Starts & Fades 14.24

This article is intended to highlight some players who may have a positive or negative weekly outlook relative to their baseline value. 

“Starts” are players who might generally be on fantasy benches but might have a terrific perceived matchup or game script/environment, or the potential for an expanded role due to past performance or injuries to teammates or opponents. 

“Fades” are players who were likely drafted as fantasy starters or have performed as automatic starters lately but face a particularly tough week due to a poor matchup or a lack of short-term role clarity due to an injury, etc. 

Here are a few of my notable starts and fades for Week 14 of the 2024 NFL season, with some notes on my thought process included:

QB

Start: Will Levis, TEN (vs. JAX)

• Levis threw a pair of TD passes to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine last week and now has multiple TD passes in three of his last four starts after missing a few games in the middle of the fantasy season with a shoulder injury. He’s built a nice rapport with a talented group of playmakers this year, including Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, and NWI.
• Tennessee hosts the Jags and their league-worst defense this week in a game with the lowest implied point total (39.5). Normally, a mistake-prone QB in a low-total game isn’t the best place to look for a QB spot start, but we’re missing Bo Nix, Anthony Richardson, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Lamar Jackson, and C.J. Stroud from our fantasy lineups during this brutal week of byes.
• Levis and the Titans’ offense have been playing well and now get the benefit of the literal best defensive matchup on a week we’re replacing as many as half of the usual starting QBs in 12-team, single-QB leagues. I like him as a back-end starter in those formats this week.

Fade:  Brock Purdy, SF (vs. CHI)