Fantasy Questions Week 15. The 10 Biggest Fantasy Questions for the Week.

Hide your kids, hide your pets, hide your wife: The fantasy football playoffs are HERE.

Whether you’re trying to capture championship glory, or simply avoid a brutal last-place punishment, the best thing fantasy managers can do is control the controllables and get those rosters into the best shape possible for the stretch run.

What follows are my 10 biggest questions ahead of Week 15 to accomplish that very goal and a bunch of other stuff that I found cool for one reason or another.

As always: It’s a great day to be great.

1. Which Ravens pass-catchers can we trust in this potential boom spot?

The Jaguars have allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing QBs this season and also carry bottom-seven ranks in PPR points allowed to WRs and TEs alike: This is truly a pass-funnel defense that fantasy managers should feel GREAT about attacking considering they have been lit up by Jake Browning (354-1-0) and Joe Flacco (311-3-1) over the past two weeks.

Injuries certainly haven’t helped: The Jaguars were without CB Tre Herndon (concussion), CB Tyson Campbell (quad) and CB Christian Braswell (hamstring) last week and also could now be without S Andre Cisco (groin).

Enter: Lamar Jackson and company, who are coming off their second-most productive game of the season through the air despite having to deal with that whore Mother Nature. Each of Zay Flowers (6-60-1), Odell Beckham Jr. (4-97-1) and Isaiah Likely (5-83-1) managed to boom in that spot – can we expect an encore in Week 15?

Kind of. OBJ leads the way when considering the utilization at hand courtesy of Fantasy Life’s (free!) player comparison tool.

The concern is whether or not Jackson will really need to keep his foot on the gas as a passer — particularly if projected rain and wind becomes more problematic closer to Sunday night. Overall, Jackson’s 43 pass attempts in Week 14 marked just the second time all season that he finished a game with more than 33. This has remained a run-first offense more weeks than not throughout 2023.

Ultimately, neither WR quite cracks Fantasy Life’s top-24 options on a week with zero byes, but both are recommended starts next to WR3-equivalent types such as Terry McLaurin, Diontae Johnson, Brandin Cooks and Adam Thielen among others.

And then there’s Likely, who has now played at least half of the offense’s snaps in seven career games:

• Week 8, 2022: 6 rec-77 yards-1 TD (PPR TE2)
• Week 9, 2022: 1-24-1 (TE9)
• Week 18, 2022: 8-103-0 (TE3)
• Week 1, 2023: 1-4-0 (TE46)
• Week 11, 2023: 0-0-0 (TE48)
• Week 12, 2023: 4-40-0 (TE19)
• Week 14, 2023: 5-83-1 (TE3)

The talented second-year TE gets a Jaguars secondary that didn’t even come close to containing David Njoku (6-91-2) last week — don’t be surprised if Likely rips off his fifth top-10 finish in eight tries in this winnable spot. He’s a consensus top-12 option at the position ahead of guys like Cole Kmet, Dallas Goedert, Kyle Pitts and more.

2. Are Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall every-week starters in fantasy land despite, you know?

Pretty much! While the Zach Wilson experience has certainly presented more downs than ups for Garrett, the Jets have made a concerted effort all season long to absolutely force feed him the football. Overall, Wilson is the WR8 in expected PPR points per game this season and trails only A.J. Brown (32.8% vs. 31.6%) when it comes to raw target share.

Sadly, this volume hasn’t been enough to help Wilson crack the position’s top-24 PPR scorers on a per-game basis. The WR26 sandwiched between Courtland Sutton and Jakobi Meyers, Wilson has been far more of an upside WR3 than “must start” WR2 this season — and that doesn’t change ahead of a TOUGH matchup with Dolphins corners Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard.

Nov 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (17) catches a touchdown pass during the second half in front of Miami Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou (4) at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t get it twisted: Wilson should remain in far more fantasy lineups than not, but DeAndre Hopkins (7-124-1), Davante Adams (7-82-1) and Curtis Samuel (4-65-0) are the only WRs who have managed to clear even 50 receiving yards against this Dolphins defense since they got Ramsey back in Week 8. As Wilson’s own 7-44-1 performance against this group back in Week 12: Not much comes easy against this Vic Fangio-led defense.

