Cheat Sheet: All you need to know to win in Week 14

So much changes from week to week around the NFL, and we’re here to make sure you’re on top of it all heading into Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season.

The weekly fantasy football cheat sheet provides a rundown of the best tips from all the fantasy football content that ESPN has posted over the past seven days. You’ll find answers to the biggest start/sit questions of the week and other pertinent matchup advice from our team, including Field Yates, Mike Clay, Eric Karabell, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Matt Bowen, Seth Walder, Al Zeidenfeld, Eric Moody, Liz Loza, Daniel Dopp and ESPN Insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, plus all of NFL Nation. It’s all the best advice in one handy article.

Here’s what our experts are saying about Week 14 in the NFL:

Where to turn if you’ve lost your quarterback

Lamar Jackson is dealing with a knee injury that might see Tyler Huntley taking over starting duties in Week 14, Jimmy Garoppolo has a broken left foot that will keep him off the field for several weeks, if not the rest of the season, and the Atlanta Falcons will be using their bye week to transition their offense away from Marcus Mariota. With all of this upheaval at quarterback, our experts had plenty to say about who fantasy managers should — and should not — turn to at the position.

• Rookie Brock Purdy is Garoppolo’s replacement, and he’s a seventh-round pick who has started zero NFL games. While Purdy was solid in his first extended play, it’s reasonable to think there’s going to be a lot more volatility in Purdy’s performances compared to Garoppolo’s. The Niners won’t ask Purdy to do much aside from take care of the ball and get it out quick, which means running back Christian McCaffrey should continue to stockpile big days, but it’s hard to project consistent production elsewhere until we see more from Purdy. — Nick Wagoner

• I have Desmond Ridder in a dynasty league and I’m really hoping to see something out of the QB position in Atlanta over the coming weeks. Expectations are very low given how bad this offense has already been, but it can’t get much worse from a fantasy perspective, right?! Ridder isn’t in the spot Purdy is in with the 49ers, (as he) inherits the Falcons’ inept offense. … Ridder is the fun topic, but Purdy is the actual fantasy streaming target in deeper/2-QB leagues right now. — Dopp

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Matthew Bowen breaks down what he likes about Desmond Ridder from a fantasy perspective.

• For those looking for a streaming option, Jared Goff piques my interest in Week 14. A tasty matchup against the Vikings awaits. Goff has thrown 17 touchdowns in his seven home games and averages a robust 19.7 fantasy points per game in indoor contests this season. A much tougher matchup with the Jets awaits in Week 15. … Meanwhile, the Patriots’ offense has largely been a mess lately, but Week 14 is a potentially cushy spot for those willing to roll the dice. The Cardinals have allowed 24 passing touchdowns this season, tied with the Chiefs and Steelers for most in the NFL. On Thanksgiving, Mac Jones turned a matchup with the Vikings into a season-best effort with 382 passing yards and two touchdowns. — Yates

• Tom Brady hasn’t been close to the fantasy superstar he was in seasons past, but he has at least picked up his statistical pace in recent weeks, averaging a No. 13 weekly finish over the past five weeks. Nevertheless, he has earned an ESPN standard league’s start (meaning a top-10 weekly positional finish) only three times all season, with his two best single-week scores coming against the two bottom-eight defenses (for the season) against the position. The 49ers, by contrast, represent one of the worst matchups Brady will face all season, behind only the Cowboys in Week 1 (he scored 10.38 points in that game). — Cockcroft

Looking for the latest injury news leading up to kickoff? Check out all of the Week 14 inactives here.

Can we trust any TE options?

If you drafted Travis Kelce to be your tight end, congratulations! You’ve had a week-in, week-out solid option at the position — one who has scored nearly 100 more fantasy points than the next-closest alternative. As for the rest of the options, injuries aside, it’s seemingly been a roll of the dice on the regular in 2022. What do our experts think about future chances for success from this very volatile lineup spot?

• Should Mark Andrews‘ fantasy managers be worried? Not at all. Just like Jackson, Huntley’s favorite target is Andrews. In Huntley’s four starts last season, Andrews averaged 95.7 yards receiving per game and scored two touchdowns. Nearly a third of Huntley’s targeted throws went to Andrews (32.8%) last season. That shouldn’t change this year, especially with No. 1 wide receiver Rashod Bateman (foot) out for the season. — Jamison Hensley

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Field Yates tries to make sense of Mark Andrews’ rough stretch since Week 6.

