So today, December 7, is Jack Posnack’s 18th birthday.
For those of you who have been reading me for a while, you may remember me writing about the guy everyone calls “Jack Attack” three and a half years ago.
I wrote about him just before the start of the “Covid-19” season in the NFL and while that Love/Hate article is clearly dated in a few places, after re-reading it this week, I think it holds up. And in the years since the original written story came out, I have remained close with Jack and his family. I think his is an incredible story and while I am often hyper-critical about my own writing, I do really like how the story came out.
So, with all that in mind, in honor of Jack’s birthday today, I wanted to re-run his story and then, whether you have read this before or it’s your first time meeting Jack, I wanted to update you on his life since this story ran. There’s some really cool stuff to share. If you like or even tolerate my writing, I know you’ll really enjoy this one.
So without further ado, here’s the story of Jack Posnack. This article first ran on ESPN on September 3, 2020.
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You should know right off the bat there is nothing particularly unique or interesting about The Jack Attack Fantasy Football League based in New City, New York.
It’s a ho-hum, right-down-the-middle, standard 10-team ESPN league. They use PPR scoring, they play a typical one-QB lineup, and it comprises a bunch of friends from the area. As basic and normal a league as there is.
And that’s exactly what league member Jack Posnack loves about it.
Because, you see, Jack is anything but basic and normal.
For starters, he shouldn’t even be alive.
Jack was born with familial dysautonomia, and his parents were told he had a life expectancy of three to five years. And that those three to five years were going to be HARD.
The National Institute of Health website describes familial dysautonomia (FD) as “a genetic disorder that affects the development and survival of certain nerve cells. The disorder disturbs cells in the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions such as digestion, breathing, production of tears, and the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature.”
In other words, all the normal bodily functions we take for granted? They actually go haywire in people with FD.
Jack can’t swallow. He can’t suck on a straw. Because his sensory nervous system is so compromised, he can’t sense heat, cold or even pain, which is dangerous for a young child because a parent can’t tell if the child is hurt if the child doesn’t know.
Jack can be fed only via a tube, through his stomach, every three hours.
After he is fed, because of a multitude of issues with his digestive system, he goes through what is known as “FD crisis,” and gets sweaty and starts retching and convulsing.
Every single time.
He cannot be in direct sunlight, and if his body temperature gets too high, he cannot perspire to cool it down, which can also put him into an FD crisis. In fact, because Jack’s blood pressure and internal body temperature are so out of whack, he has to be put in a stand-up freezer to cool down his body enough to get him back to “normal.”
Any one of these details about Jack is completely impossible to fathom, and yet, all of them are true and make up his everyday existence.
He has trouble breathing, so he needs to sleep with oxygen every night.
His nerve endings never finished growing, so he has nerve damage in the back of his eye that is incurable. And because his eyes can’t produce tears or any kind of secretion, he needs eye drops every one to two hours, otherwise he risks getting corneal abrasions. As it is, his eyesight gets worse every year and he is at risk of going blind.
He needs 24/7 nursing care, his growth has been stunted, and he has way too many additional respiratory, cardiovascular, orthopedic and digestive issues to list.
As you can imagine for someone with such a compromised immune system, COVID-19 is incredibly dangerous for him. As a result, he is quarantined by himself in his family’s pool house, with only his mother and nurses allowed to see him. This poor kid can’t even see his brothers and sister.
It’s an awful, unbelievably heartbreaking disease, and if you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of FD, it’s because, in the entire world, there are only 350 people alive known to have it.
There is no known cure, so all Jack’s mother, Robin, can do is try to manage his symptoms.
As a widowed mother of four.
That’s right. As if Jack didn’t have it tough, his father died suddenly at age 47, when Jack was 8.
And yet through it all, through all the medical issues and daily struggles, through the loneliness of having a rare disease and through having to attend his father’s funeral at a young age, Jack has persevered.
