FanDuel NFL Lineups: Week 14

Welcome to the Week 14 edition of FanDuel NFL lineups.  We’re a Daily Fantasy Football column focused on top picks and best value for your weekly FanDuel NFL lineups.  We arm you with information for a big FanDuel NFL payday each week.

Last week we were high on Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz, who each piled up just under 18 FanDuel NFL points.  That was a modest result, but we missed on Alex Smith.  A great FanDuel NFL quarterback earlier int he season, Alex had 37.64 FanDuel NFL points in week 13, more than any other player.  Even better, he was only $7,500, so an incredible bargain.  This week, Smith could be another good pick, but we’re not exactly ready to fade Wentz or Rivers yet.

Alvin Kamara, who’s unfortunately under concussion protocol after a hit on Thursday night, was one of our top picks at running back in week 13, and he didn’t disappoint with over 27 FanDuel NFL points.  But our bargain pick, Rex Burkhead, turned out to be a steal.  Rex had 23.8 FanDuel NFL points, ninth among all players, and was only a $5.9K salary.

Keenan Allen was our top wide receiver, with a lot of faith riding on a hot game from Rivers, and Allen provided over 21 FanDuel NFL points and had the 15th most points of all players.  Keenan is in play against a banged up Washington defense this week as well.  But Thielen and Landry disappointed with under 10 FanDuel NFL points each.  We we remember what we learned from the last 17 weeks of FanDuel NFL plays, and move on toward week 14.

With every NFL team playing in week 14, FanDuel provides a plethora of slates.  There are three slates starting at 1pm ET, three after 4pm, and two slates starting with the Sunday night game.  For the Mon-Thu slate, we are only covering the Monday options, focused solely on week 14 games.

Now, let’s get start on your NFL DFS optimal lineup with the Quarterbacks…

FanDuel NFL Lineups: Week 14 – Quarterbacks

Top Picks

Russell Wilson ($7,700) is arguably the best FanDuel NFL quarterback each week, at this point in the season.  We would love Wilson this week if he was playing another defense, other than the Jaguars.  We wouldn’t necessarily fade Russell this week, because he’s been that dominate, but there are better options.

Regardless of the outcome each week for the Eagles, Carson Wentz ($8,600) is proving to be an elite FanDuel NFL quarterback option each week.  Even in what would probably be considered a ‘bad game’ for the Eagles, Carson piled up 348 yards, and 30 yards rushing on six attempts.  Wentz had two fumbles and an interception, but the total yards with a touchdown pass still allowed him to land just under 18 FanDuel NFL points against a good defense.

The Rams are also a good passing defense, but they struggle against the run, and the Eagles are one of the best at running the ball in the NFL.  That likely will open up opportunity for Wentz to his a few targets in the end zone this week, and he likely gets at least two TD’s this week.

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Alex Smith ($8,200) was spectacular in a loss last week.  Smith lead all players in FanDuel NFL points in week 13, and has another opportunity to match that amount in week 14.  The Chiefs are hosting a Raiders defense giving up a ton of yards in the passing game.  Also, the Raiders offense is good enough to turn this game into a fun shootout, pushing Smith and the Chiefs to keep forcing the ball downfield for more yards and touchdowns.

Other Top Option

The Washington defense looked strong earlier in the season, but injuries have decimated their ability to stop the pass and run over the last several weeks.  The Skins have a few of their better players back on the field, like Josh Norman, but they appear to be playing with nagging injuries and aren’t playing 100%.  That bodes well for the currently surging Chargers passing offense lead by Philip Rivers ($8,100), who we like again this week.

Fades

Tom Brady ($9,500) – This may seem stupid, but there’s logic here.  Brady is a weekly elite FanDuel NFL option, but he struggled last week against Buffalo, providing only 9.32 FanDuel NFL points on a very expensive salary.  Brady is expensive again, and is facing a tough Dolphins passing defense.  Also, there are rumors Tom is struggling with an Achilles issue.  This is all leading us to believe Brady is entirely too expensive, considering the risk available.

Cam Newton ($7,700) – It’s tempting to play Newton at this price.  But we’ve seen the Vikings consistently dominate every passing offense this season, including a hot Rams offense a few weeks ago.  Don’t do it!

Jared Goff ($7,700) – Goff has been great again against terrible defenses and terrible against great defenses.  At home against one of the top defenses in the NFL, the Eagles, Jared shouldn’t even be a top ten consideration this week.

FanDuel NFL Lineups: Week 14 – Running Backs

Top Picks

Chalk this one up as obvious, but LeSean McCoy ($9,000) is a must-have in all cash games, and likely your best anchor for GPP plays as well.  The Colts rushing defense is actually surprisingly solid, but still only among the middle of the NFL.  The Colts passing defense is terrible.  The Bills often lean on McCoy to do both, running the ball often and getting four to seven targets each game.  LeSean can also scored touchdowns doing both, providing a duel threat against a terrible team.

