Five NFL daily fantasy plays for Week 14, and the Chiefs’ pick of the week

Below, you’ll find a list of players I have spotlighted for daily fantasy selections leading into Week 13 of the NFL season. I’m mostly looking for affordable options who will provide good value.

I use the following criteria to try and find players — NFL Vegas totals, NFL team stats, what the fantasy gurus are saying and my GUT.

Without further ado, let’s see who’s made my list of five players this week!

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Lamar Jackson, QB Ravens

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Lamar Jackson typically looks to run the ball before he throws it. Unfortunately for the Chiefs defense, they are bad against both the run and the pass.

The Chiefs defense has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs and the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

With the over/under set to a high 53 points, the Ravens will be playing desperately to keep the Chiefs offense off the field. Because of this, Jackson could have a very good game on the ground.

Allen Robinson, WR Bears

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Allen Robinson won’t be the cheapest option at wide receiver, but he should be a mid-level, affordable option for many teams looking for wide receiver help.

The Bears/Rams game has the third-highest over/under of the week, which means Vegas thinks there are plenty of points to be had in this game. It also means the Bears may look to pass the ball more than usual to keep up against a very good Rams offense.

The Rams also allow the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers and I expect that trend to continue. I’m looking for Robinson to have a good outing.

Tre’Quan Smith, WR Saints

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So you don’t have enough money left over to afford Michael Thomas you say? Well, could I interest you in a player who had 157 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago? — That player happens to be Tre’Quan Smith.

Typically, Smith has seen very little action in 2018 as he’s only amassed a total of 371 yards in a high powered Saints offense.

However, Smith has the potential to have a big game here or there. Smith is the quintessential boom or bust fantasy pick. With the Saints/Buccaneers game having the highest over/under of the week — 55.5 points — I expect the passing games of both teams to be in full swing.

Add into the mix the Bucs have allowed the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers, and Smith could have a “boom” day at an extremely low cost.

You’ve been warned though, this is an incredibly high risk/high reward type player.

Adam Humphries, WR Bucanneers

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My call for Adam Humphries is very similar to the call for Smith above — the Bucs/Saints game should be a shootout and both teams allow a ton of fantasy points to wide receivers.

While the Bucs allow the second most fantasy points to receivers, the Saints allow the most. This is why I’ve targeted Adam Humphries to be a solid pickup

Humphries should cost more than Smith, and he should also be much less risky than Smith. Personally, I’d pick up Humphries over Smith if I had the extra money, but that’s just because I value consistency with my last picks. To each their own.

LeGarrette Blount, RB Lions

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There’s two things going in LaGarrette Blount’s favor here: Kerryon Johnson is still likely to be out, the Cardinals run defense has been terrible.

The Cardinals allow the second most fantasy points to running backs in the NFL. With Johnson out, Blount will be given the lion’s share of carries.

I don’t expect Blount to have a great game, but he should be an affordable option who could put up a decent amount of fantasy points. Just a couple of weeks ago Blount had 103 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns against a very good Bears defense.

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And now it’s on to the Chiefs pick of the week — after having several hot weeks in a row, it appears I may be in a bit of a slump.

Last week I picked the Chiefs defense as the Chiefs fantasy play of the week and they didn’t answer the call giving up 33 points and far too many yards.

Let’s see if I can right the ship with this week’s fantasy pick of the week:

Patrick Mahomes

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When things are looking down, and you’ve had a couple of bad weeks in a row — you go for the big guns.

Just like the Chiefs will do when they look for Mahomes to steady the ship, I’m looking for the same.

With the Ravens having a great defense, I didn’t know which player to pick — it didn’t help that Watkins is injured, and Hunt is no longer on the team.

It also didn’t help that Lamar Jackson is a run-first QB, and that could cause a lot of problems for the Chiefs defensive productivity. Without many pass attempts, I don’t see the Chiefs defense picking up a ton of sacks or interceptions.

So, when I’m in doubt, and many components of the Chiefs team as we knew it have changed, I look to a leader like Mahomes to carry the Chiefs and I’m hoping he does just that on Sunday.