Imagine this line as belted out by Bruce Buffer….”IT’S TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!!!!” You know it, folks, it is officially fantasy football playoffs and this past weekend either saw you in or out. For all my readers out there, I hope I provided information to help you land a spot in your playoffs. If so, and you were lucky enough to land a first-round bye, remember you cannot idly sit back and wait for Week 16. You must still massage your roster while working the wire!
With that being said, this Week 15 write-up will be a little different than previous versions. After an in-depth strategy discussion with my @Razzball partners and mentors, @BobbyLaMarco, @SkyGuasco, and @Derek_Favret, I will be looking at important handcuffs to be used as insurance for these final three games. I will also step into the world of Defenses. Though we have not discussed Defenses in this column, we always receive questions during our Sunday YouTube Start/Sit podcast (11 am-1 pm EST on our YouTube channel for free!).
So why handcuffs now? To me, it is simple. You have basically set your weekly line-up and simply need to address a Flex or Defense during the playoffs. Basically, what we are trying to do is insulate you from an injury by creating a bench like a real football team. We want to be able to pivot to the next player up by setting up that bench now versus scrambling after an injury occurs.
Sure, you will see some QB names below, but the real focus will be on the skill positions, with some Defense information added at the bottom. If you are chasing a starting QB for your playoff run, and Jared Goff is not available, I have bad news for you. Your playoff run may be short-lived.
OK…Let’s get to it and win you a fantasy football championship!
NOTE: Rostered percentages and scoring system are based on Yahoo! PPR league scoring.
Waiver Add of the Week: WR – Chris Moore (HOU, 2% rostered) Coming off a Week 14 in which Moore hauled in 10 of 11 targets for 124 yards, this young WR is looking like a potential league winner. Please temper your expectations, as Moore does play for the last-place Texans. Also, please know the Texans gave the front-running Cowboys all they could handle in Week 14. The Texans are still a real football team, with real professional athletes continuing to play the game they love. With Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins out for Week 14 and with Dameon Pierce dinged up, Moore stepped in and started catching passes at a ridiculous rate. Since we will not have information on Cooks or Collins before your waivers run, I recommend jumping on Moore now. If you need a little push to make this move, look only at the Texans’ final three games and understand this schedule is what you want to see as a fantasy manager: KC, @TEN, JAX. You will thank me later…believe that!
QB: Mike White and Brock Purdy are both banged up, and we will not know their status prior to waivers, so you will need to decide early if you need a QB or if you are rolling with the arm that carried you this far. As mentioned earlier, if you are not set at QB, you may be looking at an early exit from the 2022 playoffs.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Tannehill (TEN, 18% rostered), Mac Jones (NE, 14% rostered), Mitchell Trubisky (PIT, 1% rostered)
RB: James Cook (BUF; 60% rostered) – Still available in 40% of leagues, Cook is my #1 RB handcuff for a couple of reasons. First, he has seen his touches increase over the last few weeks. Second, he looks like a better back than Devin Singletary. Third, he has great hands, and Josh Allen throws him the ball. And fourth, the Bills need to keep winning to earn the #1 seed in the AFC.
RB: Dare Ogunbowale, Rex Burkhead (HOU; 0% and 3% rostered) – These two names are not league winners as much as they are fillers for Dameon Pierce, who may miss multiple weeks. Those same weeks just happen to coincide with your fantasy playoffs with excellent matchups like Chris Moore. If I am adding one of the two, it is Ogunbowale, and it is not close. I think Burkhead keeps his normal third down role while Ogunbowale slots in as the early down back.
RB: Alexander Mattison (MIN, 34% rostered) – I find it ludicrous that Mattison is rostered at such a low percentage. The Vikings are leading the NFC North, but the gap is shrinking, and they need to continue to win. Teams like the Vikings win by scoring points vice holding their opponent to low scores. If Dalvin Cook were to go down, Mattison immediately becomes a sure-fire RB1 and must be rostered at that point in the season.
RB: Deon Jackson (IND, 6% rostered) – Remember when Jonathan Taylor missed time earlier this season? I do, mainly because I drafted Taylor 1.01 and did not roster Jackson and took a beating as Jackson went off replacing Taylor. The Colts have an excellent fantasy playoff schedule (@MIN, LAC, @NYG), and no matter how bad they have been, Jackson is in must-roster territory.
