –It feels odd to write that Bowers was a dud, given that he leads the position in receptions (87) and receiving yards (933) as a rookie. Bowers, the lone startable fantasy asset on a woefully inept Las Vegas Raiders squad, experienced a blip on the radar this past Sunday, securing just three receptions on five targets for 49 yards. This marked the first time since the team’s Week 10 bye that Bowers didn’t see double-digit targets – call us undeterred moving forward. His repressed totals were likely a result of Aidan O’Connell‘s knee injury in the second half, where he needed to be taken off a cart with an air cast. The downgrade to Desmond Ridder was significant, with the third-year veteran’s propensity to dink-and-dunk down the field rather than take chances. O’Connell appears to be out for the foreseeable future, and with Gardner Minshew (collarbone) still on IR, Ridder will serve as the QB moving forward. His presence is a considerable detriment to Bowers’s upside.