Every year, half of your Fantasy Football league essentially stops filling out lineups after Week 13 because they didn’t secure a spot in the Fantasy postseason. Then, just one week later, two more owners are bounced, leaving just one-third of a 12-team league left filling out Week 15 lineups. And in Week 16, just two teams care about their lineups, outside of those playing Daily Fantasy Football.
Finally, very few Fantasy Football owners are still playing in Week 17, and many NFL players don’t even get to play a full game anyway.
My point to all of this is – any player that breaks out in Weeks 14-17 could possibly not get as much love as those that have great games between Weeks 10-13, when teams are battling for playoff spots.
That’s what this article is all about – who got hot late?
7 Players Who Got Hot Late in 2014
These guys played especially well in the final four weeks of the NFL regular season, which could portend to good value come draft season this coming summer.
Eli Manning, QB, N.Y. Giants: The only two quarterbacks with more Fantasy points than Manning from Weeks 14-17 were Tony Romo and Russell Wilson. Manning led all passers in that span with 1,330 passing yards, and he had the second-most touchdown passes (eight) behind Romo (12). The emergence of Odell Beckham Jr. resurrected Manning’s Fantasy value, and now, let’s work in the return of Victor Cruz from a knee injury and Eli is a top-10 Fantasy QB for 2015.
Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati: After a quiet game against the Steelers in Week 14, Hill finished the season as the highest scoring running back from Weeks 15-17, with 395 rushing yards (5.6 YPC) and three touchdowns. This was with a healthy Giovani Bernard on the roster, also, and there’s no reason to expect an offseason swap in value. Personally, I love Bernard’s quickness, but the Bengals love dropping the hammer with the 238-lb. Hill.
Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland: Murray is a perfect example of a late-season player to keep an eye on, as he had just 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns during the Fantasy regular season. While he didn’t eclipse 100 rushing yards in his four games after that, he did play relatively well on a very bad offense. If Derek Carr continues to develop, and the Raiders bring in offensive line help or a stud receiver like Amari Cooper out of Alabama, life gets better for Murray. He’s a big play waiting to happen.
Eric Decker, WR, N.Y. Jets: The former Broncos receiver posted his two best games of the year after Week 13, including a 221-yard effort in Week 17 against the Dolphins. He was wildly inconsistent in his Big Apple debut season, but most of that can be attributed to the ineptitude of the Jets offense around him. The new regime will revamp this offense, and Decker has a great chance for a bigger second season. I’ve always been a fan of wide receivers in their second season with teams after signing as free agents. (See Mike Wallace.)
Michael Floyd, WR, Arizona: This one’s tough to swallow since Floyd was such a major disappointment all season. In his last game of the year, he caught eight passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns against the Niners. From Weeks 1-16, he ranked as the 47th wide receiver in Fantasy, but he moves up to the 32nd WR spot when you include his big Week 17. What happens at quarterback in Arizona, along with Larry Fitzgerald’s contract, will make a big difference in our 2015 outlook on Floyd.
Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City: For the entire season, Kelce finished seventh in Fantasy scoring for tight ends, but he really heated up late. Kelce ranked 14th in targets this season, sharing snaps with Anthony Fasano, but only five tight ends had more than his 67 catches. He’ll likely replace an aging veteran like Antonio Gates in the top five for 2015. Interestingly, Gates is the only tight end that scored more Fantasy points from Weeks 14-17than Kelce, who led the position with 284 yards.
Luke Willson, TE, Seattle: The sophomore tight end caught just six passes in those final four weeks, but he still finished as the eighth-best Fantasy tight end in that span. He also caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s playoff win against Carolina. He’s big (6-foot-5) and fast (4.51 speed), and if the Seahawks don’t bring in a star wide receiver, he should become a much bigger chunk of this offense. This could be the 2015 version of Kelce.
Are there any late-season Fantasy heroes you think I might have missed? Tweet me@DavidGonosand let me know!