Week 15 NFL Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice

By Andrew Doherty

You made it. 

Congrats on making the playoffs. If you don’t have a bye this week, there’s still plenty of work to be done though. Luckily for you, I’ve gone through all the matchups for this weekend to help make some of your less obvious start/sit decisions a little easier.  Since there are no more bye weeks in the NFL this season, we don’t need to go quite as deep into your bench or the waiver wire for starters. With that in mind, this weeks column will shift focus to a smaller pool of players that have the upside to win you your matchup. As always, I’ll remind you to start your studs regardless of matchup. Here’s what I have for you this week:

Quarterback to start

Mac Jones vs Raiders

The Raiders rank dead last in defensive pass DVOA, making this a smash spot for Jones. Despite a slow start to the season, he’s completing 70.8% of his passes post bye and has cut down on his interceptions. He’s a safe streaming option this week. 

Quarterback to sit 

Jared Goff vs Jets

It’s no secret that Goff crumbles when he’s pressured, and the Jets are top 10 in the league at pressuring the quarterback. Goff has also struggled on the road this year. This Jets defense is for real, especially at home. Don’t expect much from Goff and the Lions offense this week in fantasy.

Running backs to start

Miles Sanders vs Bears

The Bears rank 28th in defensive rush success rate this season and the Eagles are one of the leagues most efficient rushing attacks. Philly comes into this game as big favorites which projects to a favorable run heavy game script. 

Zonovan Knight vs Lions

The Lions have been a run funnel defense all year long and that trend continues this week. Knight, who is averaging 5.0 yards per carry, has logged 46 carries and 10 targets over the last 3 games.

Running back to sit

Jamaal Williams vs Jets

D’Andre Swift is not on the injury report this week and projects to eat into Williams workload. Williams has averaged less than 4 yards per carry over the last 6 games and has zero catches over that same span. It’s been tough sledding for running backs against the Jets this season and Williams will need to find the end zone to be startable in this one. 

Wide receiver to start 

Jerry Jeudy vs Cardinals 

With Courtland Sutton out last week, Jeudy exploded for an 8/73/3 stat line on 9 targets. This week Sutton will be sidelined again, which slots Jeudy in for another huge workload against a Cardinals secondary that ranks dead last in defensive drop-back success rate. 

Wide receiver to sit

Elijah Moore vs Lions

Just when it seemed like we could count on Moore as a reliable fantasy option, Zach Wilson comes back into the picture. Moore is a supremely talented young wideout with a cakewalk matchup against Detroit, but he’s simply too risky a play without Mike White under center. Maybe Wilson is able to get Moore the ball consistently for the first time this season, but until we actually see it Moore is better left on your bench. 

Tight end to start 

Dalton Schultz vs Jaguars

Schultz has a target share over 20% in the Cowboys potent offense since Dak’s return from injury. He gets a soft matchup this week against a Jacksonville defense that has allowed 3 100 yard performances to tight ends over the last 4 games, giving up a touchdown to a tight end in 3 of those games as well. 

Tight end to sit

Tyler Higbee vs Packers 

Higbee has not reached 15 receiving yards in a single game since Matt Stafford went down. A matchup with Green Bay, who allow the second fewest yards and receptions to tight ends, does not bode well for Higbee.