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

Vikings @ Chargers

 

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, December 15th at 4:05 PM EST

Location: ROKIT Field at Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA

Betting Odds: MIN -2.5, 45 total via Oddsshark

Network: CBS

Sleeper Spotlight: Kyle Rudolph

 

Minnesota Vikings

 

Quarterback:

• Kirk Cousins (QB2)

 

The San Di.. Los Angeles Chargers have allowed 13.6 fantasy points per game to QBs this season, good for fifth-best in the league. That number includes games against guys like Joe Flacco, Mitch Trubisky, Ryan Fitzmagic, and Devlin “Duck” Hodges so it can be taken with a grain of salt, however, they were able to limit Patrick Mahomes to 181 yards through the air in week 11. They did give up 351 yards to Deshaun Watson in week 3 but they forced him to spread the ball around and held DeAndre Hopkins to only 67 yards. All of this is to say that the Chargers’ secondary is solid and can hold their own against some talented offenses. Their defensive front is also great at forcing the QB to hurry in the pocket with the second-best Hurry% at 14.6%, despite blitzing on only 15.3% of plays this year which ranks last in the league.

 

Kirk Cousins has been efficient with a passer rating over 110 in three of the last four weeks, and he’s only thrown one interception since week 7. Per Adam Schefter, Adam Thielen is on track to return this week which should be a big boost to Cousins. I don’t like the matchup and I think it will be more of a Dalvin Cook game, but Cousins should still be efficient and could throw a couple of TDs anyway. Slot him in if you’ve got him.

 

Running Backs:

• Dalvin Cook (Start/RB1)
• Alexander Mattison (Sit)

 

This is it. You’ve ridden Dalvin Cook all year and, if you’re like me, you’re sitting pretty in a week 15 playoff matchup in most of your leagues with your top RB staring at a matchup against the 11th worst defense against fantasy RBs. Cook has been a beast all year and despite the scare in week 13, he’s healthy and ready to roll. Start this man. 

 

Wide Receivers/Tight End:

• Stefon Diggs (Start/WR2)
• Adam Thielen (Flex)
• Kyle Rudolph (Sleeper)

 

Per Schefter, Adam Thielen is on track to return this week. Do we trust him to make it through the game without reaggravating the injury again? I’m no doctor, but anytime a guy has to “fight to get the scar tissue out of his leg” before the previous game I’m pretty skeptical. In a comparable matchup, Thielen had two catches on six targets in Week 4 against the Bears, the 6th best defense against Wide Receivers. Considering the question marks around him and the matchup I can’t recommend him as anything higher than a Flex play. Prove me wrong Adam! 

 

Trick or treat Stefon Diggs has been up and down all season and his results have been largely dependant on if Thielen has been in the lineup. Since it looks like he’ll be back this week, Diggs’ stock will take a bit of a hit but there is hope. Two of Diggs’ best games have been against the aforementioned Bears (with Thielen in the lineup) and the Denver Broncos (7th best against Wide Receivers). I suspect Diggs will end up getting more looks than Thielen this week which is why I have him as a WR2.

 

Before last week, Kyle Rudolph had scored 5 TDs in four weeks. He put up a clunker against Detroit but there’s no reason to believe Kirk Cousins will stop looking his way even with Thielen back in the fold. The Chargers have been middle of the pack against tight ends this year so the matchup is decent and I would be comfortable rolling Rudolph out as a fringe TE1 on a playoff team.

 

I’m ignoring Irv Smith Jr, Olabisi Johnson, and Laquon Treadwell this week but if you know something I don’t or have a hot tip feel free to send it along.

 

Los Angeles Chargers

 

Quarterback:

• Philip Rivers (Sit)

 

As his career appears to be nearing its end, Philip Rivers was rumored to be on the hot seat before last week’s matchup against Jacksonville. What did he say to the Lord of Death? “Not today”, throwing for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns while taunting Yannick Ngakoue in classic Phil Rivers fashion. 

 

I wouldn’t put much stock in this line since Jacksonville has already given up on the season, but it does say something about Rivers’ resiliency against all odds which is a quality we’ve seen from him throughout his career. It seems that every Chargers game this year has come down to the wire requiring Rivers to drive the team downfield and score for the win but unfortunately, they’re 5-8, hence why there have been discussions about Tyrod Taylor recently.

 

Minnesota’s defense against the pass has been middle of the pack this year and three of their corners were limited in Wednesday’s practice (including Xavier Rhodes). However, they haven’t given up 300 yards through the air since Week 7 against Matthew Stafford and even with the injuries to their secondary I don’t see it happening this week. 

 

Running Backs:

• Melvin Gordon (RB2)
• Austin Ekeler (RB2)

 

Minnesota is surprisingly middle of the pack this year against the run and gave up 218 yards on the ground in Week 13 at Seattle. Talented backs can expose this defense so if you own either of these guys you’re starting them. I’d feel better playing Ekeler since he’s been the best playmaker on the field for LA this year and if they want to win this game they’ll need him to perform. Gordon still doesn’t quite look like he did in his dominant 2018 campaign but he does have the talent to turn that around at the snap of a finger. 

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:

• Keenan Allen (WR2)
• Mike Williams (Borderline Flex)
• Hunter Henry (Start/TE1)

 

Minnesota has given up the 8th most fantasy points to opposing WRs so start Keenan Allen if you’ve got him. He’s averaged 17.5 points in PPR leagues the last four weeks which is reachable in this matchup.

 

Full disclosure: I’ve been burned by Mike Williams in DFS three times this year and I’ve had to commit myself to rehab to break the habit. This guy is a physical specimen and has the talent to score 30 a week but for whatever reason, he has been a major disappointment. Smarter people than me probably know why he hasn’t lived up to expectations this year but, with that said, you can’t ignore the matchup and the fact that he’s scored 16.7 and 14.3 points the last two weeks. He was limited in practice Wednesday so keep an eye on his status but you could do worse than ol’ Mike Williams this week.

 

Hunter Henry has had a couple down weeks in a row but this is a solid matchup for him and as a result, he’s a TE1 this week. Rivers should look his way early and often this week so roll him out there with confidence.

-Ben Brown (@FelixTheDog23 Twitter, iamatechnician Reddit)