Fantasy Football Quarterback Start/Sit Week 14: Should You Start C.J. Stroud, Russell Wilson, or Jordan Love?

Welcome to Week 14. C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy are top-7 fantasy quarterbacks on a points per game basis. Trevor Lawrence is closer to Mac Jones on a points per game basis than he is to Patrick Mahomes. And Sam Howell has been a better fantasy quarterback than Lawrence, Justin Fields, Jared Goff, and Russell Wilson on a points per game basis. Exactly how we all drew it up!

All that to say, we've got our work cut out for us as we try to figure out what to do with our start/sit decisions moving forward. You're obviously not benching any of those guys (more on that below), but there are plenty of other borderline fantasy starters we need to sift through. 

I'm going to use the list below to cover every quarterback start/sit situation for Week 13. The list is broken into tiers (which as pretty self-explanatory based on the names of them), and you can simply look at the list and make start/sit decisions -- because it's in order of preference! Think of it as my weekly quarterback rankings.

This week is a bit of a mess with all the byes, so let's see what we can figure out!

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No-Brainer Start 'Em

You drafted these guys as your starter. There's no reason to waffle on them based on matchups or anything like that. We don't even need to talk things through on any of these guys -- let's stop over-thinking things. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week: 

• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

  • Dak continues to be on a heater and gets a great matchup against a scuffling Eagles defense. 

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

  • Allen has quietly had an MVP-caliber season and will have to air the ball out against the Chiefs this week. 

• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

  • Mahomes has been off lately, but he should be able to get back on a track against the Bills.

• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

  • I don't love Hurts' matchup, but he should still be able to put up fantasy puts against the Cowboys. 

• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

  • The Rams defense is improved, but Lamar is coming off a bye week and is poised to put up a big fantasy score. 

• Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

  • Tua finally got back on track last week and should be able to rip up the Titans' defense. 

• Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

  • Brock Purdy is good? Maybe? I still can't decide, but I think he's a must-start at home against the Seahawks. 

• Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

  • Fields kind of scares me, to be honest, but the Lions aren't exactly scary either. He's still a must-start.

• Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

  • While the Broncos defense isn't as bad as they were earlier in the year, they're still not great. Herbert is still a weekly must-start in my book.

Still Start 'Em

These guys are a little more of a borderline decision, but they're worth starting this week. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week:  

• Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

  • Love has looked fantastic lately and is set up to be a QB1 against the Giants this week. 

• C.J. Stroud

  • We're getting into "think about it" territory here, but I still feel ok with Stroud against the Jets. 

• Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

  • Russ has had a solid season and has a great (on paper) matchup, but I still don't like him as much as anyone above him on this list. 

• Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

  • Goff against an iffy Bears defense? Sign me up. 

• Joshua Dobbs, Minnesota Vikings

  • Now that we know Dobbs is starting, we can lean into the great matchup against the Raiders. 

• Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts

  • The Bengals got torched last week. And while I don't think Minshew will do exactly that, I think he's going to be able to put up enough fantasy points to be a borderline QB1. 

Deep League Starts

These guys are basically "sits" in a 12-team league. But they're likely someone you should start in a superflex league or a 16-team league. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week:

• Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Baker hasn't been quite as good lately as he was earlier in the year. Bench him if you have another option. 

• Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

  • While Smith has been better lately, I'm avoiding him on the road against the 49ers. 

• Jake Browning,Cincinnati Bengals

  • Browning looked good against the Jaguars and should be able to utilize the Bengals' weapons against the Colts. 

• Jake Browning,Cincinnati Bengals

  • Browning looked good against the Jaguars and should be able to utilize the Bengals' weapons against the Colts. 

• Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints

  • Jameis could put up 30 fantasy points. Or he could put up 4. Buyer beware. 

• Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

  • Flacco somehow looked decent last week and gets a Jags defense that made Jake Browning look good. 

• Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

  • While Stafford has been much better lately, I really don't like his matchup against the Ravens. 

Sit 'Em

These guys are "sits" in pretty much any league except a superflex. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week if you absolutely have to:

• Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons

  • I'm not against Ridder as a deep league start against the Bucs, but he's still really risky. 

• Will Levis, Tennessee Titans

  • Levis has long-term upside, but he's nothing more than a desperation play right now. 

• Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

  • Bryce hasn't been good. And the Saints defense is good. That's a rough combo. 

• Tommy DeVito, New York Giants

  • DeVito has looked good at times, but I just don't trust him enough to start him against a much-improved Packers defense. 

• Aiden O'Connell, Las Vegas Raiders

  • The Vikings defense isn't very good, but O'Connell doesn't offer much upside as a game manager. 

• Mitchell Trubisky, Pittsburgh Steelers

  • While the Patriots have been awful this year, their defense is still pretty good. Plus, it's Mitchell Trubisky. 

• Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots 

  • Zappe looked better than Mac Jones last week, but the Patriots still got shut out. It's not going to get any better against the Steelers this week. 

• Zach Wilson, New York Jets

  • The Jets haven't scored more than 13 points for six straight weeks. Avoid Wilson. 

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