That Jack turned 14 on Dec. 7 last year is nothing short of a miracle. He, along with his mother, his older brother, Cody, his younger twin siblings, Hunter and Charlotte, and his healthcare staff, deserve incredible praise. But Jack has done much more than survive.
He has thrived.
He has not let his limitations deter him from doing many things other teenage boys do. He goes to school when he can. He had a bar mitzvah. Balance can sometimes be a challenge for him and he tires quickly, but to the extent he can, Jack plays sports, playing on his younger brother’s basketball and flag football teams. He watches his beloved New York Giants football team. He does everything and anything he can, going at it with gusto.
Referred to as “Jack Attack” by those lucky enough to know him, he always has a megawatt smile on his face. Upbeat and full of life, he has an infectious spirit and a personality that quickly turns strangers into friends. Be it in person, or online playing video games. He loves video games.
Jack’s a PS4 guy with Madden and NBA2K and his current favorite, Fortnite, in heavy rotation. As Robin notes, “So many people think video games are harmful, but for us they’ve been a blessing. In Fortnite, Jack is like every other kid, with a powerful avatar that can run, jump and fight.” It’s the basis for his online gaming fan base, www.JackAttackLTPF.com , where LTPF stands for Level The Playing Field.
And it’s through video games that Jack became close friends with Jordan Jacobs. Jordan is the son of Howie Jacobs, who, through our mutual friend Glenn Colton, was the one to tell me about Jack Attack. Howie and his wife, Hillary, along with Jordan and their daughter, Taylor, have all become close with the Posnacks.
As Jordan wrote to me, “During my visits, we would talk for hours at a time. I gained a better understanding of his health situation and his perspective on his own life. Jack just wanted to be able to do the same things that kids his age typically do. I promised myself I would try to help him accomplish this goal. And Jack often talked about playing fantasy football.”
Now, Jordan plays in many leagues, including one with his father, a long-time fantasy fanatic who also plays in multiple leagues.
But Jack had never played before.
So Jordan started making calls, to his own friends and to Jack’s friends, and soon they had enough for a league. Jordan took $100 out of his own savings account to put up as prize money, and last August, they gathered for the first draft of the Jack Attack Fantasy Football League.
As I told you already ... there was nothing unique about it. Ten kids sitting around a table in August, cheat sheets in front of them, drafting players for a standard ESPN league with PPR scoring. Just a normal, typical league.
Which is precisely what Jack loved about it.
The league would gather on Sundays at a local restaurant to watch the games or sometimes go to Jack’s house. There were moves and trades and Jack was just another player, sweating his weekly flex spot just like the rest of us.
Exactly like the rest of us.
And throughout it all, you could see Jack’s famous smile from miles away.
The brilliance of fantasy football is that it doesn’t care. It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, man or woman, young or old. Grandma or rock star, CEO or kid in the mailroom, 30-year veteran or nervous first-timer, perfect physical specimen or kid with an obscure disease. It doesn’t care as you alternate between highs and lows with every goal-line vulture, with every touchdown called back by penalty, with every big run, pass and catch. Fantasy football levels the playing field for every single one of us.
And this year, Zoomed from his pool house, fantasy football will once again be a way back for Jack to his friends. And I believe, in what has been the toughest year in memory for so many, fantasy football is a way back for all of us.
So as we embark on another incredible season of fantasy football, I smile knowing we will soon all be sitting in a draft room, nervously hoping someone doesn’t swipe our sleeper. Soon after that we’ll be scouring the waiver wire, firing off trade offers and watching Monday Night Football, hoping our guy bails us out for a W.
And yet, as awesome as all that sounds, this is sure to be the most surreal season we have ever played. And so, somewhere along this journey we’re about to set out on, there will be things we’ve never had to deal with before. And there will still be players who don’t pan out and bad calls that will take points off your board, and there’s no doubt there will be, in hindsight, some bad advice from that guy you read on ESPN every Thursday.
