Sit/Start 2023 Week 15: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 17th, 1:00 PM ET

Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Betting Odds: ATL -3, 34.5 total via Oddsshark

Expected Weather: 55°F, Light rain

Network: FOX

Writer: Mario Adamo Jr. (@marioadamojr on Twitter, /u/dotcaim on Reddit)

Writer’s Note: Week 1’s matchup between these two was the first Sit/Start I wrote this season; it’s only fitting I cover it again the first week of the fantasy playoffs.

Congrats to everyone who made it this far.

Carolina Panthers

Quarterback

Bryce Young (Sit)

Bryce Young wasn’t in your starting lineup in the regular season, his first start isn’t coming in the playoffs. I would start Jake Browning, Will Levis, Zach Wilson, and Tommy Devito over Young. Just like in Week 1, I’m looking elsewhere for my signal caller.

Running Backs

Chuba Hubbard (Start, High-Flex with Upside), Miles Sanders (Sit)

Back in Week 1, I suggested Miles Sanders had the best chance to score a touchdown for this team and rated him as a High-RB2. His 72 rushing yards that week would be his season-highest all year, only to be finally surpassed last week at New Orleans. Besides those two outliers, Sanders has a single touchdown and an average of 25.3 rushing yards per game. I don’t see last week as a sign of good things to come because even with that performance Chuba Hubbard out-snapped him 62 to 17. Sanders remains benched in the playoffs.

Chuba Hubbard has been a solid Flex with RB2 upside all season. In the twelve games Hubbard got at least three carries, he averaged 11.11 points per game, with two 20-point games in the last three weeks. The Falcons do have a top-six defense against running backs, only allowing 12.54 points per game, but in a divisional game, I’m not concerned. On average, I consider Hubbard a high-floor play with an upside.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Adam Thielen (Start, Low-Flex), Jonathan Mingo (Sit, Low-Flex), DJ Chark (Sit), Tommy Tremble (Sit)

I started this year saying “If you’re here because you’re starting one of these receivers you probably know you’re in a bad spot.” It’s amazing how true that is today, all these weeks later. Adam Thielen did blossom into a very solid WR1 at the start of the year, putting up four 20+ point games to start the year. Since then Thielen has been a less consistent flex option, with only one game with at least six over the last three weeks. This week’s matchup against the Falcons looks to be a tough one, Atlanta allows the third-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers, tied with the Baltimore Ravens at 17.08 points per game. Thielen was a Low-Flex in my Week 1 writeup and he remains there today.

Jonathan Mingo has been an on/off flex option, though he was unproductive last week he did see nine targets, his second-highest of the season. Even with the volume I still don’t like this matchup. I’m off the Mingo this week, and likely for the remainder of the playoffs. DJ Chark hasn’t topped four targets in a game since Week 6 and he hasn’t looked productive with his limited targets. Tommy “isn’t causing your matchup to” Tremble isn’t it this week.

Atlanta Falcons

Quarterback

Desmond Ridder (Sit)

Desmond Ridder had an uncharacteristic finish of QB2 last week, completing 26 of 40 passes for 347 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 15 yards and a touchdown. Does that mean you should scoop him up for the first week of the fantasy playoffs? To my surprise, the Panthers allow the fourth-fewest points to quarterbacks (14.38 points per game). Ridder has more games with single-digit points this season (six) than games with fourteen-plus points (four). Even with the whirlwind of this position late in the season, I’m not trusting the Riddler with my season on the line.

Here’s a fun blast from the past, in Week 1 I named these four guys I would start over Ridder (Season Rank QB20): Jordan Love(QB9), Sam Howell(QB6), Kenny Pickett(QB28), and Brock Purdy(QB5). Pickett is the only one listed with fewer points than Ridder, while the other three are top-ten quarterbacks.

Running Backs

Bijan Robinson (Start, RB1), Tyler Allgeier (Sit, Flex), Cordarrelle Patterson (Sit)

As we approach fantasy playoffs there’s no better time to meet the Robinsons. In three out of the last four games, Bijan Robinson has at least 17 points. The one time he failed to do so he still finished with a top-twenty weekly finish (10.9 points). The Panthers allow the third-most against opposing running backs, allowing 21.23 points per game. Something to look forward to if you advance to next week, the Colts allow the fourth-most points to running backs (21.08). Feel confident firing up Bijan this week.

The sophomore Tyler Allgeier’s snap count percentage has plummeted in the second half of the year. In Weeks 1-7 Allgeier saw nearly 40% (39.86%) of the team’s offensive snaps. However in Weeks 8-14, the Alligator only saw the field 25% of the time. The limited snaps have affected his performance. In that second-half span, Allgeier has one weekly finish better than RB43. Allgeier has not been fantasy-relevant the latter half of the season and that doesn’t change now. You shouldn’t be starting him, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out 2021 Fantasy MVP Cordarrelle Patterson. In Week 12 Bijan scored 27.3 points, this season Patterson has scored 22.6 points.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Drake London (Start, WR3), Van Jefferson (Sit), Kyle Pitts (Start, TE2), Jonnu Smith (Sit)

I mentioned Drake London would be the only receiver I’d start from this team back in Week 1. He finished that game failing to catch his one target, but since then he’s been averaging a serviceable 13.2 points per game. London is fresh off of the best game of his fantasy career, with ten catches (career-high) on eleven targets for 172 yards and a two-point conversion. London has a tough matchup this week as the Panthers allow 17.62 points per game to opposing wide receivers, the eighth-fewest in the league. Starting London also means you’re relying on Desmond Ridder, which does not leave me with any confidence. Those two factors keep my expectations low for London this week. Van Jefferson ran cardio last week, failing to bring in his only target.

Certified Kyle Pitts hater is back. Pitts managed to bring in his second touchdown of the season last week against the fifth-worst defense against fantasy tight ends. While I’m not expecting him to find the end zone again, he does have at least fifty yards in two out of three games since their bye week. Against an average defense, I’d have Pitts as a TE1 this week, but the matchup against the seventh-best defense against tight ends (5.15 points per game) keeps him as a TE2 this week. Meanwhile, Jonnu Smith has lost the spark of fantasy viability he once had. Through Weeks 4-9, Smith had a six-game stretch where he had three finishes as a top-five tight end. Since the bye, he’s averaging only three points a game. You can’t take the gamble on Smith in the playoffs.