Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers - Week 15

December 16, 2022

Top fantasy football risers and fallers heading into Week 15 of the 2022 NFL season. Adam Koffler identifies players at QB, RB, WR, and TE whose value for fantasy football is rising or falling.

Week 14 is now officially in the books. We have a lot of good information we can use to help make decisions as we head into Week 15 and beyond.

In this weekly column, we'll be looking at players whose arrows may be pointing up, and players whose arrows may be pointing down based on the previous week's games. We'll try not to overreact, but instead, use relevant data to make informed decisions about certain players.

Here are the key risers and fallers coming out of Week 14 of the NFL season.

Week 15 Fantasy Football Risers

Elijah Moore, New York Jets

It took a couple of months, but it looks like Elijah Moore might finally be back. For the first time this season, the sophomore receiver had double-digit targets. He turned those 10 targets into six catches for 60 yards, but more importantly, he played on 82% of the snaps. Moore hadn't played on more than 66% of the snaps since Week 4.

It's definitely possible Moore's increase in playing time came as a direct result of Corey Davis leaving the game early after suffering a head injury. However, if Davis did sustain a concussion, he's at high risk of missing the team's next game vs. the Lions. Detroit allowed Kirk Cousins to throw for 425 yards in Week 14.

Moore is now playing with either Mike White (who sustained multiple injuries in Week 14 but battled through them) or Joe Flacco and has two favorable matchups in the next two weeks (Detroit and Jacksonville). The confidence meter is slowly rising and Moore now enters into WR3 territory in the fantasy football playoffs.

Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars

Engram was a stud in Week 14, doing something only four other tight ends have done in NFL history.

Just two weeks ago, he drew one target against the Ravens. It's been an up-and-down season for Engram, who has scored fewer than five fantasy points in five of 13 games, including three of his last five. The problem for many in Week 14 is that they either dropped him or benched him for another option after struggling for the better part of the last month.

Moving forward, it's going to be tough to find a rationale for sitting a guy who is capable of putting up 39.2 PPR points at the tight end position. Engram has a tough matchup on paper coming up against the Dallas Cowboys, but he's clearly got the skill and ability to overcome that. If nothing else, the Jaguars could be trailing in this game and could be throwing often in the second half.

Chris Moore, Houston Texans

Chris Moore played a full-time role in Week 14 with both Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins inactive for the Texans. Let's just say he did not disappoint. Moore played 80% of the snaps and had a route participation rate of 93% (27 routes on 29 dropbacks). That led to 11 targets, which the veteran receiver turned into 10 catches for 124 yards. Moore led Texans receivers with a ridiculous 45.8% target share.

Cooks has now missed the last two games and has consistently been ruled out days ahead of the game. That could continue into Week 15, and we still don't know the status of Nico Collins long-term. If he has to miss another game in Week 15, it's off to the races for Chris Moore, who should command another large target share competing for opportunities with the likes of Phillip Dorsett and Amari Rodgers.

Very favorable matchups against the Chiefs and Titans await the Texans, making Chris Moore one of the hottest waiver wire pickups for those in need of wide receiver help ahead of Week 15.

Note: You'll want to temper expectations on Chris Moore if one or both of Cooks or Collins returns in Week 15.

Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos

Jeudy returned to form in Week 14 sans Courtland Sutton, who had to sit this one out due to a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 13. After playing just 38% of the snaps a week ago, Jeudy played 83% of the snaps in Week 14. He had a route participation rate of 83% (44 routes on 53 dropbacks).

He turned his nine targets into eight catches for 73 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdown grabs matched his touchdown total for the entire season prior to Week 14.

With Sutton on the sidelines, Jeudy got a bunch of looks down deep and made the most of them. Hamstrings are tricky, and it's certainly possible Sutton could miss another game or two.

Favorable matchups against the Cardinals, Rams, and Chiefs await Jeudy and the Broncos, so it's looking like he could really help fantasy managers down the stretch when it matters most.