• Who is the most valuable Bears pass-catcher the rest of the way with Darnell Mooney on the shelf? It has been three games since Justin Fields and Cole Kmet connected on two touchdowns in a loss to Detroit. The third-year tight end emerged as Fields’ most trusted red zone threat by the midway point of the season, and that’s an area in which the two can continue to hone their chemistry over the Bears’ final four games. … We don’t know if receivers Equanimeous St. Brown, Byron Pringle, Dante Pettis and others will be on the Bears’ roster next year. We know Kmet will. His impact can help Fields evolve as a passer beginning in Week 15. — Courtney Cronin

• I like Pat Freiermuth in this spot versus Baltimore in Week 14 as a pass game target for Kenny Pickett — with formation flexibility. The Steelers tight end has registered double-digit PPR production in three of his past six games, with at least three receptions in each matchup. And we saw last week that Freiermuth can get loose in the open field on his 57-yard reception. Just a simple stick route. Rugged after the catch, with the ability to stretch defenses up the seams. Freiermuth is my TE4 this week. — Bowen

• Daniel Bellinger has enjoyed a target share of at least 16% in four of his past five full games and, while he has yet to clear 40 yards in any game, his increased role in a WR-starved Giants offense is enough to land him on the TE streaming radar this week. — Clay

Quick hits, starts and sits

• Leonard Fournette split touches with rookie Rachaad White in the Monday night comeback win over the Saints, logging 49 yards rushing (on 10 carries), with six receptions for 32 yards. And I would expect that split backfield approach to continue, as White brings pass game upside to the offense, plus more perimeter speed as a runner. Given the shared volume for Fournette here, plus an extremely tough matchup versus the 49ers’ defense in Week 14, I dropped him down to RB25 in my ranks. Fournette should be viewed as a Flex play in your lineups. — Bowen

• The Jets’ domination of wide receivers continues. New York has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to the position (fewest over the past eight weeks), as well as the fourth fewest to the perimeter for the season (second fewest over the past eight weeks). New York has also allowed the fifth-fewest points to the slot over the past month. The Jets have shadowed in only one game this season — Week 9 against these Bills. D.J. Reed shadowed Stefon Diggs on the boundary, aligning against him on 15 of 17 perimeter routes, but zero out of 16 slot routes. Reed and Sauce Gardner combined to cover Davis on 37 of his 38 routes and Gardner also covered Isaiah McKenzie and Dawson Knox on all eight of their combined perimeter routes. The plan worked pretty well, with Buffalo limited to 203 pass yards, zero pass TDs and two INTs. Diggs had a fine showing (93 yards on 10 targets), but no one else was above 33 yards. — Clay

• Upgrade Miles Sanders at the New York Giants. There are other teams slightly worse in run-stop win rate than the Giants, but they’re mostly good teams — which means their opponents won’t have a favorable game script against them. However, for Sanders and the Eagles, they have the benefit of both being a favorite and facing a weak run stuffing unit from Big Blue. Oshane Ximines is a weak link for the Giants in the run game — Walder

• Tony Jones Jr. is a sleeper play. Seattle’s top two backs, Kenneth Walker III and DeeJay Dallas, could miss this week because of injury. Jones got his first extended action Sunday vs. the Rams, and though he didn’t produce (14 yards on seven carries), the Seahawks are committed to the run (24.3 carries per game), and I believe the system will help the lead back flourish. — Fowler

• If we’re going to pick on a Buccaneers player, it should be Mike Evans. Chris Godwin is getting numbers. Evans last scored a TD in Week 4 and last reached 60 receiving yards in Week 8. His seat is relatively hot as a WR2 for fantasy. — Karabell

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Mike Clay, Field Yates and Daniel Dopp go down a list of players that they would consider starting over Mike Evans.

• Numerous playoff-bound squads are flexing Christian Kirk. Could he be the most consistent value at WR this season? Kirk is currently the WR11 overall, and he has averaged 15.5 fantasy points per game. Overall, the schedule sets up well for Kirk to finish strong in his PPR-friendly role of slot-man/safety-valve: @TEN, vs DAL, @NYJ, @HOU — Loza

• Chuba Hubbard‘s rising usage, which includes better-than-40% offensive snap shares in each of the Panthers’ past two games as well as 17 touches in their most recent, has clouded what was a once-optimistic outlook for D’Onta Foreman. To offer a counterargument, Foreman has played in every game this season for the first time in his six-year NFL career, had an 83-touch workload from Weeks 7 through 10, his most in any four-game stretch in his career, and despite all of that was heavily used in each of those Week 12-13 contests (11 and 24 touches). Could the Panthers have merely been using Hubbard to keep Foreman’s legs fresh ahead of their late-in-the-year bye? — Cockcroft

• Jaylen Waddle was limited in Wednesday’s practice due to a fibula injury. Waddle suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the 49ers. Despite returning later in the game, he clearly was hindered by it. Waddle’s limited practice this week is encouraging, but Miami plays on Sunday night, so fantasy managers would be wise to have contingencies if Waddle misses the game. If Waddle is unable to play, Trent Sherfield would see an increase in snaps. Despite only 13 targets over three games, he has caught two touchdowns. — Moody

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