The 14th week of fantasy football action was a doozy. It set the tone for many franchises entering the postseason or confirmed the championship-free fate of others. We lost Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (finger) indefinitely, wide receiver Justin Jefferson (back) exited briefly after returning from a hamstring injury, and the Minnesota Vikings also watched starting running back Alexander Mattison (ankle) prematurely leave. Those injuries, among others, directly impacted broader utilization figures.
Let’s take a peek at a few notable performances that really don’t deserve their own standalone attention.
The Jacksonville Jaguars needed to pass the ball like crazy with an injured Trevor Lawrence heaving it 50 times in attempt to keep pace with the *checks notes* Joe Flacco-led Cleveland Browns. This resulted in three Jags with at least a dozen targets: WR Zay Jones (14), WR Calvin Ridley (13) and TE Evan Engram (12). Mind you, Christian Kirk (abdomen) was sacrificed to the football gods last week, so a larger percentage of the target share was available.
As mentioned, Mattison was lost to injury, which put Ty Chandler in the lead role for the Vikes’ barn-burning win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He didn’t do much of anything with his 12 carries and three targets (42 total yards), but there’s an opportunity here should Mattison be forced to miss Week 15 vs. Cincinnati, a defense that entered Sunday as the 12th-weakest unit over the prior five weeks.
Jamaal Williams … remember him? The former Detroit Lion who rushed for 17 touchdowns last year made an appearance for the New Orleans Saints, rushing for 43 yards on 11 carries (one missed target). He rushed 11 total times in the prior three games combined, so there could be a late-season uptick. The remaining matchups aren’t particularly favorable, and it’s tough to see Williams mattering in non-DFS fantasy.
Last week, Carolina Panthers wideout Jonathan Mingo was targeted 10 times and earned a spot in this article series with the warning that even an increased role probably wouldn’t translate to a matching result in fantasy production. It held true in Week 14 with nine targets generating a laughable 22 yards on two grabs. Download the rookie’s increased late-season role as a possible glimpse into what may come in 2024.
As we work through the home stretch of the fantasy season, most pecking orders have stabilized, although we’ll see a handful of transitions toward the youth movement as teams fall out of the playoff race. That means fewer notable situations arise, and some of the inclusions will be a rehashing of developing roles.