The playoffs are almost here! Whether you need a win to get a bye or to get into the dance, the right starts can make your week. Let’s get you started on your route to a championship!
After a glutinous weekend with a full slate, we are facing the consequences this week. In the week before fantasy playoffs, we have 6 relevant teams on bye. With Denver, Indy, New England, Baltimore, Houston, and Washington off, we need to dig deep for that final playoff push. Turkey day may have left you sleepy, but you cannot sleep through this week and miss out on high-level starts. Let’s dive in!
Disclaimers! In this series, we will not name the stars like Myles Garrett and Roquan Smith (unless something causes one to be a sit). I will also do my best to avoid an absurdly deep cut former prospect that I love (if you follow the RoD PoD, you know I can tend to do this!) In this series I will be basing picks off of a balanced scoring system (like the IDP+ Invitational, which also boosts DTs and CBs to even their production out), to cover as many bases as possible! Please also note that mentions of previous finishes/points allowed comes from the IDP+ data suite. If you have a more complex league scoring system, these suggestions may serve as a baseline. For a more degenerate breakdown, jump into the Discord and chat with our stellar team! Now that the intro is done, let’s introduce the week 14 start-sit options!
Start: DT Calijah Kancey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Las Vegas Raiders
Since returning from injury, Kancey has been on fire. Kancey has been a top-5 DT since his return, including 6 sacks. The Raiders have allowed 7.5 sacks to DTs over the past 3 games, so this could be music to Kancey manager’s ears. The Raiders overall were the best matchup league-wide for DTs in November. Kancey is also coming off of his highest snap-share of the season, so wheels are all the way up!
Last week: Christian Barmore, New England Patriots vs Indianapolis Colts. Finished with 3.25 points (IDPI scoring).
Sit: DT D.J. Reader, Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers (TNF)
Reader is coming off of a Turkey Day special, where he was DT4 overall. However, he finds himself as a sit here, as he goes from the 4th best matchup (Chicago) to the 4th worst. Green Bay has allowed less DT PPG than all but 3 teams since the start of November, dropping the floor for Reader. Reader is an All-Pro level talent, but his impact is greater on-field than in the stat-sheet. In the first Packer matchup this season, he was completely shut out. This is not the matchup to hope Reader appears in the box score, unfortunately with the bye weeks!
Last week: Zach Sieler, Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers (TNF – Turkey Night Football). Finished with 11 points. DT35 with 1 solo and 3 assisted tackles.
Thank you all for taking the time and trust to read my start-sit article! I am honored and excited to go through this exercise each week and hope that I am able to help y’all win some matchups. I will not be perfect, but promise to give this my best each week and give well-thought and backed information. Feel free to reach out to chat with me about this (or anything else!) in discord or on X, where you can find me @JoeLow63. Please also check out my podcast, Ride or Dynasty (@RideorDynasty on X) with myself, Jameson Hutchison (@Jamesonrulez) and host JJ Wenner (@JJWenner) LIVE on X each Thursday at 6EST/4MT and in your podcast feeds Friday mornings!
