NFL Week 15 Takeaways

Injury Roundup

QB Colt McCoy - Arizona Cardinals

Head: McCoy suffered a concussion and will have to clear the league’s concussion protocol to play next week.

RB Jonathon Taylor - Indianapolis Colts

Ankle: Jonathan Taylor was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. His season could be over.

RB Caleb Huntley - Atlanta Falcons

Ankle: Huntley will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his ankle injury.

WR Jaylen Waddle - Miami Dolphins

Forearm: Waddle momentarily left the game and was questionable to return with a forearm injury but he is not expected to miss any time.

WR Tyler Lockett - Seattle Seahawks

Finger: Lockett is expected to have surgery on his finger but could return to finish out the regular season. Keep an eye on practice reports.

WR Equanimeous St. Brown - Chicago Bears

Head: St. Brown was ruled out of the game and will have to clear the league’s concussion protocol to play next week.

Game Recaps

49ers @ Seahawks

Kittle Still Untrustworthy

The 49ers have not done things much differently offensively with Brock Purdy. Brandon Aiyuk has seen fewer targets but game script has affected that. George Kittle is seeing nearly the same amount of targets every week regardless of team pass attempts but that has worked to his detriment. Most of Kittles’ TE1 games have come against some of the best matchups for the position. The Seahawks and Cardinals are by far the best matchups in the league. His highs are high, as Kittle has finished as one of the top-2 at the position on 3 separate occasions in half-PPR. Next week, he faces the Commanders, the 3rd hardest matchup for TEs. After that it lightens up against the Raiders but unfortunately most leagues will finish by then before he can end the season against the Cardinals. With the playoffs on the line it is hard to imagine trusting other options over him but Kittle just isn’t getting enough work as a receiver to succeed at a reliable rate.

Colts @ Vikings

The Vikings Defense

Minnesota won a close one as they made the largest comeback in NFL history after trailing 33-0 at halftime. The Vikings defense allowed 400+ yards in their 5 previous games but “only” allowed 341 on Saturday to Matt Ryan and the Colts without Jonathon Taylor. Forcing the Vikings to play catch-up has benefited all of their pass catchers. Justin Jefferson will always be projected as a high-end WR1 but Adam Thielen has found WR1/2 games thanks to TDs. K.J. Osborn is the team’s WR3 but finished as the half-PPR WR26 Week 14 and should finish in the top-3 overall WRs this week. With games against the Giants and Packers to close the fantasy season, there is still a ton of shootout potential. Players like Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn stand out as good flex plays who may not usually start in your lineups. T.J. Hockenson isn’t posting amazing fantasy finishes but he is usually a TE1.

Eagles @ Bears

Avoid the Bears

Chicago is running thin on offensive weapons. The Bears managed to score 20 points against a below-average Eagles run defense but no receiver stood out. With Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool both out for the season, it is unlikely that anyone stands out for more than a week in the receiver room. The running game is what Chicago has leaned on and it works for them. Their final games of the fantasy season come against the Bills and Lions. The Bills are great on defense and aren’t particularly weak to a specific position. The Lions have improved against the run but are still soft against WRs and TEs. Outside of Justin Fields and David Montgomery, the only other player worth starting is TE Cole Kmet against the Lions. Nobody else is picking up the slack.

Lions @ Jets

A New Zach Wilson?

Zach Wilson looked good. Heck, he even looked fun out there. Wilson threw a little more than his average and only completed about half of his passes but he was taking plenty of deep shots, which is good for his receivers. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Wilson led all QBs in aDOT prior to Sunday Night Football with 14.2. His “aggressiveness percentage”, or the percentage of throws into tight windows, ranked 7th. The running game suffered but that was mainly due to a bad matchup. Zonovan Knight and Michael Carter still combined for 17 rushes. Everyone should hope that this type of Zach Wilson sticks around for the sake of Jets fans and fantasy football managers’ sanity. Rookie of the Year favorite Garrett Wilson continues to feast regardless of the QB situation but the deep shots help his ceiling every week. The Jets stay at home next week where they face a struggling Jaguars secondary. Fire up Garrett Wilson with confidence.

Steelers @ Panthers

Diontae on the Rise

Last week’s article highlighted how much better Mitch Trubisky was for Steelers WRs. The Steelers didn’t need to pass much and they ran the ball effectively with the lead for most of the game in Week 15 but Diontae Johnson feasted anyway. DJ caught all 10 of his targets for 98 yards as he set season-highs in both receptions and yards. George Pickens was once again effective on deep shots. Pickens only caught 2 catches but gained 53 yards. The only downside is that Kenny Pickett is likely to start again next week. The Steelers still have a juicy passing matchup against the Raiders but it would be a lot better with Trubisky starting.

Chiefs @ Texans

Play Texans Receivers, Not RBs

The Houston Texans have nearly spoiled two games in a row when they were projected to get blown out against the Cowboys and the Chiefs. Despite injuries and generally bad play by the offense, Houston has remained competitive. That has not translated to much fantasy success but there are bright spots. With Dameon Pierce on IR, no RB has emerged as a worthwhile starting option and things only get tougher against a top Titans run defense in Week 16. The Titans are terrible at defending passes, though, which makes the Texans pass-catchers ideal options next week. They also face a soft Jaguars secondary in Week 17. With Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins still hurt, Chris Moore once again led the team in targets with nine. He didn’t have another eye-popping game but he’s the clear top option when Cooks and Collins are out. If either of them play, they are easy starts. Brevin Jordan and Jordan Akins have been the top TEs in target share for the team but Akins has consistently performed better as a receiver.

Cardinals @ Broncos

Marlon Mack Scores Again

Mack has found a new home in Denver and has now scored in back-to-back weeks. He would be a great pickup if Latavius Murray were to miss time but he is only playing around 30% of snaps at the moment. His role is small and he has only combined for 15 combined rushes and targets over the past two weeks. The TDs are nice but this isn’t something you can consistently expect or chase even in deeper leagues. Leave him on the waiver wire unless you can afford a bench spot in case of an injury to Murray.

Patriots @ Raiders

Darren Waller Returns

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Waller played his first game since Week 5 this week. He didn’t play much despite the game script keeping the Raiders in passing situations but that was likely because the Raiders wanted to be cautious in his return. He split playing time with Foster Moreau but was clearly the better pass catching option, catching all 3 of his targets for 48 yards and a TD. The upcoming matchups against the Steelers and 49ers aren’t easy for TEs but Waller’s talent at a tough position makes him a play over nearly every streamer. Waller had seven red zone targets in only 4 games heading into this week which was only one behind 2nd place Mack Hollins. TD upside on a good Raiders offense bodes well for him in the home stretch of the season.

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By Themi Michalakis