And then there’s Hall, who quietly finds himself quite high on the leaderboard regarding the league’s most productive fantasy backs when only considering receiving production:

1. Christian McCaffrey (125.7 PPR points per game from receiving)
2. Hall (113.5)
3. Alvin Kamara (109.2)
4. Rachaad White (101.9)
5. James Cook (95.1)

And it’s a good thing that receiving production has been so prevalent: Hall has gone seven consecutive games with 50 or fewer scoreless yards on the ground. The second-year talent has largely maintained his top-16 standing thanks to nothing more than sweet, sweet pass-game volume.

Look no further than the last time these two teams matched up for an example of how Hall can save an otherwise lackluster day with a high target share (7-24-0 receiving). Fire up Hall as the mid-range RB2 he’s functioned as for the better part of the season; he’s higher in the Fantasy Life consensus ranks than guys like James Cook, Javonte Williams, Ezekiel Elliott and D’Andre Swift among others.

3. What are the biggest mismatches to exploit in Cowboys-Bills?

The game of the week features the Cowboys’ top-ranked scoring offense going up against Josh Allen and the fifth-ranked Bills offense. A quick look at each team’s EPA per play on offense reveals that both are quite good at moving the football, even if the bulk of that success has largely been accomplished through the passing game:

• EPA per play: Bills (+0.117, No. 2), Cowboys (+0.101, No. 3)
• EPA per pass play: Bills (+0.185, No. 3), Cowboys (+0.197, No. 2)
• EPA per run play: Bills (+0.04, No. 6), Cowboys (-0.046, No. 10)

While the Bills have a legit case as to boasting the better overall offense, it doesn’t take a Joshua Dobbs rocket scientist to figure out which team possesses the better overall defense.

• EPA allowed per play: Bills (-0.077, No. 10), Cowboys (-0.143, No. 3)
• EPA allowed per pass play: Bills (-0.079, No. 9), Cowboys (-0.140, No. 4)
• EPA allowed per run play: Bills (-0.073, No. 18), Cowboys (-0.149, No. 6)

The Bills run defense is the primary red flag on either side of the football. Kudos to them for limiting the Chiefs to just 82 yards on the ground in Week 14, but the likes of the Jets (172), Commanders (105), Dolphins (142), Jaguars (196), Giants (132), Broncos (122) and Eagles (185) all managed to clear the triple-digit rushing yard mark with relative ease.

Turnovers also figure to play a rather huge role. The Bills rank 24th in turnovers on offense (21) … but have the single-most takeaways of any defense (22). Meanwhile, the Cowboys have turned the ball over on the second-fewest occasions in the league (11) while racking up the fifth-most takeaways on defense (21).

The Bills opened as four-point favorites, but this has since dropped to -1.5. It’d make sense if Allen holds his own in this projected shootout, although the Cowboys certainly look like the more complete and less volatile team on paper. Final score prediction: Cowboys 28 Bills 27.

4. Is there hope for the Nick Mullens experience?

Maybe! His early career numbers certainly weren’t terrible. Just look at what he pulled off down the stretch of 2018 with the 49ers:

• Week 9: 262 pass yards-3 TD-0 INT
• Week 10: 250-1-2
• Week 12: 221-1-2
• Week 13: 414-2-1
• Week 14: 332-2-1
• Week 15: 275-1-0
• Week 16: 241-0-1
• Week 17: 282-3-3

Overall, Mullens averaged a solid enough 15.4 fantasy points per game during the stretch — and more importantly helped TE George Kittle go absolutely bonkers down the stretch on his way to breaking the position’s single-season receiving yardage record.

