Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 15 players to start or sit in Week 15

The byes and the fantasy regular season have passed. Now it's time to focus on winning a championship.

Get your lineup right, and you get to take another step toward a title.

Of course, if your team didn’t qualify for the playoffs, you can still have some skin in the game by entering a daily fantasy contest. For that reason, we’ll offer a nod or two this week to some of the better DFS bargains in addition to analyzing the traditional borderline calls season-long fantasy managers have to make.

Here's who to start (and who to sit) for Week 15 NFL fantasy football.

Fantasy football quarterbacks to start in Week 15

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

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One of our few misses last week, Stafford thrived in the rain, throwing for 294 yards and three touchdowns against a tough Baltimore Ravens defense.

One of the main reasons for his success was a return to form from wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who had 115 yards and a touchdown on eight catches – his best performance since Week 6.

This week, the Rams host the Washington Commanders and their league-worst pass defense, one that gave up 45 points in back-to-back games before their bye week. Even the extra time off is unlikely to slow down Stafford, who should finally have all his main offensive weapons healthy.

Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

What’s it going to take for Browning to show he’s a legitimate NFL starter? After three consecutive games with a better than 70% completion rate, the fourth-year signal-caller looks perfectly comfortable inside or outside the pocket.

Browning has a rushing touchdown each of the past two weeks, further enhancing his fantasy value as he enters Saturday’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings. With Tee Higgins back from his hamstring and ankle injuries, and Chase Brown giving him another playmaker on offense, Browning could burn the Minnesota defense.

Fantasy football quarterbacks to sit in Week 15

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Tagovailoa is coming off his worst game of the season – a painful zero-touchdown, two-turnover performance in which the Dolphins blew a 14-point lead in the final three minutes. The loss of star wideout Tyreek Hill to an ankle injury (even though he later returned) may have exposed the soft underbelly of the Dolphins offense.

Things won’t get easier this week when he faces the staunch New York Jets defense, which gives up the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Hill may not be at 100% by Sunday, which would limit Tua’s options and put more pressure on running backs Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane to produce.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

After leaving his last game early and entering the concussion protocol, Stroud may not be cleared in time to face the same Titans defense that harassed Tagovailoa on Monday night. That would be unfortunate for fantasy managers who’ve ridden hm to considerable success so far this season.

Even if Stroud is cleared to play, he could be missing his top receiving option, wide receiver Nico Collins, who left Sunday’s game early with a calf injury. And that’s in addition to wideout Tank Dell being out for the season and tight end Dalton Schultz missing the last two games with a hamstring injury. The party’s over.

Fantasy football running backs to start in Week 15

Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

The rookie doesn’t always see a ton of touches, sharing the backfield with veteran David Montgomery, but he consistently does something positive with them. Gibbs continues to show off his explosiveness, averaging six yards per carry and scoring his sixth touchdown in seven games last week at Chicago.

Up next is a home date with the team giving up the most fantasy points to running backs on the season, the Denver Broncos. There’s room for both Gibbs and Montgomery to thrive, but the young cub has a higher upside.

D’Andre Swift, Philadelphia Eagles

It’s not easy to see a rebound coming for Swift, who’s been held to a total of 59 total yards in blowout losses to the 49ers and Cowboys. But the Eagles had to play catch-up in both of those games almost from the start, limiting Swift’s opportunities to pound the ball behind his elite offensive line.

That won’t be the case in Seattle on Monday night. The Seahawks just gave up 173 rushing yards (and 7.5 yards per carry) to the Niners in Week 14 and are a top-five matchup for running backs on the season. The situation is tailor-made for Swift to get his groove back.

Fantasy football running backs to sit in Week 15

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

Pacheco missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury, but it wasn’t serious enough for him to be place on injured reserve. Still, the Chiefs offense has been struggling mightily and if QB Patrick Mahomes isn’t striking fear into opposing defenses, the lanes for running backs won’t be as gaping.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire managed just 39 yards on 11 carries starting in Pacheco’s spot on Sunday. Consider this a blanket warning for anyone in the Chiefs backfield as they head to New England on Sunday.

Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos

Williams broke his season-long touchdown drought with a 3-yard jaunt against the Chargers on his way to 91 total yards. He’s also been good for three or four receptions every game. But the sledding will be much tougher in Detroit.

Only three teams give up fewer fantasy points per game to running backs than the Lions do, and they’ve yet to allow a receiving touchdown to the position all season. Backups Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin both saw double-digit snaps on Sunday for the first time since Week 10, making Williams even more touchdown-dependent for his fantasy value.

Fantasy football wide receivers to start in Week 15

Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders

Adams managed only 53 receiving yards as the Raiders were shut out this past week. So why would anyone be optimistic about his chances of having a good game against the Chargers? Volume, volume, volume.

Despite the meager output, Adams continues to see plenty of targets every week. He caught seven of 10 targets against the Vikings, and should see a sizable workload once again. The Chargers give up the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers and in their first matchup of the season, Adams saw a whopping 13 targets.

Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

Cooper shook off his multiple injury concerns by playing a full game Sunday vs. the Jaguars, with seven catches for 77 yards on a season-high with 14 targets. The Browns have become a much more productive offense with veteran Joe Flacco at quarterback. And no one stands to benefit more than Cooper.

He could take his game to the next level against the Bears, who were surprisingly staunch against the Lions passing attack, but are less frightening on the road.

Fantasy football wide receivers to sit in Week 15

DJ Moore, Chicago Bears

Speaking of those Bears, Moore scored twice in Sunday’s win over the Lions, once on the ground and once through the air. He’s looked very good since QB Justin Fields returned to action, putting up more than 20 fantasy points in three consecutive games. But two of those were against the Lions.

The Browns defense ranks first overall against the pass and is the second-most difficult fantasy matchup for wide receivers. They won’t give Fields the time he needs to throw, which means Moore will have fewer opportunities to get downfield and make a big play.

Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

Quarterback Justin Herbert is officially out for the season with a broken index finger on his passing hand. The chemistry he had with Allen, which has already resulted in the 11-year veteran setting a career high with 108 receptions after only 13 games, can’t be immediately replicated with backup QB Easton Stick.

A matchup against the Raiders isn’t nearly as important as Allen’s own health. He’s dealing with an injury to his heel that becomes more problematic on a short week, when Stick has less time than usual to practice with the first team.

Fantasy football tight ends to start in Week 15

Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

Could Falcons coach Arthur Smith finally be listening to what fantasy managers have been trying to tell him all season? Get the ball into the hands of your best players! That’s been happening the past few weeks … and the Falcons offense has been much better.

Bijan Robinson is looking like a premier draft pick. And Pitts has back-to-back games of 50-plus receiving yards for the first time all season. Last week, he even snagged a touchdown grab. Look for more of the same against the Panthers with the threat of a big play from Robinson opening up the passing lanes to Pitts.

Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

This is strictly a deep-league/DFS value play based solely on Okonkwo’s great matchup vs. the Texans. They are the third-best fantasy matchup for tight ends on the season without really facing any of the true studs at the position.

Okonkwo has seen consistent targets over the past three weeks, and though he hasn’t caught a touchdown pass yet, he’s become an important part of the offense.

Tight end to sit in Week 15

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

Kincaid’s usage seems to have peaked at midseason, when he had five consecutive games of double-digit fantasy points. However, he’s slowed his roll lately with less than 40 receiving yards each of the past two weeks.

Hitting the rookie wall? Perhaps. He’s also dealing with a shoulder injury with the daunting Dallas Cowboys up next. In addition, veteran Dawson Knox was activated off the injured list last week and would be more than capable of picking up the slack.