NFL Week 14 Yahoo! $200K Baller Analysis (FREE)

Greetings, Gamers! We have an excellent opportunity on Yahoo! for Week 14 as they are running a $200,000 contest with a $10 entry fee and 22,250 entries. This flagship tournament has not completely filled yet this season which has provided “extra value” for gamers. Let’s get into some NFL Yahoo Fantasy Football DFS Picks for Week 14 including Christian McCaffrey and Aaron Rodgers.


Don’t forget to check out the Yahoo Fantasy Show with Alex “Awesemo” Baker and Nolan Kelly Friday at 1pm on the Awesemo YouTube Channel


For Adam Pfeifer’s Week 14 game by game breakdown click here


If you haven’t signed up for Yahoo Fantasy DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit and you will be eligible for $30 of “free play” which Yahoo! will match through the first $30 of your deposit (this bonus will be received in Yahoo Sports Rewards Points aka YSRP which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately).

Yahoo Fantasy Football General Strategy

As with most sites, there are many viable strategies that can be successful in large field tournaments and of course, we do need the same amount of favor from Lady Luck as we do elsewhere.

Key thing to remember is that this is a half-PPR site, meaning receptions are worth 0.5 points and the minimum salary is $10 with an average salary per player of $22. This week, Christian McCaffrey is at the top of the pricing list at $42. The full scoring parameters can be found here.

If you are using an optimizer, it is important to remember that you will still need to input the lineups by hand (this lack of automation also helps keep away some of the mega shark players). You will also want to closely look at the lineups because the automation will look to use the cheaper quarterbacks. It will also home in on players that may not be good plays on other sites and they will not be highlighted in the mainstream analysis that is available to the masses each week.

Awesemo NFL Rankings

One of the most useful features of the Awesemo.com premium content is the personal player rankings from Alex Baker, aka Awesemo, for all of the main sports. The players grade out separately for each DFS site with ratings for both “projected points” and “value” receiving an A through E report card-style grade.

As a sneak preview, for this article I will be sharing the grades Full Rankings (Premium Content)

Quarterback

If you have played football this season on Yahoo, or if you played Yahoo fantasy baseball, you know that the strategy is to look for the cheapest quarterback or pitcher that is tolerable so you can look for more secure points and upside elsewhere. In the recommendations below, I will be highlighting several discount options at the other positions so you can build a framework that will allow lineup construction for a top-shelf quarterback along with his favorite target and still have enough salary cap to run it back with the top option on the opposing team.

Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos – $33 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B

Though Deshaun Watson has multiple touchdown passes in four of his last five games, we have not seen too many gaudy yardage totals. It is not overly concerning to me as he did lead the team to four wins in that span and did play some solid defenses in Baltimore and Jacksonville and also last week at home against the Patriots. He also has four rushing touchdowns this season which is nice bonus upside.

The Broncos have been solid on defense, but they are not as good on the road. We know that the ball will be in Watson’s hands and it is easy to identify his preferred target in DeAndre Hopkins – $32  Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value D. While Hopkins is not coming at a discount by any stretch, he does have multi-touchdown upside every time he takes the field.

Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins – $31 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value B

The Packers are in control of their own playoff destiny with a one game lead over the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay has been on the road four of the last five weeks. They are 3-2 in that stretch dropping games in San Francisco and in Los Angeles against the Chargers. It is a little concerning that Aaron Rodgers has topped 250+ passing yards in just four of twelve games this season, although two of those were 400+ performances.

Washington’s defense has been slipping and they are nearly in the bottom third of the league. Ideally we need Rodgers to be the one putting the early points on the board with Green Bay installed as nearly two touchdown favorites. Pairing him with his top option Davante Adams – $27  Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C makes for a strong tournament option. Adams has seen double digit targets in his last five games.

Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams – $35 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C

If you feel the need for a “late night hammer” then look no further. Russell Wilson leads the league with 26 touchdown passes and he has only four interceptions. His top target Tyler Lockett – $27 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C has been disappointing with only nine targets for four receptions and 64 yards over the last three games including going catchless on three targets Monday night. He will likely get the attention of Jaylen Ramsey, but that won’t deter me from playing Wilson. This season 29% of his touchdowns have been to the tight ends and last year it was nearly one in four. This shows that Wilson is not locked into any one particular receiver and will spread things around as appropriate.

Running Back

We want to keep in mind that while running backs are very important, Yahoo fantasy uses half-PPR, which will not penalize running backs that are not as active in the passing game.

