The fantasy football playoffs start in Week 15 for 99.9% of your leagues, and you have to know which players you can trust and which big names should be moved to your bench. Our Week 14 panic meter will help give you faith in some big names, while making you lose what little faith you have left in others.
The following list provides cases for why you should not worry at all, be a little bit worried, and be in a full panic for bigger names on your fantasy football rosters. At this point in the season, if you need an extra roster spot to do whatever you can to win a playoff matchup, then dropping a big name is certainly not out of the question.
No Need to Panic
A one-catch, eight-yard performance from Mike Evans likely buried a ton of fantasy football rosters looking to clinch a playoff berth. And while the inconsistencies of Baker Mayfield showed up in a big way, you should still be able to have faith in Evans moving forward.
With a road matchup up next against the Green Bay Packers, look for Mayfield to force feed Evans with targets in an attempt to get back on track. While the Green Bay defense has been above average against opposing receivers, Evans isn’t your household, average pass catcher.
Sam LaPorta
Just like Evans, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta’s production ebbs and flows based on the performance of his quarterback Jared Goff (more on him later). LaPorta’s two-catch performance (on six targets) was far from what you needed for your roster, but expect him to turn things around.
Facing a tough Denver secondary could give you pause, but look for Detroit to utilize a heavy dosage of play-action passing to open up targets for LaPorta. Six-plus targets in each of the past three weeks for LaPorta has him as the second-most important pass catcher in the Detroit offense, so don’t overthink it – play your star tight end.
Some Panic
D’Andre Swift
Three receptions over the past three weeks paints an efficient picture of why D’Andre Swift has struggled lately, which matches the struggles of the Philadelphia Eagles too. A lack of sustained rushing workload has rendered Swift very inefficient and borderline unstartable lately.
With upcoming games against the Seahawks, Giants, and Saints looking quite juicy, you should be able to be excited for Swift again. But temper your expectations, especially as this Eagles offense tries to rediscover its identity after two consecutive losses in which this side of the ball failed to hold up its side of the bargain.
Jaylen Warren
It is tough to trust any member of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, and Jaylen Warren fits perfectly into that label. Weeks 9-11 were the best of the season for Warren, but the Steelers have not been able to get him a consistent workload lately, with Warren turning more into a RB3 option.
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While fighting Najee Harris for work will continue to limit his workload, Warren has the skill set to make an impact in this offense, especially on offense. The Colts, Bengals, and Seahawks are up next for the Steelers, but as long as Mitch Trubisky (or Kenny Pickett for that matter) is under center, Warren’s impact will continue to struggle.
When offensive coordinator Matt Canada was let go, the hope was that the offense would open back up and unlock some of its playmakers. But Warren seems to have been left at the side of the road, although his 40 touches over the past three weeks should give you a little confidence.
Full Panic
Jared Goff
The struggles of the Lions rests focally on the shoulders of Jared Goff, which is bad news for any fantasy football teams turning to Goff with recent injuries to C.J. Stroud and Justin Herbert. A two-interception day compounded a sub-175 passing yard day from Goff in Detroit’s loss to Chicago, which came on the heels of two consecutive two-TD, zero-INT contests.
Denver’s defense poses a real threat to Goff’s passing work, and while they will likely do their best to re-establish the passing game as they make a trek towards the postseason, you may want to look for a better option over Goff, both this week and for the rest of the season.
Even after a season-low 24 receiving yards in Sunday’s win, Stefon Diggs somehow still sits as the WR6 on the season – so this should make you still feel good about him moving forward, right?
With Joe Brady sliding into the playcaller’s role after the firing of Ken Dorsey, he has done a solid job of releasing James Cook, which has cut into some passing work for the receivers. Three of the past four weeks for Diggs have seen him record less than 35 receiving yards, and while his target volume has still been quite healthy, it’s clear that Diggs is struggling.
The Cowboys, Chargers, and Patriots are up next for the Bills, and while all three have exploitable defensive secondaries (Dallas much less than the other two), Diggs will be hard-pressed to return to his alpha WR1 ceiling your fantasy football team is counting on for the playoffs.
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