Jameis Winston to the Rescue

Reinforcements for the First Round of the Fantasy Playoffs

Dec. 14, 2024
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The fantasy football playoffs begin for most formats this week. With no teams on bye and the top teams in the playoffs, many are set with their lineups. In deeper formats, and with Breece Hall, Bucky Irving, Kenneth Walker, David Njoku, and George Pickens dealing with injuries, there might be some streamers required. Here are some to consider for Week 15 and you can also use our Start/Sit tool to assist in decisions.

Adam Ronis

QUARTERBACK

Jameis Winston (Cleveland Browns)

You already know the deal when it comes to Winston. Interceptions will happen. He will be aggressive and is prone to turnovers, but he can put up stats. The Browns are struggling to run the ball and Winston has attempted at least 41 passes in five of his six starts, and the one he didn’t was due to the snow. The Chiefs defense hasn’t been as good or generated much pressure on quarterbacks the last few games.

RUNNING BACK

Sincere McCormick (Las Vegas Raiders)
Antonio Pierce continues to heap praise on McCormick. He has been the most efficient back for the Raiders this season, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. McCormick had 12 carries for 64 yards against the Chiefs two weeks ago and rushed for 78 yards on 15 carries against the Buccaneers last week.

WIDE RECEIVER

Adam Thielen (Carolina Panthers)

Bryce Young and the offense has played better the last few weeks. Thielen has been targeted heavily the last two games with 21 targets. He had 8 catches for 99 yards with a touchdown against the Buccaneers, and in a difficult matchup against the Eagles last week Thielen had 9 catches for 102 yards. Dallas allows the fourth-most passing yards per play and the 11th-most fantasy points to wide receivers.

TIGHT END

Stone Smartt (Los Angeles Chargers)

Will Dissly injured his shoulder last week and is expected to miss multiple weeks. Smartt replaced him last week and played 22 snaps, catching 3 passes for 54 yards. The Buccaneers allow the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends.

If you need more streamers to consider, remember to check out our start/sit tool to compare options and double down to see how our expert rankers view fringe options this week.

What else is in today’s newsletter?

  1. Week 15 Cheat Sheet: Matchups to target and more

  2. Watercooler: The hardest and easiest fantasy playoff schedules

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WEEK 15

Week 15 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet

Fantasy Life's Week 15 Fantasy Football Cheatsheet serves as a roundtable between Geoff Ulrich, Jonathan Fuller, and Mark Drumheller to catch you up with everything you need to know for the weekend:

People often consider “Game 7” the two best words in sports, and understandably so. It's win-or-go-home time, put up or shut up.

While there's no Game 7 in fantasy football, Week 15 brings the same win-or-go-home aspect of pressure to the table. That's why Mark, Geoff, and Jonathan are here to help you navigate through our Fantasy Football tools to help you perfect your Week 15 lineups.

Which Player-Specific Week 15 Matchup Are You Most Excited For?

Mark: Justin Jefferson vs. Bears Defense 

Monday Night Football just hits different when the entire fantasy season hangs in the balance. Conventional wisdom (and the Bears porous pass defense) tells us Vikings QB Sam Darnold should be absolutely DEALING against their NFC North rival.

Since Week 10, Chicago ranks 32nd in pass EPA allowed and 31st in dropback success rate in non-garbage time situations. Opposing QBs have tossed at least 2 TDs in each of the past three games, including Darnold’s 330-yard performance in Week 12.

Jordan Addison was the main beneficiary in the first meeting (8-162-1), but I’m expecting Addison’s recent surge to force the Bears to play the Vikings receivers straight up—setting Jettas up for a monster game when it matters most for fantasy managers.

Jonathan: Rico Dowdle vs. Panthers

The Panthers are the worst rush defense in the NFL and Rico Dowdle has become a true workhorse for Dallas. Dowdle has gotten at least 20 opportunities (carries + targets) in each of his last three games. He has fully taken over this backfield and is delivering for fantasy managers with 16.4 fantasy points per game over that stretch.

Dallas and Carolina are giving up the most points of any defense in the NFL, so this game has sneaky high-scoring potential. It also helps that Cooper Rush and Bryce Young have been playing competent football in recent weeks. If the offenses stay on track I wouldn't be surprised to see both teams get into the upper 20s or low 30s, which should mean plenty of high-value touches for Dowdle (and Chuba Hubbard for that matter). 

Geoff: Jayden Daniels vs. the Saints Defense 

Jayden Daniels is healthy, coming off a bye, and playing a Saints defense that is 29th in EPA against the rush. While they’ve managed to keep it together as a pass defense the Saints have given up some monster games to opposing QBs on the ground.

Drew Lock managed 57 yards on just five carries last week, while both Bo Nix (10 carries for 75 yards) and Justin Herbert (4 carries for 49 yards) popped off for big weeks on the ground against New Orleans earlier in the season.

Being in a dome, it wouldn't shock me to see Kliff Kingsbury dial up a few more designed rushes for Daniels, whose explosiveness will allow him to turn those big gains we’ve seen from other QBs into long TDs.

You can dive into all of the fantasy football matchups at each position to see who gets the biggest fantasy boosts with our DvP tool!

In Five Words Or Less—Motivate The Underdog (Fantasy Football Manager) Looking To Start a Deep Playoff Run This Week

Mark: Playoffs are the money season.

Jonathan: Risk it for the biscuit.

Geoff: Every Trophy starts as clay.

Looking for the most immersive and custom fantasy football tool experience? Sync your league(s) with our League Sync tool to cross-check all of our Week 15 rankings, NFL player projections, and more!

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

The latest analysis and insights from our merry band of football nerds:

👀 Who has the hardest and easiest fantasy playoff schedules? Jake Ciely joins Ian and Dwain to discuss.

🇺🇸 Beyond a game. Army-Navy and CFB breakdowns with Thor, Coach Gene, and Froton Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

💪 It’s win-or-go-home time and these WRs could be key factors in your fate.

🤔 A Cardinals bounceback spot? The stack is intriguing …

🪑 Is Jordan Love a sit this week? Chris Allen has the best and worst matchups for Week 15.

🚑 Everybody hurts. It only feels that way. Here’s the Week 15 Injury Roundup.

👋 The New York Giants are subject to cooterdoodle’s state of the team. It’s OK, buddy, you can let go now.

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