Fantasy Football Week 14 Cheat Sheet: Waiver, Rankings, Projections and More

The fantasy football playoffs are here for a great number of leagues, while others are in the final week of their regular seasons.

No matter the situation, it's time for production and actual results, not potential and wishful thinking. We need strong players who can take advantage of weak defenses, and we offer the following players to help you bring home a pot full of cash in this crucial week.

Quarterbacks

While Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees have been on top of the quarterback rankings for many weeks, this is the time to go with Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford as the top quarterback on our list.

We have full faith in Roethlisberger, but the weather in Buffalo in December has been known to be a tad inconsistent and could have an impact on Pittsburgh's explosive passing game. We are still willing to give Roethlisberger and his stud teammates plenty of consideration, but Stafford is going up against the Chicago Bears and should roll.

The Bears are coming off a win over the lowly San Francisco 49ers, but the Bears have a slew of injuries on the defensive side, and linebacker Jerrell Freeman is out due to a PED suspension. The Lions are thriving and can't afford any slip-up against a lower-level team, because the schedule concludes with the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

Stafford has been on a roll since the second half of the 2015 season and has completed 67.2 percent of his passes with an eye-opening 21-5 TD-to-interception ratio this year. In addition to his accurate passing, Stafford has shown he is an effective and fearless runner, averaging 5.9 yards per carry and picking up first downs.

Ranking	QB	RB	WR	TE
1	Matthew Stafford, Detroit	Melvin Gordon, San Diego	Mike Evans, Tampa Bay	Jason Witten, Dallas
2	Andrew Luck, Indianapolis	Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas	T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis	Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay
3	Russell Wilson, Seattle	Spencer Ware, Kansas City	Doug Baldwin, Seattle	Greg Olsen, Carolina
4	Matt Ryan, Atlanta	David Johnson, Arizona	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh	Travis Kelce, Kansas City
5	Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh	LeSean McCoy, Buffalo	Odell Beckham Jr., N.Y. Giants	Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati
6	Drew Brees, Atlanta	Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh	Julio Jones, Atlanta	Jimmy Graham, Seattle
7	Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay	Devonta Freeman, Atlanta	Jamison Crowder, Washington	Gary Barnidge, Cleveland
8	Derek Carr, Oakland	DeMarco Murray, Tennessee	Michael Thomas, New Orlens	Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota
9	Tom Brady, New England	Jordan Howard, Chicago	Jordy Nelson, Green Bay	Martellus Bennett, New England
10	Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants	Theo Riddick, Detroit	Amari Cooper, Green Bay	Vernon Davis, Washington

Andrew Luck has the Colts going in the right direction. After going 3-5 in the first half of the season, the Colts have won three of their last four games and are tied with the Houston Texans (technically in first place) and Tennessee Titans at the top of the AFC South. All three teams have 6-6 records.

Luck threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the Week 13 Monday night win over the New York Jets. He has a 23-8 TD-to-interception ratio as the Colts prepare to host the Houston Texans.

The Texans regularly have problems in key road games. We see Luck continuing to put good numbers on the board here, and he deserves strong fantasy consideration.

So does Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. He is competing against the fertile Green Bay Packers defense, which was just awful a few weeks ago in losses to Indianapolis, Tennessee and the Washington Redskins. While the bleeding has slowed down a bit in recent weeks, the Packers have not suddenly become a good defense that is capable of slowing down an elite quarterback.

Those who don't believe Wilson has reached that level need to readjust their thinking. He is a winner of the first order and has completed 65.3 percent of his passes and thrown for an average of 243.0 yards per game. He has thrown 12 TD passes, which is not overly impressive, but he will riddle the Packers in this crucial game.

Projections: Stafford, 325 yards, three TDs; Luck, 305 yards, three TDs; Wilson, 275 yards, two TDs

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Running backs

Normally we would be looking at the game between the Steelers and the Bills for running backs Le'Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy, and those two may both have brilliant games this week in upstate New York.

However, an early look at the weather in Buffalo for Sunday shows that snow is in the forecast. While the temperatures may be warm enough to turn that snow into rain, we are going to be cautious about this situation.

We are going to swallow hard and bank on Melvin Gordon of the San Diego Chargers to have a huge game against the Carolina Panthers. Gordon is one of the most improved players in the league in his second year and is motivated to continue to put good numbers on the board.