And when that happens this year, I’d like you to take a moment to think of my friend Jack Attack, who realizes the real joy is in just getting to play the game at all.
Let’s get to it.
*****
Okay, back to present day now with me. After the story was published, Jack’s story resonated with a number of people. Including the folks at SportsCenter, who, a year later, decided to do a feature abut Jack. You can watch it here and I promise you it’s a very worthwhile five-minute watch.
One thing that I couldn’t figure out how to get into the original story was what Jack’s mother told me about Jason Garrett. Coach Garrett, of course, is now my friend and colleague at NBC, but when I wrote this I had just met him once. Well, Jason actually went to college with Jack’s father and they were close friends. Robin (Jack’s mother) tells me that Jason and his wife Brill have been incredibly supportive, visiting Jack often, bringing him out to training camps and games over the years and always being there, quietly, without fanfare, whenever they have needed something. The first time I met Jason at NBC, he brought up Jack to me. It was really awesome and after getting to know Jason a bit over the last year and a half, it’s not surprising AT ALL. That’s just who he (and his wife) are.
The Jack Attack Fantasy Football League is still going strong and last year, during the 2022 football season, Jack not only won it all, he went undefeated! Just a magical year where everyone of his players crushed. When I told my friends at Trophy Smack about Jack’s win, they couldn’t send over a trophy fast enough. How great is this?
Jack has also continued his mission to try to “level the playing field” through video games. In fact, Jack’s organization, JackAttackLTPF.com, continues with its mission to connect the disabled community and give kids the opportunity to make friends “virtually” and have the chance to win a gaming system. The organization is even giving away a new gaming system to a child who is disabled during a virtual New Year’s Eve party. Details about the organization, instructions on how to virtually attend the party and enter to win the system are available at his website. And if you’d like to follow Jack on Instagram, you can do so @JackAttackLTPF.
Which brings us, meandering slowly, into this week’s Love/Hate. Thanks, as always, to my producer Damian Dabrowski for his help at various points in this column and shout-out to the free utilization data I used from FantasyLife.com.
Here we go:
Quarterbacks I Love in Week 14
Dak Prescott vs. Philadelphia
Dak Prescott is averaging an insane 27.9 PPG over his last seven games. Maybe even more impressive: Prescott is currently one of just three starting quarterbacks in all of North America that is not currently injured. It’s true! I looked it up. And I bet all three of those quarterbacks – and most of the injured ones, too – could put up numbers on this Eagles pass defense. Philadelphia has allowed 300-plus passing yards in four of its past five games and four of the past five quarterbacks to face the Eagles have gone for a very Prescott-esque 28 or more fantasy points. Also, since Week 8, the Eagles are allowing touchdown passes at the second-highest rate. That includes their Week 9 matchup against the Cowboys in Philadelphia when Dak went 29-of-44 for 274 yards, three scores and no interceptions (28.4 fantasy points). Dak is easily the QB1 overall in Week 14.
Justin Fields vs. Detroit
I’m not going to sit here and tell the Chicago Bears that Justin Fields should be their starting quarterback for years into the future. I don’t have strong opinions on trivial things like that. I care about important stuff, like who should be in starting fantasy lineups in Week 14 of this season. And that’s Justin Fields. In Fields’ three games against the Lions dating back to last season, he has 100-plus rushing yards in each. Also, in his two games since returning from injury, Fields has 30 rushing attempts with 73% of those attempts coming on designed runs. That’s huge for his fantasy production, considering that in Fields’ 14 career games with 10-plus rushing attempts, he’s averaging 21.7 PPG. Add to it that, over the past four weeks, Detroit is allowing the second-most PPG to quarterbacks, and Justin Fields is a Top 6 quarterback for me this week.
