Fantasy Football: Week 14 Sunday Sleeper Squad
The Sunday Sleeper Squad is a team made up of players that might be hanging around on waivers, someone sitting on your bench or offer a contrarian approach and can offer you a helping hand this week if you’re a team in need. Or maybe you have rostered one of these guys and now is the time to unleash them. And at this point in the season, you are probably in need of some kind of fantasy help. These factors could be matchup, injuries, both, or something totally off the wall leading us to our conclusion as to why these players could pay off. Of course, these are the ultimate boom-or-bust plays so may the odds be in your favor if you’re playing someone on this list. Let’s take a look at who made my Week 14 Sunday Sleeper Squad.
QB/ Andy Dalton/ Dallas Cowboys: The Andy Dalton Revenge Game. I’m here for it. Dalton has not been terrible since returning from COVID-19/concussion protocol registering 21+ points in 2 of his last 3 games. The Bengals have allowed 23 passing TDs to QBs this season, tied for the 8th most in the NFL. They’ve also allowed a Top-7 fantasy QB in 3 of their past 7 games.
WR/ Keke Coutee/ Houston Texans: While many expected he’d have a more prominent role in the offense with Will Fuller out not many saw a 9 target game coming his way. It was a tough matchup with the Colts, but he snapped for 8 receptions and 141 yards. Coutee maintained a slot-heavy role and that’s where approximately 75 percent of his routes came from. If that all holds true for this week against the Bears, then Coutee should be able to exploit Buster Skrine of the Bears. There are only 2 CBs in the league who have allowed more than 399 yards in their slot coverage. Skrine leads the league at 539 yards allowed. Coutee gets a deceptively unbeatable Bears defense. The Bears gave up 100 yards to Calvin Ridley in Week 3, 93 to DJ Moore and 77 to Robby Anderson in Week 6, 101 to AJ Brown in Week 9, 135 to Justin Jefferson in Week 10 and last week coughed up 116 yards and 1 TD to Marvin Jones, 63 yards and 1 TD to Quintez Cephus and allowed another 62 yards to Danny Amendola. So, I said all that to say I’m not afraid to play Keke Coutee this week.
WR/ T.Y. Hilton/ Indianapolis Colts: Hilton is finally playing how many had hoped he would play earlier in the season with at least 18 PPR points in consecutive games. He gets another friendly matchup this week against the Raiders, who have given up 7 TDs to WRs in their past 5 games. During that stretch, 7 WRs have scored at least 13 PPR points against the Raiders.
WR/ CeeDee Lamb/ Dallas Cowboys: In Week 13, Lamb had 9 targets from Andy Dalton but finished with a mere 6 catches for 46 yards. However, the bright side is he has seen 4 games in a row with at least 6 targets, and Lamb has scored at least 15 PPR points in 2 of those games. The Bengals are among the league leaders with 14 TDs allowed to WRs this year, and Dalton could target Lamb heavily this week as part of his revenge game.
RB/ JD McKissic/ Washington Football Team: In Week 13, McKissic finished the game with 10 receptions for 70 yards, earning his fantasy managers in PPR formats 17 points. WFT takes on the 49ers in Week 14 and this should be another game where McKissic will be utilized; Antonio Gibson is out. Alex Smith looks to McKissic a lot and that will only increase with Gibson out. McKissic should exceed his Flex worthy ranking, especially in PPR formats.
RB/ Giovani Bernard/ Cincinnati Bengals: It is going to take some serious courage as Bernard has been disappointing since the injury to Joe Burrow. However, this week the matchup with Dallas is nearly ideal. Also, he has faced some very tough matchups over the last 4 weeks. Sprinkle in a reduction in touches and you see why it is tough to trust Bernard. But here come the Cowboys. The Cowboys have allowed a 100-yard rusher in 3 straight games against Dalvin Cook, Antonio Gibson and Gus Edwards, and there have been 5 rushing TDs scored over that timeframe.
TE/ Tyler Eifert/ Jacksonville Jaguars: Last week he had 6 catches for 45 yards and the week before that he scored a TD and had 3 catches. Quarterback Mike Glennon has a “touchdown or check-down” mentality which helps Eifert because if nothing is there deep then he should be patiently waiting as a safety valve against a Titans D that has forgotten about TEs a few times this season.
FLEX/ Marvin Jones/ Detroit Lions: Jones is operating as the WR1 with Kenny Golladay sidelined once again. Jones is a serviceable WR that can post a blowup game when given the chance. Like last week when he posted 8 receptions for 116 yards and 1 TD against the Bears. Jones has seen 10+ targets in 3 of the last 4 games. The Packers have surrendered 20+ point games to Mitchell Trubisky and Philip Rivers recently making for a nice opportunity for the Lions passing attack.
FLEX/ Wayne Gallman/ NY Giants: Gallman has been gold for fantasy managers over the better part of the last month. Gallman has rushed for 100+ yards or scored 1 TD in each of his last 6 games. Shocker, Gallman is a Top-10 RB since Week 7. Gallman should remain in lineups this week too, as he’ll face a Cardinals defense that just surrendered 3 rushing TDs to the Rams last week.
