Our own Pat Fitzmaurice has been among the most accurate fantasy football experts in the industry over the last several years. Fitz was THE most accurate in-season ranker in 2020. What better way to prepare for your fantasy football start/sit lineup decisions than by reviewing his fantasy football rankings? You can do just that below.
You can also find our expert consensus fantasy football rankings for the week here. And you can sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings, and analysis.
Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 14
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Takes
In eight career games against the Chiefs, Justin Herbert has averaged 273 passing yards and 2.1 touchdown passes. He’s also had three touchdown runs against Kansas City. Herbert’s career passer rating against the Chiefs is 101.5. Passing volume has been a wild card for Herbert this year. But in this matchup, I’m not worried about it because I don’t think the Chargers can afford to be run-heavy against a Chiefs defense that has given up the second-fewest rushing yards. Herbert will have to throw aggressively for the Chargers to have a chance. I’m above the consensus on Herbert at QB8.
The Cowboys are finally committing to using Rico Dowdle as a true lead back. He’s had 19 and 20 carries in his last two games. He had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and his first rushing touchdown of the season against the Giants on Thanksgiving. Dowdle catches passes, too. He has 32 receptions for 195 yards and three TDs this season. Consider Dowdle a midrange RB2.
It’s been a rough year for Deebo Samuel. He’s WR47 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He’s produced fewer than five fantasy points in three straight games. But injuries to RBs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason could give Deebo a more significant role in the 49ers’ running game. Deebo had 59 rushing attempts in 2021 and 42 in 2022. He has 27 rushing attempts this season but has only one carry over his last three games. The 49ers don’t have a proven backup behind rookie RB Isaac Guerendo, and it’s possible Deebo will end up in the dual role of wide receiver/complementary running back. I’m taking a leap of faith and ranking him RB24 this week, well above consensus.
There’s been a little bit of a usage uptick for Pat Freiermuth lately. He’s had 10 catches for 127 yards over his last two games. We just haven’t seen much consistency from the Pittsburgh tight end this season. Freiermuth has had fewer than 30 receiving yards in half of his 12 games. But the matchup against the Browns is a decent one. Cleveland has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to tight ends. I have Freiermuth ranked TE17, but I don’t see much separation between any of the tight ends in the TE13-TE19 range.
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