FF Upgrades/Downgrades after Week 14

Below is a list of player upgrades/downgrades in fantasy football value following Week 14 of the NFL season (excluding Monday night's NO-ATL game).

UPGRADES

Wide Receivers

Jabar Gaffney, NE – Gaffney scored for the third straight game in Sunday’s victory over Pittsburgh and finished with seven receptions for a season-high 122 yards. Gaffney has been a much bigger part of the offense recently even replacing Donte Stallworth in some of the team’s three-receiver formations (Gaffney had 42 offensive snaps to Stallworth’s 32 on Sunday). The sixth-year veteran caught the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of last week’s win at Baltimore and recorded six catches for 87 yards with a score in a three-point victory over Philadelphia two games ago. Gaffney has good size and hands and runs well after the catch and with Tom Brady apparently having a lot of confidence in him, there is a lot to like about the University of Florida product. New England does not seem to have any intention on running the ball so Brady and company will continue to air it out, which makes any prominent wide receiver on the team a legitimate option in fantasy football.

Nate Burleson, SEA – Did you know that Burleson has three touchdowns in the last four games and has scored six times overall this season? Surprisingly, Burleson is having a good season especially when given the opportunity to play because of injuries to the team’s other wide receivers. Burleson, who posted five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s win over Arizona, is seeing more snaps because starter D.J. Hackett (ankle) is not healthy enough to play. The fifth-year wide receiver also provides a fantasy boost on kickoffs and punts, scoring a touchdown on both types of returns this season. Seattle has decided to pull a New England, throwing the ball on virtually every down, and with Hackett not expected to play until possibly the last game, look for Burleson to be productive.

Shaun McDonald, DET – McDonald was already having a solid season and then Roy Williams suffered a knee injury last week to open the door even more for the fifth-year wideout. In Sunday’s loss to Dallas, McDonald finished with eight receptions for 96 yards and was targeted 12 times by Jon Kitna. McDonald does not score a lot, but if you play in PPR league, he is an extremely valuable wide receiver with 67 grabs on the season. The elusive McDonald is not another Derrick Mason type that only catches short passes in bunches - he has the ability to make plays down the field with quickness and above average speed. In fact, McDonald has 11 receptions of 20+ yards this season which is tied with Williams for the team lead and three more than highly-regarded rookie Calvin Johnson. Detroit’s offensive coordinator Mike Martz is so unpredictable with his play calling that Kitna is likely to air it out 50 times on any given Sunday. Because of Martz’ propensity to call pass plays and more snaps with the Williams’ injury, expect McDonald to be very effective over the final three games.

DOWNGRADES

Running Backs

Laurence Maroney, NE – Maroney is probably one of the 15 most talented running backs in the league, but he is below average from a fantasy perspective. In Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh, Maroney was once again ineffective, rushing for just 18 yards on eight carries. It’s not all Maroney’s fault as he does not get the ball enough in most games. However, Maroney has not been able to rip off any big runs when given the opportunity with a long rush of just 19 yards (126 carries for the season). The second-year back also provides very little as a touchdown scorer or receiver with just two touchdowns and four catches all season. Chances are you’ve already given up on Maroney for this season, but in case you were holding on to some sort of hope - don’t bother because in many ways he is not the special player we thought he was.

Julius Jones, DAL – Jones rushed for just 29 yards on eight carries in Sunday’s comeback win at Detroit and has not been a factor in the running game in three of the last four games. Jones has always been lousy at scoring touchdowns, especially since Marion Barber has been with the team, but up until earlier in the season Jones used to get just as many carries as Barber and have his fair share of solid yardage games. That has not been the case over the last four games as Barber has received 18 more carries than Jones and run for 121 more yards. Jones has rushed for 50+ yards just five times this season and does not give fantasy owners much as a receiver with a mere 20 receptions through 13 games. Jones is still technically the starter of the team, but Barber is clearly the go-to guy in the running game. If you haven’t already, downgrade Jones and consider him just a backup at this point.

Wide Receivers

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, CIN – Housmandzadeh was a beast through the first eight games of the season with 10 touchdowns, but he’s reached the end zone only once since then and is scoreless over the last three weeks. Houshmandzadeh is also not doing much in terms of receiving yards without a 100-yard game since Week 6. Perhaps the return of talented third receiver Chris Henry has been a factor in Housh’s demise? The more likely explanation, however, is the unsteady play of Carson Palmer and the team’s desire to establish Rudi Johnson and the running game. Palmer has not thrown a touchdown over the last two weeks while Johnson has scored in each of the last three games and has 63 carries over that span. With the emphasis on the running game and Palmer’s inconsistency, Houshmandzadeh goes from a great fantasy receiver to just a good one.