Tua Tagovailoa vs. Tennessee
The Dolphins did a fun touchdown celebration last week in which they pretended they were all riding a roller coaster. I don’t know what celebration routines are in store for this week, but I hope Miami is working extra on them in practice because they will need a lot. The Dolphins have the highest implied team total in Week 14. A big reason for that? Over the past four weeks, Tennessee ranks as a bottom-10 pass defense. The Titans have also allowed 18-plus points to three of the past four quarterbacks they’ve faced. And this game even gives us a dose of Home Tua. Remember: Tagovailoa is averaging 21.4 PPG at home this season with multiple touchdown passes in every game. Prepare to celebrate early and often if you have Tua as your fantasy quarterback this week. He’s my QB 7.
Others receiving votes: Over the past three weeks, Jordan Love is averaging 23.7 PPG (QB5). This week he faces a Giants team that, since Week 10, is 31st in pressure rate. Speaking of pressure, you should feel a lot of pressure to start Love in fantasy this week. Give in to it. … In Week 13, Jake Browning had the fourth-highest QBR. He also has 20-plus rushing yards in two of his past three games. He’s comfortable running Cincy’s fantasy-friendly offense and given the fact Indy is 25th in pressure rate, he should have a fairly clean pocket and time to throw. There are worse options out there for those of you streaming quarterbacks (or for those of you who run the New York Jets organization). … Over the past four weeks, the Raiders are allowing 290 passing yards per game, third-most in the league. Vegas also allows pass completions at the third-highest rate on the season. All that suggests a Josh Dobbs bounce-back game.
Quarterbacks I Hate in Week14
C.J. Stroud at New York Jets
It’s hard to find a lot of negative stats from C.J. Stroud’s rookie season, but here’s one that really stands out: In games in which Tank Dell has either missed or has played below 50% of the snaps, Stroud is averaging just 13.8 PPG. Not great! And now Stroud has no Dell for a game against that Jets defense. Even not greater! A reminder: Only three quarterbacks have thrown for 250-plus yards against the Jets this season and the Jets have allowed multiple TD passes only once in their last seven games. Factor in the Over/Under of just 33.5 in this game – the third-lowest on the Week 14 slate – and I have Stroud at QB12 this week, lower than I have had him in quite some time.
Baker Mayfield at Atlanta
Baker Mayfield has 30 or fewer pass attempts in four of his past five games, while the Falcons haven’t allowed a touchdown pass since Week 9. Tampa’s team total this week is slated around 18 points, and Mayfield averages 13.0 PPG this season when the Bucs score fewer than 20 points. Not much for Mayfield managers to hang their hats on there. Sure, there’s always a chance Mayfield just throws the ball up in the air a few times in the direction of the end zone and Mike Evans comes down with it and makes me look stupid. But I’m not too worried. I’ve been called much worse than “stupid.” I have Mayfield outside my Top 15 this week.
Running Backs I Love in Week 14
Kyren Williams at Baltimore
I am all-in on Kyren Williams this week. And I’m very optimistic about him long-term, too. Although I will admit that’s partly because if Kyren Williams becomes the Rams’ RB1 in 2024 and beyond, the fantasy team name potential is abundant. Superman’s Kyren-ite. Kyren Me Softly. You’ve Lost That Loving Kyren. It’s very exciting for a proud punsmith such as myself. But let’s get back to this week. Williams takes on a Ravens defense that allows 18.4 PPG to backs who see 15-plus touches against them – and Williams averages 19.5 on the season. Baltimore is quietly a bottom 12 run defense over the last month and last week Williams saw a 94% snap rate and 24 of 25 RB touches in his second game back from IR. There’s no Kyren in football, especially when Williams has scored at least one touchdown in six of his seven games this season in which he’s received 15-plus touches. So, if you leave Williams on your bench this week, I’d have to say: “You’re Kyren Me Smalls.” I have Williams as a Top 3 back in Week 14.
