The Perfect Lineup: Week 14's Fantasy Score Team
Out of playoff contention in your season long fantasy league? Well, at FantasyScore.com, you can continue to play for the rest of the season without worrying about whether or not you will make the playoffs, all while playing weekly fantasy football for cash prizes.
If you've never played before and aren't sure who to pick, our fancy algorithms have you covered for Week 14. Take a look at this week's FantasyScore Perfect Lineup.
Quarterback
Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Saints' defense has been straight up terrible this season, ranking dead last in both our schedule-adjusted Defensive Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) metric (115.28) and overall schedule-adjusted Defensive NEP (145.76). To put those numbers in perspective, no other team in the league has accumulated a adjusted Defensive Passing NEP worse than 120, while only one other team has an adjusted Defensive Passing NEP worse than 100. Meanwhile, Winston has really stepped up his game as of late. Last year's number one overall pick has thrown for over 200 yards in each of his last five games, adding eight touchdowns -- one of those being a rushing touchdown -- with only four interceptions over that span. Look for Winston and the Buccaneers' offense to dominate New Orleans porous defense en route to a big fantasy outing.
Running Back
Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
The knock on Stewart has never been related to talent, but his usage in a perviously crowded backfield and his inability to stay healthy. However, neither of those issues have reared their ugly heads this season. With DeAngelo Williams now in Pittsburgh, Stewart has been the unquestioned lead back for one of the best rushing offenses in the league. He's carried the ball at least 20 times in every single game since the Panthers' Week 5 bye, and is averaging 4.0 yards per carry on the year. This week, J-Stew draws a matchup with a Falcons' defense that has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs this season and should have plenty of opportunities to take advantage. He provides a high floor on a week where there simply aren't many elite running backs worth paying up for.
David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
Heading into last week's game against the Rams, Coach Bruce Arians stated that he expected Johnson to see somewhere around 25 touches with Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson both sidelined. The Cardinals' rookie back then saw 24 touches -- 22 carries and two receptions -- which he converted into 120 yards from scrimmage and a receiving touchdown. Arians has echoed the fact that Johnson should see a similar workload this week which makes him a viable play this week once again, especially considering how banged up the Vikings are on the defensive end. The explosive rookie should remain an exciting play as long as Ellington and CJ remain sidelined.
Wide Receiver
Brandon Marshall, New York Jets
When the Bears traded Marshall to the Jets in the offseason many people criticized New York for taking on an old, washed-up wide receiver with a big contract. Well, the new Jets' receiver has proven to be far from washed up having already hauled in 83 catches for 1,062 yards and a whopping 10 touchdowns. The five time Pro Bowler also currently ranks sixth among all wide receivers in Reception NEP at 90.00. Marshall has been one of the most consistent players in fantasy, scoring at least 10 PPR points in every week this season, and has accumulated 21 receptions for 262 yards and three touchdowns over the past two weeks. This week, the Jets' star receiver gets a plus matchup against a Titans squad that ranks 24th in schedule-adjusted Defensive Passing NEP, and one that has allowed the 11th most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers. He makes a tremendous play in all formats this week.
Danny Amendola, New England Patriots
With both Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski out of the Patriots' lineup, Amendola has been forced to fill a massive void in New England's offense. Although he was unable to play in week 12 due to a knee injury, in the three games that the Patriots' wide receiver has played since Edelman went down early in week 10, he is averaging 8.6 catches for 86 yards on a whopping 12 targets per game. He has been a PPR goldmine given the sheer volume he has seen and should continue to have a very high-floor in PPR scoring until Edelman returns, especially with Gronk out as well. Look for Amendola to continue to see a very high-volume of targets this week against the Texans.
Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers
After missing the first four games of the Steelers' season due to suspension, Bryant has been absolutely on fire over his last seven games. So far this season, the Steelers' number two wide out has caught 31 balls for 623 yards and 6 touchdowns. He has received at least seven targets in every game this season and has even added a rushing touchdown, giving him an average of a touchdown per game on the year. Bryant is a big play threat any time he touches the ball and should remain heavily involved in the Pittsburgh offense in what Vegas expects to be one of the highest scoring games on this week's slate with an over/under that has climbed up to 49. With his price tag still at just $6,100, Bryant should provide excellent value at a very reasonable price.
Tight End
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers' sophomore tight end posted a ridiculous 5-catch, 110-yard, 2-touchdown line in week one, hurt his shoulder in Week 2 and hadn't made it back onto the field until last week. Although he only caught three balls for 31 yards in his return to action, he did so on six targets while playing just 21 snaps and also dropped a touchdown that would have made his fantasy day look a lot better. Seferian-Jenkins should see his snap limit reduced if not abolished this week and will likely see a huge increase in both targets and receptions against a Saints' defense that has given up the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends on the season. ASJ makes a very interesting value play at his extremely low price of just $2,600 this week.
Flex
Shaun Draughn, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers signed Draughn before week 9 to help fill the void left by the injured Carlos Hyde. In the four games since, the former Browns' running back has averaged 86.3 yards from scrimmage while adding 5.5 receptions per game. He's played virtually every offensive snap for San Francisco over the past two weeks and has become a true all-purpose back, albeit for one of the worst offenses in football. That said, given his steady involvement in the passing game and the fact that he is receiving goal-line touches, Draughn makes a very solid value play given the PPR scoring on FantasyScore.com.
Defense
The Jets' defense has been pretty solid all season long, even despite the absence of All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis the past few weeks. New York currently sits sixth in schedule-adjusted Defensive NEP and ranks inside the top ten in both passing and rushing defensive, according to our metrics. The get the pleasure of facing a Titans' offense that ranks just 27th in schedule-adjusted NEP this week and should have little trouble slowing down the inconsistent Tennessee offense. They are one of my favorite defenses to target this week at home against a rookie quarterback.
