Week 15 Start vs. Sit: The Right Kind of Swifty

It’s fantasy POSTSEASON, y’all! Here’s to ensuring your playoff run continues into next week and the week thereafter and beyond until you’re a 2023 fantasy football champion. Either that, or you’re competing to avoid the toilet bowl, last place, and effectively being forced into having the league winner’s grandmother’s likeness tattooed onto your right butt cheek. Or your left. Or both. Or maybe you have to play Frogger in four-lane traffic for an hour. I have no way of knowing how sick in the head your league-mates are. All I can do is help you from becoming Main Street roadkill or having Grandma Elsa’s face stenciled onto your backside.

So, let’s get to it and fire up those decisions. This week, we’ll touch on Justin Fields, D’Andre Swift, James Cook, Calvin Ridley and more. But if you don’t see your player of interest, hit me up in the comments. Week 15 start vs. sit begins right now.

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Quarterback

START: Russell Wilson (ECR: QB11). The Lions rank bottom-10 in the NFL in yards per attempt and have surrendered 20 passing scores this season, ranking sixth worst in the league. And they’ve been especially poor as of late. Justin Fields has maybe had four good games all season. Two came against Detroit in the last four weeks, finishing as QB8 with 21 points in Week 11 and QB3 with 25 in Week 14. In Week 12, Jordan Love totaled 27 points and finished as QB5. Even Derek Carr, who only mustered 10 fantasy points in Week 13, shredded the Lions with a 77.3% completion percentage. RW3 is a top-eight option this week.

SIT: Justin Fields (ECR: QB8). Fields may be capable of lighting up Detroit, but the Browns aren’t the Lions. Of the nine games Fields has played this year, he has finished as a top-14 quarterback just four times. Two of those performances have come against Detroit, albeit in the last four weeks, if you’re in search of optimism. You can use recent trends to be less bullish on the Browns D all you want, but they still rank fourth in the NFL in yards per attempt while sporting the best defense in the league in terms of completion percentage. This could be another disaster game for Fields and the Bears’ offense.

Running Back 

START: D’Andre Swift (ECR: RB22). Let’s catch lightning in a bottle. It’s amazing what a difference a matchup can make. Last week, Swift was our weekly sit, and now, he has risen to the top as my recommended start. The game script for Eagles-Seahawks in Week 15 should be more favorable to Swift than the Eagles-Cowboys was one week ago. Plus, the Seahawks’ 17 rushing touchdowns allowed rank fourth worst in the NFL. Seattle is also tied for eighth worst in the NFL, with 4.4 yards allowed per carry. As the Eagles rebound, I’m expecting top-18 production from Swift at the RB position.

HAT TIP: James Cook (ECR: RB19). This blurb might not be necessary, but given the matchup against the Cowboys and the fact that Cook may be positioned as an RB3 on many playoff rosters (ex., I have Zack Moss, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Cook), it’s worth iterating that he should be in your fantasy lineups. Cook has had two of his best games of the season in the last three contests, finishing as RB7 against a stout Jets D in Week 11 and coming in as RB3 last week vs. the Chiefs. Cook has been a top-25 option in four straight games. 

SIT: Jerome Ford (ECR: RB21). This has nothing to do with Ford’s developing injury status at practice throughout the week. Signs are pointing to him suiting up, but I struggle to see the upside for any playoff team hoping to go all the way. And isn’t that the goal for all of us? This week’s opponent, the Bears, aren’t bad against the run, either. Chicago ranks second in the NFL in fewest yards allowed per carry (3.6) and have forfeited just seven rushing scores all year. Don’t start Ford if you’re hoping to advance.

DUH: This section was composed assuming all fantasy managers are starting Ezekiel Elliott (ECR: RB15) regardless of format.

Wide Receiver

START: Odell Beckham Jr. (ECR: WR13). OBJ has been a WR2 or better three times in the last five games, including twice in the last three contests. In those last three games, he has garnered 22 targets while totaling 247 yards on 11 grabs. He torched the Rams for 10 receptions, 97 yards and a score last week for WR6 status. Now he’s being labeled as WR32 by ECR despite the fact that the Jaguars are one of the worst defenses in the NFL against the perimeter pass catcher. OBJ could boom.

SIT: Calvin Ridley (ECR: WR28). In one of my leagues, I own Gibbs, Moss, and Cook at RB and Justin Jefferson, Jaylen Waddle, and Calvin Ridley at WR. So long as JJ plays, Ridley is my odd man out. He’s boom or bust, which is scary enough for postseason fantasy managers. But against an elite Ravens D that has basically led the NFL in the fewest yards per attempt (5.6) from start to finish this season, it’s almost undoubtedly a bust.

Tight End

START: Chigoziem Okonkwo (ECR: RE: 18) -OR- Logan Thomas (ECR: TE16). If you’re in the fantasy postseason, then you probably have one go-to tight end that you’re rolling with this week. But if you don’t and find yourself scurrying, consider Chigoziem Okonkwo or Logan Thomas. Okonkwo has seen 12 targets while totaling 110 yards on eight grabs the last two weeks and now faces a Texans defense that’s third worst in fantasy against tight ends. As for Thomas, the Rams also provide a juicy fantasy tight end matchup, ranking fourth worst in the league.

SIT: Kyle Pitts (ECR: TE13). If you’re competing for a championship, it’s hard to fathom Pitts being on your roster or him being under consideration this week. But after last week’s TE6 performance, it’s worth remembering how underwhelming Pitts has been in this Falcons offense since he arrived. He has just two touchdowns all season and has eclipsed double-digit half-PPR points just three times, including once in the last seven games. Stream one of the options above before you roll with Pitts.