Chris Allen is looking ahead to the fantasy football playoffs matchups to make sure you're one step ahead of your leaguemates:

The fantasy football playoffs are nearly upon us and, as is important this time of year, I want to highlight players with favorable matchups as well as matchups to avoid for the fantasy playoff period.

For more insights on where players slot in these critical weeks, check out our Week 14 fantasy football rankings and our rest-of-season rankings.

Best Fantasy Football Playoffs Matchups By Position

QB: Will Levis, Titans

Let’s do a quick comparison. In Levis’ first four full starts, he threw 5 TDs to seven 7 INT. Since coming back from injury in Week 10 (another month of action), his TD-INT ratio has been 6 to 2. Levis has gone from being around Deshaun Watson (33rd) and Bryce Young (35th) in the EPA per dropback ranks to matching Jalen Hurts (16th) in down-to-down passing efficiency.

With a 14.0% rushing rate to boost his floor (or negate a turnover), Levis has the Konami Code appeal and improvement as a passer to consider for the stretch run. His schedule should also smooth out any bias folks might have toward the earlier parts of the season.

The Titans will face the Jaguars (twice), Indianapolis, and the Bengals over the last month of the fantasy season. Most importantly, their second match against Jacksonville comes in Week 17. Three of those four matches are against defenses allowing top-4 results to opposing passers. Yes, we meme’d him into oblivion to start the year, but he has the playmakers and schedule to be a viable option for the stretch run.

RB: Bucky Irving, Buccaneers

Promoting Bucky Irving feels redundant after he generated 27.1 PPR points in back-to-back games. However, his usage leading to two top-3 finishes extends past a two-game sample.

  • Irving has equaled or out-carried Rachaad White in every game going back to Week 8. Irving is averaging 13.0 carries per game, while White is at 8.4.
     
  • Irving has earned the same or more targets than White in four of their last five contests.

Irving’s 62.0% share in Week 13 was the highest of any Bucs’ RB all season. A hip injury might limit his output in Week 14, but Tampa’s runout should make Irving a staple of rosters vying for a title.

  • Week 14: Raiders
  • Week 15: Chargers
  • Week 16: Cowboys
  • Week 17: Panthers

A matchup against Carolina in championship week is all I needed to see. But the two beforehand are also noteworthy. LA has given up the eighth-most rushing yards per game over their last month. Dallas is above the league average in receiving yards allowed to RBs. Irving’s dual-threat ability alone should be enough to have him as a high-end RB2 the rest of the way.

WR: Jakobi Meyers, Raiders

Jakobi Meyers has been without Davante Adams since Week 3. Meyers’ ankle sprain forced him to miss two games, but we still have a seven-game sample with the former Patriot as the Raiders ‘WR1.’ I used the quotes since we all know that Brock Bowers is really the top option. But Meyers isn’t too far behind.

  • Targets per Game: 9.9 (5th-most of 82 qualifying WRs—min. 50.0% route rate)
  • Targets per Route Run: 25.0% (14th)
  • Air Yard Share: 31.0% (18th)

Las Vegas has had three games since their bye, and Meyers has earned double-digit target counts in two of them. He had to face CB Pat Surtain in the other. Meyers isn’t just the defacto WR1. But even if his production were volume-based, we’d take his opportunity against his upcoming schedule all day.

  • Buccaneers (passing yards allowed to WRs since Week 8): 162.4 (11th-most)
  • Falcons: 171.2 (9th-most)
  • Jaguars: 187.4 (4th-most)
  • Saints: 191.4 (3rd-most)

All four of the defenses he’ll face are bottom-12 in yards per game allowed to WRs. Accordingly, they rank in the Top 10 in PPR PPG surrendered to the position. Trusting passers like Aidan O’Connel to feed his pass-catchers seems like a tough proposition, but after laying 340 on the Chiefs, Meyers has the situation to keep him afloat through the playoffs.