However, there’s one BIG caveat!  Tyrod Taylor is battling an injury and could sit this week.  As we’ve already seen, Nathan Peterman is horrendous and likely is starting for the Bills on Sunday.  So with that added risk, McCoy could be a major upset.

With D’Onta Foreman out for the season, Lamar Miller ($6,600) is a solid pick each week, especially when playing against a bad rushing defense.  Last week, we were high on Miller, but he only had 56 rushing yards on 15 carries and four receptions for 38 yards.  Still, that provided 11.4 FanDuel NFL points on a decent salary, and with a touchdown Lamar would’ve been one of the better running back picks in the league.  This week, the Texans are hosting one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL, the 49ers.  For only $6.6K, we REALLY like this pick for week 14.

Other Top Options

He’s very expensive for a running back, but Le’Veon Bell ($8,800) absolutely torched the Ravens earlier int he season for 144 yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns.  Bell also had sex targets for four receptions and 42 yards in that game, piling up an amazing 32.6 FanDuel NFL points.  He may not replicate that outcome, as the Steelers passing game has improved and they shouldn’t need to lean on Le’Veon as much.  But Bell is still obviously one of the best picks this week.

The Redskins rushing defense has been bad this season, and with banged up linebackers, they’re in bad shape.  Unfortunately for the Skins this week, they’re traveling to Los Angeles to face Melvin Gordon ($8,600), who’s been getting a healthy dose of about 20 carries per game over the last three weeks.  Gordon likely at least gets 15 FanDuel NFL points this week.

After watching Kenyan Drake ($6,200) burn the solid Broncos defense for 120 rushing yards and a touchdown last week, along with 21 receiving yards and 21.6 FanDuel NFL points, he’s obviously a great play against the Patriots.  Two weeks ago, Drake only had 20 rushing yards against the Pats, but he also had 27 receiving yards and a touchdown.  It’s likely the Dolphins realize Drake is a great option on the ground now, and pound the ball more against the Patriots this week.

Fades

Leonard Fournette ($8,300) – Do you remember what the Seahawks did against the Eagles rushing attack last week?  It wasn’t pretty for the Eagles running backs.  The Seahawks travel to the east coast this week, where they historically perform worse, but the rookie running back will likely struggle in this one, and isn’t worth the hefty salary.

Todd Gurley II ($8,500) – We generally love Gurley this season, but not against the top rushing defense in the NFL.  Against another good rushing defense, Todd still had 13.1 FanDuel NFL points.  But a big part of that result was a touchdown.  Minus the six points for scoring, Todd only had 37 yards on the ground and 19 in the air.  Against the Eagles, who rarely allow rushing touchdowns?  No, thanks!

FanDuel NFL Lineups: Week 14 – Wide Receivers

Top Picks

Regardless of the outcome last week, the Eagles obviously have developed a great passing combination between Wentz and Alshon Jeffery ($7,400).  Before the game in Seattle, Jeffery had five touchdowns from Carson, in four games.  Even without a touchdown against the Seahawks, Alshon saw six targets, grabbed four receptions, and had 61 yards for a total of 8.1 FanDuel NFL points.  This week, we think Wentz and the Eagles will open up the passing game with an early dose of pounding the ball, and Jeffery could be open for one of his six to eight targets for a touchdown, again.

He’s expensive, but DeAndre Hopkins ($8,600) appears to be re-emerging without DeShaun Watson taking the snaps.  Hopkins is still seeing over ten targets per game, piled up 125 yards against the Ravens, 80 yards against the Titans, and had 76 yards and a touchdown against Peterson and the Cardinals.  DeAndre should have a cake-walk against the 49ers at home this week.

Keenan Allen ($8,400) is on a role.  Allen may see Norman often this week, but Josh is banged up and the Chargers target-machine is averaging around 150 receiving yards over the last three weeks, along with four touchdowns.  There’s some minor risk with this play, but it’s smart to keep paying for the red-hot Allen in week 14.

We love Smith this week, after his amazing result last week, and we need to grab his top target, Tyreek Hill ($7,800).  Last week, against a solid Jets passing defense, Hill had over 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns.  This week, the Chiefs get a weaker passing defense, and Smith is on fire.  Pay up for Hill, if you can afford him.

Other Top Picks

The Chiefs are struggling in every facet of their defense this season.  They have the second worst overall defense, fourth worst passing defense, and third worst rushing defense.  That bodes well for the Raiders offense this week.  Michael Crabtree ($7,100) is back in the Raiders lineup, and with Amari Cooper out this week, Derek Carr will target Crabtree often, especially in the red zone.

