Week 14 Chargers Fantasy Preview
Hopefully, you were not dependent on Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers offense to get you into your fantasy playoffs. And hopefully, you are in the playoffs and haven’t given up hope. In Week 14 the Atlanta Falcons will visit the Chargers. The over/under is 49.5 and the Falcons are a 2.5-point favorite.
FANTASY RELEVANCE
Let’s make this easy, you are going to get up, shake this off and again depend on the studs on the seventh-best offense in the league.
QUARTERBACK, JUSTIN HERBERT
Yes, last week was a big ole dud for those depending on Herbert. It was the first time in 11 starts that Herbert did not throw a touchdown pass. He was stifled by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots defense to the tune of 209 passing yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and three sacks. It was bad.
But now he will face the Falcons defense who rank 25th against the pass and are giving up the eighth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position.
WIDE RECEIVER, KEENAN ALLEN
Can we just throw out last week’s results? Allen is tied for the league lead with 90 receptions. He leads the league in targets with 133 and he is ninth in red-zone targets with 13. He is averaging 7.5 receptions per game and has a touchdown pass in five of his last six games.
And the Falcons are giving up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to the wide receiver position.
WIDE RECEIVER, MIKE WILLIAMS
Nine targets, four receptions, and 43 yards were the stats for Williams last week. Williams is a boom-or-bust candidate in any game, which is only amplified in a game that the Chargers do not score at all.
While Williams is 43rd in the league in targets, he is 11th in deep targets. He is 12th in air yards (1048) and eighth in average target distance (15.9). This bodes well against the Falcons, who gave up a touchdown to burner Tre’Quan Smith last week.
TIGHT END, HUNTER HENRY
Will it be enough to say that the Falcons are giving up the most fantasy football points per game to the tight end position? No, okay.
Henry is fifth in snap share (87.2%), third in routes (401), and fifth in targets (77). He is fourth in receptions (49), sixth in receptions yards (507), and fourth in yards after catch (186). While he is lagging behind in touchdowns (3), there should be more than enough opportunity playing against the team who just surrendered a touchdown to Jared Cook via Taysom Hill.
RUNNING BACK, AUSTIN EKELER
I don’t know who needs to hear this but Ekeler is elite. He is averaging 98.2 scrimmage yards per game. In the massacre that was last week, he still managed a team-leading 68 yards from scrimmage.
Ekeler is involved in both the passing game and the run game so if you are in a PPR league, he is better than gold. Even though his season was truncated due to injury he still has 71 carries and 42 targets. He is on the field for a 61-percent snap share and has a 17.8-percent target share.
The Falcons are 12th against the run and are giving up the fifth-least amount of fantasy points to the running back position. But again, Ekeler is making good time on the field running routes in the passing game.
Good luck everyone in Week 14…may the fantasy force be with you!