Zack Moss at Cincinnati
Last week, with Jonathan Taylor out, Zack Moss got literally 100% of Indianapolis’ running back carries. I did the math on this 11 times, and that’s the highest percentage of carries a running back can get. (Crunch the numbers yourself if you don’t believe me.) Moss also saw a 94% snap rate last week, and he is now averaging 23.6 touches this season in games in which he plays more than 70% of the snaps. I know, he did nothing with that usage last week, but I can’t resist that sort of usage against a Bengals defense that has allowed a rushing score to a back in four straight games and eight of their past nine. Also, over the past four weeks, Cincinnati ranks bottom-10 in YPC to backs. Give me Moss as a Top 6 RB in Week 14.
De’Von Achane vs. Tennessee
When you start getting older, you appreciate the small things more and more. Your child’s smile when they open a present. A sunset hitting rolling ocean waves just right. De’Von Achane playing a game healthy. It truly is a beautiful world. Achane has 21-plus fantasy points in all four games in which he has 10-plus touches this season. That’s crazy. He also has at least three red zone touches in every one of those games and, in three of them, he’s seen a target share of at least 14%. I will cherish Achane this week, especially against a Tennessee defense that, since Week 5, is a bottom-10 rush defense. He’s a Top 7 back for me.
Other receiving votes: New Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is letting James, er, cook. In Brady’s two games running the offense, James Cook is averaging 21 touches along with a 14% target share. Cook also has 100-plus scrimmage yards in both of those games and is averaging 17.6 PPG. Cook has a good matchup this week against the Chiefs, too. Over the past four weeks, Kansas City is allowing 5.3 YPC to backs (third-highest). … Since Week 8, the Saints are allowing a league-high 163 rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, Chuba Hubbard has back-to-back games with 19 touches. Hubbard averages 14.0 PPG when seeing 15-plus touches. … In Baltimore’s last game, Keaton Mitchell actually out-snapped Gus Edwards, 32-18, and saw a season-high snap rate (46%). More touches should lead to a lot more yards, as Mitchell has been hugely efficient in his young career. So far this season, 24% of his rushes have gone for 10-plus yards and he is averaging 9.7 yards per touch.
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Running Backs I Hate in Week 14
D’Andre Swift vs. Dallas
Tough week for Georgia fans. First, they lose to Alabama in the SEC championship. Next, despite having only one loss, by three points on a neutral field (a “much better loss” than other one-loss teams), they get left out of the College Football Playoff. And now 2019 University of Georgia alumnus D’Andre Swift makes the “Hate List.” Hard to say which of the three will be the toughest pill to swallow for the Bulldog faithful. On one hand, a truly dominant 29 game win streak over multiple years came to an end in a close, heartbreaking loss to a bitter rival, dashing national championship hopes for a team, talent wise, is clearly one of the four best in the country. On the other hand, one guy who last went there in 2019 is outside my top 20 running backs. Really tough to say which makes Georgia fans more upset. Something else that’s tough? The Cowboys’ run defense. Dallas has allowed only three running backs to go over 80 scrimmage yards this year and they give up just 3.7 yards per carry. Swift isn’t being used in the passing game lately, playing on just 42% of snaps last week, while Kenneth Gainwell led the backfield in snaps and played on passing downs. Swift also left the game early last week with an injury. As a guy with a kid at Alabama and needing Swift this week in an important matchup I know what I’m most upset about. That’s he’s potentially banged up, not involved in passing work and facing a tough defense as a road underdog meaning I am forced to have D’Andre Swift outside my Top 20.
Najee Harris vs. New England
I know, hating on someone who is a major part of a Mitch Trubisky-led offense? Have I gone MAD?! But hear me out, okay? Over the past four weeks, the Patriots are allowing the fewest fantasy PPG to backs. Over the same stretch, New England is allowing a league-low 2.7 YPC to backs. Those are major reasons why, since Week 6, only one back has scored even 15 fantasy points against New England. Add to that that, as of this writing, Harris has yet to practice this week and if he goes, he’s likely less than 100%? Yeah, Harris is just RB 27 in Week 14.