Gordon has run for 992 yards and 10 touchdowns, and the Panthers aren't the same team without linebacker Luke Kuechly (concussion protocol). Gordon should have an excellent chance to gain 100 yards here and get into the end zone.

The same holds for rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys. Elliott is battling teammate Dak Prescott for Rookie of the Year honors, and both will receive support for MVP honors as well.

Elliott will face the New York Giants Sunday night, and New York is the only team to get the best of the Cowboys this season. Elliott and the Cowboys will make the Giants' 17th-ranked defense pay the price.

We will also bank on Spencer Ware of the Kansas City Chiefs to have a solid game against the Oakland Raiders in this can't-miss Thursday night encounter between these two ancient rivals.

Ware is coming off a two-touchdown performance in Kansas City's memorable Week 13 win over the Atlanta Falcons and has rushed for 734 yards this season. We see him having a big game against the Raiders' 30th-ranked defense.

Projections: Gordon, 115 yards, two TDs; Elliott, 105 yards, one TD; Ware 88 yards, one TD

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Wide receivers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the middle of a huge move as the second half of the season progresses. They have won four games in a row, and two of those victories came against the Chiefs and the Seahawks.

As a result, the Bucs have caught the Atlanta Falcons (technically in first place), as both teams are 7-5 in the NFC South. The Bucs are not about to slow down as they prepare to host the defensively porous New Orleans Saints. That should be great news for Mike Evans and his fantasy owners.

Evans has the size and strength to dominate against most opponents, but the Saints are made to order for him. Evans has caught 76 passes for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns, and the Saints rank 30th against the pass.

T.Y. Hilton should also reward his fantasy owners for the improving Colts. He is clearly Luck's favorite receiver and has the ability to break free against tight coverage. We expect the Texans to have a difficult time on the road, which means Hilton is going to provide a payoff for fantasy owners.

Hilton has caught 69 passes for 1,088 yards and five touchdowns this season and had 146 receiving yards against the Jets on Monday night. He will approach that yardage total here.

Doug Baldwin of the Seahawks figures to have an easy time getting open against the Green Bay secondary this week. Baldwin rarely gets the credit he deserves as a difference-maker, but he gets open and will also fight for the ball.

Baldwin has caught 68 of the 86 passes targeted in his direction and has 832 yards and five TD catches. The Packers don't have the capability of slowing him down.

Projections: Evans, 130 receiving yards, one TD; Hilton, 115 yards, one TD, Baldwin, 100 yards, one TD

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Tight ends

This appears to be the week where Jason Witten asserts himself for the Dallas Cowboys.

The New York Giants have to concentrate on stopping or slowing down Elliott, and their second priority will be most likely attempting to slow down Dez Bryant. Those are both wise decisions, and that will leave the veteran tight end with the opportunity to roam free at the second level.

Witten has caught 52 passes for 553 yards and just two touchdowns, but this is the week he finds the end zone against the Giants' 25th-rated pass defense.

Cameron Brate continues to get the job done for the Bucs. If Evans was the only pass-catcher, the Bucs might not have put together their winning streak. Brate has stepped into Tampa Bay's tight end position and provided consistent production.

Brate has caught 47 passes for 528 yards and six touchdowns, and he should find nothing but wide-open spaces against the Saints.

Projection: Witten, 80 yards, one TD; Brate, 70 yards, one TD

Position	Player	Percent added in last seven days
RB	Kenneth Dixon, Baltimore	23.3
WR	Tyreek Hill, Kansas City	36.2
WR	Taylor Gabriel, Atlanta	32.9
TE	Vernon Davis, Washington	31.4
TE	Jermaine Gresham, Arizona	12.9

Waiver wire

The big move on the waiver wire this week involved Kansas City speedster Tyreek Hill, who had his breakout game in Week 12 against Denver when he scored as a receiver, a runner and a return specialist.

Hill figures to be involved in the Kansas City game plan against the Raiders because of his explosive speed. If the Chiefs can find a way to get him the ball in space, he is a very dangerous fantasy addition. Hill is technically a receiver, and his return touchdowns won't count unless you have the Kansas City defense/special teams.

We urge you to jump on that as well.

Running back Kenneth Dixon of the Baltimore Ravens was a popular waiver-wire addition. Dixon was added to 23.3 percent of all rosters last week, according to ESPN.com. Dixon has carried the ball 19 times for 105 yards in the last two weeks and has also caught eight passes for 51 yards in that span.

He figures to play a supporting role when the Ravens play at New England Sunday.