5 Start, 5 Sit for Week 14 of the 2024 NFL Season
One week remains in the regular season for fantasy players. For many, the choices made leading up to Sunday can spell the difference between a chance at cash and a chance at some horrible punishment thought up by their friends. If you’re on the bubble, your playoffs start now. I’m going to go through 5 guys that should be no brainer starts and 5 guys that you shouldn’t even try to risk starting.
Start:
Joe Burrow vs DAL – Start
Joe Burrow is putting up an MVP season but because the Bengals’ defense is so bad that he’s not even being considered because they’ve lost so many games. Not great if you’re a Bengals fan, but as a fantasy owner, it means you get a full 60 minutes of elite quarterback production. Burrow is ranked 1st in yards and touchdowns with 3337 and 30 respectively, all while having only 5 interceptions. Dallas doesn’t provide a particularly tough opponent as well, so you can confidently expect a fantastic game out of Joe. No matter what other options you have at quarterback, you have to go with Burrow.
David Montgomery vs GB – Start
Montgomery has been the Thunder to Jahmyr Gibbs‘ Lightning this season. He’s only had 1 game under 10 fantasy points and it was against the top 3 Vikings run defense: Gibbs had 32 points in that game. Montgomery’s volume has been somewhat inconsistent, but his production has been good all season. The Packers come to town in week 14, meaning another tough matchup for Detroit. Like in most games this year, the Lions are going to lean heavily on their backfield duo. This should be a solid game for Montgomery and you shouldn’t sit him for pretty much anyone else.
Jakobi Meyers vs TB – Start
Meyers’ season really came alive after Devante Adams was shipped off to the Jets. Even working with a carousel of mediocre quarterbacks, he was able to average 7 catches and 80 yards in his last 5 games. His only shortcoming is that he’s only scored twice. The Raiders are overall a bad team, but the sheer amount of volume that Meyers gets keeps him in the upper echelon of fantasy players. Tampa Bay’s defense is good, but not nearly as good as the Raiders’ last two opponents (Denver and KC). I’m foreseeing a big day for Meyers.
Trey McBride vs SEA – Start
I haven’t mentioned McBride at all this year because I’ve generally felt like he’s always a no-brainer to start. However, with how poorly the Cardinals did against Seattle two weeks ago, I thought some people may be wary to start any this week. Rest assured though, that McBride still managed to put up 133 yards on 12 catches in that game. It’s very hard to beat a team twice in the NFL so I’m expecting that Arizona is going to have something new for the Seahawks this week. I have no doubts that McBride will continue to be the #1 target for Murray.
De’Von Achane vs NYJ – Start
No one on the Dolphins was more positively impacted by Tua Tagovailoa‘s return than Achane. Since week 8, Achane has 68 carries for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding 34 catches for 235 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air. Those points per game (21.5 PPR) would put him second on the season when compared to other running backs’ seasonal scoring. Achane is incredibly dynamic and the other weapons on the Dolphins only help him get loose. The Jets have been a dumpster fire all year, so I don’t think they’ll put up much of a defense against the Achane.
Sit:
Will Levis vs JAC – Sit
I would generally say that any quarterback playing against the Jaguars is one worth starting, but not when playoffs are on the line. Levis’ best games this year have only just been average compared to everyone else. Even when playing against comparatively bad defenses, Levis is really only able to be ok. He hasn’t had a game with more than 2 touchdowns and hasn’t thrown for over 300 yards in a game this year. If you’re vying for a playoff spot this week, don’t risk it on a guy who puts mayonnaise in his coffee.
Travis Etienne vs TEN – Sit
On the other side of this game, there’s another guy you should have been sitting for a while now. If you’ve been clinging to hope that Etienne would be able to turn things around this year, now is the best time to move on from that notion. Etienne hasn’t scored since week 2 and hasn’t had 50+ scrimmage yards since week 5. He’s the starting running back! It has been a disappointing, bordering on shameful season for him and the Jaguars. At this point, there are 3 dozen running backs that I’d rather have in before Etienne.
Tyler Lockett vs ARI – Sit
Perhaps age has finally started to show, but Tyler Lockett has been pretty invisible this season. He signed a sizeable deal in the offseason but then has hardly contributed in actual games. Not a bad situation for him to be honest. Based on last season’s production, Lockett was a fairly valuable asset but has become close to a waiver wire piece. He only has 511 yards and 2 touchdowns on 41 catches this year and has been completely overshadowed by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. If you’ve been hanging onto him hoping for a comeback, let that hope die.
Kyle Pitts vs MIN – Sit
Kyle Pitts has just as many games with 0 points as he has with touchdowns. That’s a good summary for his season. The Falcons’ offense hasn’t been better in years, but still Pitts can’t make things happen consistently. He actually has fewer catches (35) and yards (494) than Lockett, who I just said is having a bad season. I know Pitts is a tight end, but the expectation has always been wide receiver production. He just isn’t worth starting. See if Will Dissly is on the wire, that would be a better option.
Bryce Young vs PHI – Sit
I will give Bryce Young credit, he has been playing way better since he re-assumed control over the Panthers’ offense. The problem is that it’s still not great. He has not had a game with 300 yards passing and has just as many interceptions as touchdowns on the year. His selection of weapons is below average at best, so the expectations are pretty low. Unfortunately for him, the Eagles have the best defense in the league. there was a low chance you were going to be starting Bryce anyway, but just in case you had the slightest inclination, you should cut that out immediately.
If you want more offensive start/sit advice, follow me on X @TFFGRobbie. If you need IDP start/sit advice, give @ThePPRShow a follow as well.