TE: Will Dissly, Chargers

Unfortunately, our DvP is less predictive when it comes to TEs. It comes down to the volatility in targets from team to team. Not everyone uses them the same. So, let’s start with Will Dissly’s role in the offense.

  • Route Rate (since Week 10): 66.0%
  • Target Share: 11.0%

With Hayden Hurst sidelined, Dissly has been Justin Herbert’s top TE option. Plus, as Ladd McConkey works through yet another injury, Dissly may be in store for more work in the short term. Regardless, the long-term also looks viable for the Chargers’ TE.

I pulled results for pass-catching TEs against LA’s upcoming defenses to frame expectations. Sure, Dissly isn’t as polished of a route runner as any of them. However, players at Dissly’s position with a route-running role have been able to give us a floor from a fantasy standpoint. And with Dissly securing 25.0% of the looks in the red zone, having him on your roster will be the floor-and-ceiling combination you’ll need for the playoffs.

Worst Fantasy Football Playoffs Matchups By Position

QB: Jared Goff, Lions

I realize if we’re excited about pass-catchers like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and even Jahmyr Gibbs or Sam LaPorta, then we should at least consider their QB. But the Lions have had a positive dropback over expectation rate in just two games this season. Goff has the four-lowest passing rate once the Lions get in scoring position. His schedule doesn’t do him any favors, either.

  • Bills
  • Bears
  • 49ers

All three have bottom-10 marks in fantasy points allowed to the position. Zooming in on the data doesn’t improve the picture. Since Week 7 (an 18-sample across all three defenses), only four QBs have scored more than 20.0 fantasy points. Five had less than ten points. While we can typically count on the Lions to hit a game’s over on their own, Goff doesn’t have to be a part of the fun, making him a QB2 for the playoffs.

RB: Kareem Hunt, Browns

I’ll get into the matchups, but the change in Kareem Hunt’s workload with Isiah Pacheco back is a larger concern.

  • Hunt: 40.0% (Snap Rate), 44.0% (Carry Share), 7.0% (Target Share)
  • Pacheco: 33.0%, 44.0%, 2.0%
  • Perine: 27.0%, 0.0%, 2.0%

Pacheco took half of the short-yardage looks. Perine got all of the two-minute snaps. Hunt’s loss of the RB1 role in the Chiefs’ offense already puts his fantasy output at risk. 

To be fair, season-long stats influence these ranks. Chase Brown just racked up 19.0 PPR points against Pittsburgh in Week 13. But the Browns haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since before Week 7. All the others eclipsing the century mark needed 19 carries or more. The RB rotation, coupled with the defenses Kansas City will face, will put Hunt’s fantasy upside at risk. Even if you have to start him, temper expectations.

WR: Tank Dell, Texans

I figured (hoped?) that with Nico Collins coming back, Dell would see more work. It sounds counterintuitive, but having a WR1 to pull tougher coverage would make Dell earn higher-percentage looks. Instead, C.J. Stroud has looked Dell’s way less often.

 

Outside of the Texans’ Week 17 bout against the Ravens, Dell will face top perimeter corners to start the playoffs (Miami—Ramsey, Kansas City—McDuffie). And Stroud has continued to struggle with consistent play. While Dell’s 39.0% air-yard share will allow him to pop up for an explosive play or two, his share within a shaky offense makes him tough to trust in the playoffs.

TE: Mark Andrews, Ravens

Mark Andrews would be tough to sit at this point in the season. A few streaming options may offer some upside. But it’s less likely they’d be a part of an offense piloted by an elite QB. So, I only want to add context to Andrews even after coming off a strong Week 13.

  • Week 10 (Isaiah Likely out): 94.0% (route share), 22.0% (target share), 27.0% (air-yard share)
     
  • Weeks 11-13 (with Likely back): 61.0%, 18.0%, 17.0%

I’m not concerned about the matchups. Lamar Jackson can work through any defense (it seems). However, the split between Likely and Andrews will keep both as volatile starts in the playoffs.

For more schedule-based data, head to our Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule tool below!

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