9 fantasy football sleepers for Week 14

Quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Devlin Hodges highlight Touchdown Wire’s Week 14 list of fantasy football sleepers.

NFL coaches and players always talk about how the playoffs bring a whole new level of intensity. It’s true.

The same is true of fantasy football and its playoffs are now upon us. At this point, you have to go for broke. Sometimes, desperate measures are needed. That sums up what the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars are doing in reality.

The Jaguars have no margin for error for the playoffs. The Steelers don’t have much more room for error. But they’re going with rookie quarterbacks Devlin Hodges in Pittsburgh and Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville for the rest of the season.

Are they good enough to start in fantasy? I say yes.

Let me explain my reasoning a little deeper as Hodges and Minshew highlight Touchdown Wire’s weekly list of nine fantasy football sleepers.

9. Gardner Minshew, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars benched high-priced quarterback Nick Foles last week after falling behind, 25-0, last week. The turned back to the rookie Minshew, who went 4-4 as a starter when Foles was injured early in the season and he sparked the Jaguars to two quick scores. That led to the Jaguars announcing that Minshew will be the starter the rest of the season. Minshew has a favorable matchup against the struggling Los Angeles Chargers this week.

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6 waiver wire pickups for fantasy football in Week 14

Waiver wire targets in Week 14.

In most league formats, Week 14 marks the last week of the regular fantasy football season. Your last chance to add and drop players who will or will not be with your team for the crucial playoff weeks. Perhaps you do not need to add anyone and you have been rolling with the same guys all year. In that case, consider yourself lucky.

Being active on the waiver wire is always one of the biggest keys to building a playoff contender, and that continues to hold true as the fantasy season hits the final stretch.

Here are six waiver wire pickups to target entering Week 14:

RB Raheem Mostert: 14.1% rostered (ESPN)

In what was once a crowded backfield in San Francisco with Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman having a majority of the carries, it was hard to judge which 49ers running back would be worth adding. Mostert has survived the injury bug that has started to attack this 49ers offense and has taken over as the lead back.

Against Baltimore in Week 13, Mostert totaled 19 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown in a downpour that lasted all game. Mostert brings a dynamic speed and toughness aspect to this young 49ers team.

The upcoming schedule isn’t great, but Mostert has flex appeal—especially if something happens to Coleman and/or Breida.

Next game: at New Orleans

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Studs and duds from Rams’ bounce-back win vs. Cardinals

Jared Goff and Robert Woods helped carry the Rams offense to victory.

The Rams went into Arizona for the third time in as many seasons Sunday and once again showed their dominance over the Cardinals. They blew out Arizona 34-7 on the road, moving their record to 7-5 on the year.

Though their playoff chances remain slim, the Rams are still alive in the NFC after this victory. It was their most impressive win of the season, racking up 549 yards, including 424 yards by Jared Goff.

Here are our studs and duds from Week 13.

Studs

TE Tyler Higbee

Higbee had a career day in Arizona, and all of his work occurred in the first half. He finished the game with seven catches for 107 yards and one touchdown, all of which came before the halftime break. He set career-highs in receptions and yards, doing everything for the Rams against the Cardinals.

QB Jared Goff

Goff bounced back from an underwhelming November, throwing two touchdown passes and racking up 424 yards. He set season-highs in completion percentage and passer rating, leading the Rams to victory with his best performance of the year. He really didn’t make any mistakes, either, committing zero turnovers and hitting open receivers when given the chance.

WR Robert Woods

Woods ran wild against the Cardinals. He gained 172 yards on 13 catches (19 targets), and although he still hasn’t scored a touchdown, he continued what’s been a very good season. He’s effective at every level, whether it’s on screen passes or routes over the middle. His block on Todd Gurley’s 9-yard run on the opening drive helped spring the running back free, too.

