Another week, another round of critically important starting/sitting decisions. To help you achieve this, here are six players with bust potential in Week 14.
Something to keep in mind as you read: a “fade” or “bust” designation does not automatically mean you should draft a player, depending on the depth of the rest of your roster or the options available on your waiver wire.
QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy might literally have the worst fantasy performance of his career, scoring just 2.16 fantasy points on a 94-yard passing game with 0 TD and 0 INT on 29 attempts. To be fair, there were several things going against him in Week 13, including a shoulder injury that kept him out the week before and the mid-game loss to Christian McCaffrey to what ended up being a season-ending knee injury. Unfortunately, things may not get any better next week with a game against the Bears on deck. Although he is still a week removed from the shoulder injury, he will still face an uphill battle against the Chicago Bears defense.
The Bears haven’t always been secondary this year; Remember that one annoying Hail Mary? That was a journey. However, despite some lapses in judgment, they have some skill in the secondary between CBs Jaylon Johnson (one of the best in the business) and Kyler Gordon, along with safety Kevin Byard – and they’ve allowed just 11 TDs all season. They have been much more sensitive on the ground; it seems likely that HC Kyle Shanahan will lean on that weakness instead of emphasizing the passing game with a busted Purdy and several missing weapons.
Heat check 🔥 Given the challenging matchup on deck for Purdy and the fact that he isn’t 100% healthy, he may be better off left on the bench in most single-QB leagues.
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RB Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers starting RB JK Dobbins was placed on IR before Week 13 with a knee injury, leaving Gus Edwards as the potential workhorse in a Jim Harbaugh-Greg Roman offense that favored the run and generated some hype in fantasy circles. Unfortunately, not much of the hype came to fruition; Edwards saw just six carries on the day (32 yards) to Kimani Vidal’s six and one to Derius Davis.
The Chargers have a matchup on deck this week with the Kansas City Chiefs – a bit of a trap for most RBs this season. Only one RB has scored more than 15 fantasy points against the Chiefs in 2024 – James Cook in Week 11, who was still held to just 20 rushing yards (2.22 YPC) on nine attempts, though he did manage two red zones TDs to score. While Edwards is theoretically the Chargers’ RB1 moving forward, the competition for touches combined with a poor matchup has this written as a bad week to rely on him.
Heat check 🔥 Edwards showed his low floor in Week 13 despite leading the way in the backfield. Expect him to be a boom/bust prospect again in Week 14 (with a much higher chance of a bust).
RB Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb’s return to football has been one of the biggest stories in all of football this year, with many wondering if he would ever play the game again after suffering a catastrophic knee injury in 2023. Although he has made his return to the field , barely resembles his old self. In six games since being activated from IR, Chubb has averaged just 3.30 yards per carry (40.5 rush yards per game) and a career-low 40.2% successful run rate per Pro Football Reference. He’s posting similarly career-low averages in yards after contact per attempt (2.62) and breakaway distances (6.2%) per PFF.
It appears the Cleveland Browns have also noticed Chubb’s declining efficiency, as he saw just 34% of the snaps, sharing the backfield with Jerome Ford, each with just nine carries on the day (and Ford was much more efficient with his touches, averaged 4.5 YPC to Chubb’s 2.3). The only What saved Chubb’s day was a five-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
This week the Steelers have another matchup on deck with the Pittsburgh Steelers, this time on the road. Chubb had a season-high 20 carries in their Week 12 meeting, but failed to surpass 60 rushing yards (despite scoring two TDs on the day). The Steelers allow just 4.1 YPC (fifth-lowest average in the league), including 2.6 rush yards after contact per attempt on fourth down, giving up the 10th-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing RBs – a bad place for an inefficient player. runner loses work in his own backfield.
Heat check 🔥 Given the downward trend in Chubb’s usage and the challenging deck matchup, he may be better off staying on fantasy benches if you have better options.
WR DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
You know how some franchises just…have a man’s number? It feels like we have a large enough sample size of watching DK Metcalf take on the Arizona Cardinals to say there might be some truth to that… and unfortunately for fantasy football managers who are probably in desperate need of a big day for him, he has his second match of the year against this division enemy. Metcalf has played 10 games against Arizona in his career and has never had more than 59 yards receiving.
In addition to his general lack of success against the Cards in his career, Metcalf also enters this game a little tired after dealing with a nagging shoulder injury. The Cardinals have also been pretty decent against opposing wideouts lately. Dating back to Week 7, Arizona has allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game (22.03) and just one receiving TD (the fewest in the NFL) to opposing wide receivers. The Cardinals’ secondary allows the 10th-lowest completion percentage on targets to WRs lined up wide in that period, and the fifth-lowest passer rating on such plays.
Heat check 🔥 There are not many situations you can imagine in which you will find yourself with Metcalf, but realize that this is probably not the match in which he will help you win your week.
WR Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
There was no shortage of surprise when Adam Thielen came out in Week 13 and posted an 8-99-1 line on 10 targets… especially considering that should have been two scores. Oh, then there was that ridiculous one-handed grab that made him look like Thielen in primetime — not a 34-year-old who recently returned from a serious hamstring injury that landed him a seven-game stint on IR.
Unfortunately, there’s some reason to believe Thielen might not keep the ball rolling as he’ll be tasked with taking on Philadelphia Eagles rookie slot corner Cooper DeJean this week. Since taking over the starting role in week 6, the rook has been unstoppable. Since then, he has allowed just 6.9 yards per reception, including five pass breakups, leading all cornerbacks with 27 total tackles, while leading the pack in defensive stops (14) per PFF.
Heat check 🔥 Considering you’ve been without Thielen for much of the 2024 season, it’s (hopefully) unlikely you won’t be able to find other options.
TE Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
When it rains, it pours, especially if you’re the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over the past month, the Jags have lost two of their three starting WRs to season-ending injuries (Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis) and will likely be without QB Trevor Lawrence, who has been placed on IR and is expected to undergo shoulder surgery in the coming weeks. That means it’s Mac Jones time… unfortunately for our fantasy rosters.
In Week 14, the Jags travel to take on the Tennessee Titans – a quiet and challenging matchup for opposing TEs this year. Tennessee is allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to TEs this year, including the fifth-fewest receiving yards per game at the position, while tying for the third-lowest YPR (8.7), despite they have dealt with several quality tight ends this year. Their biggest game allowed this season came in Week 18 (13.8 points against Sam LaPorta on a 6-48-1 line), after an opposing TE had surpassed 50+ receiving yards just once all season. Engram should still see target volume given the injuries on offense, but Mac Jones under center is a clear downgrade for all of Jacksonville’s pass catchers.
Heat check 🔥 The TE position is already volatile. Unless you’re at the position with another option like Brock Bowers, you probably still want to start with Engram, just realizing that his ceiling isn’t as high with Jones under center, and it’s not the best fit.