The 28-year-old QB has had the production of a legit great QB during his short NFL career, although more advanced metrics show that a large part of his success was probably more of a credit to Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ ever-lethal skill-position weapons:

• PFF pass grade: 63.5 (No. 47 among 62 qualified QBs)
• Yards per attempt: 7.7 (No. 11)
• Adjusted yards per attempt: 77.1% (No. 9)
• Passer rating: 88.0 (No. 34)

Don’t expect Mullens to suddenly transform this Vikings team into a legit contender, but he’s proven capable of enabling high-ish level passing games when surrounded with quality weapons … which he has in Minnesota with Justin Jefferson (chest) expected to play through the pain alongside T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison.

This is a winnable stretch run for all parties involved:

• Week 15 at Bengals: +0.051 EPA allowed per pass play (26th)
• Week 16 vs. Lions: +0.059 (27th)
• Week 17 vs. Packers: +0.012 (20th)

Continue to fire up Jefferson and Hockenson in lineups of all shapes and sizes, while a late-season bloom by Addison also should be on your radar. The rookie WR hasn’t caught a TD or gained even 70 yards in a game since Kirk Cousins was lost for the season; just realize Addison had scored seven times in eight games prior to that — he’s a quality FLEX option who I would start ahead of guys like George Pickens, Jerry Jeudy and Jahan Dotson.

5. Who are some quality handcuff options to stash sooner rather than later?

Guys like Ty Chandler and Zamir White quickly became sought-after waiver wire pickups after their team’s respective starting backs went down to injury. While neither exactly BOOMED to the top of the ranks, each serves as good examples of the easy upside that can be had by staying one step ahead of your league in the handcuff RB rat race.

The following backup RBs are presently available in over 50% of Yahoo leagues and are presumably just one injury away from at least entering the position’s top-30 weekly options — if not much higher:

• Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier (49%)
• Titans RB Tyjae Spears (45%)
• Panthers RB Miles Sanders (43%)
• Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (29%)
• Bengals RB Chase Brown (16%)
• Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (11%)
• Jaguars RB D’Ernest Johnson (7%)
• 49ers RB Jordan Mason (2%)

Note that Mason’s standing depends on Elijah Mitchell (knee, missed Week 14) remaining sidelined.

6. Can we suddenly feel somewhat OK about this Giants offense?

The Tommy DeVito era is upon us with the Giants having won three consecutive games. The latest comeback performance was good enough to earn DeVito player of the week honors. What a time to be alive.

Here’s the catch: The undrafted rookie QB has thrown for under 200 yards in four of his five extended appearances this season, and his only truly prolific passing performance (246-3-0) came against possibly the NFL’s single-worst pass defense in the Commanders.

The Giants have scored six, 17, 31, 10 and most recently 24 points with DeVito under center. Honestly not bad relative to what was going on in this offense during the first two months of the season, but also not exactly the sort of environment that fantasy managers should be dying to get a piece of.

Dec 11, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates with quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimately, there are just two Giants who should be considered starting material in fantasy leagues of most shapes and sizes ahead of Sunday’s road trip to New Orleans:

• Saquon Barkley: Has two multi-TD games to his name over the past three weeks. The Giants have found a way to feed him 15-plus opportunities in every game this season; fire up Barkley as a volume-based RB1 against a Saints run defense that has fallen off a cliff over the past five weeks of action.
• Wan’Dale Robinson: Racked up a season-high 115 total yards on Monday night on a robust 81% route rate. The Giants have rotated up to six WRs during any given week this season, but have finally seemed to settle on Robinson, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt as their top-three options. The continued absence of TE Darren Waller has helped Wan’Dale rack up a team-high 23 targets under center; he’s a volume-based FLEX play against a Saints defense that has allowed bottom-seven marks in both receptions and receiving yards allowed to WRs aligned from the slot this season.

7. Who is the best QB in the NFC South?

Baker Mayfield in a landslide per public opinion!

The advanced data mostly backs up the answer, even if it’s not quite as large of a margin as the above poll:

• CPOE: Carr (+1.9%, 13th), Mayfield (-0.8%, 24th), Ridder (-1.7%, 28th), Young (-2.7%, 33rd)
• EPA per dropback: Mayfield (+0.07, 14th), Carr (-0.02, 23rd), Ridder (-0.07, 30th), Young (-0.2, 39th)

Moral of the story: All four QBs have been awful. There’s actually an argument for Andy Dalton (+0.14 EPA per dropback) if we decided to not give a shit about sample size. While the Jameis Winston roller coaster would obviously trade plenty of lows to go with the occasional high, he would at least be a helluva lot more entertaining to watch on Sundays.

