Yahoo fantasy football is running a $1,000,000 contest with a $20 entry fee and 40,000 entries for Week 14 of the NFL season, which means they are adding $200,000 to the prize pool. Let’s get into some Yahoo Daily Fantasy Picks for NFL lineups, including Tom Brady, Josh Jacobs and more.
Week 14 NFL Yahoo Daily Fantasy Strategy & Picks
The critical thing to remember is that Yahoo is a half-PPR site, and the minimum salary is $10, with an average salary per player of $22. This week, Josh Allen is at the top of the salary list at $41. The complete scoring parameters can be found here.
One of the most valuable features of the Awesemo.com premium content is the personal player rankings from Alex Baker, 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. This week, as a special treat, Awesemo is also adding in the “Roster%,” which is the projected percentage a player will be used in the large-field tournaments.
Quarterback
If you have played daily fantasy football on Yahoo or 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.
Tom Brady: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills – $34 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B, Roster% 10.7%
This is an intriguing development with Tom Brady seeing a 20% decrease in his salary compared to last week. Naturally, this makes sense as Buffalo boasts the best pass DVOA in the league. On the flipside, Brady has been terrific with 314.3 passing yards and 2.8 touchdowns per game, These statistics are not just volume based as the future Hall of Fame signal-caller has a top six (104.0) passer rating with the second best (66.1) QBR. By no means is this going to be a walk in the park, however, the game is in Tampa Bay and the salary is taking into consideration that the Bills have ceded multiple aerial touchdowns only once this season.
Taysom Hill: New Orleans Saints at New York Jets – $28| Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A, Roster% 25.0%
Even with running back Alvin Kamara ($33) likely to return, Taysom Hill is shaping up as the best point per dollar field general for Week 14. Hill actually was decent through the air with 264 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, though the four interceptions were disheartening for Saints fans. It was also impressive to see Hill tally 101 rushing yards on just 11 carries. It is important to know that Hill is dealing with a broken finger on his throwing hand, though he is expected to play with a splint. Considering his lack of quality receivers and general accuracy, this is not anything to keep us away from coach Sean Payton’s favorite player this weekend. New Orleans comes into this road matchup favored by half a dozen points and we know they are going to look to keep things on the ground with Hill and Kamara while counting on their defense to shut down the Jets.
Patrick Mahomes: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders – $38 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C, Roster% 7.6%
Despite the recent fantasy woes, Patrick Mahomes is sixth in the league with 282.0 passing yards and 25 touchdowns while only Brady has more pass attempts. Las Vegas has been adequate against the run, but susceptible to the pass. Only a month ago, Mahomes lit up the Raiders for 406 yards and five touchdowns. This is an excellent tournament situation with gamers getting weary of poor performances, no salary discount and we know exactly who to pair with Mahomes for added synergy. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.
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.
Josh Jacobs: Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – $17| Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value A, Roster% 40.2%
Kenyan Drake is out and tight end Darren Waller is expected to miss another game. That means Josh Jacobs should see 12-15 carries with half a dozen targets. Somehow, Jacobs has become a factor in the passing game with at least four targets each of the last five games culminating in nine last week against Washington. Though his upside is still going to be tied with a multi-touchdown game, there is some added safety with this new receiving workload. It also helps that Kansas City has been a bottom-five team against the run all season.
Austin Ekeler: Los Angeles Chargers vs. New York Giants – $36 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A, Roster% 42.2%
Beginning with Week 3, Austin Ekeler has at least 11 or more carries in all but one game. In this stretch he has also accounted for a whopping 14 touchdowns split evenly on the ground and through the air. This is an apex salary, though the Giants have the second worse rush DVOA and reliable receiver Keenan Allen is out with COVID-19. The Chargers are nearly double digit home favorites and we should expect Ekeler to have ample opportunity to rack up the fantasy production.
Javonte Williams: Denver Broncos vs. Detroit Lions – $26 | Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value D, Roster% 5.4%
Detroit is abysmal against the pass and the run and even if veteran Melvin Gordon is active, he is still dealing with a lingering hip issue. Backup Mike Boone is in the health and safety protocol, so that means rookie Javonte Williams should be in line for the majority of the workload. This is the situation fantasy gamers have been hoping for all year both in season long and DFS formats. Williams should now be considered the lead running back and in his last two games he is averaging 18.5 carries for 73 yards with 6.5 targets for 4.5 receptions and 67.5 yards. This also has been accompanied by a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving.
Wide Receiver
The top-shelf Yahoo fantasy options are typically priced in the low-to-mid-$30 range. Often, they are best paired with their quarterbacks for tournament upside rather than risking downside as solo plays.
Chris Godwin: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills – $22 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B, Roster% 23.7%
The tough matchup against Buffalo has resulted in Chris Godwin tying his lowest salary of the season. Last week he had a whopping 17 targets for 15 receptions and 143 yards. Antonio Brown is still out and Brady is still under center for Tampa Bay. Roll with Goodwin in all formats on Yahoo this weekend and do not think twice.
Mike Williams: Los Angeles Chargers vs. New York Giants – $21 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B, Roster% 20.1%
Although Mike Williams is in the health and safety protocol, that is only because he was deemed a close contact of Keenan Allen who is out with COVID-19. Williams has been testing negative and is likely to play on Sunday. This is a nice situation for him as Allen has averaged 11.0 targets per game since the Week 7 bye. Even alongside Allen, Williams has had at least 110 yards or a touchdown in two of the last three games.
Tyreek Hill: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders – $30 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C, Roster% 23.1%
This is the lowest salary for Tyreek Hill this year. Currently, he is second in the league with 127 targets, 86 receptions and 59 first downs. Additionally his eight touchdowns rank fourth while his 79.5 receiving yards per game are the eighth most among all receivers. The Raiders are in the bottom-third of the league against the pass which is just the cherry on top.
Tight Ends
George Kittle: San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals – $23 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C, Roster% 21.2%
Last week George Kittle saw a dozen targets for nine catches, 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Seattle. This resulted in a career high 35.1 Yahoo Fantasy points which saw his salary increase by exactly zero dollars. Deebo Samuel is banged up and rookie running back Eli Mitchell is out and fellow rookie Trey Sermon is on the injured reserve. Anything less than 100 yards and a score is going to be a disappointment and we may even see Kittle with a carry or two.
Rob Gronkowski: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills – $23 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C, Roster% 5.0%
In his last three games, Rob Gronkowski is averaging 8.7 targets for 5.7 receptions and 84.0 yards. Last week he had his third multi-touchdown game of the season. This is not an easy matchup, but pairing Gronkowski and Brady is fine in tournaments and even adding in Godwin or Mike Evans ($21) can provide further differentiation in the difficult matchup against Buffalo.
Defense/Special Teams
This week, there is one top-tier unit and a familiar bargain option.
Los Angeles Chargers vs. New York Giants – $13 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B, Roster% 16.9%
The Chargers have been a poor fantasy defense with only three games over six fantasy points. However, they did get to the Bungles last week for half a dozen sacks, two interceptions, two fumbles and a return score. They are at home and going against a Mike Glennon led Giants squad.
Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans – $13 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B, Roster% 17.8%
Though Seattle is on the road and their bend but don’t break defensive philosophy has them logging just 19 sacks on the season, they are cheap and they get to go against rookie Davis Mills who suffered multiple sacks in his last seven starts along with eight turnovers.
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