Bilal Powell and Ty Montgomery – New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins – $10 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value A

It has been announced that Le’Veon Bell is going to be out this week due to illness, so that means that means that Bilal Powell and Ty Montgomery will be handling the load against the Dolphins. We truly cannot ask for a better matchup as Miami is sporting the 32nd overall DVOA being 29th against the rush and 32nd against the pass. My preference would be Powell as he is the better runner and a competent receiver. Montgomery has had his chances this season and not answered the bell. He should still get at least a third of the workload and as much as half.

Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons – $44 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value D

Playing one of the Jets running backs is going to give us quite a bit of leeway and we can earmark that extra salary cap for Christian McCaffrey even though he is the most expensive player on the slate. The Panthers fired coach Ron Rivera this week, so if you were the one in charge now, wouldn’t you want to just lean on McCaffrey. The former Stanford stalwart is averaging 97.3 rushing yards per game and is only eight behind Nick Chubb for the league lead and he is adding another 53 yards per game through the air. This is an outstanding matchup against the Falcons, so no additional hosannas are necessary.

Dalvin Cook – Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions – $37 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C

On a positive note, Dalvin Cook (shoulder) was not on the injury report and is reportedly ready to go against the Lions. On the season Cook has a touchdown or 100+ combined yards in every game. In the first meeting between these teams he rolled up 25/142/2 on the ground and the only thing holding him back on Sunday are the Vikings trying to keep him healthy for the playoffs.

If you are worried about Cook’s getting a lighter workload then look to Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders – $35 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value E as he is seeing his late season workload ramp up once again. He has topped 149+ rushing yards in each of the last three weeks and has six touchdowns in his last four games.

Wide Receiver

More often than not, we should be able to find several nice options in the middle tier. The top-shelf Yahoo fantasy options are typically priced in the mid-$30 range. Often, they are best paired with their quarterbacks for tournament upside, rather than risking downside as solo plays.

In addition to the players highlighted above with their quarterbacks we can look to:

Robert Woods – Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks – $18 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value D

In a twist of fate, Robert Woods has not reached pay dirt once this season. He has topped 80+ yards receiving in four of his last five including a sublime 19 target – 13/172 effort last week in Arizona. A trip to the end zone is imminent.

Robbie Anderson – New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins – $19 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value D

In his last three games Robbie Anderson has either scored or topped 100+ yards. Picking on the Dolphins has been a lucrative strategy this season and there is no reason to stop now.

Odell Beckham Jr – Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals – $23 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value D

This has been a lost season for Odell Beckham Jr who has two games with more than 100 receiving yards and only two touchdowns. The story this week was that he may not want to stay in Cleveland when he hits free agency. That sounds like the “squeaky wheel” narrative and what cure could be better than a date with the Bungles. Sunday Update: it is now being reported that Beckham has been playing through a sports hernia that will need off-season surgery. My assessment is that as long as Cleveland is alive for the playoffs, he will be on the field – this is a pain management situation which very well could be impacting his effectiveness. The tradeoff is that The Massess will be staying away.

Tight Ends

If you want to break the bank for Travis Kelce or George Kittle, by all means go for it. Otherwise, we have several solid point per dollar options that will allow us to allocate our salary cap to other positions for Yahoo fantasy.

Ian Thomas – Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons – $10  Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value C

Greg Olsen is out with a concussion, so that means Ian Thomas is the next man up. Down the stretch last season he finished things up for Olsen with a touchdown or 70+ receiving yards in three of the final four games. For the Yahoo minimum price tag, I have no issues looking to him in a favorable spot against the Falcons.

Tyler Higbee – Los Angeles Rams vs Seattle Seahawks – $11  Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value A

Gerald Everett (knee) is going to be out again for the Rams. We should not expect anything even close to Tyler Higbee’s career performance last week when he saw eight targets for 7/102/1. However, multiple catches and 30-40 yards are very much in the probable realm of outcomes and that is fair for his near minimum price tag.

Defense/Special Teams

There are several good matchups this week for Yahoo fantasy where we can get some bang for our buck

Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins – $12 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A

Washington has suffered fewer than three sacks only three times this season. They have allowed four or more in half of their games and 22 over their last five. Enjoy the price discount for this cherry matchup against an indecisive rookie quarterback.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions – $14 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A

This is just the second home game in five weeks for the Vikings. They have faced some tough opponents, but that allows for a price discount. Against mediocre teams they have thrived and the Lions are down to their third-string quarterback and their running back cupboard is bare.

Hopefully these Yahoo Fantasy Picks and recommendations get your lineup construction process jump started and on your way to a big showing in the Yahoo! $200k Dollar Baller contest!

As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions.

Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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