Welcome in to the impact, where we round up the headlines & takeaways from the past week, giving you the information from Week 14 you need to know.
News
Jonathan Taylor
Rookie RB1? Well there’s certainly a debate to be had here; Robinson, Swift, Gibson, Akers, Edward-Helaire, Dobbins have all been impressive in 2020. Each of them are set to be serious chips for your fantasy teams for the next few years.
Taylor was hyped up in the offseason like no other player. However, they needn’t worry now! Taylor is the RB1 in the entire NFL over the past 2 weeks with 53 PPR points. This puts him as the RB12 on the season. Ironically overtaking Clyde Edwards-Helaire who he will forever be compared to. This guy with this offensive line is going to feast for many years. The sky is the limit for Taylor as long as he’s made the guy by the Colts coaching staff.
Mitchell Trubisky
Have a day, but don’t buy into it. Mitch Trubisky orchestrated a great performance Sunday to thrash Deshaun Watson and the Texans 36-7 off the back of 3 passing TDs. By far his cleanest outing of the season. Finishing the game with no turnovers and no fumbles (the only time he’s achieved this feat).
He ended the week as the QB7 and helped win some people’s first playoff round matchups. The question going forward is, can you trust this guy? On paper, the remaining fantasy playoff schedule looks pretty tasty. With trips to Minnesota & Jacksonville, those with balls of steel can carry on streaming him. But I’m not trusting him! There’s a classic Trubisky melt-down around the corner, I’ll look elsewhere for my streaming options.
Stefon Diggs
Diggs is the most consistent WR in the NFL. Facts. Only behind Tyreek Hill & Davante Adams in the standings Diggs has been a big reason for Buffalo’s success this season.
Already blown past his career-best yardage Diggs is going to be a key factor in how far the Bills can go in the postseason. In terms of fantasy, I was extremely sceptical with how his production would be. As most receivers see a drop in production after changing teams. Furthermore, he was signing up to having Josh Allen as his QB.
Luckily for the former Viking, Allen has taken a huge step forward this season. In the meantime, he has become not only a top fantasy QB but top NFL QB leading the team past the Steelers this week.
Amazing Stat: You have to go back to week 7 of the 2019 season for Diggs to have a game where he did not produce double figures in. That’s a stretch of 18 matches.
Jalen Hurts
How can we not talk about Jalen Hurts? I would love to know if any of you were brave enough to start him this past week. If you did was it a desperation play or are you just a big Eagles fan?
Either way, Hurts produced an exciting performance to lead the Eagles to the shock result of the week. Beating the then No.1 seed Saints. Hurts has been installed as the starter for the remainder of the season. While the Eagles are not mathematically out of the playoff picture yet, this move is as much about the future as it is for now.
Hurts’ value has soared these past few weeks, those who were lucky enough to either draft him as a stash or pick him up for cheap in a trade are doing a happy dance right now. Now what happens to Wentz and his huge contact going forward is anybody’s guess. But if Hurts continues to produce more performances like that, then the Eagles have no choice but to roll with the exciting Oklahoma product.
Trending Up
Tua Tagovailoa (Dynasty & Redraft)
Tua Tagovailoa produced his best fantasy performance Sunday. In a game where the Dolphins rattled the cage of the defending champions. Tagovailoa exploded for a top 4 QB finish on the week. Showcasing his huge upside and potential that he can sling it as well as get it done with his legs.
Tagovailoa ran for 1 TD and threw for 2 more scores as he spread the ball across the offense. Tagovailoa has a tough matchup this week with the master Bill Belichick and the Patriots. But if he can produce here then he will show he has a really bright future. I’m glad I have plenty of shares in dynasty.
Lynn Bowden Jr (Dynasty)
This one is related directly to Tagovailoa and the recent performances that have seen Bowden become a favourited target. Bowden was traded away from Las Vegas on cut day back in September. A surprising move, but Miami are now reaping the rewards. Bowden is quickly becoming someone you want to pick up and own for the future.
