RealTime DFS Strategy: Week 15

Fri Dec 12 10:17am ET
By MIKE BARNER
Contributing Writer

Didn’t make the playoffs in your season-long fantasy football league? Don’t worry, there is still plenty of fun to be had during Week 15 with a variety of DFS contests on RealTime Fantasy Sports. As you pour through the options, here are some players to consider at each position, as well as a few to possibly avoid.

Quarterbacks

Joe Burrow, CIN vs. BAL ($6,600): Burrow hasn’t skipped a beat since returning from injury. In his first game back, he threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns against the Ravens in Baltimore. Then, he had 284 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in Buffalo last week against the Bills. Playing in his first home game since Week 2, Burrow comes with plenty of upside in his rematch with the Ravens, who have given up the seventh-most passing yards per game in the league.

Jaxson Dart, NYG vs. WAS ($5,600): The Giants had their bye in Week 14, so Dart is fresh heading into this matchup. In his return from a concussion, he had 139 passing yards, one touchdown and 20 rushing yards in a Week 13 matchup against the Patriots. This is a much more fantasy-friendly opponent, considering that the Commanders are tied for the fourth-most passing touchdowns allowed.

Player to Avoid

Jacoby Brissett, ARI at HOU ($5,500): Brissett has been one of the biggest pleasant surprises in the league. Since taking over as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback, he has thrown for 2,459 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions over eight games. The Cardinals should continue to deploy a pass-heavy scheme with all of their injuries at running back, but facing a Texans defense that has allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks is a reason to avoid Brissett.

Running Backs

Travis Etienne Jr., JAX vs. NYJ ($6,500): Etienne finished with 20 carries against the Colts last week, which was his second-most in a game this season. He came away with 74 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Over his last six games, he has 28 carries inside the red zone and five rushing touchdowns. The Jets are tied for the fourth-most rushing touchdowns allowed, so Etienne could receive multiple opportunities to reach the end zone again.

Chris Rodriguez Jr., WAS at NYG ($4,900): Target running backs against the Giants. They have allowed 6.10 yards per carry to the position. The next worst team behind them is the Bengals, who have given up 5.18 yards per carry to running backs. Rodriguez has dealt with a groin injury in practice, but as the new lead back for the Commanders, he could provide significant value if he is cleared to play. He looks to be trending towards playing after being a limited participant in practice on Thursday.

Player to Avoid

Jonathan Taylor, IND at SEA ($8,500): The Colts’ offense is in a state of flux now that Daniel Jones (Achilles) is out for the season. Their starting options this week are Riley Leonard, Brett Rypien and Philip Rivers, who hasn’t played in a game in nearly five years. The Seahawks, who have already allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game, could focus their efforts on slowing down Taylor in this matchup.

Wide Receivers

Ja’Marr Chase, CIN vs. BAL ($8,100): Chase has been targeted 22 times over two games since Burrow returned. Tee Higgins is in the concussion protocol again, putting his status for Week 15 in question. If he’s out, Chase should receive even more targets. Even if he plays, Chase comes with a high floor because the Ravens have permitted the sixth-most yards per target to wide receivers.

Wan’Dale Robinson, NYG vs. WAS ($5,900): After seeing a lot of short passes thrown his way during his first three seasons in the league, Robinson has an average depth of target of 8.4 yards this year. He has already set a new career high with 828 receiving yards. He also has a 28.0% target share. The duo of Dart and Robinson is an appealing stack for DFS purposes, especially when you factor in their reasonable salaries.

Player to Avoid

Michael Pittman Jr., IND at SEA ($5,100): After three straight games with fewer than 30 receiving yards, Pittman registered nine receptions for 79 yards versus the Jaguars last week. As promising as that was, this is not the week to take a chance on anyone in the Colts’ offense. When you combine their quarterback situation with a bad matchup, they might have a difficult time mustering up yards and points.

Tight Ends

Harold Fannin Jr., CLE at CHI ($4,000): Shedeur Sanders taking over at quarterback has provided a boost for Fannin. Sanders targeted him 22 times over the last three games, which Fannin turned into 15 receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears are tied for the sixth-most receptions allowed to tight ends, so another hefty workload could be in the cards for Fannin.

Isaiah Likely, BAL at CIN ($3,400): It’s crazy how bad the Bengals have been at slowing down tight ends. They lead the NFL in receptions (97), receiving yards (1,258) and touchdowns (15) allowed to the position. No other team has allowed more than 933 yards and nine touchdowns to the position. When Likely faced them two weeks ago, he caught five of six targets for 95 yards. At his salary, Likely might be too good to pass up.

Player to Avoid

Dallas Goedert, PHI vs. LV ($3,800): Goedert entered Week 14 with three straight games with fewer than 30 receiving yards. He finally got back on track, catching eight passes for 78 yards versus the Chargers. As encouraging as that was, the Eagles might not need to throw a ton in this game, given that the Raiders are averaging 15.1 points per game and will be starting backup quarterback Kenny Pickett. It’s also worth noting that the Raiders have allowed the third-fewest receptions to tight ends.

Mike Barner has been covering fantasy sports since 2007. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, SportsLine and RotoWire. Mike was also a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Follow Mike on Twitter @rotomikebarner.

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