Fantasy Football Week 14 Rankings: Updated Overview for All Positions

Someone new figures to step up and steal the fantasy football scoring crown in Week 14.

Who the someone is always remains the biggest mystery. Just look at the past three weeks, where Thomas Rawls, Matthew Stafford and Cam Newton have all held the scoring title.

Owners who want to find that special someone and otherwise make the smartest plays possible with the season winding down need to lean on all-inclusive rankings as a guide.

Below, let's outline a guide based on past performance, matchup, projections and more.

Week 14 Schedule

Thursday, Dec. 10	Time (ET)
Sunday, Dec. 13	Time (ET)
Monday, Dec. 14	Time (ET)
Minnesota at Arizona	8:25 p.m.
Washington at Chicago	1 p.m.
San Francisco at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Seattle at Baltimore	1 p.m.
Atlanta at Carolina	1 p.m.
Buffalo at Philadelphia	1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Jacksonville	1 p.m.
San Diego at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Tennessee at N.Y. Jets	1 p.m.
Detroit at St. Louis	1 p.m.
Oakland at Denver	4:05 p.m.
Dallas at Green Bay	4:25 p.m.
New England at Houston	8:30 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Miami	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player
1	Carson Palmer
2	Cam Newton
3	Tom Brady
4	Andy Dalton
5	Jameis Winston
6	Drew Brees
7	Russell Wilson
8	Tyrod Taylor
9	Brian Hoyer
10	Blake Bortles
11	Eli Manning
12	Ryan Tannehill
13	Ryan Fitzpatrick
14	Ben Roethlisberger
15	Derek Carr

After Newton led the way in scoring last week, Week 14 might be all about the veterans.

Look at Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, fantasy's leading scorer at the position. Even in a pair of surprising losses over the past two weeks, he posted at least 23 points in each.

Expect an angry Brady to post more of the same or better against the Houston Texans. While J.J. Watt's defense doesn't rank in terrible fashion against quarterbacks, it has coughed up three or more passing touchdowns in a game four times, including last week to Buffalo's Tyrod Taylor.

Joining Brady close to the top in what looks like a veteran-heavy week is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Despite missing time with injury, Brees has found his way into the ranks of the top 10 scorers at the position and last week threw a trio of touchdowns to total 22 points against an elite Carolina Panthers defense.

Now Brees gets to encounter the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a second time. In the first meeting back in Week 2, he posted only 12 points, but the Buccaneers continue to look leaky at best against quarterbacks, allowing two or more touchdowns passes in a game eight times.

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Doug Martin
2	David Johnson
3	Matt Forte
4	LeSean McCoy
5	Mark Ingram
6	Thomas Rawls
7	Devonta Freeman
8	Adrian Peterson
9	Todd Gurley
10	Shaun Draughn
11	Lamar Miller
12	Jonathan Stewart
13	DeAngelo Williams
14	Charcandrick West
15	C.J. Anderson*
16	DeMarco Murray
17	Chris Ivory
18	Darren McFadden
19	Frank Gore
20	Javorius Allen
21	T.J. Yeldon
22	LeGarrette Blount
23	Eddie Lacy
24	Jeremy Hill
25	Jeremy Langford
26	Latavius Murray
27	Spencer Ware
28	Ronnie Hillman
29	Giovani Bernard
30	Duke Johnson Jr.

Believe in David Johnson now?

Johnson topped every waiver-wire list around last week with Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington hurting in Arizona.

As the lead back for the Cardinals, he made it look easy, with 22 carries for 99 yards, some smooth usage in the passing game and 17 points, justifying most projections about his incoming explosion.

Now Johnson leads a week at the position mostly dominated by new faces, as it goes at such a brutal position late in a season. He gets to line up against the Minnesota Vikings, a defense that just last week allowed 23 points to Seattle running backs despite a strong ranking. 

His combination of skills allowing him to produce on the ground and through the air will help lead to another big day. 

Speaking of Seattle backs, Rawls is another newer face to watch. 

Rawls did his damage against a strong unit last week and now has 14 or more points in three consecutive games. His next opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, rank even better, but it's deceptive—their last five opponents (San Diego, Jacksonville, St. Louis, Cleveland and Miami) don't exactly commit to the ground game.

