Whether you’ve advanced to the playoffs in season-long, or have officially turned to page to daily fantasy, the snap counts will continue to guide many of our decisions on who to start in Week 14. For playoff teams, no matter how big the star or how trendy the name, it’s about winning! This is not time for experimenting or loyalty to draft status. It’s time to make the tough decisions and go all in for the championship. Flags fly forever and no one cares about who finished second.  

Here’s the Snap Count Recap for Week 13:

RUNNING BACKS

Jordan Howard has seen no loss of value since Matt Barkley took over at QB for the Bears. Howard played 53 snaps, carried the ball 32 times for 117 yards and 3 TD’s. He’s looking like a clear RB1 for 2017 and may have been the waiver wire pick up of the year in standard keeper leagues. Latavius Murray continued his own second half surge this weekend (50 snaps, 20 carries, 82 yards and 2 TD) as the Raiders are starting to balance out the offense. After fighting injuries and competition for carries during the first half, he appears to be the clear #1 for fantasy purposes. Devonta Freeman also was in a dog fight to open the year, but he seems to have hit a groove of late and is undervalued in DFS this week in terms of salary. He posted 105 all-purpose yards over 42 snaps and scored 2 TD’s. Tevin Coleman played 32 snaps and rushed for 49 yards on 12 carries, but Freeman was the clear fantasy preferred option. Freeman should be primed for another 20 point day this week against the Rams.

Finally, Thomas Rawls owners were rewarded for their patience with a 106 yard day and 2 TD’s (40 snaps). He needed just 15 carries to reach that mark and he should be heavily involved in the offense again this week on the road versus Green Bay. Jeremy Hill continued to struggle despite having a larger piece of the backfield pie. His 37 snaps, 23 carries for 33 yards and a TD were very underwhelming. Rex Burkhead played 27 snaps and ran for more yards (38) on a third of Hill’s touches (8 carries). Hill’s last big output came against the Browns who he faces again this week. However, that does not make him a lock for a repeat performance. Despite the logic behind starting Hill this week in any format, it still comes with significant risk. If by some grace of the football gods, you’ve made it to the playoffs with Todd Gurley on your roster, it’s time to sit him. Gurley played just 35 snaps, rushed 11 times for 38 yards. No matter how much you paid for him to start the year, you’d be insane to let that sort of performance determine your playoff future. The same goes for recent waiver wire trendy pick up Wendell Smallwood (24 snaps, 8 carries for 19 yards). Neither are relevant the rest of the season.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Speaking of guys to send to the bench, Allen Robinson proved you can play almost every offensive snap (83) and still contribute nothing useful (3 catches for 31 yards). Thanks to Blake Bortles, you can bench him the rest of the season without regrets. DeAndre Hopkins is hanging onto his starting fantasy status by a thread, but showed some life this past Sunday (66 snaps, 3 of 8 for 58 and a TD). He too has had a season crushed by awful QB play. Still, I’d roll with Hopkins over Robinson if I had to choose. In Cincinnati, Brandon LaFell has kept delivering since A.J. Green went down LaFell’s 5/95 with a TD over 60 snaps bodes well for his Week 14 matchup versus the Browns. He’s worth a waiver claim and a start over the likes of Allen Robinson right now. 

On the more positive side, Malcolm Mitchell continued to be an excellent start across the board in fantasy. He played 67 snaps and caught 8 of 10 targets for 82 yards. He’s basically cemented himself as the clear #2 in the Patriots’ passing game. His teammate Julian Edelman, actually played less snaps (54). However, Edelman did out target him 12 to 10. Golden Tate is the #1 target for Matthew Stafford in Detroit (60 snaps, 8 of 10 for 145 yards and a TD) and serves as a reminder to practice patience in fantasy. Chances are in your league, Tate is not on his originally drafted roster. Jordy Nelson has had a terrifically productive and yet underappreciated fantasy seasons in recent memory. Not only does he lead the league in red zone targets, but he’s about as steady as it gets across the board. His 55 snaps, 8/118 with a TD is just another in a long line of great fantasy weeks for Nelson. With Earl Thomas out for the Seahawks, he’s absolutely in play Week 14 in DFS yet again.

TIGHT ENDS

So, do you remember when I was harping on Ladarius Green here last week? Well, guess what, Green played 35 snaps, caught 6 of 11 targets for 110 yards and a TD. Will he match this line again this year? Probably not. However, Green may still be a solid enough low end TE1 the rest of the playoffs. In a world where many are searching for a Rob Gronkowski replacement, he’ll be as good as any. Speaking of Gronk, Martellus Bennett was incredibly disappointing as predicted over his 54 snaps. He caught just 2 of 4 targets for 4 yards. Move on! Zach Ertz continued his strong volume with 70 snaps, 9 receptions on 15 targets for 79 yards and a score. Ertz has finally fulfilled his promise that made him a sleeper darling this past summer. Travis Kelce continued his case for the #1 overall TE in footballs catching all 8 of his targets with 140 more yards receiving over 39 snaps. If Kelce is becoming a “sure thing”, then Dennis Pitta is becoming the most inconsistent. Pitta played 34 snaps, caught 9 of 11 for 90 and 2 scores, but no one knows what to expect from him week to week. If you think he’s frustrating, Dwayne Allen’s 3 TD Monday night showing makes Pitta look like Tony Gonzalez! Allen has potential to carry his 45 snap, 4/72 line over to next week, but his 2016 showing leaves us anything but confident that it will happen. Don’t chase last week!

Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the eight-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football. He hosts On Target Fantasy weekdays at 12 noon est, The Fantasy Black Book Show Tues/Turs 8-10pm est & Sunday Game Day 8-11am on FNTSY Network Radio.