Bye weeks continue to play a major role in fantasy football each week, so secondary and tertiary starting options are as important as ever with the fantasy playoffs either here or starting soon. Riskier plays can be rewarded if discovered correctly and complacent managers rely too heavily on drafted players. Trust your instincts — coupled with solid PFF metrics, of course.
So, let's get to it: the Week 14 edition of fantasy football start ’em or sit ’em.
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START
QB TAYSOM HILL, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Well, Hill kicked off his late-starting 2021 season with a bang … for fantasy football purposes, anyway. The Saints starting quarterback threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys last week, but also added a whopping four interceptions. However, Hill’s fantasy relevance lies in his rushing ability — he added 101 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
WHAT CAN’T TAYSOM HILL DO
pic.twitter.com/DuYulMKD60— PFF (@PFF) December 3, 2021
We’re looking for a passing bounce-back opportunity for Hill, so what better opponent for that than the New York Jets? Last week, the Jets gave up 242 passing yards and two touchdowns to Gardner Minshew, who assumed starting duties while Jalen Hurts nursed an ankle injury. Not to mention, they’re the most porous run defense in the league. If you grabbed Hill, throw him into your starting lineup this week.
RB DONTRELL HILLIARD, TENNESSEE TITANS
After the Titans’ bye week, Hilliard has a great opportunity to deliver a solid fantasy performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Prior to the bye, Hilliard accumulated 131 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts and also saw two targets. And lest we forget that Hilliard pocketed a 10-target game in Week 11 against the Houston Texans. So even though D’Onta Foreman did handle more touches in Week 12, there is a case for Hilliard to be game script-resistant going forward.
And against the Jaguars, it is extremely easy to go forward. They have allowed 12 rushing touchdowns this season — fourth-most in the league this season. They also haven’t given up fewer than 127 total rushing yards in each of their past four games. The Titans have recommitted to the run after experimenting with a few different running backs since Derrick Henry went down. Hilliard has the makings of a late-season playoff hero.
WR MARQUEZ VALDES-SCANTLING, GREEN BAY PACKERS
Valdes-Scantling is another plus player fresh off their bye week, and he will look to continue his midseason emergence for the Green Bay passing attack. Valdes-Scantling saw 14 total targets in his past two games, yet he caught just eight. However, by PFF’s charting, he also saw just eight catchable targets — meaning he hauled in every ball that came close to him. And he notched an average depth of target of 18.6 yards and 2.58 yards per route run over that span.
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