Alfred Morris will look to continue his success against the New York Giants who have given up the most rushing yards in the league this season.
Credit:@dallascowboys
Fantasy football playoffs are beginning this week in most leagues, meaning that this coming weekend is big for many owners. Even if you earned a playoff spot, you still might be searching for a final player to throw into your lineup as a flex. In case you have no other solid options, check out this list of sleepers who might be able to give you some good production in Week 14.
Alfred Morris, RB Dallas Cowboys:
Coming off of his best game of the season, Alfred Morris is a must-start this Sunday against the New York Giants. Last week, Morris ran the ball a season-high of 27 times for 127 yards and had a touchdown against the Redskins and will look to keep the momentum going this game. The Giants’ defense has allowed a league-high of 130 rushing yards per game this season to go along with eight touchdowns. As they are playing against a poor offense, the Cowboys will probably be able to keep the ball on the ground and control the clock for most of the game. Fellow running back Rod Smith has scored in two straight games, but after only receiving 10 carries last week, Morris is still the clear-cut starter. There are only two more games before Ezekiel Elliott returns from suspension, but the Cowboys seem intent on relying on the run game even with the star playmaker out. Morris should be viewed as a solid RB2 with a high floor this weekend against a weak Giants defense.
Eric Ebron, TE Detroit Lions:
It has been a disappointing season for Eric Ebron owners, but Sunday the Lions will play the Buccaneers who feature one of the worst defenses in the league. The former first-round pick only has 355 receiving yards and two touchdowns this season, leaving him outside the Top-20 tight ends in standard scoring. There were high expectations when Detroit took Ebron with the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft but he has not looked great in his first four seasons. He showed some promise last season but is on pace for only 473 receiving yards this year. Luckily for anyone who still owns Ebron, the Buccaneers’ defense has allowed 275 passing yards per game and 19 touchdowns through the air this season. Even though he is the third option in the passing game, the tight end might be able to see a bump in targets while facing a bad defense. Even if quarterback Matthew Stafford doesn’t play because of injury, Ebron will be looked upon as a big target featured in the short passing game. In a week where some owners are scrambling to find a Rob Gronkowski replacement, Ebron might be able to produce some solid numbers against a weak defense.
Josh McCown, QB New York Jets:
Before the season started, nobody in their right mind would believe that a quarterback for the New York Jets would have more fantasy points than players like Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, and Dak Prescott going into Week 14. Amazingly, Josh McCown is the seventh highest scoring quarterback in fantasy football and has a good shot to finish even higher with an easy schedule the rest of the way. With 18 passing touchdowns and five rushing scores, McCown has been very productive even without major playmakers around him. The Jets will travel to Denver this weekend to take on the Broncos, and while that used to be a daunting matchup for any offense, their secondary has allowed a season-high of 26 passing touchdowns against opposing teams. With a total of six touchdowns over the last two weeks, McCown should have no problem finding the end-zone a couple of times in this game. Start the veteran as a high-end QB2 against a defense that is easily exploitable in the red-zone.
Marlon Mack, RB Indianapolis Colts:
It hasn’t been a great year for the Colts, and a lot of that was to be expected with quarterback Andrew Luck dealing with a season-long injury. Fill-in signal caller Jacoby Brissett has done a decent job with the offense, but the team still has a tough time scoring points. Marlon Mack is getting fewer carries than veteran running back Frank Gore, but the former has been much more productive in limited time. With Indianapolis going no-where this season, it would make more sense for them to start preparing Mack to be the starter for next year by giving him more work over the final weeks. There is no guarantee that the rookie’s workload will increase this week against the Bills, but there is hope he can have a productive day for fantasy owners. Buffalo doesn’t have the best run-defense, as they have allowed a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns and a solid 4.3 yards per carry to opposing offenses this season. Mack doesn’t have as high of a floor as some other flex options, but he certainly has a decent chance to find the end-zone in a good matchup.
Marquise Goodwin, WR San Francisco 49ers:
It is tough to recommend starting anyone on the 49ers outside of Carlos Hyde, but this week there is some promise that wide receiver Marquise Goodwin can have a good game. Now that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has taken over the offense, the team looked to be a little bit better in last weekend’s game against Chicago. It is still a work in progress, but with Garoppolo behind center, the San Francisco offense should steadily improve as the season comes to a close. Goodwin has been a consistent receiver on this team all season, and he was the most targeted receiver last week. Clearly, Garoppolo has an eye for the speedster, based on a very nice 99 receiving yards on eight catches against the Bears. Goodwin has been on a good stretch recently, playing four games in a row with at least 68 receiving yards. The 49ers will play the Houston Texans this week who have allowed 12.2 yards per catch to opposing receivers this season which is fourth highest in the league. With Goodwin’s ability to make a big play at any moment, he is very dangerous against the Texans’ exploitable secondary. Start the fifth-year wide receiver as a solid flex option this weekend with some low-end WR2 upside.
