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

Week 14 of the NFL season generally signifies the commencement of the fantasy playoffs, and with the Dallas Cowboys set to take on the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, owners won't have much time to get their lineups just right.

Fortunately, cheat sheets for fantasy enthusiasts run rampant across the Web—and this is one good example.

Not only do owners need to know which star players have the best chances of producing championship-caliber performances, but keeping a keen eye on potential sleepers and waiver-wire additions plays a crucial role at this time of year.

Below, you'll find all of the information you're looking for when digging around for some early analysis for your Week 14 fantasy lineup.

Skill-Position Rankings

Rank	QB	RB	WR	TE
1	Aaron Rodgers, GB	DeMarco Murray, DAL	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	Rob Gronkowski, NE
2	Tom Brady, NE	Arian Foster, HOU	Jordy Nelson, GB	Jimmy Graham, NO
3	Drew Brees, NO	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	Dez Bryant, DAL	Antonio Gates, SD
4	Peyton Manning, DEN	Matt Forte, CHI	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	Jason Witten, DAL
5	Andrew Luck, IND	Marshawn Lynch, SEA	Calvin Johnson, DET	Martellus Bennett, CHI
6	Tony Romo, DAL	Eddie Lacy, GB	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	Greg Olsen, CAR
7	Ryan Tannehill, MIA	Tre Mason, STL	A.J. Green, CIN	Julius Thomas, DEN
8	Philip Rivers, SD	LeSean McCoy, PHI	Antonio Brown, PIT	Larry Donnell, NYG
9	Matthew Stafford, DET	Justin Forsett, BAL	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	Delanie Walker, TEN
10	Russell Wilson, SEA	Mark Ingram, NO	Julio Jones, ATL	Travis Kelce, KC

Tony Romo really disappointed fantasy owners in Week 13, reverting to his old turnover-happy ways and coming away with a crisp three fantasy points. Still, if you happen to own Romo, and that performance didn't take you out of playoff contention, you may want to give him a chance at redemption in Week 14.

The Dallas Cowboys will be taking on a Chicago Bears secondary that has been dreadful against the pass this season. In fact, the Bears are allowing an average of 18.8 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, the fourth-most in the league. Romo will take advantage. After all, he's already making promises for next week, via the NFL's tweet:

Tre Mason's fantasy owners were delighted by his 33 fantasy points in Week 13 against the Oakland Raiders. This rookie ball-carrier was simply electric. However, many owners are wondering if he will be able to keep up that production in Week 14 against a Washington Redskins defense that's giving up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to running backs. The answer is yes.

The St. Louis Rams have a good thing going on the offensive side of the ball. They've found an identity, and Mason is a big part of it. Meanwhile, the Redskins' numbers are a bit skewed. They haven't faced many run-heavy teams this season, and when they have they were burned, giving up 18 or more fantasy points in those four instances.

If that's not comforting enough, here's a look at what Mason was able to do in one half against the Raiders, via SportsCenter:

Remember when we were wondering what was wrong with Calvin Johnson a couple weeks ago? Boy, was that silly. The All-Pro wide receiver simply torched the Bears in Week 13 to the tune of 11 receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Expect him to continue that trend in Week 14 against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense allowing an average of 25.1 points per game to opposing wide receivers, the fourth-most in the league.

If Travis Kelce is going to break out again this season, it will be in Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals. Kelce has displayed a great amount of ability and athleticism this season, but it has rarely translated into fantasy points. That can change against an Arizona team giving up an average of 8.8 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.

Sleeper Projections

Pos.	Player	Team	Opp.	Projection
QB	Ryan Fitzpatrick	HOU	at JAX	275 pass yds, 3 TD
RB	Daniel Herron	IND	at CLE	110 rush yds, TD
WR	Davante Adams	GB	vs. ATL	85 rec. yds, TD
TE	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	vs. NYJ	40 rec. yds, TD
D/ST	Broncos	DEN	vs. BUF	13 PA, 2 TO, 5 sacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick sure doesn't want to give up the starting gig in Houston. He came back with a vengeance Sunday, torching the Tennessee Titans for 358 yards and six touchdowns without committing a single turnover. Throwing only to offensive teammates wasn't even enough for the quarterback, via NFL Fantasy Football:

Now that's just impressive.

