Drafting the perfect fantasy football team is a complex process. Paying attention to bye weeks isn’t the most important factor to your strategy, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.
Fantasy football bye weeks 2014: Notable players to keep in mind
An underrated aspect of fantasy football draft strategy is knowing how NFL bye weeks will impact your roster. We’ve got a rundown of notable players each week.
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Owners shouldn’t avoid players solely based on their bye weeks lining up. Demaryius Thomas and A.J. Green are both on a bye in Week 4. That shouldn’t stop you from acquiring both if you can. However, owners need to have a plan in place to fill in spots for their stars on bye.
But filling in your starting lineup isn’t the only benefit to monitoring bye weeks. Statistics from prior years show that there are benefits to starting players coming off bye weeks. As Tristan Cockcroft of ESPN noted last year, quarterbacks see an 8 percent increase in production following a bye week. Running backs score 3.2 percent more points, and wide receivers score 6.2 percent more. These three positions enjoy even greater production playing at home after bye weeks. That’s something to keep in mind from week to week.
Here we’ll look at each bye week during the 2014 season and list some key players who will be off.
Week 4: Bengals, Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks
Quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer
Running backs: Montee Ball, Marshawn Lynch, Giovani Bernard, Zac Stacy, Andre Ellington, Ben Tate
Wide receivers: Demaryius Thomas, A.J. Green, Larry Fitzgerald, Wes Welker, Michael Floyd, Percy Harvin
Tight ends: Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron
Week 5: Dolphins, Raiders
Quarterbacks: Ryan Tannehill
Running backs: Lamar Miller, Maurice Jones-Drew, Darren McFadden
Wide receivers: Mike Wallace
Tight ends: Charles Clay
Week 6: Chiefs, Saints
Quarterbacks: Drew Brees, Alex Smith
Running backs: Jamaal Charles, Pierre Thomas
Wide receivers: Marques Colston, Dwayne Bowe
Tight ends: Jimmy Graham
Week 7: Buccaneers, Eagles
Quarterbacks: Nick Foles
Running backs: LeSean McCoy, Doug Martin
Wide receivers: Vincent Jackson, Jeremy Maclin
Tight ends: Zach Ertz
Week 8: 49ers, Giants
Quarterbacks: Colin Kaepernick, Eli Manning
Running backs: Rashad Jennings, Frank Gore
Wide receivers: Victor Cruz, Michael Crabtree, Rueben Randle
Tight ends: Vernon Davis
Week 9: Bears, Bills, Falcons, Lions, Packers, Titans
Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler
Running backs: Matt Forte, Eddie Lacy, C.J. Spiller, Reggie Bush, Joique Bell, Bishop Sankey, Steven Jackson
Wide receivers: Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Brandon Marshall, Jordy Nelson, Alshon Jeffery, Randall Cobb, Roddy White, Kendall Wright
Tight ends: Martellus Bennett, Delanie Walker
Week 10: Chargers, Colts, Patriots, Ravens, Texans, Vikings
Quarterbacks: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers
Running backs: Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Alfred Morris, Ryan Mathews, Shane Vereen
Wide receivers: Keenan Allen, Andre Johnson, Pierre Garcon, Cordarrelle Patterson, DeSean Jackson, T.Y. Hilton, Julian Edelman
Tight ends: Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed, Kyle Rudolph
Week 11: Cowboys, Jaguars, Jets, Ravens
Quarterbacks: Tony Romo
Running backs: DeMarco Murray, Toby Gerhart, Chris Johnson, Ray Rice
Wide receivers: Dez Bryant, Torrey Smith, Eric Decker
Tight ends: Jason Witten, Dennis Pitta
Week 12: Panthers, Steelers
Quarterbacks: Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger
Running backs: Le'Veon Bell
Wide receivers: Antonio Brown
Tight ends: Greg Olsen
