“I see you rolled your way into the semis,” to quote a line from The Big Lebowski, which for my money is the best comedy movie of all time. You just need to win two more games and you will hoist your league trophy, which if you don’t actually have one you should really consider adding to your league. At this point in the season, you likely have a good idea as to which players you trust on a weekly basis. In this article, we will be looking at players on the fringes at QB1, RB2 and WR2 in typical PPR fantasy leagues to help you determine which players you should start and sit to help you with your difficult decisions.
Week 15 Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Quarterbacks | Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Start: Tom Brady at Falcons
Tom Brady has two great matchups on deck to finish off the season. This week, he gets the Atlanta Falcons, who are giving up a league-worst 23.8 fantasy points per game (fppg) to opposing QBs. Then, next week, he heads to Detroit to face the Lions, who give up 20.7 fppg, which is good for seventh-worst in the league. Brady has thrown for multiple TDs in all but three games this season, and this is the best matchup he has seen all season. Start him this week with confidence.
Start: Jalen Hurts at Cardinals
Jalen Hurts is making his first start on the road in a Sooner showdown with Kyler Murray. With his rushing ability, he has a higher floor than you might think. In his five quarters over the last two games, since he replaced Carson Wentz against the Packers, Hurts has rushed 23 times for for 135 yards, including 18 times for 106 yards last week. Even if you half that number, that is five or six points, which seems low, but with a TD or two and 150 yards passing, you are looking at a 20-point day. Hurts makes for a solid start this week, even in the playoffs.
Sit: Baker Mayfield at Giants
Baker Mayfield has been a QB1 for three straight weeks, including a huge 31-point game on Monday night against the Ravens D. This week, though, he has a matchup with the Giants D, which has given up only 16.5 fppg to opposing QBs on the season, but also gives up 18.7 fppg to opposing RBs. The game plan for this one looks to be a heavy dose of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, as the Browns are one of four teams in the league who run more than they pass on the season. Even though he has been on quite a hot streak, you are better off leaving him on the bench this week, with your season on the line.
Sit: Dolphins vs. Patriots QBs, RBs, and WRs
This is a game to just stay away from the skill position players, if you have aspirations of moving on to Championship Sunday. You can’t start Cam Newton or Tua Tagovailoa with any sort of confidence this week, even after Tua had a big game last week. Bill Belichick eats rookie QBs for breakfast. You are not looking to start Damien Harris, James White, Lynn Bowden Jr. or DeAndre Washington, unless you are in the deepest of leagues. As far as WRs Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Damiere Byrd and N’Keal Harry, they are all in the WR5 or worse range this week.
Check out our Week 15 Fantasy Football Rankings, including scoring settings for PPR and half PPR leagues! Rankings are updated throughout the week and can be useful for finding the best fantasy football start sit candidates.
Running Backs | Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Start: Wayne Gallman vs. Browns
Wayne Gallman is riding a seven-game streak with 10+ PPR fantasy points, although he is coming off of his lowest performance of this stretch (10.3 points and an RB26 finish). The Browns defense is only giving up 17.3 fppg to opposing RBs, good for tenth in the league, but with Gallman’s usage both carrying the ball and in the passing game as well as his track record over the last stretch of games, you can lock him in this week as an RB2.
Start: Nyheim Hines vs. Texans
The Houston Texans are giving up 26.2 fppg to opposing RBs, which makes Jonathan Taylor an RB1 this week and Nyheim Hines an RB2. With his solid floor in PPR, due to his involvement in the passing game, Hines has been an RB2 or better in five of his past seven games. The Colts RBs have had a great schedule down the stretch and have been able to take advantage. If you have either Taylor or Hines, ride them to the championship.
Sit: Ezekiel Elliott vs. 49ers
This is a tough matchup for Ezekiel Elliott, facing the 49ers, who are currently fourth-best against RBs. Elliott also is dinged up with a calf injury that he muscled through last week. As long as Elliott goes, he will still get volume, so you might have to start him if you don’t have any better options. Lower your expectations, as he is unlikely to return RB2 value this week.
Sit: Monday Night Football RBs
First things first, you are not starting Giovani Bernard against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has not been an RB2 since before the Bengals bye week, which was back in Week 8. Secondly, do you really trust James Conner at this point? Last week, he had 10 carries for 18 yards in his first game back. He played the Bengals back in Week 10 and mustered up only 6.8 PPR fantasy points on 13 carries and two catches. This Steelers team has had plenty of issues running the ball as of late and this is not the spot to bet on them turning it around. Stay away from both of these backfields.
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Wide Receivers| Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Start: T.Y. Hilton vs. Texans
After a quiet start to the season, T.Y. Hilton has been on a tear the last three weeks, putting up WR15, WR6 and WR5 weeks. This week, he gets another game against the Texans D, which he just had eight catches for 110 yards and a TD against two weeks ago. The Texans are giving up 25.9 fppg to opposing WRs and Hilton will continue his tear this week as a WR2 with WR1 potential. Keep him in your lineup this week.
Start: Diontae Johnson at Bengals
Last week was tough to Diontae Johnson. After he dropped a couple of passes in the first quarter, he ended up benched for the remainder of the first half. After he came back out following halftime, he still ended up tying JuJu Smith-Schuster with seven targets for the team lead. The Bengals are giving up 23.4 fppg to opposing WRs and, with the consistent target volume Johnson sees from Ben Roethlisberger, he belongs in lineups as a WR2 this week.
Sit: Every WR not named Keenan Allen on TNF
Keenan Allen is a locked in WR1 this week against a Raiders team he had nine catches for 103 yards and a TD against back in Week 9. After that, you want none of the WRs in this game. Mike Williams is dealing with a back injury and is questionable, after only playing two snaps last week. You don’t want to count on him or any other WRs on this team. The Raiders will be without Henry Ruggs III and Nelson Agholor is coming off a WR1 week, but don’t chase it this week. The last thing you want to do in the playoffs is start off the week with a player who does nothing on Thursday Night Football. You have better options on Sunday.
Sit: Jaguars vs. Ravens WRs
Last week in this article, D.J. Chark was a recommended sit. This week, against a typically stout Ravens D, his chances are even slimmer. You are also not starting Keelan Cole Sr. nor Laviska Shenault Jr. this week, and with Marquise Brown going on the COVID list and Miles Boykin having been in close contact, you are still not rushing out to start Willie Snead IV or Devin Duvernay. Just stay away from the WRs in this game.
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