The NFC South is the only division in football without a single team boasting a positive point differential. Hell, no other group of four teams has more than two squads with a point differential south of zero.

One of these below-.500 teams will, unfortunately, make the playoffs; just realize there really isn’t much sign of life for anybody involved. At least the Buccaneers and Saints have blessed us with some mostly consistently reliable fantasy performers in Mike Evans, Rachaad White, Chris Olave and Chris Olave, while Falcons head coach Arthur Smith deserves a shred of credit for helping enable Bijan Robinson to some solid fantasy heights in recent weeks.

8. Can Jayden Reed be trusted as a legit WR2 in this smash spot?

The rookie has certainly managed to provide some consistent fantasy excellence over his last five games:

• Week 10: 5-84-1 receiving, 0-0-0 rushing, PPR WR12
• Week 11: 4-46-0, 3-46-1, WR11
• Week 12: 4-34-1, 2-16-0, WR25
• Week 13: 4-16-0, 0-0-0, WR50
• Week 14: 8-27-0, 4-38-1, WR6

Fun fact: Reed has averaged an NFL-high 10.8 yards per carry among all players with at least … 10 carries this season. Yes, it’s a small-sample size. Also yes, credit to the rookie for making defenses pay all over the field. Don’t you dare compare Reed to Deebo Samuel — but this explosive slot-maven possesses enough rushing upside to at least warrant “Gen Z Randall Cobb” consideration.

While this Buccaneers defense has gotten slightly healthier in recent weeks, they remained without difference-making CB Jamel Dean (ankle/foot), LB Devin White (foot) and DT Vita Vea (toe) in Week 14. Only the Eagles, Commanders and Giants have allowed more PPR points per game to opposing WRs than the Bucs — and they’ve been particularly brutal against slot receivers all year long:

Tampa Bay vs. WRs aligned from the slot:

• Yards per attempt: 9.9 (30th)
• Explosive pass play rate: 21% (26th)
• Passer rating: 108.9 (27th)
• Contested target rate: 10% (30th)

Reed is a Fantasy Life consensus top-30 WR ahead of guys like Terry McLaurin, Diontae Johnson and Tee Higgins among others. Romeo Doubs also warrants the benefit of the doubt in closer FLEX start/sit decisions with the Packers being forced to condense their passing attack as long as Christian Watson (hamstring) and even Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) remain sidelined.

9. Which volume-based RB2 types do we truly trust this week?

Fantasy Life projections currently have seven RBs seeing 20-plus combined carries and targets in Week 15:

• Kyren Williams (23.8)
• Christian McCaffrey (22.9)
• Ezekiel Elliott (21.8)
• Saquon Barkley (21.4)
• Zack Moss (20.7)
• Rachaad White (20.7)
• Bijan Robinson (20.6)

Chuba Hubbard (19.4) is close and in a similar conversation as the likes of Zeke and Moss — can we really trust these volume-based backs with our fantasy season on the line?

Short answer: Yes. Moss (RB9), Zeke (RB20) and Chuba (RB24) all crack the position’s top-24 options thanks to largely nothing other than this sweet, sweet volume. The ranking discrepancy comes from the reality that the Colts (8th in scoring offense) present a far more fantasy-friendly environment than either the Panthers (30th) or Patriots (32nd).

The matchups on hand also aren’t anything to overly worry about. All three backs will benefit from playing at home, with only Chuba drawing a top-12 defense in PPR points per game against the position in the form of the Falcons.

Moss in particular is due for a nice bounce-back performance. His utilization is legit RB1 worthy and he would have had a TD last week if not for an objectively mid holding call.

