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Another week, another round of crucially important decisions about walkouts and sit-ins. To help you achieve them, here’s a look at six players with potential to bust in Week 14.
Something to keep in mind as you read: A “fade” or “disappearance” designation doesn’t automatically mean you should sit a player, depending on the depth of the rest of your roster or the options available on your waiver wire.
QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy may be coming off literally the worst fantasy performance of his career, scoring just 2.16 fantasy points in a 94-yard passing game with 0 TD and 0 INT on 29 attempts. To be fair, there were several things going against him in Week 13, including a shoulder injury that kept him out the previous week and the midgame loss of Christian McCaffrey to what ended up being a knee injury that put end to the season. Unfortunately, things may not get better in the coming week with a matchup against the Bears on the table. Although it’s been another week since the shoulder injury, he will still have an uphill battle facing the Chicago Bears defense.
The Bears haven’t always been a tight secondary this year; remember that annoying little Hail Mary? That was a trip. However, despite some errors in judgment, they have some skill in the secondary between CBs Jaylon Johnson (one of the best in the business) and Kyler Gordon along with safety Kevin Byard, and have allowed just 11 TDs in the entire season. season. They have been much more susceptible on the ground; It seems likely that HC Kyle Shanahan will lean on that weakness instead of emphasizing the passing game with a banged-up Purdy and several weapons missing.
Heat control Given the challenging matchup Purdy faces and the fact that he is not 100% healthy, he is best benched in most individual QB leagues.
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RB Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers starting RB JK Dobbins was placed on IR with a knee injury before Week 13, making Gus Edwards the potential workhorse in a run-friendly Jim Harbaugh-Greg Roman offense and gained some publicity in fantasy circles. Unfortunately, not much came of the hype; Edwards saw just six total carries on the day (32 yards) to Kimani Vidal’s six and Derius Davis’s one.
The Chargers have a matchup lined up with the Kansas City Chiefs this week, something of a trap for most RBs this season. Only one RB scored more than 15 fantasy points against the Chiefs in 2024: James Cook in Week 11, who was still limited to just 20 total rushing yards (2.22 YPC) on nine attempts, although he managed to score two in the red zone. T.D. Although Edwards is theoretically the Chargers’ RB1 of the future, competition for touches combined with a bad matchup has spelled this a bad week to have him.
Heat control Edwards showed his low floor in Week 13 despite leading the backfield. Expect him to be a boom/bust prospect again in Week 14 (with a much higher chance of a drop).
RB Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb’s return to football has been one of the biggest stories in all of football this year, with many wondering whether or not he would play again after a catastrophic knee injury in 2023. Although he returned to the field, he barely looks like to his old self. In six games since his activation from IR, Chubb is averaging just 3.30 yards per carry (40.5 rushing yards per game) and a career-low 40.2% run success rate. Professional football reference. Similarly, he is posting career-low averages in yards after contact per attempt (2.62) and breakaway yards (6.2%) per PFF.
It appears the Cleveland Browns have also taken notice of Chubb’s declining efficiency, as he only saw 34% of the snaps, splitting the backfield with Jerome Ford, each with just nine carries on the day (and Ford was much more efficient with your touches). with an average of 4.5 YPC compared to 2.3 for Chubb). He only What saved the day for Chubb was a five-yard receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter.
This week, the Steelers have another matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, this time on the road. Chubb had a season-high 20 carries in their Week 12 meeting, but failed to surpass 60 rushing yards (despite scoring two touchdowns that day). The Steelers are allowing just 4.1 YPC (fifth-lowest average in the league), including 2.6 rushing yards after contact per attempt, fourth-fewest), giving up the 10th-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing RBs, a Bad place for an inefficient team. running back missing work in his own backfield.
Heat control Given Chubb’s downward trend in usage and challenging deck matchup, he’s best left on fantasy benches if you have better options.
WR DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
You know how there are some franchises that just… have a guy’s number? It looks like we have a large enough sample size watching DK Metcalf take on the Arizona Cardinals to say there might be some truth to that… and unfortunately for fantasy football coaches who probably desperately need a big day from him , He has his second confrontation of the year against this divisional enemy. Metcalf has played 10 games against Arizona in his career and has never surpassed 59 receiving yards.
In addition to his overall lack of success against the Cardinals in his career, Metcalf also comes into this matchup a bit banged up, having dealt with a nagging shoulder injury. The Cardinals have also been pretty decent against opposing wide receivers lately. Since Week 7, Arizona has allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game (22.03) and just one receiving TD (fewest in the NFL) to opposing wide receivers. The Cardinals’ secondary is allowing the 10th-lowest completion rate on targets to wide-aligned WRs in that span and the fifth-lowest passer rating on those types of plays.
Heat control There aren’t many imaginable situations where you’ll be sitting Metcalf, but realize that this probably isn’t the matchup he’ll help you with. gain your week.
WR Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
There was no shortage of surprises when Adam Thielen came out in Week 13 to post an 8-99-1 line on 10 targets… especially considering that. should have been two scores. Oh, then there was the ridiculousness one hand grip that made him look like a prime-time Thielen, not a 34-year-old who recently returned from a serious hamstring injury that earned him a seven-game stint on the disabled list.
Unfortunately, there is some reason to believe that Thielen might not keep the ball rolling, as he will be tasked with facing Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean this week. Since taking on the starting role in Week 6, the tower has been unstoppable. He has allowed just 6.9 yards per reception since then, including five pass deflections, tied for leading all cornerbacks with 27 total tackles and leading the group in defensive stops (14) per PFF.
Heat control Given that he’s been without Thielen for much of the 2024 season, it’s (hopefully) unlikely that he won’t be able to find other options.
TE Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
When it rains, it pours, especially if you’re the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over the last month, the Jags lost two of their three starting WRs to season-ending injuries (Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis) and now will likely be without QB Trevor Lawrence for the rest of the season, who has been placed on IR and is expected to undergo shoulder surgery in the coming weeks. That means it’s time for Mac Jones…unfortunately for our fantasy rosters.
In Week 14, the Jags will travel to take on the Tennessee Titans, a quietly challenging matchup for opposing TEs this year. Tennessee is allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to TEs this year, including the fifth-fewest receiving yards per game for the position, while tied for the third-lowest YPR (8.7) despite having faced several quality tight ends this year. . His biggest game allowed this season came in Week 18 (13.8 points to Sam LaPorta in a 6-48-1 line), having allowed an opposing TE to surpass 50+ receiving yards just once all season. Engram should still see target volume given the injuries on offense, but Mac Jones under center is a clear downgrade for all of Jacksonville’s pass catchers.
Heat control The TE position is already volatile. Unless you’re in the position with another option like Brock Bowers, you’re probably still looking to start Engram, just with the awareness that his ceiling isn’t as high with Jones under center, and it’s not the best matchup.