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

Dolphins@Giants

 

Game Info

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

Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

Betting Odds: NYG -3.5, 46.5 total via Oddsshark

Network: CBS

Sleeper Spotlight: Darius Slayton

 

Miami Dolphins

 

Quarterback:

• Ryan Fitzpatrick (Sit – monitor Parker’s health)

 

The matchup is there for Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the calvary may not be. With his top receiver in DeVante Parker still in the concussion protocol at the time of writing, it’s hard to have faith in streaming Fitzpatrick this week without clarity on Parker’s health. If he’s there, he may just be worth it against a putrid Giants defense, but the next men up are not all that inviting for a Fitz start for me at this time.

 

Running Backs:

• Patrick Laird (Start, FLEX)
• Myles Gaskin (Sit)

 

Patrick Laird offers PPR appeal frankly because he’s the only RB on the Miami roster worth a damn. Myles Gaskin is not rosterable, and so Laird becomes a volume-driven back. He’s a pass catcher, which adds to any reason to FLEX him this week against a Giants defense that has given up the 14th most fantasy points to running backs this season.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight End:

• DeVante Parker* (Start if active, WR2)
• Albert Wilson (Sit)
• Allen Hurns (Sit, yet has desperation FLEX appeal)
• Mike Gesicki (Start, TE2)

 

Parker is a must-start, as long as he is healthy. He’ll first need to clear the concussion protocol. On Wednesday, he was at practice in a non-contact jersey, which is a decent sign ahead of Sunday. You’ll have to keep an eye on his status over the next few days. The same can be said for Albert Wilson, who also suffered a concussion against the Jets. However, even if he is healthy, he’s still not worth starting. Allen Hurns becomes interesting and the default WR1 for the Dolphins should Parker and Wilson miss the game, and could offer some desperation FLEX appeal, but I’m not too sure I could trust him in the semifinals.

 

Tight end Mike Gesicki was a dud against the Jets last week, catching one of five targets for just six yards. The Giants defend the TE well, and so this matchup isn’t a walk in the park. Still, if Parker & Wilson were to miss, you’d hope Gesicki becomes a target machine from Fitzpatrick.

 

New York Giants

 

Quarterbacks:

• Eli Manning (Sit)
• Daniel Jones (Sit)

 

Is there a QB controversy in NY? I kid, but Eli Manning dialed it back a bit early on against the Eagles on Monday night. He finished 15-of-30 for 203 yards and two touchdowns in his first action since Week 2. Even with Daniel Jones shedding his walking boot in practice on Wednesday, the belief is that Manning will get the start again in what could be his final home game appearance for the Giants. While it could be fun to start Manning in an actually favorable matchup, it’s not recommended. The same goes for Jones if he ends up getting the nod.

 

Running Back:

• Saquon Barkley (Start, RB2 with obvious RB1 upside)

 

Here’s something you didn’t expect to hear on draft night: not being in the playoffs with Saquon Barkley on your roster. That’s the reality of his 2019 season. You can chalk it up to weeks of the injury and bad offensive line play. If you somehow managed to make it to the semi’s with Barkley, he has a great matchup incoming against Miami; the Dolphins have given up the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs on the season. Still, Barkley has not produced much at all this year, which is why I have him finishing in the RB2 range, but certainly, he has the talent on any given Sunday to finish as an RB1.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:

• Darius Slayton (Start, WR3)
• Golden Tate (Sit)
• Sterling Shepard (Start, FLEX)
• Evan Engram* (Start if active, TE2)
• Kaden Smith (Start, TE2)
• Rhett Ellison (Sit)

 

My sleeper spotlight in this one is Darius Slayton, who had himself a night on Monday. He caught five of eight targets for a whopping 154 yards and two touchdowns, good for 30+ full-PPR points. He was gelling with Manning, and I can see a repeat performance against a Dolphins team that has given up the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers on the season. Golden Tate is dealing with a foot injury and was limited at Wednesday’s practice, but to be quite honest, I don’t trust starting him. The only reason I would consider Sterling Shepard a FLEX over Tate is that he could continue to see the targets from Manning that we’ve seen in the past. He had seven in Philadelphia, which was the highest after Slayton’s eight; Tate had five.

 

The tight end situation for the Giants is murky. Kaden Smith has been streamable in recent weeks with Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) missing games. Both appear to be trending in the right direction for a possible return this week. That would bump Smith off the starting radar, but if he’s the only healthy option, I would consider him a TE2. The same can be said for Engram if he returns. Ellison remains off your team, that’s a given.

-Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)