Fantasy Football Start 'em, Sit 'em Week 15 RBs: Isiah Pacheco

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Playoffs! From here on out, it’s win or go home. Thus, the stakes could not be higher from a fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em standpoint. All moves should be made to bolster your starting lineup either for the current week or in the weeks to come. Making the correct lineup decisions is a necessity, and the running back position is no exception.

Of course, if you’ve made it to the playoffs, you know full well that players like Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson will still be started in lineups weekly without question. What we focus on here are the RB2 and FLEX spots. To help you feel more confident in making some of the tough decisions you may be facing, be sure to check out our weekly fantasy football rankings. With that, here is our Week 15 fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em analysis for a handful of RBs ranked on the threshold.

Wide Receivers — Week 15 Fantasy Football Start/Sit

Tight Ends — Week 15 Fantasy Football Start/Sit

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Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 15 RBs

Start: Isiah Pacheco Fantasy Outlook vs Browns

Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR) Rank: 23

This week marks Isiah Pacheco’s third game back in the lineup for the Kansas City Chiefs following a nasty leg injury. After playing 37% of the team’s offensive snaps and handling just eight touches two weeks ago, Pacheco had both figures climb last Sunday night. He carried the ball 14 times on the ground and caught two of his four targets in the passing game. While Pacheco didn’t post gaudy stats by any means, note that he was going up against a tough Chargers defense and was still somewhat limited in terms of his usage.

With two games now under his belt, it makes sense for the Chiefs to deploy Pacheco even more going forward. Having already locked up the division, it makes some sense for Kansas City not to overuse Pacheco. However, the number one seed in the AFC is still very much in the balance. Furthermore, the gap between Pacheco and backfield cohort Kareem Hunt is massive in terms of what both players are capable of with the football. The Cleveland Browns have been sneaky good defensively against opposing RBs this season, but with a continued uptick in usage projected, Pacheco lands comfortably in the fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em RB2 conversation this week.

Start: Sincere McCormick Fantasy Outlook vs Falcons

ECR Rank: 26

Every year, a dark horse running back emerges as a key contributor in the Fantasy Football Playoffs. Could Sincere McCormick be that guy in 2024? The obvious concern here is that the Las Vegas Raiders have struggled to run the football all season long. That is until injuries forced the team to elevate McCormick from the practice squad and ultimately sign him to a contract. In the last two games, he averaged north of five yards per carry while seeing 12 and 15 touches, respectively. Suddenly, he has taken over as the team’s starting RB heading into the season’s final month.

#Raiders HC Antonio Pierce on whether Sincere McCormick is RB1 when Alexander Mattison returns:

“Yep. He’s deserved it. Last week, he was running his tail off. So, keep running it, keep pushing those numbers up, see if we can get him to 100.”

Pierce has an 80% reliability… pic.twitter.com/J8fnJNOvIm
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) December 11, 2024

Note that Alexander Mattison’s injury absence is what allowed the Raiders to “discover” McCormick in the first place. Although Mattison is set to return in Week 15, he has been relegated to the backup role. With the Raiders in rebuilding mode and Mattison playing on an expiring contract, there is no incentive to play him over a young gun like McCormick. Now, consider the matchup. Although the clear weakness of the Atlanta Falcons’ defense is the secondary, Las Vegas will be hard-pressed to take full advantage with Desmond Ridder at QB. It’s tough to rank him higher than the fringes of RB2 territory, but McCormick can be started in a pinch and is certainly a viable RB3/FLEX candidate.

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Sit: Tyrone Tracy Jr. Fantasy Outlook vs Ravens

ECR Rank: 24

My goodness, the New York Giants stink! One could argue that the only bright spots on this team in 2024 have been a pair of offensive rookies. Alongside wideout Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy Jr. has at least provided some level of optimism for this offense in the years to come. An injury to Devin Singletary early in the year forced Tracy into a larger role quickly. Aside from some fumble issues in recent weeks, he hasn’t really looked back. Tracy enters Week 15 on a stretch of scoring double-digit PPR fantasy points in seven of the last ten games. However, the manner in which he has amassed those points lately is a bit concerning for his fantasy footballl start ’em, sit ’em projections.

In the last two games, Tracy has only been able to average 3.56 and 2.81 yards per carry, respectively. Fortunately, for his fantasy owners, he was able to score a rushing touchdown in both outings. Last week, he was also targeted a whopping ten times in the passing game. He only caught half of those, but it still bolstered his final fantasy output. The Giants’ offensive line is horrendous, and the fact that Tracy had to rely on reaching pay-dirt and receptions to pile up points against a pair of weaker defenses isn’t encouraging. In Week 15, he will have to contend with a Baltimore Ravens defense that allows the fewest rushing yards per game of any team. Simply put, he cannot be trusted to make good on his RB24 ECR ranking in this matchup.

Sit: D’Andre Swift Fantasy Outlook vs Vikings

ECR Rank: 25

After scoring 19+ PPR points in four straight weeks, D’Andre Swift has come crashing back down to Earth in the same manner as the Chicago Bears team he plays for. Not only has he failed to hit that mark a single time in the last five games, but he has only managed to crack double-digit fantasy points once over that same span. To top it all off, he failed to practice on Thursday due to a groin injury. Although it seems reasonable to expect he will still be ready to go by the time Monday night rolls around, knowing that he is less than 100% only weakens his fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em outlook.

🚨NEWS🚨: Chicago Bears RB D'Andre Swift was officially listed as DNP in practice on Thursday, their first practice of the week.

Swift is battling a groin injury ahead of Chicago's Monday Night showdown against the Minnesota Vikings. pic.twitter.com/TczINFu2yr
— Kyle Yates (@thekyleyates) December 12, 2024

As for the matchup itself, that is also doing Swift no favors. The Bears will be on the road to face the NFC North Division rival, Minnesota Vikings for the second time in the span of four weeks. In the first meeting, the Vikings held Swift to just 30 yards on 13 carries (2.31 yards per carry average) and 9.5 PPR points scored. Brian Flores’ defense has been stellar against opposing RBs all season long, and enter Week 15 giving up the fourth-fewest PPR points per game to the position. Then, there’s also the turmoil within the Bears’ organization and the fact that interim coach/offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is way in over his head. Those banking on Swift to produce RB2-caliber numbers this week could be in for a major disappointment.

Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 15 RBs Include Isiah Pacheco

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