10. What are three bold predictions for Week 15?

Every week I put together matchup-specific charts to help determine the week’s biggest advantages by combining offensive and defensive rates in explosive plays, pressure, yards before contact, passing yards per dropback and EPA. This provides singular metrics to help quantity advantages on both sides of the ball instead of always having to go, “Offense ranks x, defense ranks y.”

The following three players might have a red flag or two in their Week 15 projection — that’s why they aren’t ranked as sure-thing top-12 options at their position — but I believe there’s enough of an edge in the matchup to warrant enhanced optimism.

Credit to us (me) for calling out the potential for Javonte Williams to boom last Sunday, Please ignore my incorrect assertions that Zack Moss would boom and that the weather Gods would badly hinder offensive production overall. Thank you.

1. Justin Fields overcomes Myles Garrett and company on his way to 300 total yards and four TDs. The Bears boast the week’s highest combined explosive run play rate against a Browns defense that is all kinds of banged up at the moment. This offense has scored 28, 40, 26, 12 and 28 points in Fields’ last five fully healthy starts; I like the dual-threat talent’s blowup potential in a rare December game in Cleveland NOT expected to have bad weather.
2. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combine for four TDs against the Broncos. Gibbs and Montgomery are currently both pacing to work as top-12 RBs in PPR points per game — they would join Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram as the only pair of teammates to accomplish this feat in at least the last decade. This Broncos run defense hasn’t improved like their pass defense has this season; fire up both RBs as recommended starts with serious BOOM potential against Denver’s league-worst defense in PPR points per game allowed to the position.
3. Amari Cooper gets in on the Joe Flacco party and goes 7-125-2 vs. the Bears. Cooper has a team-high 18 targets with Flacco under center despite ranking fourth in total routes run due to missing time in Week 13. While the veteran WR hasn’t found the end zone with Mr. Elite, the scoring upside is suddenly looking relatively great with Flacco fresh off his sterling 311-3-1 performance. It’d be surprising to not see Cooper make more out of another 14 target workload in Week 15 against a Bears defense that has already allowed 13 receiving TDs to opposing WRs this season — tied for the seventh-highest mark in the league.

Week 15 Notes

• The funny thing about Bengals QB Jake Browning is that his numbers are … better than pretty much anyone not named Brock Purdy:
  • Completion percentage over expected: +7.2% (No. 1)
  • EPA per dropback: +0.22 (No. 3)
  • Passer rating: 110.9 (No. 2)
  • Yards per attempt: 9.1 (No. 2)
  • Adjusted completion rate: 83.3% (No. 1)
     
• The big difference? Average target depth (aDOT): Purdy (8.5 yards, 17th) throws the ball a fairly normal distance downfield on average, while Browning (5.6) is nearly a full yard below any other QB. Lucky for Bengals fans and fantasy managers: Style points don’t count extra in NFL games; just realize at some point Jake Brrr will need to prove capable of beating defenses downfield (good thing he has the weapons to do so).
   
• Can Derek Carr get some help out here? I mean seriously, just look at this brutal drop committed by … LT Andrus Peat?
   
• Steelers RB Jaylen Warren was announced as the team’s starter for the first time before Week 10. His workload … really hasn’t changed since. Basically, that meme of the old dude getting gifted the exact same shirt he’s already wearing. You certainly can’t blame the second-year talent’s performance: Warren ranks first in yards per carry (5.6), yards after contact per carry (3.9) and missed tackles forced per carry (0.38) among 42 qualified RBs this season.
   
• Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky has nearly identical numbers to Kenny Pickett (ankle) when it comes to yards per attempt (6.5 vs. 6.3), completion rate (63.6% vs. 62.5%) and passer rating (78.4 vs. 78.8) over the past two seasons. However, Trubisky boasts a robust 9.6-yard average target depth, while Pickett rests at a lowly 7.8). This more downfield-driven mindset has shown up in terms of PFF’s turnover-worthy play rate (4.2% vs. 2.2%); either way, neither has exactly been what the kids might call “good” despite seemingly having more than a few decent places to go with the football on any given play.
   
• It turns out that mainstream football Twitter is not ready for unrealized air yard discourse in the year 2023.
   