Other Risers: Miles Sanders, Jerick McKinnon, Chuba Hubbard

Week 15 Fantasy Football Fallers

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

Harris salvaged his Week 14 by finding the endzone. If it wasn't for the score, he'd have finished the day with just seven fantasy points. He rushed 12 times for 33 yards and caught two of three targets for an additional 17 yards.

The issue, however, is that his snap share dropped from 66% in Week 13 to 56% in Week 14. Meanwhile, Jaylen Warren saw his snap share increase from 20% in Week 13 to 40% in Week 14. Warren had just six opportunities but ran nearly as many routes as Harris (14 vs. 16). If this relatively even split continues, Harris will be hard-pressed to return a ton of value down the stretch when fantasy managers who drafted him in the first and second round need him the most.

With his 13-point performance in Week 14, Harris has now gone under 14 PPR points in 12 of 13 games played this season. Somehow, his yards per carry (YPC) is even lower this season (3.76) than it was last season when he averaged just 3.91 YPC. The silver lining here is that Najee could find the endzone in the next couple of weeks with favorable matchups against Carolina and Las Vegas. However, don't get too comfortable with Warren taking more and more work as he ramps back up after the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 11.

DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers

The Panthers don't appear to want to throw the football, which has been bad news for Moore. In his last two games with Sam Darnold, Moore is averaging just 4.5 targets per game. Yes, he had a big 52-yard catch in Week 12, but outside of that, he's been very "meh" of late.

To make matters worse, the Panthers have actually been competitive the last couple of weeks. This has led to Darnold throwing the ball much less than the Panthers have earlier in the season. In fact, he's attempted just 21.5 passes in each of his last two games. That's not a recipe for success for any wide receiver.

Adding insult to injury, Moore suffered a knee sprain in Week 14 which has labeled him day-to-day leading up to Week 15. Even if he plays, the Panthers could once again deploy a similar run-heavy strategy against a very beatable Pittsburgh front seven. Don't expect a blow-up game anytime soon from DJ Moore.

Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

It's not that Etienne isn't getting the playing time, he most certainly is. The issue, however, is the lack of targets and lack of rushing efficiency (combined). He's faced a couple of very good run defenses the last two weeks in Detroit and Tennessee, but he hasn't seen the targets to bail him out from a fantasy perspective.

He's played on 80% of the snaps the last two games but has put up just 7.6 and 3.2 PPR points, respectively, in those games. Since Week 8, Etienne is averaging just 2.2 targets per game. Prior to Week 8, he was averaging 3.3 targets per game in a part-time role.

Etienne's lack of passing game work has come as a direct result of Trevor Lawrence's ascension to becoming a great NFL quarterback. He's checking down less and getting the ball out to Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram down the field.

Unfortunately for Etienne fantasy managers, it doesn't get any easier in Weeks 15 and 16 with matchups against the Cowboys and Jets. If you can manage to get to the championship game in Week 17, however, you'll be rewarded with a smash matchup against the Texans.

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

After starting the season white hot, Barkley has cooled down in a big way in the last four weeks. In fact, he has averaged just 11.7 PPR points in those games.

Now, it's possible Saquon was hindered in Week 14 by what the team called a neck issue, but that's still probably not great moving forward. Neck issues don't tend to just go away, they linger over time, which could mean continued opportunities for Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell, and fewer opportunities for Barkley.

In Week 14, he played on just 31% of the snaps. That comes a week after shouldering the load and playing on 88% of the snaps. The 48-22 blowout loss to the Eagles may have played a part in the Giants lessening the burden on Barkley as he dealt with his neck issue, but he was being spelled even early in the game. It's very possible he's not a bell cow in Week 15 either.

Pay close attention to what comes out of Giants camp leading up to Week 15, but just realize the issue may not go away altogether. A tough matchup on Sunday night awaits against the Washington Commanders, a game in which the Giants have an implied total of just 18 points as of this article. Temper expectations on Barkley this week, especially if we hear he's still dealing with the neck issue that caused him to play just 31% of the snaps in Week 14.

Other Fallers: Jaylen Waddle, Gabe Davis, James Cook

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