Devin Singletary at New York Jets
Nicknamed “Motor” Singletary, I wonder if a more appropriate nickname is just “Single.” As in, he has one single game this year with more than one touch inside the 5-yard line (Week 12). As in, last week, he didn’t get a single carry inside the 5-yard line as Dameon Pierce got all three snaps in close. As in, Devin is averaging just barely more than single digit touches per game since Dameon Pierce came back (10.5). With under 40 rushing yards in both games since Pierce came back and a snap rate that dropped from 81% in Week 12 to 44% in Week 13, he’s well below the single digit ranks this week, all the way down to RB 37 for me.
Alexander Mattison at Las Vegas
Alexander Mattison has handled below 60% of Minnesota’s team rushes in six straight games and, since Week 4, he only has one game with a double-digit target share. So not involved in a big way in the passing game, a decreased role in the run game … and this week a less-than-stellar matchup. Doesn’t seem like a great combination to me! Over the past four weeks, the Raiders rank Top 5 in YPC allowed to backs (3.4). Mattison is easily outside of my Top 35 running backs this week.
Pass Catchers I Love in Week 14
Mike Evans at Atlanta
While I don’t love Baker Mayfield against the Falcons, I do love the idea of Baker Mayfield chucking it deep to Mike Evans a few times against the Falcons. Get this: Atlanta is tied for the second-most touchdowns allowed on deep passes this season. And, back when these teams met previously in Week 7, Evans put up a 6-82-1 line on eight targets. He’s only continued the strong play since. Over the past four weeks, Evans has a 33% target share and is averaging 10.8 targets per game. He also has a 16.2 aDOT over that stretch with at least four deep targets in every game. Evans is an easy Top 10 receiver in Week 14.
DJ Moore vs. Detroit
In Justin Fields’ two games since returning from injury, he has run the ball 30 times and has thrown the ball to DJ Moore on 40% of his passes. He’s basically a pitcher with just two pitches. But they’re both very good pitches. I mean, Moore is averaging 22-plus fantasy points in each of his last four full games with Fields at quarterback. The duo should keep things rolling this week against a Lions defense that, over the past four weeks, is allowing the fourth-most fantasy PPG to wide receivers. Moore’s target share should go a long way against Detroit, considering that wide receivers who see seven-plus targets against the Lions average 17.0 PPG. Moore is my WR 13 this week.
Chris Olave vs. Carolina
Chris Olave now has four games in a row in which he’s averaged more than two fantasy points per target. He also doesn’t see any sort of downgrade with Derek Carr out and Jameis Winston in. Olave gets a 37% target share from Winston this season and 53% of those targets have come on deep passes. That’s bad news for Carolina, which ranks bottom-eight on completion rate allowed on deep passes. Give me Olave as a Top 14 wide receiver this week.
Jake Ferguson vs. Philadelphia
Jake Ferguson hurdled a defender in his big 6-77-1 game against the Seahawks last Thursday night and described the move this way after the game: “I can kind of see it in their eyes they’re going low. I know I’m a big biscuit, so sometimes I just kind of get airborne.” Interesting. When I have a big biscuit, I usually like to get low and lay on the couch for a while. Maybe even take a nap. But hey, different strokes for different folks. What I think we can all agree on is that Ferguson is an easy Top 5 tight end this week. He has scored in four of his past six games and his 20 red zone targets are six more than anyone else at the position. Ferguson got a season-high 10 targets in his big biscuit game, and TEs who see even five-plus targets against the Eagles this season are averaging 16.5 PPG.
