Breece misses back-to-back practices

ICYMI: Catch up with all things matchups in Week 14! Listen to episodes from yesterday (WRs & TEs) and Wednesday (QBs and RBs), and stay tuned for today’s episode when it releases later on: the final tune-up ahead of the last week of the fantasy regular season!

• Bears RBs D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and WR D.J. Moore all miss first two practices of the week

  • Lots to unpack here from the Bears’ most recent practice report, which unfortunately is littered with bad news for many of Chicago’s top fantasy playmakers. After having both Swift and Johnson available for their Week 13 matchup against the Lions, the Bears could be without both thanks to quad and head injuries, respectively. Neither back has practiced yet this week, which means it could be the next man up, Travis Homer, in Week 14 against the 49ers. San Francisco is pretty heavily banged up on their defensive front, and that’s led to them allowing plenty of fantasy points to running backs – especially as of late. The 49ers are allowing the most fantasy points per game to RBs over the past four weeks and the 5th-most over the course of the season, opening up Homer as a potential RB2 play if both Swift and Johnson would be ruled out. Meanwhile, D.J. Moore missed Thursday’s practice as well with a quad injury of his own after sitting out the first of the week on Wednesday. Today’s practice report will give us the best idea of Moore’s availability this weekend, but should he miss, QB Caleb Williams would receive a slight downgrade while Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze would move into solid WR2 and WR3 territory, respectively.

• Jets RB Breece Hall not spotted at practice for second straight day on Thursday with knee injury

  • At this point, it appears Hall’s availability is legitimately in question for New York’s Week 14 matchup against the Dolphins. On Thursday last week, Hall had logged a limited practice and wound up getting a full practice in Friday before ultimately taking the field in a limited capacity against the Seahawks last Sunday. With Hall yet to take the field yet this week, he’s trending in the wrong direction when it comes to him being able to suit up for what would be a solid matchup against the Dolphins. It was clear that he was playing through discomfort last week while running backs Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis both spelled him often against Seattle. Should Hall be ruled out, Braelon Allen would be worth a look off waivers and benches where he was stashed as a potential RB2 play. The Dolphins allow the 12th-most fantasy points per game to running backs this season, but the potential for Davis to also be a factor shouldn’t have fantasy managers giddy about plugging in the oversized bruiser back as a 1:1 replacement in the final week of the regular season.

• Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle) becomes surprise addition to injury report on Thursday, listed as DNP

  • Later in the newsletter, you’ll read about why Jakobi Meyers is one of Zach’s favorite starts this week against the Buccaneers. However, that’s obviously contingent on Meyers actually being on the field in the first place, as he was a surprise addition to the injury report yesterday with an ankle injury and didn’t practice. That could suggest that the injury was something he picked up in Wednesday’s practice, though he wasn’t listed on the injury report after the first practice of the week. Whatever the reason is behind the injury, Meyers’ status for Week 14 is officially in question as a result of his DNP designation. All eyes will be on the practice reports releasing later today, as they’ll give us the best idea of what to expect going into the weekend. Anything besides a limited or full participation would be grounds for code red, but fantasy managers would be best served to begin scouring the waiver wire now for potential replacements in the event he’s ultimately ruled out. If Meyers missed, Brock Bowers would be the unquestioned top target in the Raiders offense and – without exaggeration – be a candidate to garner 20+ targets against the Buccaneers.

WR Jakobi Meyers vs TB

• Jakobi Meyers is my wide receiver start of the week for Week 14 against the Chiefs, and it’s really simple why: He’s been absolutely killing it since Davante Adams was traded to the Jets, and his matchup this week is fantastic. In the seven games Meyers has played without Adams in the lineup this year, he’s averaging a 29% target share, 41% air yards share, and 15.1 fantasy points per game. Does that sound familiar? If it does, it’s because Davante Adams averaged almost identical stats in 2023 with the Raiders –he had a 33% target share, 40% air yards share, and averaged 15.6 points per game.

• Obviously Brock Bowers is also hogging targets from Aidan O’Connell, but he’s averaging 38 pass attempts per game in his two full starts this season. There’s more than enough volume to go around in a distribution as top-heavy as the Raiders’, and the matchup against the Buccaneers this week could unlock WR1 upside for Meyers. Tampa Bay’s allowing the 3rd-most receptions, 5th-most fantasy points per game, and 7th-most receiving yards to wide receivers this season, and Meyers has scored at least 15 PPR points in four of his last five games. He’s my overall WR14 this week and should be in lineups as a high-end WR2.

WR Drake London vs MIN

• Is the Kirk Cousins revenge game about to happen? If games were played on paper, it would be a lock – but Cousins is coming off a matchup where he threw four interceptions and hasn’t thrown a touchdown since Week 9 against the Cowboys. The good news is that the remedy could be a matchup against his old team: the Vikings are allowing the most fantasy points per game this year to wide receivers, as well as the 2nd-most receiving yards, the 2nd-most receptions, and the 4th-most TDs. 

• Despite his quarterback’s struggles, Drake London has continued to be the target magnet he’s been all season – he’s racked up a 34% target share on a 30% target rate during Cousins’ three-week cold spell. The ceiling hasn’t been there in recent weeks, but two matchups against the Chargers and Broncos could be to blame. London is a fringe-WR1 this week.

WR Malik Nabers vs NO

• The Saints are allowing the 8th-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season on top of the most 40+ yard recept

  ions and the 5th-most receiving yards per game. But things have really fallen apart for the Saints on the backend recently, with New Orleans allowing the most fantasy points per game overall to WRs over the last four weeks.

• It hasn’t mattered if it’s been Daniel Jones, Tommy Devito, or Drew Lock under center this season – Nabers has earned targets at an elite rate. He’s been under 30% target share just once this year, and that was his first career game in Week 1. Nabers is a solid WR2 at worst on that usage, and in a plus matchup against the also reeling Saints, he’s a top-10 option for Week 14.

WR Ceedee Lamb vs CIN

• The Bengals rank inside the top-10 for the most fantasy points, receiving yards, and touchdowns allowed per game to wide receivers this season – but they’ve been gashed over the past four weeks, allowing the 2nd-most fantasy points per game to receivers in that span.

• Ceedee Lamb is banged up a bit and isn’t a lock to play Monday Night, but the matchup and Cooper Rush’s improved play over the past few games should put him back in the WR1 conversation. Lamb left last week’s game vs the Giants early after earning six targets, his lowest total in a game this season and first time under double-digit opportunities since Week 5. HIs 26% target share since Cooper Rush has been the starter (Week 10) is also more than enough to get it done, although he’s almost exclusively a WR1 play in PPR only with him averaging just a 22% air yards share. Pay attention to injury reports, of course, but Lamb is a player worth waiting for on Monday night in the event he’s still uncertain to go on Saturday or Sunday.