RealTime DFS Strategy: Week 14

Fri Dec 6 1:28pm ET
By MIKE BARNER
Contributing Writer

O'Connell could be sneaky play

Six teams will be on a bye during Week 14, leaving us with fewer options to choose from than usual in DFS. With that in mind, here are some of the top players to consider at each position, as well as a few to possibly avoid.

Quarterbacks

Will Levis, TEN vs. JAX ($5,000): Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels are all on a bye this week. Jared Goff and Jordan Love played Thursday. Without so many of the top names available, this might be a good week to allocate less of your budget to the quarterback spot. Levis has thrown two touchdown passes in three of his last four games and he has some upside against a Jaguars team that has allowed the second-most passing touchdowns in the league.

Aidan O’Connell, LV at TB ($4,800): In his first game back as a starter last week, O’Connell threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs. In 16 career games, O’Connell has completed a total of 33 passes of at least 20 yards. That’s worth noting for his matchup against a Buccaneers team that is tied for the sixth-most receptions allowed of at least 20 yards.

Player to Avoid

Brock Purdy, SF vs. CHI ($6,200): After missing Week 12 with a shoulder injury, Purdy returned to face the Bills last week in snowy conditions. He emerged from the matchup with just 94 passing yards. The Bears don’t have a great record, but they have allowed just 11 passing touchdowns this season. We could be looking at another muted stat line from Purdy.

Running Backs

Alvin Kamara, NO at NYG ($8,000): Since we saved funds at quarterback, let’s use some of those savings on Kamara. This is a great matchup for him against the Giants, who have allowed the highest yards per carry in the league. They aren’t likely to improve in that department with Dexter Lawrence (elbow) now on injured reserve.

Bucky Irving, TB vs. LV ($6,600): Irving received a season-high 25 carries against the Panthers last week. He turned them into 152 yards and a touchdown. That marked his third straight game with a touchdown. While he did suffer a hip injury, there has been no indication yet that he won’t be able to play this week. If the Buccaneers race out to a big early lead against the struggling Raiders, we could see a ton of Irving in the second half of the game.

Player to Avoid

Chuba Hubbard, CAR at PHI ($6,200): Hubbard was held to 43 yards on 12 carries last week. That marked the fourth time over his last six games that he has rushed for fewer than 60 yards. The Panthers are heavy underdogs in this game, so they could be throwing a lot in the second half while trying to play catchup. Hubbard might receive a limited workload. In addition to a potential game script that might not work in his favor, Hubbard could also cede a few carries to Jonathan Brooks, who rushed six times against the Buccaneers last week.

Wide Receivers

Justin Jefferson, MIN vs. ATL ($7,800): Jefferson has already reached 1,000 receiving yards for the season. He has accounted for 29.6% of the Vikings targets this season, so he has a chance to reach 1,400 receiving yards in a season for the fourth time in his career. The only negative is that Jefferson hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 7. That streak could end against the Falcons, who are tied for the third-most receiving touchdowns allowed to wide receivers in the league.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, TEN vs. JAX ($4,900): Westbrook-Ikhine caught just three of eight targets against the Commander last week. However, two of his receptions went for touchdowns. He now has eight touchdowns over his last eight games. Given his cheap salary and how poorly the Jaguars have played on defense, he makes for a great stacking option with Levis.

Player to Avoid

Deebo Samuel Sr., SF vs. CHI ($5,900): Despite all of the injuries that the 49ers have suffered on offense, Samuel hasn’t been productive. He has gone three straight games with fewer than 25 receiving yards and he has just two total touchdowns all season. Although the Bears have been racking up losses, they are tied for the second-fewest receptions allowed to wide receivers in the league. This isn’t a favorable matchup for Samuel to break out of his slump.

Tight Ends

Brock Bowers, LV at TB ($6,500): Bowers couldn’t have played much better than he did last week against the Chiefs. He was targeted 14 times, finishing with 10 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown. That marked the second time over his last three games that he has posted at least 125 receiving yards. It was also his third touchdown over his last four games. With little talent around him at wide receiver, Bowers should continue to receive a ton of targets.

Cade Otton, TB vs. LV ($4,400): When the Buccaneers were hurting at wide receiver, Otton was producing some juicy stat lines. However, he has totaled just five receptions for 50 yards over the last two games since Mike Evans returned. His salary has come down quite a bit, making him an interesting tournament option against a Raiders team that has allowed the fourth-most receptions to tight ends in the league.

Player to Avoid

Kyle Pitts, ATL at MIN ($4,100): Pitts failed to record a reception last week against the Chargers. He was targeted just two times, marking the third time over his last four games that Pitts has received three or fewer targets. He can have the occasional breakout performance, but he has just provided too many complete duds lately to feel good about deploying him in DFS.

Mike Barner has been covering fantasy sports since 2007. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, SportsLine and RotoWire. Mike was also a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Follow Mike on Twitter @rotomikebarner.

RealTime DFS Strategy: Week 14

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