Buy and Sell: Week 15

Buy and Sell for Fantasy Football in Week 15!

Kyle McCarthy
Trade Talk 14 Hours Ago

Week 14’s games featured a little bit of everything: lopsided blowouts, playoff-like environments, and teams seeing their season effectively come to an end, either being mathematically eliminated or due to a devastating injury. For the Colts, it’s the latter. With Daniel Jones tearing his Achilles and a brutal upcoming schedule, it suddenly feels like their season is over.

The Texans knocked off the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday night, and that experience also felt like we were watching the end of something. The Chiefs are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era and are headed towards a long offseason of reflection.

The end of Week 14 also means the beginning of the fantasy playoffs and the road to a championship. In this article, we’ll get into a few players and performances that I’m buying and selling heading into Week 15.

 

BUY

Ryan Flournoy (WR – DAL)

WR5: 13 Targets, 9 Receptions, 115 Receiving Yards, 1 TD

Flournoy could be one of the best waiver adds to make this week if CeeDee Lamb (concussion) misses any time. Flournoy broke out for his second 100-yard game of the season, with the other coming back in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers when Lamb was out with an ankle injury. So we have two data points now of him leveling up when a star teammate goes out.

The second-year wideout led the team in receiving last Thursday night against the Lions. Flournoy’s nine receptions and 13 targets are tied for the second-most in a game by a Dallas pass catcher this season. The 26-year-old is a fluid mover at 6’1″, 200 pounds, and in Dallas’ high-volume passing offense, he’d be an instant option to plug and play in Week 15 against the Vikings if Lamb is ruled out.

Upcoming schedule: vs. MIN, vs. LAC, at WSH, at NYG

 

Devin Neal (RB – NO)

RB15: 19 Carries, 70 Rushing Yards, 1 TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Receiving Yards

Neal has stepped up as the workhorse in Alvin Kamara‘s absence. He hasn’t been efficient as a runner in the past two games, handling 33 carries for 117 yards (3.5 YPC), but has one touchdown and has added four catches (four targets) for 36 yards as a receiver. And he caught five of seven targets for 53 yards after Kamara left in Week 12. The floor for touches is very high for the rookie sixth-rounder if Kamara is out again, even if he hasn’t been overly dynamic yet. He doesn’t have the breakaway speed to generate the long runs, but he is a lead back in what’s quietly been a decent offense under Kellen Moore.

Neal will be a factor in the fantasy playoffs as long as Kamara is out. Don’t look now, but the Saints have an opportunity to play from ahead over their final four games and potentially win out. The Saints have the third-easiest rest of season schedule for RBs by RotoViz’s SOS Streaming app, facing the Panthers (who they already beat), Jets, Titans, and Falcons. Kamara could be back soon, but there’s also a chance the veteran takes more time to rest up, similar to what he did last season.

Upcoming schedule: vs. CAR, vs. NYJ, at TEN, at ATL

 

Colby Parkinson (TE – LAR)

TE11: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 32 Receiving Yards, 1 TD

Parkinson has been a touchdown machine of late, scoring in four of the past five games. The 26-year-old has operated as the Rams’ clear TE1 with Tyler Higbee (ankle) on Injured Reserve. He’s become a favorite target for Matthew Stafford down near the end zone. During that five-game span, Parkinson’s 10 targets in the red zone are tied for the most on the team with Davante Adams and the second most among all players. It’s resulted in very strong fantasy production for a sustained period of time now, ranking as the TE5 since Week 10.

While Parkinson has been playing close to a full-time role since Week 10, his route share ranged from 32.1% to 50% up until last week against the Arizona Cardinals. His route share spiked up 71% in the win. In a potent Rams offense, Parkinson looks like a player to buy into as we ride into the fantasy playoffs.

Upcoming schedule: vs. DET, at SEA, at ATL, vs. ARI

 

SELL

Alec Pierce (WR – IND)

WR20: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 80 Receiving Yards

Pierce looks like an improved receiver in all aspects and has put together a breakout campaign.  He’s emerged as the Colts’ best pass catcher over the past few weeks. Since Week 8, the 25-year-old ranks second on the team with 39 targets and leads the way with 452 receiving yards, posting a hyper-efficient 11.59 yards per target in that span. However, he earned a lot of his work on downfield targets with an 18.1 aDOT during that span, with Daniel Jones showing improved accuracy on intermediate and deep throws.

With 44-year-old Philip Rivers now out of retirement and likely to start for the Colts the remainder of the season, it could damage Pierce’s production the most of any Colts pass catcher. In Rivers’ last season with the Colts in 2020, his aDOT was 7.7, which ranked 26th in the league out of 35 quarterbacks with at least 250 dropbacks. Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and Tyler Warren all excel in the short areas of the field and should get peppered with Rivers’ short-armed targets. Pierce has earned himself a nice payday in his upcoming free agency, but he could slide in the next four games.

Upcoming schedule: at SEA, vs. SF, vs. JAX, at HOU

 

Troy Franklin (WR – DEN)

WR60: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 11 Receiving Yards

Franklin has seemingly lost his role as one of Denver’s starting receivers. The trend in Week 13 against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, when his snap share fell to a season low of 55.1%, but his route share was normal at 68.8%. But both numbers cratered in Week 14, with his snaps falling all the way to just 25% and his routes to 39.5%. Part of it is because of his lack of value in the run game, but another piece of it likely has to do with his inconsistencies all season. Even Lil’Jordan Humphrey played more snaps than him.

It looks like rookie third-rounder Pat Bryant has stepped into Franklin’s role as the WR2 in Denver. Franklin flashed earlier in the year, earning downfield targets and showing some dynamism after the catch, but his hands and overall ability at the catch point remain inconsistent. The second-year wideout can safely be dropped in redraft leagues at this point in the season.

Upcoming schedule: vs. GB, vs. JAX, at KC, vs. LAC

 

Tony Pollard (RB – TEN)

RB2: 25 Carries, 161 Rushing Yards, 2 TD

Pollard soared past double-digit fantasy points for the first time since Week 7 against the New England Patriots. The 28-year-old rushed for a career high 161 yards with his fifth game scoring multiple rushing touchdowns. His 28.1 fantasy points were the most he scored in nearly four years and are the third most in a game of his career. Pollard’s last true explosion game like this came in Week 11 of the 2022 season with the Dallas Cowboys against the Minnesota Vikings, scoring 36.9 PPR points. He had 33.7 points a few weeks prior in Week 8.

Including Week 14 against the Browns, the former Dallas Cowboy has only had two games with 20+ points in 24 outings with the Titans. The Tennessee offense has been among the most anemic all season, and perhaps they found something after scoring 31 points against the vaunted Browns defense, but Pollard is unlikely to post a game like this again. Tyjae Spears is still involved and has looked more explosive and dynamic than Pollard most of the time, but Pollard has held the upper hand in touches all season.

Upcoming schedule: at SF, vs. KC, vs. NO, at JAX

 

 

 

Photo by Melissa Tamez, Cliff Welch | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@CarbonFoxGFX on Twitter/X)