Week 14 Risers and Fallers | Joe Flacco Is Back

by Jonathan Lange · Studs and Duds
Joe Flacco fantasy

The fantasy football regular season is now behind us. After 14 long weeks, we’re now in the fantasy playoffs, where legends are made. Week 14 also had plenty of Risers and Fallers that made massive impacts on Sunday’s games. Now that we are in the fantasy playoffs, some of these Fallers are players you can trade away in dynasty before it’s too late. Or perhaps they are players to buy before the price goes even higher. Let’s start with our Risers, including the Alpha Receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.

Risers

Drake London, WR — Atlanta Falcons

Drake London delivered for fantasy managers that were on the playoff bubble this weekend. He finished with a career-high in receiving yards with 172, to go along with his 10 receptions. It’s good to see the Falcons take advantage of a poor secondary in Tampa Bay, but even better that Desmond Ridder was locked onto the star receiver. Before today, the Falcons had only three players finish with 100 yards receiving or more.

London now has two of those games. With upcoming matchups against the Bears, Colts, and Panthers, London could lead fantasy managers to championships. I’m sure it pained Arthur Smith that Jonnu Smith or Cordarrelle Patterson weren’t getting these targets, but for one day, fantasy managers were pleased with the usage in Atlanta.

Joe Flacco, QB — Cleveland Browns

The elite one is back! Joe Flacco proved that he had something left in the tank, throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. Through Week 12, only one Browns quarterback finished a game with more than 250 yards passing. Since Joe Flacco became the starter in Week 13, he’s finished with more than 250 yards in both of his starts. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has called more passing plays with Flacco, and the team has averaged 44 pass attempts over the past two weeks. In the previous 12 games, the Browns averaged 33 pass attempts.

Cleveland has weapons galore with Amari Cooper, David Njoku, and Elijah Moore. Flacco has proven that he has the leadership and ability to place the ball where it needs to be and keep the offense afloat in Cleveland.

James Cook, RB — Buffalo Bills

James Cook has provided modest production during the 2023 season, but there’s been a change. New offensive coordinator Joe Brady has embraced Cook’s ability as a pass catcher, and it’s shown the last few weeks. In the first 10 weeks of the season, Cook had five targets or more just once. In the last three weeks, he’s averaged five targets, and on Sunday, he set the tone by catching a 25-yard touchdown against the Chiefs.

Cook is a fine runner, but his involvement in the passing game has elevated his fantasy production. Dawson Knox has also returned to the lineup, so it will be interesting to see how this offense evolves moving forward. But for now, you can rely on Cook as an RB2 with upside moving forward.

Jake Ferguson, TE — Dallas Cowboys

Perhaps it’s the benefit of being close to a white-hot Dak Prescott, but Jake Ferguson is becoming a threat to finish as a top-five tight end. In a divisional matchup against the Eagles, Ferguson racked up 72 receiving yards and finished the game as the Cowboys’ leading receiver. There have been floor games with Ferguson; he’s had five games where he’s finished with three catches or less. But when this Cowboys offense is rolling, everyone gets in on the fun.

Ferguson has back-to-back games with over 70 yards receiving, and Dak is consistently looking his way in the red zone. In fact, Ferguson is No. 1 among tight ends in red zone targets. Ferguson has emerged out of nowhere as the late-round tight end that can rescue fantasy rosters in the playoffs.

Fallers

Zack Moss, RB — Indianapolis Colts

Remember when Jonathan Taylor was ruled out with a thumb injury and the fantasy world declared Zack Moss a league winner? After two games, Moss appears to be headed to your fantasy bench! Against the Bengals, a bottom-five rush defense, Moss could only muster 28 yards. In Week 13 against the Titans, Moss averaged 2.7 yards per carry on his way to 51 total yards. It’s difficult to run a productive offense in the NFL. It’s even more difficult when the starting quarterback and running back are out. Moss is a fine back, but he’s purely a grinder back that can only do so much in a limited rushing attack. Taylor will return before the end of the year, and Moss will be relegated to a backup role.

Bryce Young, QB — Carolina Panthers

This has been a year to forget for Bryce Young. The head coach was fired, but the offensive problems persisted on Sunday, as the Panthers scored only six points against the Saints. Young finished with an abysmal 36-percent Completion Percentage to go along with his 137 total yards. These conditions make it impossible to produce points.

The Panther receivers have been unable to create separation. The offensive line has allowed the fourth-most sacks so far. It will be an interesting topic all offseason to see how the team helps its first-round quarterback, but it’s hard for him to look any worse than he already has this season.

Jerry Jeudy, WR — Denver Broncos

Quietly, the Denver Broncos have been playing much better than they were at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, Jerry Jeudy hasn’t contributed much to the resurgence. Over the last four games, Jeudy has surpassed 10 fantasy points just once. On Sunday the streak continued, and he finished with a disappointing 16 yards receiving. Jeudy was a mid-round pick in the offseason, and there was hope that Sean Payton would unlock the former Alabama star. Jeudy has only one game this year with 80 yards receiving or more. It’s becoming more and more likely that Marvin Mims will replace Jeudy in 2024.

Joshua Dobbs, QB — Minnesota Vikings

Joshua Dobbs has completed an epic 2023 season, full of highs and lows. On Sunday, we saw what will likely be his lowest point against the Raiders. Dobbs had 10 completions on 23 pass attempts before being pulled in favor of Nick Mullens. Mullens would go on to lead the game-winning drive and seal the victory for the Vikings.

After such a strong start, what went wrong with Dobbs and the Vikings? Well, Dobbs played well in his first handful of starts with the Vikings, similar to how he started with the Cardinals earlier in the season. But locking in on checkdown options and lobbing medicine balls that get your star receiver injured can get you benched. Dobbs can still be a fine No. 2 on a roster, but there was buzz about him being the Vikings QB1 for 2024. We can safely launch that idea into outer space now.

Closing

Drake London, Joe Flacco, James Cook, and Jake Ferguson are the Risers from Week 14’s action. Zack Moss, Bryce Young, Jerry Jeudy, and Joshua Dobbs are the Fallers. If you are locked into the playoffs, but have lost Justin Herbert, all hope is not lost! Flacco can be plugged in as your new fantasy quarterback. He’s got skilled offensive weapons and a coaching staff willing to let him air it out. Best of luck in the fantasy playoffs.