While some may view his performance as a fluke, he's poised to put up some gaudy numbers once again in Week 14. A contest against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that has given up some big points to quarterbacks this season is very favorable for this signal-caller, who is obviously playing with a major chip on his shoulder.

Daniel Herron did more than enough to solidify his status as the Colts' best option out of the backfield going forward. He rushed just eight times but racked up 88 yards and a touchdown, compared to the plodding Trent Richardson's eight carries for 12 yards. The Cleveland Browns have been lit up on the ground all year, so expect another big day for this ball-carrier.

Bleacher Report's Tyler Brooke is already calling for a change in the team's backfield:

"

It's time for the Colts to give up on the Trent Richardson experiment, let Boom Herron take over running game. http://t.co/zST0pBuogi

— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) December 1, 2014"

Davante Adams wasn't supposed to do much against a solid New England Patriots secondary in Week 13 but came away with six receptions for 121 yards. He's emerged as yet another threat in the Green Bay Packers offense and will have another chance to rack up the points against a porous Atlanta Falcons secondary.

Rudolph only had two receptions for seven yards in Week 13, but one of those catches went for a touchdown. That's reason enough to consider him a sleeper in Week 14 against a Jets team allowing more than 10 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.

The Denver Broncos haven't been overly reliable on defense this season, but a Week 14 matchup against the Buffalo Bills is one to keep an eye on. Denver's pass rush has been very good of late, and Buffalo continues to struggle getting the ball in the end zone from within the 20-yard line this season.

Waiver-Wire Targets

Player	Pos.	Team	Ownership
Ryan Fitzpatrick	QB	HOU	4.4%
Colt McCoy	QB	WAS	2.8%
LeGarrette Blount	RB	NE	54.4%
Latavius Murray	RB	OAK	37.5%
Daniel Herron	RB	IND	40.9%
Tre Mason	RB	STL	64.5%
Jonathan Stewart	RB	CAR	30.6%
Jarvis Landry	WR	MIA	28.4%
Stedman Bailey	WR	STL	4.2%
Kenny Stills	WR	NO	17.6%
Jordan Matthews	WR	PHI	66.5%
Donte Moncrief	WR	IND	1.4%
Kyle Rudolph	TE	MIN	18.3%

Colt McCoy dropped 392 passing yards and three touchdowns, 26 fantasy points, on the Colts in Week 13. Guess who isn't capable of producing numbers like that? Robert Griffin III. Expect McCoy's performance to secure the starting gig for him in Washington for at least the remainder of the season.

NFL Network's Albert Breer appears to agree:

The Redskins don't have bad matchups through the final four weeks of the season, so this quarterback becomes an intriguing option to stash on your bench for a rainy day. He's clearly comfortable in the system and just may save your fantasy season should something happen to your usual starter. Now wouldn't that be a story?

How on earth is Tre Mason owned in less than 65 percent of ESPN.com standard leagues? Well, after his Week 13 outing that consisted of 33 fantasy points, rest assured he'll be the hottest addition prior to Week 14. Don't sleep on this talented rookie and make him a priority addition this week.

Kenny Stills really needs to find his way onto more fantasy rosters. He's been lighting it up ever since rookie Brandin Cooks was lost for the season. Stills is the team's biggest deep threat, which was wildly apparent in Week 13 when he caught five passes for 162 yards and a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune noted one feat accomplished Sunday due to Stills' speed:

If you're in desperate need of a tight end, going with Rudolph isn't a bad option. He's seeing an increased snap count and should continue to produce as a security blanket for Teddy Bridgewater. Getting targets in the red zone is always a valuable trait for fantasy tight ends, so Rudolph's score in Week 13 should be encouraging.

All fantasy statistics and rankings courtesy of ESPN.com and current as of December 1 at 3 p.m. ET.