Others receiving votes: Travis Kelce doesn’t lead the Chiefs in red zone targets this season. No, Rashee Rice does. Rice also has back-to-back games with a target share of 30% or more and eight receptions in both of those games. This week he faces a Buffalo team that, since losing Tre’Davious White to injury, is allowing the second-highest catch rate to wide receivers. … Let’s stick for a minute with Chiefs-Bills, which has the second-highest game total of the week. Over the past four weeks, Kansas City ranks bottom-10 in fantasy PPG allowed to wide receivers while Gabe Davis last week saw season highs in end zone targets and deep targets. … Teams facing San Francisco average the third-most wide receiver targets per game and Jaxon Smith-Njigba enters this week off of a game in which he saw a team-high 11 targets (29% target share). The rookie’s production has continued to increase after a slow start. Since Seattle’s Week 5 bye, Smith-Njigba is averaging 50 yards per game and 10.7 PPG. … If Joe Flacco starts again, you need to get you some Elijah Moore. Yes, that’s a sentence I really just wrote in December of 2023. I can’t believe it either. In Moore’s first game with Flacco under center, Moore saw 12 targets and a team-high 29% target share. Moore now has nine-plus targets in 50% of his career games with Flacco under center, dating back to their time together on the Jets. There’s also a chance Amari Cooper misses this week, as he’s currently in the concussion protocol. This week the fearsome Flacco-Moore duo faces a Jacksonville team that, over its past three games, is allowing 200 yards per game to wide receivers. … If Christian Watson is out for the Packers against the Giants, give some consideration to putting Dontayvion Wicks in your lineups. Over the past four weeks, the Giants are allowing the most fantasy PPG to wide receivers. As for Wicks, he has five straight games with a double-digit target share and 40-plus receiving yards in four of those games. … Seven of the 11 tight ends who have seen four-plus targets versus the Rams this season have put up 10 or more fantasy points. Not to get all fancy on you but that’s what we in the biz like to call a “good matchup” for Isaiah Likely, who is averaging 12.3 PPG in his six career games with five-plus targets. (Likely had six targets and a 20% target share in Baltimore’s last game with Mark Andrews out.) … Denver allows the second-most yards and fantasy points to tight ends on the season. Gerald Everett has four receptions and 40-plus receiving yards in both of his games since returning from injury.
Pass Catchers I Hate in Week 14
Adam Thielen at New Orleans
You know there are some random times that I start to feel my age. Like when it’s late at night on a Wednesday and you are trying to think of something vaguely funny about Adam Thielen’s lack of production lately, just to pull a random example out of nowhere. Well, feeling your age might be something Mr. Thielen relates to. After scoring four touchdowns in his first six games, Thielen has zero scores in his last six games. With just 27 yards on nine targets the last two weeks, Thielen’s production has dropped in a way I wish my cholesterol would. Since Week 8, Thielen is just WR 48 on a points per game basis and now faces a Saints defense that, since Week 10, is allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to WRs. With the Panthers having one of the lowest implied team totals for Week 14 and Bryce Young looking for Jonathan Mingo more and more lately, I have Thielen just outside my top 30 this week.
Tee Higgins vs. Indianapolis
Jake Browning’s second start was a great success … for everyone on the Bengals not named Tee Higgins. In Higgins’ first game with Browning on Monday night, he had a career-low 8% target share. But the bad news doesn’t end there. Over the past two weeks, Browning ranks 32nd in percentage of passes thrown 15-plus yards downfield. So not exactly ideal for a deep threat like Higgins. The Colts, by the way, allow passing touchdowns at the sixth-lowest rate. Higgins is outside my Top 30 WRs this week.
Diontae Johnson vs. New England
Diontae Johnson now has four straight games with 50 or fewer yards and four or fewer receptions in each of those games (and a 44% catch rate ain’t helping). Then there’s the matchup problem here. Since Week 8, the Patriots have the No. 1 ranked scoring defense in the league and this game’s Over/Under of 30 points is the lowest of Week 14. Oh, and his QB is Mitch Trubisky on a short week. Yes, it’s looking bleak for Diontae Johnson. Don’t be surprised if he deletes all references to your fantasy team from his social media accounts.
