Blue Rated Wideouts Week 14 2022

The volatile scoring nature of the wide receiver position may cause more start-sit headaches for fantasy managers than any other position, but when things go well wide receivers can post point totals capable of winning fantasy games.

How does one know which wide receivers are capable of posting those game-winning point totals? My player grading system (a full version of which can be found at TheFootballScientist.com) aims to identify these players via an overall/upside/downside approach. A player's overall grade measures his likely performance, the downside the grade indicates how a player is apt to fare if things go poorly for him that week, and the upside grade measures the scoring ceiling of a player if things go well in a given contest.

This grading system also uses five color-coded categories: blue (indicating someone who can post elite point totals), green (a strong starter), yellow (a solid backup or a potential starter in bye weeks or deep leagues), orange (a desperation play), and red (someone who should not be started).

This means fantasy managers who are looking for big scoring potential at wide receiver should aim for someone who has a blue-rated upside grade (which is 90-100 in my system). This weekly article series will identify all the blue-rated upside wideouts in a given week and then provide details on a few of the unexpected candidates on this board. It will also detail the strength of the matchup each of these receivers is facing via a matchup points total of 1-100, with 100 being most favorable.

Week 14 wide receivers with blue-rated upside

 

Amari Cooper, Cleveland

Cooper has posted fewer than 10 PPR points in two of the past four weeks, including only 8.0 points last week against a subpar Houston defense, so some fantasy managers may be wondering if he should be placed into lineups against Cincinnati. The answer to that question is an emphatic yes, as Cooper may spend ample time facing Bengals rookie cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt in coverage. Since Week 10, Taylor-Britt has allowed 9.6 yards per target on a club high 18 targets, both of which indicate he is a primary attack point for opposing offenses.

Zay Jones, Jacksonville

Christian Kirk, Jacksonville

Kirk is something of a no-brainer pick here, as the Titans secondary is a definite weak link and Kirk just tallied 16.4 PPR points last week. Jones is more of a question mark after posting only 3.6 points last week despite a favorable matchup, but don't forget to take into account that he was dealing with a chest injury that caused him to drop three passes in that game. Jones had dropped only one pass this season prior to that contest and should be better prepared to deal with pain, so consider him a very good flex candidate with upside.

Jaylen Waddle, Miami

Waddle posted a season low 1.9 points last week, but that was due to facing a brutally tough 49ers secondary and dealing with a fibula injury. Waddle was not listed on the injury report for Week 14 and gets banged up Chargers secondary that grants him a perfect 100 matchup points total, so forget the dud against San Francisco and be sure to put Waddle into all lineups.