Fantasy Football, Week 14: Start Tyler Lockett, Cooper Kupp?

A pair of often-injured wide receivers square off on Sunday Night Football this week. Is it safe to start either Tyler Lockett or Cooper Kupp in fantasy?

At one point in time, Tyler Lockett and Cooper Kupp were the no-doubt No. 1 wide receivers for their respective NFC West teams. On Sunday Night Football this week, Lockett’s Seattle Seahawks will face Kupp’s Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a clash that’ll certainly sort some things out in the division. But can you trust starting either receiver in fantasy in this one?

The Fantasy Footballers believe that if you are going to go with one of these two receiving targets, you’re better off going with Kupp over Lockett. The reason the guys feel strongly about this is Kupp might have figured some things out last week vs. the awful Arizona Cardinals, while they’re not sure what’s preventing Lockett from catching balls in the Seattle passing game.

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Lockett had a contusion that had him hospitalized at one point in this season. He was battling an illness, but still played on Monday Night Football last week vs. the Minnesota Vikings, only to not record a catch in the Seahawks’ latest high-profile victory.

While both receivers have a strong rapport with their starting quarterbacks, we’re more likely to see Jared Goff of the Rams look Kupp’s way in this game than Russell Wilson of the Seahawks will look Lockett’s way. The Fantasy Footballers would not be shocked if D.K. Metcalf ends up being the beneficiary of some more red-zone targets that would have normally gone Lockett’s way.

Overall, if the Seahawks are going to win this game, they’re going to do so by pounding the rock, the same recipe for success that has defined their offense throughout the Pete Carroll era in Seattle. With Rashaad Penny coming on of late and Chris Carson being as steady as always, we may get more run than throw out of the Seahawks’ offense in primetime on Sunday night.

What that could mean for the Rams is that they might be trailing in this game early. If that’s the case, that should mean more opportunities for Goff to throw it in an attempt to play catch-up. Seattle may have no problem getting 11 personnel-ed to death by Sean McVay, allowing more passes to go Kupp’s way in the middle of the field. Empty yards win in fantasy, not NFL football.