Fantasy football projections, Week 14: Jets-49ers featuring Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Colin Kaepernick, more

The Week 14 matchup between the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers features two of the league’s bottom-feeding teams going head to head. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

The Jets got smoked by the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13. Things have gotten so bad in New York that the team’s rolling with third-string quarterback Bryce Petty as the starter for the rest of the year. That likely means running back Matt Forte will be busy on Sunday. It also makes sense, given that the 49ers have arguably the worst rushing defense in the league. San Francisco is currently giving up nearly 170 yards per game on the ground. It’ll be a nice change of pace for Forte who’s been held to a combined 52 rushing yards in the last two games total. Look for him to get far more than the nine carries he received against the Colts last week. Twenty-plus touches will be enough to get Forte over his projections in Week 14.

The likely emphasis on the running game moving forward doesn’t help wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall is still being targeted with regularity every week, but Ryan Fitzpatrick hasn’t done a good job finding him. In the limited action that Petty has seen this season, Marshall’s numbers weren’t any better. San Francisco is almost as bad against wide receivers as they are against running backs, but it’s hard to trust any pass catcher on the Jets right now. Marshall has put together a Hall of Fame-caliber career for himself, but 2016 has been forgettable. It’s hard to assume that he will surpass his projections given the current state of New York’s offense.

After garnering waiver wire attention across fantasy leagues everywhere following an impressive performance against the Miami Dolphins in Week 12, quarterback Colin Kaepernick likely found himself back on waivers heading into this week’s game against the Jets. Kaepernick completed just 1 of 5 pass attempts for a measly 4-yard gain against the Chicago Bears in the snow last week before being benched. Coach Chip Kelly says Kaepernick will start against the Jets, however. Fantasy owners starting him in the fantasy postseason are certainly betting he will bounce back. It’s not crazy to think that. The New York Jets have given up the sixth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position heading into the final month of the season.

Kaepernick will need help in order to win the game. He’ll get that help from running back Carlos Hyde. Hyde carried the ball 20 times for 92 yards against the Bears last week. His rushing yardage total marked the second highest of the season for Hyde. He would have produced a lot more but the 49ers were forced to abandon the running game in the second half. Given how equally bad the Jets are, Hyde will see a more consistent workload spread across both halves in Week 14. He’s the one player on the 49ers that should rise above his projections this week. Hyde has always been good at finding running room between the tackles.