6 Players to Avoid in Fantasy Football in Week 14

Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

While Devonta Freeman has only one total touchdown in his last five games, he is still the Rushing NEP leader in both the cumulative and per-play stats among running backs with at least 100 carries. He also has the second-most targets among running backs and ranks third in both Reception NEP and Target NEP.

Despite being the least-rushed-at team in the NFL over their last four games with only 61 opponent rush plays, the Carolina Panthers have accumulated the top-ranked rushing defense over that span with -20.34 Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP, doing so by having per-carry rates over twice as low as the second-place Washington Redskins. Combine that with the Atlanta Falcons being 7.5-point road underdogs, and this is a poor on-paper matchup for Freeman.

Because the Panthers are likely to succeed in applying pressure to Matt Ryan and blanket Julio Jones with Josh Norman, it is reasonable that Freeman could see target volume from dump-offs. However, if you play without a PPR bonus and have other options, this may be a spot to bench him.

Our top-ranked running back, Freeman is projected for 14.08 carries, 56.75 rushing yards, and 0.45 rushing touchdowns as well as 5.65 catches for 43.01 receiving yards.