Fantasy football projections, Week 14: Cardinals-Dolphins featuring David Johnson, Carson Palmer, Jarvis Landry, more

The Week 14 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins features two teams on the outside of the playoff race. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Normally, having an elite starting running back go for 84 yards in a game would be a slight disappointment for fantasy owners — unless, of course, you’re the fantasy owner of David Johnson. Johnson not only scored a touchdown on the ground against Washington in Week 13, he also caught nine out of 12 targets for an additional 91 yards and another touchdown. He just keeps on rolling and is easily a candidate for fantasy player of the year. Miami only ranks 16^th in terms of fantasy points allowed at the running back position. Johnson should be all over the Dolphins as the fantasy postseason begins.

Another player worth taking a look at in Arizona’s offense is wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. No matter how much older he gets and how much the players around him change, Fitzgerald simply continues to produce. He’s an automatic starter in PPR formats. Consider that Fitzgerald is tied with Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown for the league-lead in receptions, with 88. Fitzgerald caught 10 of 11 passes against Washington last week for 78 yards. The effort marked the third time this season that Fitzgerald has caught at least 10 passes in a game. He should be able to beat his projections against Miami, a team that ranks 17th at defending fantasy receivers this season.

It’s hard to predict what Jarvis Landry will produce against two of the best cornerbacks in the NFL this Sunday, but it’s safe to say he probably won’t repeat his Week 13 performance. That’s because Landry saw a season-high 14 targets against the Baltimore Ravens. He caught 11 of those passes for 87 yards. Those are more than serviceable numbers in PPR formats, but prior to last week, Landry had not seen double-digit targets since Week 4. While most would peg the Cardinals as favorites heading into Sunday’s game, it should be a lot closer than Miami’s loss to Baltimore last week. A run-first approach against Arizona in a tight game will eat away at Landry’s targets. He might reach his projected totals in PPR leagues, but he’s completely avoidable in standard formats.

Fantasy owners shouldn’t place high expectations on running back Jay Ajayi, either. Ajayi saved his fantasy day against the Ravens by catching six out of seven targets out of the backfield. It should be noted, however, he’s been held under 80 yards rushing in each of the last four games. Even though the coaching staff seems totally committed to a run-first approach, fantasy owners need to know that Arizona gives up fewer points to the running back position than any other defense in the league. Ajayi won’t flirt with his projections in standard formats in Week 14.