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

Game Info

Kickoff: Saturday, December 16th, 8:15 pm

Location: Ford Field,  Detroit, MI

Betting Odds: DET – 5  O/U 46.5 Total via PFF.com

Network: NFL Network

Writer: Matt Prendergast (@amazingmattyp on X/Twitter)

Denver Broncos

Quarterback

Russell Wilson (Start, QB2)

The Denver Broncos are rolling into Detroit this week having won six of their last seven games – and certainly, they’ve done so in no short order thanks to solid leadership from Russell Wilson. However, in that same period, Russ has been averaging 185.9 yards per game throwing, by no means phenomenal by fantasy standards on its own. However, he’s bolstered his value with a little bit of rushing when needed. Between running and throwing, he has punched the clock with roughly two touchdowns per outing: he was held to only one against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11, and the Green Bay Packers during Week 8. These are decent, steady figures, but they are by no stretch of the imagination QB1 numbers. I get it, if you have fallen victim to the QB Apocalypse that has been the 2023 season, he might be the best you’ve got, and that’s fine. For that matter, Detroit is Bottom 10 in the league in air touchdowns allowed (21) and just keeping above that line in total passing yards allowed, running at 22nd in the league with 245 and some change allowed per game. But if it’s your Week 1 of the playoffs, or it’s your final week of the regular season and you’re in a win-and-in situation, I might lean towards an option with a higher ceiling, if available. If not: He’s fine, it’s fine, everything is fine.

Running Backs 

Javonte Williams (Start, RB2), Samaje Perine/Jaleel McLaughlin (Sit)

The past couple of weeks have shown some positive gains on the Javonte Williams front: he scored a touchdown last week, and broke the elusive “90 all-purpose yards” threshold for the first time in over a month! The Lions, despite showing signs of faltering momentum all over the place (Welcome back, Detroit!) remain fairly decent against the run overall. In short, I wouldn’t expect his first 100 rushing game of the season this week. HOWEVER, Detroit has been susceptible to fairly significant damage by running backs who play a strong part in the passing game. Three weeks back, A.J. Dillon posted 81 combined yards; two weeks ago, Alvin Kamara touched them up for 109 all-purpose and two touchdowns. I expect Sean Payton to utilize Javonte in both aspects this week and look for Williams to keep growing momentum. Samaje Perine doesn’t have enough consistent usage or success to warrant consideration, and Jaleel McLaughlin is even less so (last week’s 5 carries were the most he’s seen in a month and a half, and we got 25 yards out of it). Pass on both.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Courtland Sutton (Start, WR2), Jerry Jeudy (Sit), Marvin Mims (Sit), Lil’Jordan Humphrey 9Sit) Adam Trautman (Sit) 

Courtland Sutton is my single favorite “guy I drafted super-late because everybody thought he was washed” from this year’s fantasy season. My only regret is I dropped him in one league because I was down bad for a running back in a matchup two months ago. Sutton has a touchdown in TEN of Denver’s thirteen games to date, leads the Broncos in targets, and has a choice matchup this week. He’s also the only Broncos receiver I like for fantasy this week…or really any week, if I’m being honest.  Jerry Jeudy is the clear second wide receiver in terms of targets, but is wildly inconsistent: two-for-six last week for 16 yards, three-for-four for 51 the week previous, and two-for-three for 11 the week before that. Maybe next year will be his year. Rinse, repeat.

Marvin Mims makes moves minimally (say that five times fast) in this offense, averaging under three targets over the past month, and maxing out with 35 combined yards on his BEST contributing day three weeks ago. Lil’Jordan Humphrey gets roughly one look a game and makes roughly a dozen yards out of it. But at least he’s consistent. Adam Trautman doesn’t get many targets (averaging two targets a game over the past month), but he has grabbed touchdowns in two of those last four. If you’re feeling like rolling some dice, and just won’t sleep if you leave potentially seven tight end points on the waiver wire…hey, I’m not your dad, you do what you want.

Detroit Lions

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff (Start, QB2)

I don’t know, man, maybe Jared Goff is a good leader, and the right fit for this team and so on, and it’s probably a personal thing I should seek therapy over, but I just cannot get past how just generally boring of a guy he feels like. Anyhow, he’s fine on a football field, but from a fantasy standpoint, I don’t love him. Goff hasn’t broken the 20-point threshold since playing the Chargers in Week 10 and has only done so four times in total this season. He was a burning box of cat litter against Chicago last week, but so was the rest of his team; I can’t pile all of that on him, I suppose.

Anywho, he’s gonna be making his best tough-guy face in the direction of the Broncos this week…at least when they aren’t looking…and last week they let a twelve-year old’s Madden create-a-player named ‘Easton Stick’ throw for  179 yards on them. Comparatively, Goff had 161 against Chicago, and that was after Justin Herbert had tagged 96 on them; maybe there’s some room to work here. But as much as I would like to think the Lions will have some fire under them this week after being embarrassed by two division rivals in the past three weeks, there’s something not working there, and against a Broncos defense that has allowed just 210.75 passing yards per game over the past month (and one or fewer touchdowns), I hate him here in must-win season.

Running Backs

David Montgomery (Start, RB2), Jahmyr Gibbs (Start, Flex)

Since returning from injury on November 11th, David Montgomery has averaged 77 yards rushing per game and scored a touchdown in four of them. While he has absolutely no impact in the passing game, and the previous two games were a little rougher, I’m still super high on him against Denver, who has allowed 127.8 rushing yards and a touchdown per game to opponents in that same time span. I have a similar feeling for Jahmyr Gibbs, who DOES generally have an impact in the passing game. Though the effectiveness of Gibbs in that passing game has waned a bit over the past three weeks (16, -6, and 19 yards in receiving), he just has way too much potential to sit. I fade on him a bit solely because Monty has been getting to the end zone more consistently, and with the time split between the two, that’s the difference between and flex and an RB2 to me.

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends

Amon-Ra St. Brown  (Start, WR2), Kalif Raymond/Josh Reynolds/Jameson Williams (Sit), Sam LaPorta (Start, TE1)

Amon-Ra St. Brown followed up a so-so week with a terrible one. He’ll shake it off, and so should you. He’s the most dangerous and effective weapon on this offense, so look for a bounce-back week. I feel almost as strongly about the Lions’ other receiving threat, Sam LaPorta. While LaPorta doesn’t have the same ceiling as Brown by nature of usage and position, he’s got a solid matchup that should have him out-hustling Broncos’ LB Josey Jewell for a good portion of the day, more than enough to find some success. As for the rest of the Lions’ receivers, I’m not really interested. Jameson Williams has received a total of two targets over the past two weeks and is somehow less involved in the game plan most weeks than Kalif Raymond, which feels insane, but here we are. Remember when they traded for Donovan Peoples-Jones? Did anybody figure out why yet? Josh Reynolds is the second leading receiver in terms of targets on the year, but to be clear, that breakdown has Amon-Ra with 124, and Reynolds with 48.  LaPorta is the true number two option here, seeing 92 opportunities. Jahmyr is third with 58. In short, I don’t like any of the non-St. Brown wide receivers for fantasy purposes, and you should feel comfort in forgetting they exist this week.