Three Up, Three Down: Week 14

Photo: USA Today Sports

Three Up

QB Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Early in the season, Jordan Love played some great football. Through Week 4, he was fantasy's QB3 behind only Justin Herbert and Josh Allen, averaging 22.1 per game. From Week 5 through 9, Love cooled off significantly, averaging just 13.4 points and averaging out as fantasy's per-game QB26. And now, over the last four games, Love is averaging 22.5 points per game, more similar to what we saw early in the year. It has been a tale of three seasons for Love, but his recent performances seem pretty indicative of the player he could be. He looks poised in the pocket and displays an ability to extend plays out of structure. A young group of receivers took some time to get comfortable, but they are steadily improving. Despite Love's ups and downs this season, he is still fantasy's QB9 on the year. With the Giants, Buccaneers, Panthers, and Vikings to close out the fantasy year, Love should be viewed as a rest-of-season QB1.

RB Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers

Getting a read on the Panthers backfield this year has been difficult as Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders have seen the tables tip in either direction. Injuries to Sanders clouded the usage. But with both backs healthy now, Hubbard appears to be the clear favorite. In Week 12, Hubbard pulled nearly twice as many snaps as Sanders, but the touches were divided evenly. But in Week 13, in the wake of Frank Reich's and Duce Staley's firings, Hubbard took over the volume. He saw 25 carries to Sanders' eight and eclipsed 20 fantasy points for the second consecutive outing. The Panthers have a brutal upcoming schedule, but if this usage continues, volume will push him into weekly RB2 consideration.

WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

No wide receiver has scored more fantasy points over the last two weeks than Deebo Samuel. It's no surprise that Samuel has some boom-or-bust tendencies, but there appears to be some correlation between his production and health. Early in the season, a healthy Samuel scored ten-plus points in three straight outings, including 22.1 and 25.1 points in Week 2 and 3. Then, an injury slowed him down, inevitably causing him to miss a couple of games before his team's bye. But now, healthy and off the injury report, Samuel has been absolutely dominant. He's averaging 20.8 points per game since coming off the injury report and should be viewed as a high-end WR2 as long as he remains healthy.