Assessing Chargers players for Week 14 in Fantasy Football
By Scott Iger
After an embarrassing loss to them last season, the Bolts avenged their failure with a win over the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. Philip Rivers, who has been up and down this season, had another big day.
In their upcoming game with the Washington Redskins, the Chargers will look to feast upon a struggling offensive line and execute on offense. In fantasy, the Chargers’ passing game has been hot recently, with the run game taking a bit of a backseat for now. Before we look at this week’s fantasy prospects, let’s take a look at some of the significant performances from last week.
Keenan Allen
Keenan Allen has been on an historic pace recently, as he just became the first player in NFL history to have at least 10 receptions, 100 yards and a touchdown three weeks in a row.
The Rivers-Allen connection has been unstoppable as of late, and I don’t expect the Chargers to slow down the volume of targets he is receiving seeing that it has drove them to multiple wins. I expect Keenan to maintain a solid pace, making him a legitimate WR1 regardless of a tough match up with Redskins corner Josh Norman.
Travis Benjamin
Travis Benjamin, who was quiet for the majority of the season thus far with the exception of a couple big plays, has recently seen an increase in targets. With a 68-yard performance, Benjamin is beginning to gain some traction in the offensive scheme, but temper your expectations a bit.
Other than deep balls or very short (essentially screen) passes, Benjamin is still seeing limited use past his punt returns. While Benjamin is not WR1 or WR2 material, I think you could justify him as a flex play in some leagues.
Start or Sit?
Here are the players previously mentioned along with some who were not, with the parentheses indicating the tier of each player in fantasy terms and my projection for them this week.
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- Philip Rivers – Start (QB1) – My Projection: 17 points (Standard)
- Melvin Gordon – Start (RB1) – My Projection: 13 points (Standard), 15 points (PPR)
- Keenan Allen – Start (WR1) – My Projection: 11 points (Standard), 18 points (PPR)
- Tyrell Williams – Bench (WR3/WR4) – My Projection: 3 points (Standard), 5 points (PPR)
- Hunter Henry – Start (TE1) – My Projection: 8 points (Standard), 16 points (PPR)
- Travis Benjamin – Bench (WR3) – My Projection: 5 points (Standard), 8 points (PPR)
- Antonio Gates – Bench (TE2) – My Projection: 2 points (Standard), 4 points (PPR)
- Austin Ekeler – Bench (RB2/RB3) – My Projection: 4 points (Standard), 6 points (PPR)
- Mike Williams* – Bench (WR3/WR4) – My Projection: 2 points (Standard), 4 points (PPR)
Note: Asterisk (*) indicates possibility of player missing game due to injury.
What are you expecting out of the Bolts this week in fantasy? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.