Baltimore's numbers against backs look quite inflated. Rawls will inflate his against the unit.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	DeAndre Hopkins
2	Odell Beckham Jr.
3	Sammy Watkins
4	Antonio Brown
5	Larry Fitzgerald*
6	A.J. Green
7	Allen Robinson
8	Julio Jones
9	Mike Evans
10	Brandon Marshall
11	Calvin Johnson
12	Alshon Jeffery
13	Martavis Bryant
14	Jarvis Landry
15	Eric Decker
16	Danny Amendola
17	T.Y. Hilton
18	Michael Crabtree
19	Demaryius Thomas
20	Amari Cooper
21	Dez Bryant
22	John Brown*
23	Stevie Johnson*
24	Brandon LaFell
25	Travis Benjamin
26	Kamar Aiken
27	Jeremy Maclin
28	Randall Cobb
29	Brandin Cooks
30	Allen Hurns
31	Golden Tate
32	DeSean Jackson
33	Michael Floyd*
34	Doug Baldwin
35	Vincent Jackson

It's a mix of old and new atop the board at wideout this week, with the somewhat new stealing the spotlight.

Look at Sammy Watkins of the Buffalo Bills. He's not close to breaking into the top scorers at the position, but over the course of his last five games, he has 16 or more points three times.

Had injuries and an unexplainable lack of attention in the passing game not hurt him earlier in the season, he'd be right up there. Watkins next gets the Philadelphia Eagles, owners of the defense allowing the most points to wideouts on average.

He has far too many duds for a player of his caliber, but with any luck, the coaching staff has learned its lesson. It's hard to envision him not producing against such a weak unit.

Ditto for Tampa Bay wideout Mike Evans. Injuries and an iffy situation have him far down the board, but he's posted double digits in five of his last seven outings as the top option in the passing game.

Evans missed his team's first encounter with the Saints this year, but he'll explode for the second seeing as they have allowed 19 or more points to opposing wideouts nine times, just last week helping Newton produce the fantasy-best mark by allowing his receivers to score four touchdowns totaling 35 points.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Greg Olsen
2	Tyler Eifert*
3	Austin Seferian-Jenkins
4	Delanie Walker
5	Travis Kelce
6	Julius Thomas
7	Jordan Reed
8	Gary Barnidge*
9	Scott Chandler
10	Coby Fleener
11	Richard Rodgers
12	Benjamin Watson

Barring health, the usual suspects line the list at tight end.

One guy who, given his immense talent, should fall under such a category is Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, he has double digits just four times and a season high of 22 points set way back in Week 1.

Alas, this would be the week to expect major things. Kelce posted only four points against the San Diego Chargers in their first matchup, but this time he's at home and the Chargers still cough up the eighth-most points to the position.

It's also the week to trust in Julius Thomas of the Jacksonville Jaguars, another guy with elite talent but none of the numbers to show for it.

He was injured earlier this year, but Thomas has shown what he can do with small pockets of good matchups, with seven or more points in each of his last three games, including a 17-point outburst against those Chargers.

Now Thomas gets the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has allowed double digits to tight ends in five of its last seven outings.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	Seahawks
2	Broncos
3	Jets
4	Panthers
5	Packers
6	Cardinals
7	Chiefs
8	Rams
9	Bills
10	Giants

It seems like quite a long time since the New York Jets have had their number called as the top-scoring defense, but the unit should be able to come close this week.

Credit a matchup with the Tennessee Titans as the potential catalyst. New York has six or more points in three of its last five with four double-digit outings on the season.

Tennessee, on the other hand, surrenders the second-most points to opposing defenses.

While the Titans can explode every once in a while thanks to rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota, the team has allowed 19 or more points to opposing defenses a ridiculous three times, with six double-digit performances total.

New York at home looks like a lock for double digits.

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Brandon McManus
2	Steven Hauschka
3	Stephen Gostkowski
4	Chandler Catanzaro
5	Sebastian Janikowski
6	Matt Bryant*
7	Cairo Santos
8	Nick Novak
9	Josh Brown
10	Blair Walsh

Call it a normal week at kicker.

Normal as in Seattle's Steven Hauschka will at least flirt with the top of the leaderboard.

While he's been a bit quiet as of late after starting the season with 10 or more points in five of his first seven, Hauschka has an incredible matchup this week against a Ravens team allowing the third-most points to kickers.

Baltimore has allowed 10 or more points six times this year. Pair it with Hauschka's consistency, and it's not hard to see why his floor and vaulted ceiling rank in such a high manner.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of December 8.