It’s playoff time for most leagues and even though you might not want to depend on a player that you are picking up now being put right into your lineup, pickups are still essential to winning it all. If you are playing this week and weren’t lucky enough to get a bye, then this week’s pickups may not help you too much outside of a defense. But you always have to be aware because sometimes the best offense, is a good defense. So without futher ado, let’s get right to the NFL Week 14 Pickups.
QBs
Johnny Manziel - There was some breaking news by top FoxSports reporter Jay Glazer on Wednesday morning as Johnny Manziel won’t be starting for the Browns this week. However, as a possible future pickup, I think Manziel could have an impact. His passing totals may not light the world on fire, but he has Josh Gordon and a returning Jordan Cameron, to go with his rushing ability. His matchup in week 16 against the Carolina secondary makes for a possible low risk – high reward start in championship week.
Colt McCoy – The Redskins have a lot of offensive weapons, so it boggles the mind to realize how bad their QBs have been this year. However, Colt McCoy seems to be the only one that actually knows what he is doing out there. McCoy has started two games and is 46 for 77, throwing for 691 yards and 3 TDs. His week 15 and 16 matchups against NYG and PHI are golden.
RBs
Marion Grice – Andre Ellington has been nicked up and bruised all year, but this week, it actually took him out of the game. The latest hip injury is being said not to be serious, but he will not practice this week and will be questionable on gameday. I watched Grice in college and he has good tools to produce in this type of an offense. He was probably the best receiving RB in college last year.
Jonathan Stewart – DeAngelo Williams has a broken finger, which means that Stewart should get the bulk of the carries for the Panthers this week. Stewart finished last week with 12 carries for 85 yards, with another 25 yards receiving. Anytime Williams is out, Stewart has the opportunity to seize the job.
WRs
Kenny Stills – Of all the players in this article, Stills is probably the person who can have the most overall impact. He has been good in the past and has torn it up the last two weeks since Brandin Cooks was put on the IR list. The next few games against Carolina, Chicago, and Atlanta means Stills should be a top 15-20 WR every week for the rest of the season.
Donte Moncrief – I want to caution everyone with this recommendation. Moncrief is not playing more than Hakeem Nicks, however, he is still the 3rd or 4th option, He only played 28 snaps last week, and still is only getting about four targets a game. He was able to get behind the Redskin’s defense for 2 TDs, but that is hard to depend on every week.
Charles Johnson – It has become very apparent that the Vikings have made Johnson their new #1 WR. He played 49 out of 50 snaps ast week and has played on over 97% of the total snaps over the last two weeks. This week he fits the plug and play role against a Jets defense that has been letting people get behind their secondary.
TEs
Kyle Rudolph – There are other names I can probably name here like Jordan Reed or Heath Miller, but most likely they are already on a roster. If they aren’t, pick them up now. Rudolph is coming off of a 50 yard game two weeks ago and then he caught a TD last week. Norv Turner loves using his Tight Ends, so I would expect his role to expand each week.
DEFs
Houston Texans Defense – I said that a lot of my pickup recommendations could help you in the future, this one cold push you into next week. The Texans not only face the Jaguars, but they have been a top 10 defense this year. You combine those two reasons and anything less than 4-6 sacks and 2-3 turn overs would be a disappointment.
Detroit Lions Defense – This is very similar to the Texans pick, as the Lions have been a very good defense all year and add that to the fact that they are playing a Buccaneers offense that seems to be getting worse each week, and it equals the 2nd best defense you should be going after this week behind the Texans.
Minnesota Vikings Defense – Everyone saw how bad the Jets offense was last week. Geno Smith was allowed to only throw 8 times for the 1st 58 minutes of the game. It’s just more proof that the Jets know how bad their offense is and they dont want to expose it. This week should be more of the same and that will equate to a big week for the Viking defense.
Those are your NFL week 14 pickups. Good luck if you have a playoff game and enjoy the games.
