Welcome back to Week 14 of Keeping it Real With Fantasy! It’s the final month of regular season football, which means the fantasy playoffs are on the horizon. Both the Bears and Texans were the first teams taken out of playoff contention last week while the Eagles and Vikings have a chance to be the first teams to clinch a playoff spot this week. 

News/Injuries:

Jimmy Garoppolo (QB) – The Niners second starting quarterback of the year has gone down with a potential season-ending injury. Garoppolo became San Francisco’s QB earlier in the season after his supposed-to-be replacement, Trey Lance injured his ankle and will miss the rest of 2022. Last week, Garoppolo broke his foot in the Niners win over the Dolphins.

Lamar Jackson (QB) – Jackson suffered a PCL sprain in the Ravens’ narrow win against the Broncos. The former MVP is week-to-week but hasn’t participated in practice yet this week. He is questionable for this Sunday’s matchup versus the Steelers.

Odell Beckham Jr. (WR) –  Beckham Jr, visited the Giants, Bills, and Cowboys, in his search to find his new team. There are concerns he may not be available to play in a game until at least January as he is still healing from his ACL tear in Super Bowl LVI, however. This would mean he won’t be a factor in the fantasy football playoffs this year.

Starts:

D’Andre Swift (RB) – Swift is coming off his best performance of the season since Week 1. He has been getting more opportunities, including last week where he eclipsed over double-digit rushing attempts for the second time this season. The Lions running back may become the player most people drafted him to be, just in time for the playoffs.

Garrett Wilson (WR) – With Mike White taking the reins of the Jets offense a couple of weeks ago, the rookie receiver has gotten many more looks in the passing game. Wilson is coming off two of his best three games of the season. He has put up a combined 257 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in the past two games.

Sits:

Gabe Davis (WR) – The Bills WR has been extremely inconsistent this season. He’s tallied less than 50 receiving yards in 5 of his last 6 games. That does not go well against the Jets defense that allows the third-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers.  

DeVonta Smith (WR) – Smith has had a pretty solid second season in the league and would probably be a start if not for this week’s matchup. The Eagles take on the Giants, who defend the deep ball extremely well, which will most likely take away a number of opportunities for Smith.

Waiver Wires:

Michael Gallup (WR) – The Cowboys receiver is finally starting to look like his old self, for the first time since his ACL tear last year. He hasn’t put up convincing numbers until last week in the Cowboys’ dominating 54-19 win over the Colts. Gallup racked up 2 touchdowns on only 4 receptions showcasing his insane physicality on the second.

James Cook (RB) – The rookie running back is coming off the best fantasy football performance of his young career. He put up 105 yards from scrimmage on 20 touches, 6 of them being receptions. With Josh Allen’s recent struggles, the Bills may turn to Cook more down the stretch.