S Taylor Rapp

Rapp broke up two passes, including a pick-six that he returned 31 yards. He could’ve had two other interceptions, too, but he dropped one and another was called back due to a pass interference penalty on Nickell Robey-Coleman. Rapp only had two touchdowns, but his pick-six was icing on the cake for the Rams.

RB Todd Gurley

Gurley carried it 19 yards for 95 yards with one touchdown, and his longest rush was only 11 yards; that shows how consistently he picked up chunks of yardage. He also had a 20-yard reception and broke a handful of tackles on a run in the red zone. The Rams don’t lean on him the way they used to, but he’s still a playmaker when given the football.

OLB Dante Fowler Jr.

It was a quiet November for Fowler, going the entire month without a sack or quarterback hit and only one tackle for loss. He was impactful on Sunday, though, recording one sack, two tackles for loss and two passes broken up. His sack was particularly impressive, containing Kyler Murray in the pocket and using one arm to corral the shifty quarterback.

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Tyler Higbee sets new career-highs in only one half vs. Cardinals

Tyler Higbee set new career-highs in a single game in only one half against the Cardinals.

The Los Angeles Rams gave Tyler Higbee a four-year, $31 million extension back in September, making him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the NFL. It was a surprising move by the front office, considering Gerald Everett has a higher ceiling at tight end, but Higbee’s potential is also apparent.

He showed it off in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, looking like a true No. 1 tight end for the Rams. In the first 30 minutes alone, Higbee caught seven passes for 107 yards and one touchdown.

He set new career-highs in receptions and yards, surpassing his previous single-game highs of six catches and 98 yards.

Higbee was doing it all, too. He was separating from defenders in man coverage on drag routes, getting open in the flat and making plays after the catch, and sitting down against the zone to get open for Jared Goff.

He’s regarded as a better blocker than receiver, but Higbee has the athleticism to do everything at tight end.

Watch: Jared Goff off to hot start, hits Tyler Higbee for TD

Jared Goff came out firing against the Cardinals.

Jared Goff went the entire month of November with zero touchdown passes, spanning three games without a score. He started December in much better fashion, throwing a touchdown pass on just the third drive of the game against the Cardinals.

Goff came out firing and red-hot, racking up 171 yards passing on 14-for-16 passing on the Rams’ first three drives. He capped it off with a touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee, who also got off to a great start.

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RT to #ProBowlVote @Ty_Higs19! pic.twitter.com/tkJuBGpSZM

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 1, 2019

The touchdown put the Rams up 10-0, as they were finally able to cap off a drive with a touchdown. Their first two possessions ended with a field goal and a missed field goal, so this score was encouraging.

The Rams had 200 yards in the first quarter alone, while holding the Cardinals to just 21 yards in the first 15 minutes.

Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett expected to play vs. Bears on Sunday

The Rams are expected to have both of their safeties on Sunday night against Chicago.

There were two surprise additions to the Rams’ injury report on Wednesday as they began their week of practice. Tyler Higbee was a non-participant with a knee injury, and Gerald Everett was limited with a wrist issue.

Sean McVay clarified on Thursday during his press conference that both players are expected to be OK and their injuries aren’t significant. If everything goes according to plan, they’ll be available against the Bears on Sunday night.

“They were just sore from the game. So Tyler has a knee and Gerald with the wrist. But really being more smart than anything with those guys, so Tyler today again will be – he was just out there in a limited fashion with the walk-thru. He’s going to miss practice,” McVay said. “And then we’ll have Gerald just be smart about that as well. Both of those guys, if things go the way we want, we’re expecting them to be able to play. We just want to be smart with them throughout the week.”

Higbee and Everett have once again shared the workload at tight end this season with Everett being the leading player at that spot. He’s caught 34 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns this season, playing 64.5% of the snaps compared to 43.8% for Higbee.

The Rams do know a few players they’ll be without on Sunday, though. Brandin Cooks, Rob Havenstein and Darious Williams have all been ruled out already.

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