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

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 16th, 1:00 PM ET

Location: Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Betting Odds: CIN -3.5, 38.5 total via Odds Shark

Network: CBS

Writer: Steve Bradshaw (@SteveBradshawFF)

Minnesota Vikings

Quarterback

Nick Mullens (Sit)

In Week 14, Nick Mullens finally took over for Josh Dobbs in one of the lowest-scoring games of all time. Despite technically leading the Minnesota Vikings to victory, the final score was 3-0. Kevin O’Connell just named Mullens his official starter on Tuesday. Despite being named QB1 for the Vikings, there’s no way you should start him. After Mullens averaged 15.4 PPG during his rookie year, everything went downhill. The next time Mullens took the field for the San Francisco 49ers, he played in 10 games and averaged only 11.6 PPG. Since then, Mullens has never had over 10 PPG, and he’s not a quarterback you should be starting in fantasy.

Running Backs

Alexander Mattison (Sit), Ty Chandler (Sit)

As of press time, there was no official word on the expected status of Alexander Mattison after he suffered a sprained ankle in Week 14. Even if Mattison does play, he won’t be 100 percent. In reality, this doesn’t change much, as even when Mattison was fully healthy, he was a flex play at best. Despite having high expectations to start the year, Mattison is averaging a mere 9.6 PPG in 2023.

Assuming Mattison is active on Saturday, you still shouldn’t play him. It’s also worth noting that the Cincinnati Bengals have an average run defense; they’ve allowed the 17th most fantasy points to running backs this year (20.65 PPG). When combining Mattison’s poor play with a horrible offense, it’s a recipe for failure.

Whether Mattison plays or not, sitting Ty Chandler would be wise. Outside of a two-game stretch where Chandler had 10.5 and 15 points, he hasn’t scored over 10 in a game. We’ve seen just how bad the Vikings offense was last week, and they’re expected to trail the Bengals in Week 15. At the end of the day, Chandler just isn’t talented enough to overcome a horrible offense and bad game script.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Justin Jefferson (Start, WR2), Jordan Addison (Start, WR3), K.J. Osborn (Sit), T.J. Hockenson (Start, TE1)

The Vikings’ offense is filled with question marks heading into Week 15, and the wide receiver room is no different. After making his highly anticipated comeback, Justin Jefferson left last week’s game with a chest injury. It now seems precautionary, and there’s a good chance he’ll be ready to go against the Bengals, according to the Star Tribune.

Jefferson was being drafted as the 1.01 heading into the season, but due to several unfortunate circumstances, he should be viewed as a WR2 this week. For one, having Nick Mullens as his starting quarterback automatically lowers his ceiling. On top of that, the Bengals have allowed the 17th least fantasy points to wide receivers (29.46 PPG). On the other hand, according to Pro Football Focus, Jefferson has a matchup advantage score of 87.9, which rates as “Excellent.”

Coming out of USC, the Vikings first-round pick Jordan Addison has been very promising. Overall, Addison has had a solid season, averaging 13 PPG, but he hasn’t scored more than 11 points since Week 8. While the talent is there with Addison, the same concerns with Jefferson apply here. On top of all this, Addison’s matchup advantage score of 53.8, which grades as “average,” on PFF, doesn’t move the needle.

Even with Jefferson missing time, K.J. Osborn hasn’t played a big role on the Vikings offense this year. Osborn is averaging 7.9 PPG on the year, which is low-end flex numbers, but he hasn’t scored more than seven points since Week 8. You can see the common trend between Osborn and Addison, which is the terrible offensive situation. To make matters worse, Osborn has a matchup advantage score of 18.6, which rates as “poor,” per PFF.

T.J. Hockenson was my favorite tight end heading into 2023, and I was a major advocate to draft him over Mark Andrews. Even with how bad this offense is, you need to start Hockenson every week. In last week’s horrific game script, Hockenson was still able to squeak out 10.3 points.

Now, the Bengals have been horrible against tight ends this year, allowing the most fantasy points (16.58 PPG). On top of that, Hockenson has a 21 percent matchup advantage, according to PFF, which is well above average. With all this in mind, Hockenson could very well have a huge week if Nick Mullens steps up.

Cincinnati Bengals

Quarterback

Jake Browning (Start, QB2)

The last thing I expected to hear this NFL season: arguments about whether or not Joe Burrow is a system quarterback. While this seems like an obviously bad take, it just speaks to how good Jake Browning has been in the past two weeks. After Browning scored 10 and 12 points in his first two games as a starter, he’s been lights out. In the past two weeks, Browning has put up QB1 numbers, scoring 25.7 and 23.7 points.

According to Odds Shark, this should be a very low-scoring game, as the over/under is set at 38.5 points. On top of that, the Vikings have allowed the 15th least fantasy points (15.25 PPG) to quarterbacks this year. Browning should be a high-end QB2, but I can’t justify ranking him as a QB1 this week because of his matchup.

Running Back

Joe Mixon (Start, RB2), Chase Brown (Start, Flex)

Joe Mixon hasn’t done much for most of the year, but he’s really come alive recently. In the past two weeks, Mixon has scored 29.7 and 21.5 points, which may be influenced by Browning. Even though Browning is good enough to keep the Bengals offense afloat, they’ve been leaning on Mixon more, as he just had 19 and 21 carries.

On the other hand, the Vikings’ run defense has been outstanding this year, allowing the 6th least fantasy points to running backs (17.81 PPG). Even so, as long as Mixon has this elite workload, he’s a must-start.

To start the year, Chase Brown was banged up and only saw two carries before Week 13. However, Brown is officially fantasy-viable after a great game on the ground in Week 13 and then a massive touchdown in Week 14. Now, Mixon is still the lead back, but Brown’s usage should continue to trend up. Brown is a good pass catcher and a very explosive back; the only question is his usage. If you need a flex play, I don’t mind having Brown out there due to his upside.

Wide Receivers/Tight End

Ja’Marr Chase (Start, WR1), Tee Higgins (Start Flex), Tyler Boyd (Sit), Tanner Hudson (Sit)

You can point to many different issues, but the bottom line is that Ja’Marr Chase has been fairly inconsistent this year. Despite averaging 18.4 PPG, Chase has only scored more than 13 points once since week 10. Nevertheless, I don’t feel comfortable starting Chase as anything less than a WR1 due to his talent.

It also helps that the Vikings have allowed the 11 most fantasy points to wide receivers this year (35.64 PPG). Overall, playing against the Vikings secondary is great for Chase as he boosts a matchup advantage score of 89.7, which is “Excellent,” per PFF.

Unlike Chase, Tee Higgins hasn’t been slightly disappointing: he has been very disappointing averaging 9.7 PPG on the year. Again, due to the talent, it’s so hard to sit Higgins, but he’s a low-end flex play. There isn’t much going for Higgins, considering he has a matchup advantage score of 54.7, which rates as “average” per PFF.

Not that we’d be starting Tyler Boyd or Tanner Hudson often anyway, but they’ve become auto-sits with Browning. Neither is getting involved in the offense, and the passing volume isn’t the same as it once was. I’m not trusting either player in a low-scoring game, especially not Hudson. The Vikings have played tight ends very well, allowing the 10th least fantasy points this year (10.72 PPG).