[h=1]Fantasy football flex rankings for Week 14[/h]
Eric Karabell
ESPN PLUS
Welcome to playoff season. Here the lineup decisions become even more important because for many of us a loss sends us into baseball prep season.
One might think it is simple to rely on the players that got your teams to the playoffs, but matchups are key and you will see a few newer names on this list of the best running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Who is running the ball for the Steelers and 49ers? Which Seahawks and Buccaneers receivers matter most? Glad you asked. Best of luck in your playoffs and let us all flex.
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1. Todd Gurley II, RB, Los Angeles Rams: He had not reached 30 PPR points since Week 8, so welcome back to the statistical stratosphere, Todd! Bears are tough this week, but Gurley is special.
2. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: Three consecutive games with fewer than 18 PPR points, but another Buccaneers matchup could change things. Kamara scored 43.1 PPR points versus the Bucs in Week 1.
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: Ripped the Eagles for 36.1 PPR points a month ago and gets this chance at home.
4. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers: Incredible numbers during the past five games. Leads all running backs in catches and receiving yards this season.
5. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: Has rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games.
6. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Back to the top at his position and scoring touchdowns every week.
7. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Ravens held Jones to 3.8 PPR points, but do not worry, the Packers will not. Jones gets back past 20 points.
8. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: Slow first two months, but fantastic since then. Steelers clearly could not stop him on Sunday night.
9. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
10. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
11. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants: Caught 136 yards worth of passes last time he faced Washington. Should do fine again.
12. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers: Even if Aaron Rodgersspreads the ball around more after the coaching change, Adams gets his numbers.
13. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: More than 100 yards the first eight games. Less than 67 yards in three of four since. Not a fun matchup in Seattle.
14. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns: Touchdowns in four consecutive games. Floor is high now.
15. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers: No need to even rank Jamaal Williams anymore, one would think.
16. Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos: Undrafted running backs can play ball, too.
17. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Silenced versus Oakland, but the team's passing game did fine.
18. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
20. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Several touchdowns went to his backup last week, but there is no evidence of a real timeshare.
21. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Will try to behave himself this week. Still an elite talent.
22. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: More inconsistent than he should be.
23. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Another tough matchup, but Hilton gave us points last week against the Jaguars.
24. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Quarterback change has not hurt Mixon yet.
25. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Seems unlikely that Melvin Gordon plays, but it would alter Ekeler's ranking. Gordon would be ranked 14th here.
26. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
27. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
28. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles: He is still on the way to setting record for most catches by a tight end. He already broke the Eagles' record regardless of position.
29. Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
30. Brandin Cooks, WR, Los Angeles Rams
31. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams
32. James White, RB, New England Patriots: Just when it looks like he is going to lose touches, he does not.
33. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots: Still getting plenty of rushing attempts.
34. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans
35. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
36. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos
37. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears: Huge fourth quarter against the Giants, but do not expect double-digit targets again.
38. Mark Ingram II, RB, New Orleans Saints: Playing the Cowboys and Buccaneers are very different things.
39. Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
40. Josh Gordon, WR, New England Patriots
41. Spencer Ware, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Did fine in his first game with big touches, but let us stop short of RB1 status. Risk of a shared situation or Patrick Mahomes just throwing for all the scores.
42. Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, San Francisco 49ers: Talented player replaces Matt Breida and it might be for more than this week. Get him and worry about the future weeks later.
43. Gus Edwards, RB, Baltimore Ravens: Still getting plenty of touches, but all of them are handoffs. If the Chiefs score many points early, the Ravens might stop running.
44. Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: Official loss of A.J. Green does not alter his value too much. Loss of Andy Dalton might.
45. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks: You will not guess how many touchdowns he has. Take Julio Jones and multiply by three.
46. Jaylen Samuels, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Some might presume Samuels deserves the ranking that James Conner was getting. I think Ben Roethlisberger throws 50 times.
47. Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans
48. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks
49. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns: Comes off first 100-yard game since Week 3. Just a reminder he remains interesting.
50. DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
51. Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins: Completely shut down in last Patriots meeting, but he is a receiving weapon now.
52. Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans
53. Golden Tate, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
54. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
55. Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts
56. Adrian Peterson, RB, Washington Redskins: Great 90-yard run. Nothing else in Monday game. Lacks consistency from game to game and quarter to quarter. Mark Sanchez at QB does not help.
57. Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts: Not so impressive anymore.
58. Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
59. Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
60. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions: Feels like he might miss more games, but this is where he goes if he plays.
61. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: He is clearly not Devonta Freeman.
62. Jalen Richard, RB, Oakland Raiders
63. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: Yawn. Week 7 was the last time he reached 50 receiving yards.
64. Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Well, you knew durability was not his thing.
65. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons
66. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks
67. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills: Ripped up the Jets' defense in the last meeting, but largely quiet since then.
68. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
69. Josh Adams, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Cowboys have not permitted 100 rushing yards to a team since Week 7. Adams does not catch passes, either.
70. Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks: Get this guy in your dynasty leagues.
71. Adam Humphries, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Four touchdowns in his first three seasons. Five touchdowns in the past five weeks.
72. Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers: Healthy enough to play, at the least.
73. Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders
74. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: The truth sometimes hurts.
75. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Houston Texans: Same deal. It is not working out.
76. Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots: Was not on the field much in his triumphant return, when he was, the Patriots went to him.
77. Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons
78. Isaiah Crowell, RB, New York Jets
79. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
80. Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Looks like a player, but big opportunity not there yet.
81. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos: Big game against the Bengals -- now prove it again in San Fran.
82. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
83. Taylor Gabriel, WR, Chicago Bears
84. Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Could return this week and he can do nice things.
85. T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
86. Doug Martin, RB, Oakland Raiders
87. Frank Gore, RB, Miami Dolphins: Well, now that 1,000-yard season is a bit out of reach. How about one more rushing touchdown?
88. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Looks like there will not be a 1,000-yard season here either.
89. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers: Perhaps a new offensive play caller will get him more involved.
90. Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants
91. Josh Reynolds, WR, Los Angeles Rams
92. Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins: Returned on Monday but did not do much. Hard to rely on him knowing his injury history.
93. Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions: Entered Week 13 with 11 rushing attempts all season, then got eight against the Rams. Not that he did much with them. Weird.
94. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Detroit Lions
95. Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos
96. Tre'Quan Smith, WR, New Orleans Saints: We must realize there will be no consistency here.
97. Anthony Miller, WR, Chicago Bears
98. Dante Pettis, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Nice breakout performance. Do it again.
99. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Green Bay Packers: Have to think he is more involved this week.
100. Bruce Ellington, WR, Detroit Lions
Others: Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns; Nyheim Hines, RB, Indianapolis Colts; Tyrell Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers; DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins; Zay Jones, WR, Buffalo Bills; Curtis Samuel, WR, Carolina Panthers; Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins; Jimmy Graham, TE, Green Bay Packers; Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons; Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers; Jordy Nelson, WR, Oakland Raiders; Ito Smith, RB, Atlanta Falcons; Stevan Ridley, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers; Keke Coutee, WR, Houston Texans; Antonio Callaway, WR, Cleveland Browns; Ty Montgomery, RB, Baltimore Ravens; Elijah McGuire, RB, New York Jets; Damien Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Eric Karabell
ESPN PLUS
Welcome to playoff season. Here the lineup decisions become even more important because for many of us a loss sends us into baseball prep season.
One might think it is simple to rely on the players that got your teams to the playoffs, but matchups are key and you will see a few newer names on this list of the best running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Who is running the ball for the Steelers and 49ers? Which Seahawks and Buccaneers receivers matter most? Glad you asked. Best of luck in your playoffs and let us all flex.
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1. Todd Gurley II, RB, Los Angeles Rams: He had not reached 30 PPR points since Week 8, so welcome back to the statistical stratosphere, Todd! Bears are tough this week, but Gurley is special.
2. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: Three consecutive games with fewer than 18 PPR points, but another Buccaneers matchup could change things. Kamara scored 43.1 PPR points versus the Bucs in Week 1.
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: Ripped the Eagles for 36.1 PPR points a month ago and gets this chance at home.
4. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers: Incredible numbers during the past five games. Leads all running backs in catches and receiving yards this season.
5. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: Has rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games.
6. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Back to the top at his position and scoring touchdowns every week.
7. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Ravens held Jones to 3.8 PPR points, but do not worry, the Packers will not. Jones gets back past 20 points.
8. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: Slow first two months, but fantastic since then. Steelers clearly could not stop him on Sunday night.
9. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
10. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
11. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants: Caught 136 yards worth of passes last time he faced Washington. Should do fine again.
12. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers: Even if Aaron Rodgersspreads the ball around more after the coaching change, Adams gets his numbers.
13. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: More than 100 yards the first eight games. Less than 67 yards in three of four since. Not a fun matchup in Seattle.
14. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns: Touchdowns in four consecutive games. Floor is high now.
15. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers: No need to even rank Jamaal Williams anymore, one would think.
16. Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos: Undrafted running backs can play ball, too.
17. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Silenced versus Oakland, but the team's passing game did fine.
18. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
20. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Several touchdowns went to his backup last week, but there is no evidence of a real timeshare.
21. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Will try to behave himself this week. Still an elite talent.
22. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: More inconsistent than he should be.
23. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Another tough matchup, but Hilton gave us points last week against the Jaguars.
24. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Quarterback change has not hurt Mixon yet.
25. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Seems unlikely that Melvin Gordon plays, but it would alter Ekeler's ranking. Gordon would be ranked 14th here.
26. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
27. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
28. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles: He is still on the way to setting record for most catches by a tight end. He already broke the Eagles' record regardless of position.
29. Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
30. Brandin Cooks, WR, Los Angeles Rams
31. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams
32. James White, RB, New England Patriots: Just when it looks like he is going to lose touches, he does not.
33. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots: Still getting plenty of rushing attempts.
34. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans
35. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
36. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos
37. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears: Huge fourth quarter against the Giants, but do not expect double-digit targets again.
38. Mark Ingram II, RB, New Orleans Saints: Playing the Cowboys and Buccaneers are very different things.
39. Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
40. Josh Gordon, WR, New England Patriots
41. Spencer Ware, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Did fine in his first game with big touches, but let us stop short of RB1 status. Risk of a shared situation or Patrick Mahomes just throwing for all the scores.
42. Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, San Francisco 49ers: Talented player replaces Matt Breida and it might be for more than this week. Get him and worry about the future weeks later.
43. Gus Edwards, RB, Baltimore Ravens: Still getting plenty of touches, but all of them are handoffs. If the Chiefs score many points early, the Ravens might stop running.
44. Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: Official loss of A.J. Green does not alter his value too much. Loss of Andy Dalton might.
45. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks: You will not guess how many touchdowns he has. Take Julio Jones and multiply by three.
46. Jaylen Samuels, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Some might presume Samuels deserves the ranking that James Conner was getting. I think Ben Roethlisberger throws 50 times.
47. Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans
48. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks
49. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns: Comes off first 100-yard game since Week 3. Just a reminder he remains interesting.
50. DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
51. Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins: Completely shut down in last Patriots meeting, but he is a receiving weapon now.
52. Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans
53. Golden Tate, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
54. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
55. Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts
56. Adrian Peterson, RB, Washington Redskins: Great 90-yard run. Nothing else in Monday game. Lacks consistency from game to game and quarter to quarter. Mark Sanchez at QB does not help.
57. Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts: Not so impressive anymore.
58. Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
59. Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
60. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions: Feels like he might miss more games, but this is where he goes if he plays.
61. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: He is clearly not Devonta Freeman.
62. Jalen Richard, RB, Oakland Raiders
63. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: Yawn. Week 7 was the last time he reached 50 receiving yards.
64. Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Well, you knew durability was not his thing.
65. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons
66. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks
67. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills: Ripped up the Jets' defense in the last meeting, but largely quiet since then.
68. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
69. Josh Adams, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Cowboys have not permitted 100 rushing yards to a team since Week 7. Adams does not catch passes, either.
70. Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks: Get this guy in your dynasty leagues.
71. Adam Humphries, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Four touchdowns in his first three seasons. Five touchdowns in the past five weeks.
72. Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers: Healthy enough to play, at the least.
73. Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders
74. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: The truth sometimes hurts.
75. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Houston Texans: Same deal. It is not working out.
76. Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots: Was not on the field much in his triumphant return, when he was, the Patriots went to him.
77. Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons
78. Isaiah Crowell, RB, New York Jets
79. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
80. Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Looks like a player, but big opportunity not there yet.
81. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos: Big game against the Bengals -- now prove it again in San Fran.
82. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
83. Taylor Gabriel, WR, Chicago Bears
84. Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Could return this week and he can do nice things.
85. T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
86. Doug Martin, RB, Oakland Raiders
87. Frank Gore, RB, Miami Dolphins: Well, now that 1,000-yard season is a bit out of reach. How about one more rushing touchdown?
88. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Looks like there will not be a 1,000-yard season here either.
89. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers: Perhaps a new offensive play caller will get him more involved.
90. Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants
91. Josh Reynolds, WR, Los Angeles Rams
92. Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins: Returned on Monday but did not do much. Hard to rely on him knowing his injury history.
93. Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions: Entered Week 13 with 11 rushing attempts all season, then got eight against the Rams. Not that he did much with them. Weird.
94. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Detroit Lions
95. Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos
96. Tre'Quan Smith, WR, New Orleans Saints: We must realize there will be no consistency here.
97. Anthony Miller, WR, Chicago Bears
98. Dante Pettis, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Nice breakout performance. Do it again.
99. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Green Bay Packers: Have to think he is more involved this week.
100. Bruce Ellington, WR, Detroit Lions
Others: Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns; Nyheim Hines, RB, Indianapolis Colts; Tyrell Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers; DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins; Zay Jones, WR, Buffalo Bills; Curtis Samuel, WR, Carolina Panthers; Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins; Jimmy Graham, TE, Green Bay Packers; Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons; Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers; Jordy Nelson, WR, Oakland Raiders; Ito Smith, RB, Atlanta Falcons; Stevan Ridley, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers; Keke Coutee, WR, Houston Texans; Antonio Callaway, WR, Cleveland Browns; Ty Montgomery, RB, Baltimore Ravens; Elijah McGuire, RB, New York Jets; Damien Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
