ClutchPoints
With Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season on deck, the fantasy football playoffs are just around the corner. It is crunch time for fantasy football managers nationwide, who have no more time for patience and need to drop dead weight from their rosters, even if it means parting with big names like Keenan Allen and Ricky Pearsall.
Patience often pays off in fantasy football, but that has not been the case in 2025. Drafters of Chris Godwin and Brandon Aiyuk dealt with headaches all year for nothing, and the A.J. Brown faithful have only been punished for their loyalty.
Week 14 provides the final regular season matchups for most leagues, leaving no room for any more waiting. The playoffs are here, and no manager benefits from stashing potential on their bench at this point in the season.
Even managers near the bottom of their leagues who are out of the playoff race still have something to play for. The rise in popularity of last-place punishments increases each year, and nobody wants to show up to work in a size 10 wedding dress.
Regardless of seeding, managing the Week 14 waiver wire can often be the deciding factor for fantasy football league winners. It all begins with dropping the right players from championship rosters.
Keenan Allen looked like a steal through the first month of the season, which saw him post double-digit fantasy performances in the Los Angeles Chargers’ first three games. Aside from one big performance against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7, he has not been startable since.
Allen still commands a high target share in a pass-heavy Chargers offense, and he is still arguably Justin Herbert’s go-to short-yardage target. His effectiveness on the field is undeniable, but Allen has turned into a “better in real life” player over the last two months.
The 33-year-old Allen is not “washed,” but he has been affected by the recent emergence of a pair of rookies. Tight end Oronde Gadsden II has cut into his midfield work, and rookie speedster Tre Harris has taken some of his wideout snaps. Harris has played 30 or more snaps in every game since Week 6 at the direct expense of Allen’s workload.
Given Allen’s effectiveness against zone coverages, the Chargers’ Week 13 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders provided an ideal bounce-back opportunity. The veteran instead posted similar numbers as he has over the last month, which are not useful in fantasy football.
Bucky Irving is the no-doubt leader of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backfield, but Sean Tucker forced fans to look in his direction with a career day in Week 11. Tucker finally separated from Rachaad White in Irving’s sixth consecutive absence with 140 total yards and three touchdowns, which made him a top-five running back for the week.
Tucker followed up that performance with a respectable 42-yard game in Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams’ elite defense....
