Fantasy Football Week 14 Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments (2024)

The final week of the fantasy regular season in most leagues was wild. The fantasy scoring in Week 14 was out of this world. It was challenging to narrow down the surprises, but a veteran wideout balling out in a difficult matchup and a second-year backup running back answering the call in a start got the nod.

Picking a rookie quarterback with another stinker and a group of pass-catchers who failed to step up without their club’s top wideout were no-brainer picks for the week’s biggest disappointments. Finally, a recurring theme might have created more streamable defenses for the fantasy playoffs.

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Fantasy Football Week 14 Surprises

Adam Thielen Still Has Something in the Tank

Bryce Young didn’t light up the scoreboard or post eye-popping box score numbers. Still, he had another stellar showing, and Philadelphia’s defense was on a roll heading into Week 14. Xavier Legette didn’t do his second-year quarterback any favors on a would-be-touchdown dime, either. Still, Young’s competence is good news for Carolina’s offense, namely their No. 1 wide receiver.

Adam Thielen had nine receptions for 102 receiving yards on 11 targets. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Thielen ran 35 routes in Week 14. He was targeted on 31.4% of his routes. The veteran wideout had a ho-hum showing in his return from the injured reserve (IR) in Week 12. Thielen has balled out in two subsequent games. Since Week 13, he’s had 21 targets, 0.28 targets per route run, 17 receptions, 201 receiving yards and one touchdown. Thielen has a sweet playoff schedule and is a locked-in WR2.

Zach Charbonnet Erupted on Sunday

Zach Charbonnet had two starts earlier this year, inefficiently tallying 69 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and five receptions in Week 2 and piling up 91 rushing yards on 18 carries, two rushing touchdowns, three receptions and 16 receiving yards in Week 3. They were stellar fantasy showings but paled in comparison to Sunday’s outburst.

Charbonnet handled 22 of Seattle’s 29 rush attempts for 134 yards and two touchdowns in Week 14. Charbonnet also ran 19 routes versus seven for Kenny McIntosh and two for George Holani. Charbonnet turned his routes into seven receptions for 59 receiving yards on seven targets.

Charbonnet’s elite showing was all the more impressive because of the matchup. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, from Week 9 through Week 13, the Cardinals allowed the fewest rushing yards per game (70.3), 3.51 yards per carry, zero touchdowns and a 1.3% explosive-run rate.

Kenneth Walker was in a funk as a runner. He had fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in his previous four games, clearing 55 rushing yards only once and scoring just one touchdown. Fantasy gamers with Charbonnet can hope the Seahawks will give Walker another week to recover from his calf injury.

Nevertheless, Charbonnet might have forced a flip in the backfield. The Packers aren’t a soft matchup for him in Week 15, but Charbonnet could be a viable RB2 or Flex option in 12-team leagues if Walker returns. Charbonnet is a no-doubt starter if Walker is out.

Fantasy Football Week 14 Disappointments

Caleb Williams Had Another Clunker

Caleb Williams had an eye-catching three-game stretch from Week 11 through Week 13 after Thomas Brown was promoted to the offensive coordinator role in place of a fired Shane Waldron. It wasn’t a flawless stretch as he took three, three and five sacks, but it was a glimmer of hope.

Sadly for Williams, his performance came crashing back to Earth against the 49ers in Brown’s first game as the team’s interim head coach. Williams passed for a pitiful 134 yards and took seven sacks.

The underlying data was alarming for Williams:

Chicago’s offensive line stinks, but many of Williams’ sacks are self-inflicted. The sack-taking was even more alarming because the 49ers were without Nick Bosa. Williams’ inconsistency and propensity to take sacks will create volatile showings for DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. Moore is the most trustworthy because of his shallow target depth and high volume. Allen and Odunze could be desperation Flex fantasy start sit picks, but they’re not safe selections.

No One Emerged as a Fantasy-Relevant Pass-Catcher for the Steelers Without George Pickens

George Pickens popped up on the injury report on Friday with a hamstring injury. Multiple national media members initially reported Pickens would test the injury in pre-game warmups and was expected to suit up. Ultimately, the club erred on the side of caution and rested him.

The Steelers scored 27 points without him, but that was essentially the product of Jameis Winston turning the ball over and the offense routinely having excellent field position. Russell Wilson passed for just 158 yards. Pat Freiermuth was tied for the team-high in receptions and led the team in receiving yards with three and 48, respectively.

Freiermuth also had a touchdown, but he tallied just three targets. Jaylen Warren‘s five targets were the most for the Steelers. Even deep-league gamers can’t turn to Mike Williams or Calvin Austin if Pickens misses more games. Pickens is Pittsburgh’s only fantasy-relevant pass-catcher.

Miscellaneous Note

Two More Quarterbacks Were Injured in Week 14

The injury bug claimed two more quarterbacks in Week 14. Aidan O’Connell was carted off with what’s feared to be a season-ending knee injury and Derek Carr seemingly broke his left hand.

O’Connell and Carr weren’t terrifying quarterbacks to stream against, but Desmond Ridder and Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener would be tantalizing quarterbacks to stream against. The Saints have the Commanders, Packers and Raiders on the docket. The Raiders will play the Falcons, Jaguars and Saints. There will be defensive streaming options galore in the fantasy playoffs.

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