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

Broncos@Chiefs

 

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 15th at 1:00 PM EST

Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Betting Odds: KC -9.5, 46 total via Oddsshark

Network: CBS

Sleeper Spotlight: Phillip Lindsay

 

Denver Broncos

 

Quarterback:

• Drew Lock (Sit)

 

The Chiefs aren’t as bad as most people think they are on defense, at least not against the passing game. Kansas City allows the 12th most points to fantasy quarterbacks this year, and just held Derek Carr and Tom Brady well under 250 yards passing the last two weeks. The Chiefs have only allowed two 300-yard passers this year. While Drew Lock certainly impressed over his first two starts, he only threw for 134 yards in his first start and faced a much worse Houston pass defense in a dome last week. On the road in a potential cold-weather game, Lock shouldn’t be trusted with the fantasy playoffs on the line. 

 

Running Backs:

• Phillip Lindsay (Start)
• Royce Freeman (Sit)

 

The area to exploit this Chiefs defense is on the ground, as they allow the second-most fantasy points to the running back position. Unfortunately, the Broncos have gone back to a near-even split of running back snaps between Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, muddying a potentially lucrative fantasy spot. Lindsay has received double-digit carries in all but two games this year and has averaged 15.5 carries in his four games since Denver’s Week 10 bye. His passing game work has been disappointing, however, with just eight catches for 27 yards over those four games. Lindsay is fairly touchdown-dependent, and he slots in as my RB19 this week. He could have a nice week if Denver jumps out to a lead, but more than likely his performance will be hurt by playing from behind, as the Broncos are underdogs by nearly 10 points.

 

Freeman is my RB40 this week and should be left on waivers. He only has three touchdowns on the year and hasn’t reached double-digit carries since Week 8. With 23 carries for 86 yards total over the last four weeks, Freeman can’t be trusted even in deep leagues.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight End:

• Courtland Sutton (Start)
• Tim Patrick (Sit)
• DaeSean Hamilton (Sit)
• Noah Fant (Sit)
• Jeff Heuerman (Sit)

 

Courtland Sutton has shown enough consistency to be a solid WR2 for most fantasy rosters and is my WR20 overall for Week 15. He’s received between 5-9 targets in every game this year while playing with three different quarterbacks and has totaled a respectable nine catches on 12 targets for 108 yards and two touchdowns with Lock under center the last two weeks. Kansas City has held opposing receivers to the second-fewest fantasy points this year, so this isn’t a smash spot by any means. But Sutton did post six catches for 87 yards on eight targets against Kansas City in Week 7, and that was with Emmanuel Sanders still on the Broncos. Don’t expect the world from Sutton, but a decent floor with a solid shot at a touchdown is a realistic expectation.

 

Tim Patrick has had his moments since returning from injury in Week 11, but with eight total targets over the last three weeks, Patrick is off the fantasy radar. DaeSean Hamilton never took advantage of the Sanders trade and has only recently shown up on the stat sheet with two catches each of the last two games.

 

Tight end Noah Fant has shown some boom-weeks in his rookie season, including last week’s four-catch, a 113-yard performance where he scored a touchdown. Unfortunately, Fant left with a foot injury and has been sidelined at practice this week. Even if Fant does play, he would be hard to trust. The matchup is a nice one, as the Chiefs give up the sixth-most fantasy points to the tight end position. But unless his health is fully cleared, he’s not a consistent enough of a fantasy option to take on the additional injury risk. Jeff Heuerman could see an uptick in usage if Fant were to miss the game, but there are better options on waivers in all but the deepest leagues.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

 

Quarterback:

• Patrick Mahomes (Start)

 

With Patrick Mahomes hobbled by his knee injury from earlier in the season, as well as picking up a throwing hand injury last week against the Patriots, he isn’t the no-doubt elite quarterback that he was at the start of the season. Regardless, his upside is undeniable, and I have him ranked as my QB3 for the week. Denver has given up the ninth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, but there are reasons for optimism if you own Mahomes. The Broncos have allowed eight passing touchdowns over the last four weeks, as well as an additional two rushing touchdowns from quarterbacks. Additionally, when Mahomes played Denver in Week 7 he was carving them up to the tune of 10/11 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown before he left with his knee injury. At home, with little running game to speak of, Mahomes will be needed against a frisky Broncos team and should produce a nice fantasy game.

 

Running Backs:

• Damien Williams (Sit)
• LeSean McCoy (Sit)
• Darwin Thompson (Sit)
• Spencer Ware (Sit)

 

With Damien Williams out last week, newly signed Spencer Ware came off the street to lead the Chiefs with 40% of the offensive snaps, while LeSean McCoy accumulated 31% of the snaps and Darwin Thompson saw 27%. With Williams returning to practice Wednesday, this backfield is full-blown chaos. Williams has been the only back that has received anywhere near RB1 level usage for the Chiefs, but coming off of a rib injury it is hard to imagine him getting a full workload. McCoy has had every opportunity in the world to take over this backfield, and it seems pretty clear that head coach Andy Reid has no intention to put too much on his plate. And while Thompson has received 11 and 8 touches the last two weeks, he is far from being a trustworthy fantasy option, especially if Williams returns. This backfield hasn’t been productive all season, so do yourself a favor and just bench them all with your season on the line.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:

• Tyreek Hill (Start)
• Sammy Watkins (Sit)
• Mecole Hardman (Sit)
• Travis Kelce (Start)

 

This is the Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce show, as both are automatic starts and are near the very top of their respective positions each week. Outside of them, however, there isn’t a lot of fantasy usefulness here. Sammy Watkins has become a very unexciting option, with a high of 64 receiving yards since his Week 1 outburst. Over the past two weeks, Watkins has four catches on 11 targets for 50 total yards and has lacked explosiveness all year. Although the Broncos have allowed some nice weeks to secondary receivers with Chris Harris shadowing opposing number one receivers, Watkins shouldn’t be started this week. Mecole Hardman has tantalizing upside and big-play potential, but only has one target total over the last two weeks (granted, that was a 48-yard touchdown) and is nothing more than a dynasty bench stash.

-Erik Smith (@ErikSmithQBL on Twitter, truebest on Reddit)