Matthew Freedman highlights his favorite tight ends to start in fantasy football in Week 14.

Well, it's here.

Week 14.

As Hamlet puts it: "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all."

I don't know what that means, but it sounds important.

The time is now. For most fantasy leagues, this is the final week of the regular season. For some fantasy managers, this is a commencement: The true beginning of the fantasy playoffs. Win and in. Lose and out.

For others, this is a conclusion: The end, no matter what.

And for a few borderline souls … a purgatory. At this point, your fate is out of your hands. You just have to wait and see what happens.

Regardless of your station entering this terminus, may the pigskin gods look upon you kindly.

No matter who you are, we all can use a little mercy.

Freedman's Favorites

As of Tuesday morning, here's an early look at my (preliminary) favorite Week 14 fantasy plays—the guys who (in some combination) …

  • Might be high in my fantasy rankings relative to the industry consensus.
  • Need to be started in most season-long leagues.
  • Must be added if they are on waivers.
  • Possess underappreciated upside.
  • Have advantageous matchups.
  • Should be considered in daily fantasy.
  • Make for desirable dynasty acquisition targets.
  • Are on teams with player-friendly betting odds.
  • Stand out in our Fantasy Life Player Prop Tool.

Some customary notes.

Updates: After I submit this piece, any changing opinions I have will be reflected in my rankings and my projections (accessible with a FantasyLife+ subscription), which I will update throughout the week.

Scoring & Ordering: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated. Players in separate sections are ordered within position roughly (but probably not precisely) according to my rankings.

Abbreviations: Check out the end of the piece for abbreviations I might use.

Bye Week: This week, the Ravens, Commanders, Texans, Broncos, Colts, and Patriots are on bye.

Sports Betting Data: Odds are as of 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 3, and based on the consensus lines in our Fantasy Life Odds Page.

Freedman's Favorites: Although we publish this piece as four separate articles broken out by position, I think of it as one cohesive whole and write it as such. With that in mind, please be sure to check out the rest of my favorite Week 14 fantasy football plays in the other positional previews.

Best TEs for Fantasy Football Week 14

Brock Bowers (Raiders) at Buccaneers

  • Raiders: +7
  • O/U: 46
  • TT: 19.5

No one knows what the future holds … but it's hard for me to imagine not automatically ranking Brock Bowers—aka "Big Block Brock"—as the No. 1 TE every week for the rest of the season.

It's hard to imagine this upcoming offseason not ranking Bowers as the No. 1 TE for fantasy drafts, regardless of format (dynasty, redraft, best ball, whatever).

And it's actually not at all hard to imagine Bowers going on to have one of the greatest TE careers of all time.

Despite being a rookie—and a TE—Bowers is No. 1 in the league with 84 receptions and No. 4 with 113 targets. That's not just among TEs. That's among all pass catchers.

Bowers has more receptions than WRs CeeDee Lamb (79), Ja'Marr Chase (79), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (76). He easily has more targets than WRs Justin Jefferson (100) and Tyreek Hill (83).

The eras are different, so the magnitude of what Mike Ditka did as a rookie in 1961 cannot be overstated, but Bowers—right now with 884 yards receiving—has a real shot over the next two games to best Ditka's first-year 14-game mark of 1,076 yards.

And it would be a downright shock if he didn't surpass Kyle Pitts' 17-game mark of 1,026 yards by the end of the season.

Real talk: Depending on how Bowers finishes, we might be witnessing the best rookie TE season ever.

In his nine games without former No. 1 WR Davante Adams ("hamstring," traded), Bowers has 66-687-4 receiving (and 3-11-0 rushing) with 92 targets.

And in his three games with interim OC Scott Turner, Bowers has 27-304-2 receiving on 40 targets with an unfathomable 9.8 Utilization Score.

The Buccaneers are No. 31 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (28.4%). What's worse—or better (for Bowers)—they're without starting SS Jordan Whitehead (pectoral, IR) and maybe backup S Mike Edwards (hamstring).

The Hot Route

Cade Otton (Buccaneers -7, TT: 26.5) vs. Raiders: Otton's production (5-50-0 receiving, 10 targets) has dropped off in his two games since No. 1 WR Mike Evans returned from injury, but his underlying usage (89% route rate, 16% target rate and share) is still acceptable. The Raiders are No. 2 in largest fantasy boost allowed to TEs (+4.5), and SS Marcus Epps (knee, IR) is out.

Grant Calcaterra (Eagles -12.5, TT: 29.25) vs. Panthers: No. 1 TE Dallas Goedert (knee, IR) is out, and No. 2 WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) hasn't played in a couple weeks. If Smith is out, then Calcaterra could legitimately be the No. 3 pass catcher in the Eagles offense. When Goedert exited Week 6 early and missed Weeks 7-9, Calcaterra had a respectable 88% route rate and 17% target share, which he transformed into 13-160-0 receiving. The Panthers are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to TEs (13.4).     

Tommy Tremble (Panthers +12.5, TT: 16.75) at Eagles: I noted Tremble last week—when he had a season-best performance with 5-77-0 receiving on 8 targets and a 94% route rate—and I'm returning to him again this week. Slot WR Jalen Coker (quadriceps) and TEs Ja'Tavion Sanders (neck) and Stephen Sullivan (knee) might all be out, and in their absence Tremble could see extra middle-of-the-field opportunities. As double-digit road dogs, the Panthers will almost certainly need to have a pass-heavy game script in an attempt to keep up with the Eagles.

Abbreviations

  • Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
  • Against the Spread (ATS)
  • Over/Under (O/U)
  • Team Total (TT)
  • Moneyline (ML)
  • Return on Investment (ROI)
  • Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
  • Expected Points Added (EPA)
  • Success Rate (SR)
  • Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
  • Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
  • AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)