Who is primed for a legendary fantasy performance in Week 14?
Yahoo Fantasy analysts Matt Harmon and Dalton Del Don explain why D'Andre Swift, James Cook, Garrett Wilson, and Marquise Brown may deliver an epic fantasy performance in Week 14.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATT HARMON: It's time to see who we think will be Fantasy legends for week 14, presented by the all new 2023 Toyota Sequoia. Each week, we're picking a handful of players who are match-up proof and ready to deliver an epic Fantasy performance. Dalton, let's start with your guy who might just be back in the circle of trust.
DALTON DEL DON: You know, I could have gone with Jared Goff for the second week in a row, but I'll go with his teammate DeAndre Swift. Finally removed from the injury report last week, he played his most snaps since week one, took over Detroit's backfield. Swift had six touchdowns on fewer than 100 touches this season and that's despite Jamaal Williams having 10 of them inside the two yard line. Swift should get more opportunities down the stretch now healthy. And dare I say the Lions in playoff contention. He leads all pass catchers in targets per route run over the last month, gets a Minnesota defense this week, allowing the fifth most receiving yards per game to running back. Detroit is scoring the second most points per game at home in the NFL this season. Vikings are allowing the second most yards per play on the road. Only the Cowboys have a higher implied team total than the Lions this week when Swift delivers a legendary Fantasy performance.
MATT HARMON: Love that call. It was great to see DeAndre Swift being used in the ways that we know he can be. Look, I love Jamaal Williams, but let's get a little more DeAndre Swift in our lives. That'd be great to see.
We got a little bit more of James Cook in our lives last week. It's an aggressive play. But look, people are desperate for running backs. We got 14-- we got like a bunch of teams on bye here in week 14. There's a bunch of guys that are going to be off the map. I think James Cook, a guy who's available, is still in a bunch of the Yahoo leagues. I think if Devin Singletary wasn't the guy who punched in the touchdown on that Thursday night game against the Patriots, I think we'd be talking a little bit more about James Cook, who took a step forward. He's got a higher targets per route run. He's got a more-- he's just more explosive overall. He has more carries this year that have gone for 15 plus yards than Devin Singletary.
Last week was the first time, really, we've seen James Cook maybe take a step ahead of Devin Singletary in the backfield distribution there, had the higher percentage of the team carries overall. I think we might have seen a small, small flip there for the Buffalo Bills backfield. And look, getting a guy attached to this offense, I'm always interested in that. It's not the cleanest spot in the world going up against the Jets defense. We know they're one of the best groups in the entire NFL, but nevertheless I still think if you're desperate at running back, I think that James Cook can give you a legend-- a slightly legendary Fantasy performance this week.
DALTON DEL DON: Like the Cook call, I'm going to stay in that same Bills game and go with Garrett Wilson on the Jets. The rookie is the real deal, Harmon. Led the league in air yards last week. It was actually the third most in any game all season. In five games without Zach Wilson this year, Garrett Wilson is averaging 11 targets, 94 yards, and nearly a touchdown. It's basically been a top five Fantasy wideout without Zach Wilson. His yards per route run with Joe Flacco and Mike White as his quarterbacks is matched only by all pros. And Garrett Wilson is a rookie who plays outdoors. I'm ranking him at the top five, if not top three, dynasty receiver right now. And as an easy top 10 wideout this week against the Bills team, sure to score points, yet has allowed the 11th most Fantasy points to opposing wideouts. The Jets will be forced to throw a lot at big underdogs. So expect another epic Fantasy performance from the rookie Wilson.
MATT HARMON: Love that call. You know you never have to talk me into any Garrett Wilson hype. That dude is an absolute superstar already. Look, I don't know that Marquise Brown is a superstar, but he is coming back this week. It's a match-up against New England Patriots who we saw they can be exploited on the backend. I think their defense is probably a little bit more reputation-based and results-based in terms of how we feel about them this year. And Marquise Brown, let's not forget before the bye week, got some great usage for the Arizona Cardinals. He ran a route on every single one of the drop backs for Kyler Murray, despite the fact that we were told he was going to be limited. He was not limited at all. He was completely out there doing his full workload.
And I really like the usage for Marquise Brown that we saw, especially from a deployment standpoint. 29.6% of the targets, that's obviously great. But I love that they got him more routes out of the slot. We'll see if that holds. If some other players, like Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch, get healthy at some point, maybe that switches up. But I love that they've used Marquise Brown as more of a short area threat, a guy that they get the ball into his hands in space. That's the best way to use his speed as a zone beating receiver overall. I think Marquise Brown-- don't forget that he is back and don't forget that he was having a really hot start to the season. I think the rest of the way he could definitely be a guy that gives you legendary performances week in and week out in Fantasy.
All right, Dalton. Great stuff. Shout out to you. Thanks for doing this. The all new 2023 Toyota Sequoia inspires drivers to live legendary. Check out the fully redesigned SUV at your local dealer or learn more at Toyota.com.
[MUSIC PLAYING]