Fantasy Football Mailbag - Q&A for Week 15

December 21, 2019

Kev Mahserejian answers fantasy football start/sit questions for Week 15, giving lineups advice and help from the reader mailbag with his weekly Q&A session.

This article's content may vary week-to-week, but generally, it will be answering questions fielded from either the @RotoBallerNFL twitter account or my personal one (@RotoSurgeon). This week, the focus is on start/sit questions, and there were plenty. Every week, many of us struggle with which quarterback to start, or who to flex, and I am here to help.

The questions selected will combat difficult decisions that might be specific to Week 16 starters. The fantasy playoffs are brutal and require more precision than usual to get through but with the help of our team at RotoBaller, we plan to make things as easy as possible.

Best of luck in your championship matchup!

Week 16 Mailbag

Verdict: Miles Sanders

To be fair, both are great starts with high floors and RB1 upside this week. You really cannot go wrong with either as an option (although surely one could fail to meet expectations). We have seen Miles Sanders shoulder a heavy snap-share and workload over the past month and the results have been especially positive more recently. He should remain heavily involved as long Jordan Howard remains out and as the matchup against Dallas does not get out of hand. He is in-line to receive 20~ touches and plenty of receiving work as Philadelphia remains depleted in the passing game.

Mike Boone can be started with confidence and while he may seem unknown, it is fine. Running backs do not matter (for the most part, there is a threshold of talent/skill) and he is athletic enough as shown on the field last week when he scored twice and ripped up the Chargers' defense. The main concern here is whether he will work much on passing downs. There is a chance that Ameer Abdullah snakes him on some 3rd-downs and possibly in 2-minute scenarios. Sanders' known passing work gives him the leg-up here.

Verdict: Indianapolis Colts

This could be a trap but I feel confident targeting an offense led by Will Grier. Grier is a more seasoned rookie at 24 years old and comes from a West Virginia offense that set him up for success. There is a reason that Kyle Allen, an undrafted QB who could not even succeed in college, started over him. Grier is flawed mechanically and requires a great system around him. The Panthers do have the pieces to create offense but have a mediocre offensive line and poor play-calling. Grier will try to take some bad deep shots under pressure given his nature and possibly allow for several turnovers. He will also take sacks with his lack of mobility and if the Panthers go down big, those sacks will multiply. He can only rely on Christian McCaffrey for so long.

Kansas City would probably be the choice if they were at home and while they should still win, it's possible that the Bears' continue playing half-way competent football and mitigating turnovers at home. Atlanta's defense is slightly better since Dan Quinn gave up play-calling on that side of the ball but they are still under-manned and face a Jaguars team returning D.J. Chark.

Verdict: OJ Howard

Austin Hooper disappointed last week and although his matchup is even better for your championship, he might be someone to avoid. Since returning from a foot injury that kept him out for nearly a month, he has failed to eclipse 5.5 PPR points in both games. Now, two weeks removed, he should seemingly be healthier, it is hard to take him over O.J. Howard who is stepping into a lead receiver role in a Tampa Bay offense that is now without Mike Evans AND Chris Godwin. Howard's lack of usage in the passing game this season is extremely concerning but the matchup and game-script should be good enough to start him with some confidence, especially given that he lead the team in targets last week.

Verdict: Kyler Murray

Both Matt Ryan and Kyler Murray are fine starts this weekend given the matchup and game total, however, Murray's rushing ability gives him the "leg" up on Ryan. Last week, Murray had it easy given how well Kenyan Drake ran, allowing the Cardinals to play with a lead throughout the game. That will not be the case this Sunday. Kyler Murray should have himself a busy day in Seattle given how porous his defense is. This matchup is set up as a shootout with a high game total around 50 and Arizona is probably playing from behind requiring a hero-like performance. Seattle is also expected to be without key defenders Jadeveon Clowney, Quandre Diggs, and Shaq Griffin.

Matt Ryan should throw a few touchdowns against Jacksonville's broken down defense, however, he may not be asked to carry much of a burden. The Jaguars' offense is fairly vanilla and could remain stagnant enough to not ask much from Atlanta. The Falcons may not be pressed to force the issue and could settle for field goals if they have a decisive enough lead early on. Also, given the Jaguars propensity to give up big run plays, Devonta Freeman may be doing more of the heavy lifting on offense than usual.

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