Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Week 14: Debating Difficult Fantasy Football Lineup Decisions

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Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Last week, Javonte Williams made his first NFL start when Melvin Gordon was out because of a hip injury. Williams capitalized on the increased opportunities to have an impressive showing against the Kansas City Chiefs, as he rushed for 102 yards and had six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

In Week 14, Gordon may return to the Broncos’ lineup. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, but he told reporters earlier this week that he thinks he’ll be ready to play. If that’s the case, don’t expect Williams to get close to the 29 touches he had last week.

Despite that, Williams should still be started in fantasy lineups in Week 14. The Lions are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs per game, according to NFL.com, so it’s probable that both Williams and Gordon can have success and will be worthy of flex consideration.

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Terrance Williams/Associated Press

After missing five games because of a calf injury, Kareem Hunt returned to the Browns’ lineup in Week 12 against the Baltimore Ravens. However, he didn’t make much of an impact, rushing for only 20 yards on seven carries and recording no receptions.

Perhaps Hunt will benefit from Cleveland having a bye in Week 13, but he’ll be going up against the same Baltimore defense on Sunday. With the Browns’ offense struggling of late and the unfavorable matchup, Hunt is too risky to consider for fantasy lineups this week.

Hunt has proved in the past that he can be fantasy relevant despite splitting work with Nick Chubb. But right now, it’s better to wait to see how Hunt looks this week before thinking about reinserting him into your fantasy lineup.

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Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

With Calvin Ridley not playing, the Falcons have needed a wide receiver to step up and fill that void in their offense. And in recent weeks, Russell Gage has emerged as a top playmaker for quarterback Matt Ryan to throw to.

Gage had 62 yards and a touchdown in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, then he had 11 catches for 130 yards last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s been targeted at least seven times in four of Atlanta’s past five games, so it’s clear he’s a focal point of its offense at this point.

Even though the Falcons don’t have the best Week 14 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, Gage has solidified himself as a wide receiver who should now be in fantasy lineups. So keep him in as long as he continues to be heavily targeted.

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Ron Jenkins/Associated Press

After a slow start to the season, Michael Gallup put up some impressive numbers the past two weeks. On Thanksgiving, he had his first 100-yard game of the season when he had five catches for 106 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders. Then last week, he scored his first touchdown of the year against the New Orleans Saints.

But it seems likely that Gallup is going to be less involved in the Cowboys’ passing attack moving forward. CeeDee Lamb (concussion) and Amari Cooper (positive COVID-19 test) both missed time while Gallup was excelling, and now Lamb and Cooper are both healthy and ready to go.

Dallas should put up some strong numbers through the air against Washington on Sunday, but only Lamb and Cooper are wide receivers who should be in fantasy lineups. There probably won’t be enough targets to go around to make Gallup worthy of fantasy consideration moving forward.