Jarvis Landry ($7,000) was disappointing against the Broncos, but two weeks ago Landry saw nine targets against the Patriots, and hauled in eight receptions for 70 yards.  Jarvis fumbled the ball, limiting his FanDuel NFL points to only eleven, but with a touchdown he would’ve had a huge game.  That’s likely this week.

Fades

Antonio Brown ($9,000) – Pay $9K for a dice-roll on a redemption game from Brown against the Ravens?  Nope.  Earlier in the season, the Ravens chose to focus on Antonio Brown all game, and it worked.  The result was a terrible passing game from Big Ben, and while Lev Bell had a great game, the Ravens made the Steelers and Brown look fallible.  I’m not paying up for that much risk.

Brandin Cooks ($7,600) – Cooks and Brady are connecting.  But while Brandin had a solid 83 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins two weeks ago, the Dolphins are a solid pass defense and will be looking to shutdown the deep threat from Cooks.  Also, we’re worried about Brady right now.

Adam Thielen ($7,500) – We liked Thielen last week, but hate him against the Panthers.  Case Keenum is proving to be an NFL ready quarterback, but he’ll face one of the toughest challenges he’s seen this season in Carolina, and Keenum likely has trouble connecting with Adam this week.

FanDuel NFL Lineups: Week 14 – Tight End / Kicker / Defense

With Rob Gronkowski ($8,400) out of the lineup this week due to a one-game suspension and Zach Ertz ($7,800) questionable for the Eagles, Travis Kelce ($8,000) is a slam-dunk top pick at tight end this week.  Last week, the Chiefs offense came back to life against the Jets.  Kelce piled up 23.40 FanDuel NFL points on a cheap $7K salary, making Travis a bargain top-15 FanDuel NFL pick for the week.

This week, the Chiefs host the Oakland Raiders, a reason we already like Alex Smith as a potential top quarterback pick.  Ranked in the bottom ten in passing defense, and overall defense, the Raiders have been a great target this season when looking for passing offense for a NFL DFS optimal lineup.  Kelce should thrive again this week, but is more expensive.

With the potential for Ertz to sit this week out, our favorite bargain pick at tight end is Trey Burton ($4,500).  Generally a special teams specialist, when Ertz leaves the game Burton becomes the top tight end target for Wentz.  Carson could look for Brent Celek, too, but he’s more of a blocking tight end for the Eagles.  Burton has two touchdowns this season, and after Zach left the game last week in Seattle, Burton saw a season-high seven targets for four receptions and 42 yards.

Before we jump into the kicker and defensive picks, one more tight end option to consider is Hunter Henry ($5,600).  The Chargers offensive passing game has been alive and well over the past four weeks, and Henry’s fantasy value is picking up as a result.  Over the last three weeks, Henry has seen give to nine targets per game, has two games over 70 yards, and  touchdown against the Cowboys.  He’s a solid pick again this week against a banged up Skins defense.

There are plenty of good, solid, expensive kickers available.  But many of those kickers could be trap plays.  Several of the better defenses in the NFL, like the Rams, Eagles, and Patriots, have rough match ups this week.  Meanwhile, buried in the list of kickers is Travis Coons ($4,500) who’s kicking for the injured Nick Novack this week.  Coons piled up 14 FanDuel NFL points against the Browns last week, and is an absolute steal against Washington, at home, this week.

Finally, we’re wrapping up our lineup with one of the most underrated defenses in the NFL this season.  Kirk Cousins and the Redskins passing game is one of the better passing offenses in the NFL.  But Casey Hayward is an elite cornerback this season, and the Chargers have one of the other top corners on the other side of the field, Trevor Williams.  This passing defense has stifled some of the best in the NFL this season, and without a rushing game from Washington, they’ll likely stymie the Skins this week, too.

So after reviewing all of the options, we put together our favorite lineup for the day.  Here’s a look at our Final FanDuel NFL for Week 14 of the 2017 Season:

QB – Wentz (PHI $8,600)

RB – McCoy (BUF $9,000)

RB – Miller (HOU $6,600)

WR – Jeffery (PHI $7,400)

WR – Landry (MIA $7,000)

WR – Crabtree (OAK $7,100)

TE – Burton (PHI $4,500)

K –  Coons (LAC $4,500)

D –  Los Angeles Chargers ($5,100)

This leaves us with $200 left, maximizing our picks using value in two receiver positions, defense, and kicker and loading up on some big point potential at quarterback, running back, and receiver.

Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the week.  You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building FanDuel NFL lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

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Good luck with your FanDuel NFL plays for week 14 of the NFL season, and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates!