Fantasy football winners, losers: Defenders all trying to chase Brown
It’s December, a time when the weather becomes a greater factor than bye weeks for fantasy managers looking to nail down a league championship. It’s also a time when NFL teams are intimately familiar with their rosters and will be looking to maximize every single play to get them into the postseason.
Now that every lineup decision could be the difference between taking the next step in the fantasy playoffs or looking ahead to next year, it’s important to recognize which players are getting stronger down the stretch and which ones are losing ground on the depth chart.
These players saw their fantasy values increase or decrease most based on their performances in Week 14:
Fantasy football winners from Week 14
RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals: Brown has seen his role in the offense increase in the past two games, posting a career-high 11 total touches with a 54-yard receiving touchdown on Sunday. There is nothing wrong with Joe Mixon, and as long as the starter is healthy, Brown’s fantasy ceiling is limited. But he has a ton of promise, and his role is slowly growing.
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TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns: Njoku didn’t do much in the first half of the season, but he has six or more receptions in four of the past five games to move squarely into the middle of TE1 territory. He had a season-best 91 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville, jelling nicely with veteran QB Joe Flacco.
WR Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars: Jones has forged a larger role since Christian Kirk went down with a core muscle injury. While he didn’t have much yardage vs. the Browns, Jones was targeted 14 times, so he is clearly the team’s WR2 behind Calvin Ridley.
WR Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams: Robinson has seven receptions, 101 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games. He had 10 targets on Sunday after totaling 10 targets in his first four games combined. With Tutu Atwell dealing with a concussion, Robinson could have a solid role into Week 15 and beyond.
QB Easton Stick, Los Angeles Chargers: Stick checked in after Justin Herbert fractured an index finger on his throwing hand. Coach Brandon Staley said Herbert is out indefinitely, so it appears Stick will be the starter going forward. He has Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler and other solid skill position options to help him hit the ground running.
Fantasy football losers from Week 14
RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens: The Gus Bus should be parked in all fantasy leagues. He managed just six carries for 15 yards in a shootout against the Rams, and his six touches were his second-fewest of the season. It appears rookie Keaton Mitchell is carving into his role.
RB Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles: If you’ve been hanging onto Gainwell, hoping he will see a larger role in the offense, it’s just not happening. D’Andre Swift is the top dog in the backfield, and Gainwell is simply seeing scraps. He went without a reception for just the second game this season, and he was limited to four touches.
WR Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos: Jeudy managed just two receptions for 16 yards in Week 14, and he has 16 or fewer yards in two of the past three outings. Courtland Sutton and Samaje Perine are the top targets in the offense, and, with his frequent drops, Jeudy is a distant third.
WR Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys: The journeyman had his two-game touchdown streak came to a screeching halt with only two catches. CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Jake Ferguson blew past him for targets in the Sunday night game. Cooks can still be useful in deeper fantasy leagues, but he’ ha’s really had just one or two good games all season.
QB Joshua Dobbs, Minnesota Vikings: Dobbs was pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Nick Mullens in one of the worst NFL games you’ll ever see, as the Vikings stumbled to a 3-0 win. Mullens led the team to its only score, and he’ll likely take over as the starter. Dobbs’ storybook season has taken a most unfortunate turn.