I was able to pick Bowden in one league from waivers a month ago. That was how low his value was, with no snaps or opportunities registered until week 12. Fantasy players were pessimistic that he would ever see proper playing time.
Fast forward to week 14 and Bowden was Tagovailoa’s top receiver with 7 catches for 82 yards. The dynamic playmaker is a great grab in dynasty. If he can continue to produce in the remainder of the season, he can cement his place as a key piece for Miami into 2021 and beyond.
Drew Lock (Redraft)
Drew Lock is playing for his place on this team. After a season of mostly disappointing performances, Lock produced his best game of the season. He finished throwing for 4 TDs the first time in his career as the Broncos beat the Panthers.
Lock finished the week as the QB6 and his schedule to finish the season is one of the best for fantasy QBs. He’s a great play in Superflex formats and he’s a good streaming option for the remaining games. Beyond this season the Broncos board will evaluate what went wrong in 2020 and changes could be made.
Donovan Peoples-Jones (Dynasty)
The 21-year-old has been an extremely impressive stand in as the WR3 in Cleveland. Over the past 2 games, he’s the WR13 ahead of the likes of Justin Jefferson and AJ Brown. That’s elite territory, but you can’t expect this to happen every week going forward. But what it does show is his potential in this offense, and that is enough to get me excited for the future. Especially given the recent rumor of Odell Beckham Jr being moved on in the offseason.
Trending Down
DeVante Parker (Redraft & Dynasty)
DeVante Parker is a beast with Ryan Fitzpatrick under centre for Miami. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, there’s no sign of the Dolphins going back to Fitzpatrick now that Tagovailoa has established himself.
This leaves a bitterly sour taste in the mouth as Parker was a playoff hero last season. Averaging over 23 points in the fantasy playoffs, but this season he’s going to be rotting on my bench. Exiting the game against the Chiefs with a leg injury in a game in which he was held without a catch is another nail in the coffin for Parker this season.
Aaron Jones (Redraft)
This is me getting my own back on Aaron Jones and the Packers lack of use for him in Sunday’s divisional win. Why oh why are you only giving him 5 more carries than Jamaal Williams?!
It was built as the perfect matchup against a Detroit side giving up the MOST points to fantasy QBs. But then there’s Aaron Rodgers clearly vying for the MVP, choosing to toss TDs in the red zone instead of pounding this terrible run defense.
It’s another golden matchup this week but you have to wonder if again they will look to keep Jones fresh for the playoffs. Meaning he will disappoint the many owners and DFS players who see the juicy matchup and jump on it.
Matt Ryan (Redraft)
Matt Ryan is a very simple QB to work out. When he has Julio Jones in the lineup in any given week he has top 5 upside. When Jones is out (and he’s been out a lot this season) he’s a bad fantasy QB.
Unfortunately for Ryan Julio could be shut down for the season. As there are no hopes of the playoffs, and a lingering hamstring injury. Simply, there’s no sense in risking a longer term problem.
This is bad for Matt Ryan owners who need to know whether he’s still start-worthy or whether you need to turn to a streaming option. I would be looking elsewhere. Ryan averages just 11 points over the past 4 games and that’s just not going to get it done.
Terry McLaurin (Redraft)
Oh Terry McLaurin I do feel for you. The team is winning and things are looking good in Washington. The team is unbelievably sitting pretty in the playoffs, and in control of their own destiny.
Terry McLaurin owners don’t care one bit about how happy the team is- their guy is not producing. Albeit 2 tough matchups against the Steelers & 49ers McLaurin has only mustered just over 7 points in 2 games combined!
He was averaging just under 17 points per game in the 11 games before so a nice matchup is needed to get McLaurin back on track. Luckily that matchup features the Seahawks, who have been awful at covering wide receivers. But they have picked up lately, and become more middle of the pack.
So, that’s it for the Week 14 edition of The Impact, giving you the headlines & takeaways you need. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. And remember, if you need some help for your season-long leagues you can find our rankings here.
Image Credit: Douglas DeFelice – USA TODAY Sports
