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Week 14 is in the books, which means the fantasy football playoffs are upon us!
In this weekly column, we'll be looking at fantasy football 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 heading into Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season.
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Week 15 Fantasy Football Risers
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Engram has absolutely feasted these last two weeks without Christian Kirk. He's caught 20 of 21 targets for 177 yards and three touchdowns. He went from playing 65-70% of the snaps in Weeks 11 and 12 with Kirk to 85-90% in Weeks 13 and 14 without Kirk.
Engram has been the epitome of consistency this season and in his two-year tenure with the Jaguars. He's played in all 13 games after playing in all 17 last season. He's seen 7+ targets in 11 of 13 games and has eclipsed 40 receiving yards 10 times.
With Kirk out for at least the remainder of the regular season, Engram becomes one of, if not the most, elite tight end in the league for the fantasy football playoffs. Enjoy the ride!
Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
Rice is finally being treated as the WR1 in Kansas City, and deservingly so. He saw a season-high snap share of 85% vs. the Bills and put up 7-72-1 on 10 targets. He's seen double-digit targets in two of his last three games and now has six touchdowns on the season.
In fact, Rice has even surpassed the one-and-only Travis Kelce in receiving numbers in the last three weeks. He's quickly becoming Patrick Mahomes' top weapon in the passing game and should be a locked-and-loaded starting wide receiver in the fantasy football playoffs.
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
In Week 13 it was Elijah Moore leading the way for the Browns. In Week 14 it was Njoku getting love from Joe Flacco. He caught six of eight targets for 91 yards and two scores against the Jaguars.
Njoku quietly has seen 8+ targets in six of his last eight games and has caught 6+ balls for 50+ yards in four of his last five games. He's coming on at the right time and has some extremely favorable matchups ahead. The Bears, Texans, and Jets all struggle to defend the tight end position. They'll have to contend with a healthy Njoku in the coming weeks.
Flacco has attempted 44 and 45 passes in the past two weeks, which should give you the utmost confidence when starting Njoku in your TE spot in Week 15.
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
Lots of tight end risers heading into Week 15. Likely is the last of the bunch after putting up season-highs in receptions, yards, and targets in Week 14. He tacked on a touchdown to cap off a top-5 TE finish.
Now let's look forward to Week 15. The Ravens travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. The Jags just got absolutely torched by David Njoku this past weekend (6-91-2 on eight targets). George Kittle went off for 116 yards and a touchdown in Week 10.
In a nutshell, they're susceptible to big plays and they've given up a lot of points and yards. In fact, the Jags have allowed 642 passing yards in the last two games to Jake Browning and Joe Flacco. Lamar Jackson is up next, and so is Isaiah Likely.
Other Fantasy Football Risers:
Week 15 Fantasy Football Fallers
Gabe Davis, Buffalo Bills
After playing 96% of the snaps before the Bills' Bye week, Davis registered just an 82% snap share in Week 14 as Buffalo played a lot of 12 personnel with Dawson Knox back. He went catch-less on just two targets for the third time this season.
Davis has been very underwhelming in the majority of games that Knox has been active. In those eight games, Davis has caught three or fewer passes in six of them. He's averaging just 2.8 receptions on 4.6 targets in those games. Unfortunately for his fantasy managers, he's trending down at the exact wrong time as the playoffs kick off for most in Week 15.
Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos
Every week we're left wondering when Jeudy is going to pick it up. He seems to be getting open and running good routes, but it's not leading to production. In Week 15, he saw a season-low 57% of the snaps and totaled just 16 yards on two catches. Jeudy hasn't scored double-digit fantasy points since before the Broncos' Bye in Week 9. He's also only eclipsed 10 fantasy points in two of 12 games this season. Marcus Grant put it so perfectly for us all to understand:
Now, we say all of that, and the Broncos have three very nice matchups upcoming against the Lions in Detroit, the Patriots at home, and the Chargers at home. However, don't forget the fact that Jeudy has caught just three or fewer balls in four of his last five games. We're all waiting for the breakout to come, but it never does.
George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pickens hasn't seen more than six targets in each of his last seven games. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 8, and now Mike Tomlin is saying his displays of frustration are a problem. The frustration may not be warranted, or maybe it is. Check this out:
And now Pickens is running crossers at the line of scrimmage instead of routes down the field:
Pickens and the Steelers do have a nice matchup upcoming in Week 15 against the Colts in Indianapolis, but you can't count on Pickens to see more than six targets. Maybe Mitch Trubisky and the offense get it together, but it's best not to bet on it.
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Kenneth Walker III returned in Week 14 after a three-game absence and took back his starting job. Many thought Charbonnet would have out-snapped Walker, especially in a negative game script against the 49ers, but that wasn't the case. In fact, Walker more than doubled Charbonnet in routes run as well.
Walker had a 57% RB opportunity share, which included a season-high five targets. Meanwhile, Charbonnet had nine rushing attempts and just one target. Charbonnet may see an uptick in work down the stretch, but it's also possible Walker gets an even bigger workload as he ramps back up into game shape.
A tough matchup vs. a hungry Eagles team awaits the Seahawks on Monday night.
Other Fantasy Football Fallers:
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