Week 15 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Reviewing Fantasy Football's Top Fringe Starters
It's playoff time, fellow fantasy football folks.
If you still care about who to start and who to sit in Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season, there's a decent chance you're in the running for a fantasy title. Not to turn up the heat on you, but there's also a decent chance that if you botch these lineup decisions, you could doom your own championship chase.
Let's help get your roster in the best shape possible, then, by highlighting a few of our top start-or-sit calls for fringe fantasy starters.
Start: Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
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Justin Herbert has one touchdown passes over his last three contests combined and zero games this season with more than two scoring strikes, so if you're hesitant to rely on him here, that's understandable.
Still, there are reasons to believe the stars could be aligning for a monster performance in Week 15. Namely, he's about to tussle with a Tampa Bay defense that has allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks, per Yahoo, and was just shredded by Bryce Young a few weeks back (298 passing yards and a touchdown, 17 rushing yards and a score in Week 13).
Los Angeles has also seen its running game get stuck in the mud since losing J.K. Dobbins to a knee sprain. The Chargers, who need to stack wins to separate themselves in the crowded wild-card race, should lean more heavily on Herbert, who has proved in the past he can be a fantasy juggernaut when given the opportunity.
Sit: Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (at Philadelphia Eagles)
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Russell Wilson threw multiple touchdowns for the fourth time in seven starts on Sunday. He also threw for fewer than 210 yards (a season-low 158, to be exact) for the third time in his last five outings.
Because his yardage can be held in check, he's sort of a touchdown-dependent option in fantasy. And it's hard to see him having a ton of scoring success against an Eagles defense that has allowed just 14 touchdown passes, tied for the fifth-fewest.
Making matters worse, it appears Wilson will be operating without his top target George Pickens, who could miss a second straight game due a hamstring strain.
Start: Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys (at Carolina Panthers)
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It took the Cowboys longer than it should have to hand over control of this backfield to Rico Dowdle. It wasn't that long ago that he was fighting a past-his-prime Ezekiel Elliott for carries.
Dallas has finally seemed fully committed to Dowdle of late, and he is giving the team zero reasons to rethink that decision. Over his past three outings, he has handled 66 touches (59 rushes and seven receptions) and turned them into 362 scrimmage yards and a score.
If the Cowboys keep his workload up—and why wouldn't they?—he should have a field day against a Carolina defense allowing the most fantasy points to the running back position.
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Sit: Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns (vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
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Nick Chubb's comeback from another gruesome injury to his left knee has been admiral and inspirational to see. Unless your fantasy league hands out inspirational points, though, he hasn't been a ton of help on this front.
Despite handling double-digit touches in all seven games he's played, he has only topped 50 scrimmage yards twice. He has at least managed to tally four touchdowns, but when he can't find the end zone, he can't offer a lot of fantasy assistance.
He'll have his work cut out for him this week against a Kansas City defense that not only allows the fewest fantasy points to running backs, but also holds top-10 rankings in rushing yards (88.3 per game, third-fewest) and rushing touchdowns (10, tied for seventh-fewest).
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