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We’re finally past the bye weeks and we’re in the fantasy playoffs! Last week, with six teams on bye, we relied on low-level, volatile players, hoping they could take advantage of good matchups. This week there are no limitations and we face difficult decisions and trust issues. Will the big names come out ahead?
Can bright talent put up winning stats during the week in good matchups?
Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers
I honestly never thought we’d come to a head with Reed, but I think we’ve denied that. We easily recognize players like Amari Cooper as boom-or-bust in nature, but we overlook Reed as one of the most volatile receivers in the league. At this point, he has both the talent and the quarterback to finish as the overall WR1 in any given week, even in tough matchups.
On the other hand, it is also not capable of offering absolutely anything.
Reed just came off a game with no fantasy points – no receptions on a single target. We knew the potential dangers of the Packers’ receiving corps heading into the season and expected Reed to come out and separate himself from the group. While he’s clearly the WR1, he doesn’t have the consistent impact or volume of top-tier options from a fantasy perspective. Reed only has one game this season with more than six goals.
He can create big yards in limited opportunities and make big plays, but he is extremely touchdown dependent. Reed has three 100-yard games, a reasonable total, especially considering two of those games were without Jordan Love. However, he also has eight games with 50 yards or less.
Will Reed do either break Your lineup in Week 15?
This week, Reed faces a Seattle defense that is inconsistent against the pass. While they don’t give up significant points to opposing wide receivers as a group, at least one receiver usually has a strong fantasy performance against them. Reed could absolutely be that guy who explodes. However, the Packers could still rely heavily on Josh Jacobs. Reed remains an extremely risky option.
If you start it, understand that there is no middle ground.
Keenan Allen, WR, Chicago Bears
Week 14 was tremendously disappointing for Keenan Allen. He had just three catches for 30 yards, finishing as the WR55 in half PPR, a huge disappointment after two straight top-10 finishes. Now Fantasy officials must ask themselves the big question: What was the anomaly: the two top-10 finishes or last week’s disastrous performance?
We’ve seen more WR55-type performances than top-10 finishes from Allen this year. However, if you attribute those boom games to random game scripts, that’s where the conflict lies this week. If his success depends solely on the script of the game, this week’s matchup against Minnesota should work in his favor. In Week 12 against Minnesota, Allen had one of his 10 best performances, catching nine of 15 targets (a season high) for 86 yards and a touchdown. That game also saw DJ Moore finish as a top 10 receiver.
Will Allen do either break Your lineup in Week 15?
As for the previous matchup, the game was competitive: Chicago played from behind for most of the game, but stayed within reach, eventually forcing overtime. The game was in Chicago, but weather was not a factor. With Caleb Williams’ offensive improvements, it’s reasonable to expect a similar result.
Allen is hard to trust (trust me, I’m currently debating starting him in the Scott Fish Bowl), but this matchup offers a high-level opportunity. Given the success Allen had in the previous matchup, we can reasonably expect a similar approach and potentially lean on Allen in this one.
Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos
Denver is coming off its bye, and Week 13 was the last week we saw Javonte Williams… although you probably forgot he even played, given his stat line of four carries for one yard. Yes, that’s an average of 0.25 yards per carry. He scored a touchdown, but since that touchdown accounted for almost all of his fantasy points, it hardly saved the day.
The Broncos running game has been completely inconsistent over the last month in terms of usage. In Week 13, it was Jaleel McLaughlin who unexpectedly led the backfield with 14 carries. In Week 12, Williams was the leader but managed just eight carries for -2 yards. In week 11, Williams was also the leader, but in week 10, Audric Estimé had the lead role.
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Across the entire backfield, the Broncos have provided just two RB1 performances all season.
williams do either break Your lineup in Week 15?
This week’s matchup against Indianapolis looks promising for the running backs. The Colts have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing RBs, making them a defense we’ve been targeting all season. However, it’s almost impossible to trust Williams when we can’t even guarantee that he will be the leader.
This is more of a Hail Mary, fingers crossed and hopeful situation. Williams has a legitimate floor of one fantasy point. At this point, I can name more than a handful of backup running backs that I trust more than Williams and, ironically, none of them are on his team.
Sincero McCormick, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
It’s official! McCormick is the Raiders’ new leading rusher. If you follow my early waiver news series, which runs every Sunday afternoon, you were ahead of the game, grabbing McCormick before this week, speculating that he would eventually be named the leader.
Unfortunately, McCormick still doesn’t meet the minimum attempts for next-gen stats, so we can’t directly compare him to the rest of the Raiders backfield. However, Alexander Mattison has one of the worst rushing yards per attempt in the league and has not recorded a single RB1 finish in 2024. He is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry, the worst mark of his career. Meanwhile, McCormick has shined as the team’s best running back this season, and it’s not even close.
McCormick has been excellent on the field, but he has yet to find the end zone, which isn’t entirely his fault. Last week, Aiden O’Connell recorded the Raiders’ first rushing touchdown since Week 9. The biggest problem is that the Raiders’ offense does not move the ball well enough to create consistent opportunities in the red zone.
Will McCormick do either break Your lineup in Week 15?
We know McCormick is the leader and this week’s matchup against Atlanta is favorable. The Falcons tend to allow volume of runs, as evidenced by their performance against Denver. Even that dysfunctional Broncos backfield got 17 fantasy points from Javonte Williams, one of his final two RB1s this season.
McCormick’s lack of receiving work limits his ceiling, but he’s a very intriguing option this week: a safe, low-end RB2 with upside potential if he can finally score his first touchdown of the season.
Injury bonus: Cedric Tillman, WR, Cleveland Browns
Typically when I talk about players and injury situations, I’m talking about someone benefiting from increased volume due to the absence of a teammate. This week I want to quickly address Tillman’s potential. Yeah he plays
Tillman’s last complete game was in Week 11, when he recorded three receptions on eight targets for 47 yards. He operated as the Browns’ WR1 for three games following the departure of Amari Cooper. Jerry Jeudy had seen a consistent role with a stable floor, but Tillman showed great upside in that stretch. His big performance in Week 11 included six receptions on 11 targets for 142 yards and a touchdown. That game started a hot streak that saw Tillman finish as WR4, WR21, WR1 and WR17 over the next few weeks.
Will Tillman do either break Your lineup in Week 15?
If Tillman returns this week, Jeudy will likely remain the presumptive WR1. However, the matchup against Kansas City is very favorable for the pass. Cleveland’s defense has struggled and Kansas City should take advantage of those weaknesses. With Nick Chubb still struggling with volume, Cleveland will likely take another pass-heavy approach, creating enough opportunities for Tillman to provide strong flex value.