• Here’s a full list of NFL players with eight-plus catches in at least 10 games during a single season:
  • 2019 Michael Thomas (13 games with 8+ catches)
  • 2002 Marvin Harrison (12)
  • 2015 Julio Jones (11)
  • 2005 Anquan Boldin (10)
  • 2009 Wes Welker (10)
  • 2021 Cooper Kupp (10)
  • 2023 Michael Pittman (10 and counting)
     
• Turns out Pittman was an absolute smash at his WR3 ADP! He’s set up rather great down the stretch with spots against the Steelers, Falcons and Raiders to close out the season.
   
• Have the last two weeks of the Zack Moss experience been objectively shitty? Unfortunately, they have. But do you NEED to continue starting him because of the high-end RB1 utilization on hand? Unfortunately, you do. Here’s to hoping better times are ahead; also note the ex-Bills veteran was pretty much robbed of a 10-yard score last week due to a ticky tack holding call.
   
• Javonte Williams is a good example of why we should generally not give up on players because of a few bad box scores when they continue to boast high-end utilization.

• Don’t be surprised if the good times continue to roll for end-of-season matchups against the Lions, Patriots and Chargers.
   
• The government doesn’t want you to know that Sam Howell has scored more fantasy points than Patrick Mahomes this season.
   
• Courtland Sutton TDs from 2018 to 2022: 14. Sutton TDs in 2023: 10.
   
• Good news for Lions faithful: Jared Goff is back indoors. Bad news: He’s facing a Broncos pass defense that has been a top-five unit in DVOA over the past five weeks of action. Fire up the key skill-position parties as recommended fantasy starts per usual; just realize Patrick Surtain II and company have come a long way since their early-season struggles.
   
• The Joe Flacco discourse has probably gone a little bit too far. All five of his passing TDs have gone to objectively wide-open Browns receivers who benefited mightily from busted coverage. Kudos to Mr. Elite for identifying the right coverage and all of that, but I do reject the idea that he’s an upgrade over what Deshaun Watson was offering upon briefly returning to full health. Of course, the fact that it’s even somewhat close is still a testament to Watson’s miserable (for the Browns) contract — as well as a credit to Flacco for certainly performing more than admirably for someone who just got off the couch a few weeks ago.
   
• DJ Moore continues to keep on balling out with Justin Fields under center. Overall, the ex-Panthers wide-out has scored or gained 100-plus yards in seven consecutive games with No. 1 under center. Remember all those #FreeDJMoore rallies over the years? Well, I think it’s safe to say that Moore is finally freed. Fire him up as the WR1 that he’s been with Fields under center against an egregiously banged-up Browns defense that still might not have No. 1 CB Denzel Ward (shoulder) back in action.
   
• The idea that Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill shouldn’t win MVP comes down to the idea that QB is the most valuable position in all of sports. I won’t disagree with that conclusion, but did you see what the Dolphins’ previously high-octane offense looked like in Week 14 when forced to function for a few quarters without the Cheetah? If they want to rename the award to “Most valuable QB”, go ahead, my vote (note: I do not have a vote) continues to rest with Hill.
   
• Titans RB Derrick Henry’s last five games against the Texans:
  • 32-211-3
  • 22-212-2
  • 34-250-2
  • 32-219-2
  • 23-126-1
  • Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
     
• Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert has 18 more TDs than Jets RB Dalvin Cook this season. Note that Cook also leads the league with the most touches without a TD (80). Can I get a wowza? (Wowza.)
   
• Please get healthy, Texans. Neither C.J. Stroud (concussion) nor Nico Collins (calf) look great for Sunday, meaning it will be up to Davis Mills to take advantage of the Titans’ pass funnel defense. This group held Mills to under 180 passing yards in both of their meetings last season; nobody in this offense is a recommended fantasy start without Stroud under center.
   
• This season Travis Kelce has scored 197.6 PPR points and T.J. Hockenson has scored … 196.9 PPR points. The likes of Sam LaPorta (176.6), George Kittle (170.3) and a surging Evan Engram (170.1) round out the top five spots — no other player at the position has cracked even 150 PPR points this season.
   
