FanDuel Fantasy Football Lineup Week 14: Smart Starts Include James White, Mike Evans

The fantasy football season is winding down, but there’s still plenty left to win on daily fantasy sites such as FanDuel.

Here’s our FanDuel lineup for Week 14, which begins Thursday night with an NFC showdown between the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings.

Quarterback: Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills ($7,500)
Taylor likely won’t throw for 300-plus yards, but his consistent ability to score touchdowns, whether it’s through the air or on the ground, has made him a top 10 fantasy quarterback this season. He threw three touchdown passes and ran for another one against a very good Houston Texans defense last week, giving him more than 20 points in leagues using standard scoring.

Taylor also has a favorable Week 14 matchup against a Philadelphia Eagles defense that ranks 24th in passing yards allowed per game and has given up the second-most touchdown passes.

Running Backs: James White, New England Patriots ($6,300); Shaun Draughn, San Francisco 49ers ($6,500)
White tallied a team-high 10 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ loss to the Eagles last week. He proved to be a reliable receiver out of the backfield, and those kinds of check-down passes could be coming his way in bunches on Sunday as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady tries to get rid of the ball quickly.

Draughn is the only player in the 49ers offense worth starting. He managed just 2.8 yards per carry against the Chicago Bears last week, but he did find the end zone. His matchup against a Cleveland Browns defense allowing the fifth-most yards per carry and the second-most rushing yards per game is too good for daily fantasy players to ignore.

Wide Receivers: Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints ($7,100); Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($8,100); Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars ($8,500)
Cooks has six touchdowns, and he is averaging at least six targets and more than 10 yards per reception over the last five games. He’s finally becoming the elite fantasy receiver everyone expected at the beginning of the season.

Robinson has been a fantasy star throughout the campaign with 11 touchdowns, three of which came in Week 13 when he also tallied 153 yards on 10 catches. He’s averaging just under 10 targets and one touchdown per game. That sort of consistency makes him a smart play on DFS.

Evans has a tremendous matchup versus a New Orleans Saints defense giving up the most yards per pass play (8.7) and a league-high 35 touchdown passes. In fact, no other defense has allowed more than 30.

Tight End: Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers ($6,600)
Olsen has received seven or more targets in five of the last six games with three touchdowns in that span. He’s also coming off a great Week 13 performance in which he caught nine passes for 129 yards in a win over the Saints. Olsen is Cam Newton’s No. 1 target and is guaranteed to be heavily involved each week.

Kicker: Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers ($4,700)
Boswell ranks third among kickers in FanDuel points per game with 10.5, and he’s a good value at just $4,700. The Steelers also might be kicking more field goals than usual against a stingy Cincinnati Bengals defense that doesn’t give up many touchdowns.

Defense: New York Giants ($4,600)
The Giants are playing against a Miami Dolphins offense that hasn’t scored more than 20 points in six straight games. Miami barely managed to beat an injury-ravaged Baltimore Ravens team 15-13 last week and totaled just 82 passing yards and 137 rushing yards. The Dolphins are a mess offensively, and New York’s pass rush should give Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill plenty of problems in Week 14.

Thumbnail photo via Jim O’Connor/USA TODAY Sports Images