Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 15

The 2021 fantasy playoffs are just around the corner.  Benjamin (@FFRabbitDad) and Brendan (@obryanbren) are back with more players to take a look at when setting your fantasy football lineups. Check it all out here in our unique Start or Sit Faceoff, for this week with Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 15.

Brendan: It’s going to be an interesting week to start the playoffs, for those of you who start this week. All this COVID stuff happening this week and games up in the air. Who is going to start where, with all the IR placements? Luckily, many of the players that are going to be out this week probably didn’t get you to the playoffs in the first place. However, if you have someone’s status up in the air, or if you are just looking for a good matchup, we got you covered!

Benjamin: I think I speak for everyone when I say, “go away COVID. Go away!” I could write an article about all the cases popping up and the fantasy implications, but I’ve got to sleep some time. For now, let’s focus on getting as many of our teams through the first round of the fantasy playoffs as we can! Hopefully, you had part of the Chiefs stack on Thursday and don’t need a lot of help here. For those of you facing one or more of those players, cross your fingers and start reading.

Quarterbacks

Start: Justin Fields – Taysom Hill

Benjamin: Across his last three complete games, Justin Fields is starting to resemble a quality NFL quarterback. In those three starts, he is up to a completion percentage of 60.7% while averaging 230 yards per game, not great numbers, but steady improvement. His ground numbers are where the money is at. Fields has added 222 rushing yards at 8.2 YPC in those games. The Vikings have been a defense that fantasy quarterbacks look forward to facing this season. Not to mention, the Vikings have a sorted history against mobile signal-callers. Some of us more experienced fantasy players remember Michael Vick and Colin Kaepernick having career days against them. Fields will be a top 10 fantasy option this week, maybe as high as the top three. I’d start him over Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins in Week 15.

Brendan: Look, I probably wouldn’t suggest this every week but Hill has been putting up big numbers on the ground since he took over the starter role. While Hill’s ceiling is just about as high as possible, the opposite is true and his floor is probably about the lowest of any starting quarterback out there. In his last two starts, Hill has had over 70 yards rushing and has scored at least 22 fantasy points in five of six career starts. As a rushing quarterback, he also has a very good matchup this week against Tampa Bay who has given up at least 40 yards rushing three times this season. I would look for it to happen again this week, and as long as he doesn’t start turning the ball over, he should be a good start.

Benjamin: Just like Fields, recently, and Jalen Hurts most of the year, these mobile quarterbacks continue to provide great fantasy numbers week after week while not looking all that competent by NFL standards. It really isn’t fair sometimes, c’est la vie.

Sit: Cam Newton – Derek Carr

Brendan: I hope no one is starting Cam Newton right now, but if it needs to be said leave him on your bench or drop him if you can! When given a full starting opportunity Newton hasn’t exactly been a dynamic fantasy option, but Newton has been in a weird situation where he is splitting playtime with P.J. Walker. Now throw Sam Darnold into the mix, as he might be ready to come off IR this week and throw even more questions into the Panther quarterback room. Buffalo is also a horrific matchup, having the second-lowest D-PAC Score of 3.81 and only allowing 11 points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Avoid Newton like the plague!

Benjamin: Derek Carr had a fine fantasy day in Week 14, minus the “interception” that was really Foster Moreau’s fault. This week, however, things don’t look very promising. Only one team has thrown multiple touchdowns against Cleveland since week seven and they have picked off six passes in the last three games. Cleveland’s D-PAC Score of 6.02 is the seventh hardest in the league. Not to mention the rainy weather forecast for Saturday’s game is not good for passing prospects. If you have a pivot like Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Fields, you should make the move.

Running Backs

Start: Sony Michel – D’Onta Foreman

Brendan: With Darrell Henderson’s status still up in the air due to being put on COVID-IR, I think it is safe to say Michel will continue to be the lead back for the Rams this week. In each game that Henderson has not been active, Michel has averaged 20 touches per game. Keep in mind that there are other Rams playmakers that will be on COVID-IR this week, so those 20 touches might go even higher. Michel also has a great matchup against the Seahawks who are giving up 170 yards per game and the second-highest points per game at just over 30. Michel should be a strong start this week.

Benjamin: Even without Derrick Henry, Tennessee continues to focus on the run with D’Onta Foreman. He has seen double-digit carries in three of the last four games, averaging a solid 4.33 YPC in those games. The upcoming matchup for Tennessee is very good. Pittsburgh, over their last four games, has surrendered 597 total yards to lead running backs at a clip of 6.49 yards per touch. In fact, each of those runners accumulated at least 97 yards, in case you were thinking Dalvin Cook blew up those numbers by himself. There’s a good path for Foreman while Henry is out. I’d start him over Devonta Freeman this week.

