by Will Overton

Week 14… It’s either playoff time or your last chance to make the playoffs. Either way there are a lot of teams out there with a lot to play for. Lineup decisions are more crucial than ever and we’ll try and help you out with our week 14 rankings. Here is my take on the Top 50 Wide Receivers for the week:

1. Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans
2. Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo
3. Odell Beckham Jr – New York Giants vs. Dallas
4. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons @ Los Angeles
5. Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys @ NY Giants
6. Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay
7. Julian Edelman – New England Patriots vs. Baltimore
8. T.Y. Hilton – Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston
9. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals @ Miami
10. Jordy Nelson – Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle
11. Amari Cooper – Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City
12. Golden Tate – Detroit Lions vs. Chicago
13. Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay
14. Michael Crabtree – Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City
15. Brandin Cooks – New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay
16. Kelvin Benjamin – Carolina Panthers vs. San Diego
17. Donte Moncrief – Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston
18. Tyrell Williams – San Diego Chargers @ Carolina
19. DeAndre Hopkins – Houston Texans @ Indianapolis
20. Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings @ Jacksonville
21. Terrelle Pryor – Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati
22. Jordan Matthews – Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington
23. Sammy Watkins – Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh
24. Jamison Crowder – Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia
25. Brandon Marshall – New York Jets @ San Francisco
26. Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos @ Tennessee
27. Allen Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota
28. Kenny Britt – Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta
29. DaVante Adams – Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle
30. Jarvis Landry – Miami Dolphins vs. Arizona
31. Malcolm Mitchell – New England Patriots vs. Baltimore
32. Steve Smith – Baltimore Ravens @ New England
33. Emmanuel Sanders – Denver Broncos @ Tennessee
34. Randall Cobb – Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle
35. Rishard Matthews – Tennessee Titans vs. Denver
36. Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland
37. Desean Jackson – Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia
38. DeVante Parker – Miami Dolphins vs. Arizona
39. Willie Snead – New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay
40. Cole Beasley – Dallas Cowboys @ NY Giants
41. Sterling Shepherd – New York Giants vs. Dallas
42. Tyler Lockett – Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay
43. Mike Wallace – Baltimore Ravens @ New England
44. Jeremy Maclin – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland
45. Marvin Jones – Detroit Lions vs. Chicago
46. Dontrelle Inman – San Diego Chargers @ Carolina
47. Tyler Boyd – Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland
48. Will Fuller – Houston Texans @ Indianapolis
49. Anquan Boldin – Detroit Lions vs. Chicago
50. Ted Ginn Jr – Carolina Panthers vs. San Diego

Thoughts: 

• Even coming off what was statistically his worst game of the season, Mike Evans still checks in this week at the top of my rankings. The Saints secondary is just so terrible and Evans should have no problem just dicing them up. The Bucs are primed for a playoff run and taking out the Saints this week will go a long way to making that happen. Forget last week ever happened.
• Any concern that fantasy owners had about T.Y. Hilton losing value when Donte Moncrief returned from injury should be gone by now. In the last three games in which Andrew Luck was under center for the Colts Hilton has 20 catches for 325 yards. He isn’t racking up the TD, but he’s the clear go to guy for Luck still and he’s getting plenty of production even when he isn’t finding the end zone.
• It was a really slow start to the season for Golden Tate, to the point where he was being dropped in some leagues. He has found his stride though, proving that patience is a virtue in fantasy football, and he’s at a point where on a good week he’s a borderline WR1. This is one of those good weeks where I like his chances at putting up big numbers. In six of the last seven weeks he has at least five catches and in five of those games he has 75 yards or more. I can see the Lions rolling up the points against Chicago and Tate will be a big part of that.
• The decline of DeAndre Hopkins has been a frustrating experience for fantasy owners, but it might be a little exaggerated. Hopkins is coming off a week in which he caught a TD, and he’s pulling in five catches almost every week. He is being dismissed as a Top 20 WR in most places this week, but I am not buying that the Colts secondary is suddenly good and I am still convinced that Hopkins can and will pull in around 5 catches for 70 yards with the potential for a score. In a week where outside of the top tier things get a little murky, Hopkins has value with those numbers.
• With so many bad QB’s in the NFL right now doesn’t it kind of diminish the way in which these QB’s effect their WR’s rankings. I think that’s the case with Kenny Britt, who isn’t’ having any favors done for him by Jared Goff at QB, but he still keeps producing solid fantasy days. Britt has five TD in the last seven games and for the first time last week he had fewer than three catches. Now he has a really nice matchup with the Falcons on tap, and another game with the potential for the Rams to fall behind early and throw often.
• I think we’re at a point where we can’t write Malcolm Mitchell off as a fluke any longer with three straight strong games (17 receptions for 222 yards and 3 TD). The Patriots are without Rob Gronkowski, and now Danny Amendola is out too. Mitchell has set himself up as the number two option for the Patriots and he seems to be getting in the good graces of Tom Brady very quickly. Mitchell is worthy of start consideration in all formats.
• Before the season started Tyler Lockett was being touted as a potential Top 25 wide receiver. That hype train flamed out in a hurry with poor performances and injuries that were clearly hurting his production. Lockett finally looked healthy and strong this last week with five catches for 63 yards and a long TD run on a reverse. He has the talent and if the Seahawks are going to look to make him a bigger part of the offense his fantasy value is going to be on the rise.

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Make sure to check out all of our Week 14 rankings:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs
• Wide Receivers
• Tight Ends
• Kickers
• Defenses