Top 5 Boom or Bust Candidates in Week 14 Fantasy Football Featuring Justin Jefferson

Here are the top five boom-or-bust fantasy options for Week 14—including Justin Jefferson—who offer massive upside if you need a high-ceiling swing to keep your season alive.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

When you are searching for an option to plug into your lineup, a lot of the time you just want a safe player who will get you a decent amount of points and not sink your lineup. However, there are other times when you know you need to score a ton of points to get the win that week. That's when you need to grab a high-upside option even if they come at a great risk. These are the top boom-or-bust options for Week 14. 

QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up before the game against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium. | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Jackson has been awful since returning from his hamstring injury. He started off slow and has continuously gotten worse. Over three weeks, he has scored 21.4 total fantasy points. The most fantasy points he's scored in a single game is just 7.5. This week, he has a great matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. We know that he can play at an MVP level when healthy, and the Ravens claim he's healthy. However, it certainly hasn't looked like it when he's on the field. 

WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

It's sad that this is where we are with Justin Jefferson. The narrative heading into the season was that both Jefferson and perhaps this offense were quarterback-proof. Well, JJ McCarthy has put in maximum effort to disprove that narrative. Jefferson has fallen off a cliff since Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending shoulder injury.

Last week, he scored just 2.4 fantasy points, and he has only scored double-digit fantasy points once in the past four games, peaking at 11.1. However, he is still one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and will be matched up this week against the Washington Commanders, who are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.  

WR Adonai Mitchell, New York Jets

New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (15) makes a touchdown catch against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Mitchell is a terrible wide receiver, but a tremendous athlete. The few weeks have been a perfect microcosm of who he is. In Week 11, he caught just one of six targets for 10 yards. Then in Week 12, he only caught two of seven targets for 42 yards. Those two games were plagued by poor route running and drops.

However, in Week 13, he caught eight of 12 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown, including a long of 52 yards. There is a good chance that he sees WR1 targets this week against the Miami Dolphins. However, that's not always enough for Mitchell, who could have another big game or make the least of his opportunities as he so often does.   

WR Devaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints

Vele is coming off a big game in which he caught all eight of his targets for 93 yards and a touchdown. Over the past two weeks, he has seen 15 targets. However, prior to that, he had seen just 13 targets all season and caught just six of them for 54 yards.

Even in Week 11, he caught just three of those seven targets for 37 yards. If he sees that kind of volume against a bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass defense this week, he has a ton of upside, but he could also simply fade away again. 

WR Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman (7) before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Bateman has done next to nothing this season. However, much like Jackson, he could benefit from a great matchup this week. The Steelers are allowing the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. As the big-play threat in Baltimore, he could have a huge impact with limited volume. He is a more traditional boom-or-bust option.