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Sit: Miles Sanders – Chuba Hubbard

Benjamin: The Philadelphia running back room is a big pile of hot garbage, when it comes to fantasy. There is no clear #1 and none of them have been able to stay healthy. Sure, some of them have put up solid numbers. Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell looked really good in Week 14, but that was against the Jets. The week before, Boston Scott led the team in carries. There’s just no consistency. On top of that, we don’t know who will be starting at quarterback. Then there’s the Washington defense that hasn’t allowed any running back to achieve 60 rushing yards since Week 6. I’d rather start Rashaad Penny or Chase Edmonds (if he plays) this week.

Brendan: The Panther’s offense is a mess as of late. No one knows the identity of the starting quarterback, which has been causing ripples all over the offense. Hubbard scored a touchdown in his return to the starting role, but that was the only highlight of his performance. The Bills’ defense has not been good against the run the last four weeks, but that has come against teams with very strong rushing attacks. The Panthers do not have a strong rushing attack. I expect a very minimal fantasy performance from Hubbard this week.

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Wide Receivers

Start: Brandin Cooks – A.J. Green

Brendan: I’m going to rock with Brandin Cooks once again. Cooks has been the Texans’ only real shining star this season. He took a little dip for a few weeks, with the shaky quarterback play, but bounced back strong last week with eight catches on 11 targets for 101 yards against a formidable Seahawks pass defense. This week he’s up against one of the worst pass defenses in the league, with the Jaguars, and should be a high-end WR2 to a low-end WR1 play.

Benjamin: With DeAndre Hopkins getting season-ending surgery, (MCL) it’s the next man up for the Cardinals. A.J. Green and Christian Kirk are both likely to see a bump in targets. In the last three games, Green has seen more targets and receptions (18/12) than Kirk (14/6) with a higher catch rate, as well. There shouldn’t be much trouble for the receivers against the Detroit defense that has allowed 120+ receiving yards to opposing WR1’s like Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, and Darnell Mooney twice. Green is in line for a nice run through the fantasy playoffs.

Sit: Marquise Brown – Jerry Jeudy

Brendan: Marquise Brown has really had some hard sledding the last few weeks. He has been averaging just over 10 fantasy points per game over the last four with less than 60 receiving yards with no touchdowns over the past five games. The Packers are mediocre against wide receivers, allowing 34.27 points per game. However, with Brown’s recent dip in production and Lamar Jackson’s status up in the air, I would stay away from Brown.

Benjamin: The simple fact of the matter is that Denver is not only a run-first team, they’re a “run all the time,” team. Jerry Jeudy is the leader in the receiving game, but he’s only managed 21 targets and 17 catches for 197 yards in their last four games. Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t need to pass the ball around when the running backs are having their way with defenses. Jeudy is unstartable for the remainder of the season. Go with guys like Van Jefferson or K.J. Osborn instead.

Tight Ends

Start: David Njoku – Dallas Goedert

Benjamin: The influx of COVID cases is having many effects around the league. Austin Hooper is very unlikely to be removed from the COVID-IR before Saturday’s game, leaving a bevy of targets for David Njoku. The superior athlete, Njoku will be able to achieve more yardage than Hooper on the same number of catches. Philadelphia is the only defense in the league that has surrendered more fantasy points to tight ends than Las Vegas, another reason you can roll with the Cleveland tight end this week. Njoku is an easy start over guys like Tyler Higbee and Dalton Schultz.

Brendan: The last time Dallas Goedert played the Washington Football Team he had himself quite the game. He had eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown last year in this matchup. In his last game against the Jets with Gardner Minshew as the quarterback, he was targeted six times with six catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. In the weeks prior, he also was having some solid games with Jalen Hurts at the helm. I would expect that production to continue with Washington giving up over 11 points per game to tight ends.

Sit: Noah Fant – Tyler Conklin

Brendan: Noah Fant has been tough to really predict on production this season. When you think he’s in a perfect situation, he has shown a tendency to fade into the background. He has also not been producing as of late as he has not hit double-digit points in his last six games. On paper, it would look like a good matchup, with the Bengals giving up 13.82 points per game to tight ends, but I wouldn’t trust Fant.

Benjamin: With Adam Thielen out, it was thought that Tyler Conklin would see an increase in targets last week. That wasn’t the case, as the offensive line was missing Christian Darrisaw and needed him to help protect the backfield. With K.J. Osborn stepping in as a stop-gap WR2, I don’t see Conklin getting enough targets to be a viable fantasy option at tight end. I would lean towards James O’Shaughnessy or Gerald Everett instead.

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