• Meanwhile, rookie Chiefs WR Rashee Rice has gone en fuego ever since finally locking down a near-every-down role three weeks ago.

• I’m higher than any other Fantasy Life ranker on Rice this week. He’s my WR19 ahead of guys like Garrett Wilson, Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins and Jaylen Waddle among others.
   
• Cardinals target leaders in four games with Kyler Murray:
  • Trey McBride (34)
  • Marquise Brown (20)
  • Greg Dortch (18)
  • Rondale Moore (16)
     
• Hollywood (heel) still isn’t practicing out of the bye, while Michael Wilson (neck) was limited on Wednesday. McBride should be in fantasy lineups of all shapes and sizes, while Dortch and Moroe present some solid FLEX-level upside down the stretch with winnable matchups against the 49ers (24th in PPR points per game allowed to WRs), Bears (15th) and Eagles (32nd).
   
• Yes, Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney made one of the biggest bone-headed mistakes in recent memory and has arguably directly lost the Chiefs two games this season. Also yes, this juke was cool.
• Tommy DeVito found a way to rip off three straight wins in an otherwise lost season to undoubtedly lock down millions of future dollars in the backup QB market. Truly the American dream.
   
• Go ahead and call Brock Purdy the MVP if you want; there are certainly more than enough numbers that confirm he’s the NFL’s most efficient QB. Of course, the same was true for Alex Smith back in 2017 … but the world seemed capable of, you know, using our collective eyes to determine that the play-calling and collection of talent at WR, TE and RB alike was probably a bigger factor in the team’s overall success. Is it legal to think Purdy is REALLY GOOD and also NOT THE LEAGUE MVP? That’s the world I want to live in.
   
• Keep an eye on Brian Robinson (hamstring), but starting off the week with a DNP isn’t good following a bye. Sadly, his absence likely wouldn’t lead to all that much of a role change for Antonio Gibson, as rookie Chris Rodriguez essentially filled Robinson’s early-down role after the injury occurred in the first place.

• Gibson will be the preferred play if Robinson is ultimately ruled out, but he’ll be far more of a borderline RB2 as opposed to someone who needs to be jammed into lineups of all shapes and sizes.
   
• Both Cooper Kupp (WR9) and Puka Nacua (WR11) rank inside of Fantasy Life's consensus top-12 WRs this week ahead of their smash spot against the Commanders’ 31st-ranked secondary in PPR points per game allowed to the position. So yeah: START THEM.
   
• Trevor Lawrence fed Zay Jones (14 targets), Calvin Ridley (13) and Evan Engram (12) respectively massive workloads during the team’s first game without Christian Kirk. No other pass-catcher was targeted more than four times. Sadly, efficiency could once again be tough to come by against the Ravens’ beastly secondary; just realize this group has the potential to seriously BOOM down the stretch against the Buccaneers and Panthers in Weeks 16 and 17.
   
• Congrats to D.K. Metcalf, Chase Brown and KaVontae Turpin for infiltrating Next Gen Stat’s top-five fastest ball carriers leaderboard. It’s the first time in literal months that the Dolphins don’t own at least half of these spots — now they simply possess six of the top-nine speeds from the season.
   
• Was this pass maybe thrown a hair late? Sure. Was it still an absolute dart by Justin Fields? You bet your ass it was.

• Speaking of Metcalf: He’s on pace for a season-long 67-1,130-9 receiving line. Not too shabby – particularly with a potential BOOM spot on the horizon against the Eagles’ league-worst secondary in PPR points per game allowed to the position.
   
• The Eagles have scored just 19 and 13 points over the past two weeks … probably because they faced two of the game’s best defenses in the 49ers and Cowboys. Let’s just say Jalen Hurts and company have MAJOR potential to get back to grooving over the next three weeks against the Seahawks (22nd in EPA per play allowed), Giants (14th) and Cardinals (31st).

Who’s awesome? YOU’RE AWESOME. Now let’s go out there and win some fantasy football playoff matchups, baby.