Honorable Mention: Cam Akers (LAR, 63% rostered), Travis Homer (SEA, 36% rostered), Jordan Mason (SF, 12% rostered)
WR: D.J. Chark (DET; 41% rostered) – Chark’s roster percentage moved from 14% to 41%, which means some of you are listening. Good work, my friends! If you have a bye in Week 15, Chark is a must-add since you would not usually start him against the NYJ Defense. So grab him and stash him for Weeks 16-17 (@CAR, CHI) and play him then with confidence.
WR: Trent Taylor (CIN, 0% rostered) – With the injuries to Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd in Week 14 and the uncertainty with those two WRs heading into Week 15, Taylor is an easy add for an offense that loves to throw the ball. You should also look at Trenton Irwin (CIN, 0% rostered), who caught a long TD in Week 14. I lean toward Taylor, who has more targets and appears to be in line for more in Week 15 and beyond. Keep an eye on the Higgins and Boyd news, as it currently does not sound positive for either. Rounding out the Trent Tri-Fecta, do not forget about Trent Sherfield (MIA; 1% rostered) – I had Sherfield in the Week 14 article, and he appears again this week based on the Tyreek Hill foot injury. Purely an insurance policy if you roster Hill.
WR: Trent Sherfield (MIA; 1% rostered) – I had Sherfield in the Week 14 article, and he appears again this week based on the Tyreek Hill foot injury. Purely an insurance policy if you roster Hill.
WR: Elijah Moore (NYJ, 27% rostered) – I am placing Elijah Moore near the bottom just in case some of my future opponents are reading this column (you know they are) so they will not see his name and leave him to me to pick up. The NYJ offense has a great fantasy playoffs schedule (DET, JAX, @SEA), and Moore should be rostered and started based on your Flex position matchups.
Honorable Mentions: Alec Pierce (IND, 14% rostered), Jahan Dotson (WSH, 15% rostered), Equanimeous St. Brown (CHI, 0% rostered)
TE: Evan Engram (JAX; 56% rostered) – Who saw this coming? Absolutely nobody! Is it possible that in this crazy 2022 fantasy football season, Evan Engram was not only a Week 14 winner but also a potential league winner at the thinnest position in recent memory? He just might be that guy. The only reason I pump the breaks is his Week 16 matchup against the NYJ. The defensive backs for the Jets are no joke, and teams are struggling to throw against them, AND the game will be played outside on a short week (Thursday Night Football). If you need help at TE and are in a league where Engram is available, you MUST add him and start him over some of the retreads out there.
Honorable Mention: Greg Dulcich (DEN,61% rostered), Tyler Conklin (NYJ, 26% rostered), Daniel Bellinger (NYG, 4% rostered)
OK, folks, time to get into the Defenses. This is a first for this column, so bear with me a little. Below you will find the best DST options I see, along with their schedule and roster percentage. I will not be providing a detailed analysis as DST is a crapshoot most weeks. Instead, I want you to concentrate on the schedule, the possibility of a backup QB starting for their opponent, weather conditions (in a dome or outside), and, lastly, your gut.
DST: Los Angeles Chargers (21% rostered) – TEN, @IND, LAR
Arizona Cardinals (25% rostered) – @DEN, TB, @ATL
Los Angeles Rams (32% rostered) – @GB, DEN, @LAC
Minnesota Vikings (41% rostered) – IND, NYG, @GB
Detroit Lions (3% rostered) – @NYJ, @CAR, CHI
You are in, or you are out. If you rode with Razzball this year, you are probably in! Now, do not rest. Continue to work until the final snap of the 2022 fantasy football season. Now is the time to outwork your competition. If you have additional roster space, play defense by adding players you think may benefit your opponent. Outwork those teams that earned a bye, as some of them are sitting back and relaxing at this point. Work at least one week ahead of waivers, especially with DST and reap the rewards. You have made it this far. Take a deep breath and finish the job!
Best of luck heading into Week 15, and may the wire be with you!
