Sneaky Starts, Pivot Plays and Post-Waiver Pickups for Week 15

Craig Rondinone's sneaky fantasy football starts, pivot plays and post-waiver waiver pickups for Week 15 lineups. Start 'em as under-the-radar fantasy sleepers.

Whether this is the first week of your playoffs or the last week of your regular season, this is the most crucial week of your fantasy football season.

This is not the time to drop the hand-off or sure touchdown toss if you are a fantasy football manager. Your chance to win your league championship is riding on you having a starting lineup of healthy and productive players. If you dare use a player who bows out before kickoff with a pulled muscle or a sick stomach and it costs you a fantasy playoff spot, you will be kicking yourself the whole offseason.

Without further ado, here are my sneaky starts, pivot plays and post-waiver pickups for Week 15 — and the questionable superstars who you might need to replace at the last minute in your fantasy lineup:

Sneaky Wide Receiver Pickups and Starts for Week 15

If Minnesota’s Adam Thielen (ankle) is not given the thumbs up to play soon, you could pick up and play…

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns (WR) vs. LV

Cleveland is light on pass catchers, especially after letting go of Odell Beckham Jr. and having its tight end and receiving corps ravaged by positive COVID tests. It is anyone’s guess which Browns skill players will suit up Saturday against Las Vegas. The good news is that as of now Peoples-Jones is playing. Baker Mayfield’s best and only deep threat has racked up 302 receiving yards and three touchdowns over his last five games and has shown he can make big plays either in between the 20s or in the red zone.

Las Vegas’ pass defense might be ranked a respectable 13^th in the NFL, but the Raiders secondary has not been as solid as it was during the first half of the season. The Raiders have allowed 12 touchdown passes over their last five games and given up 32 points or more in four of those contests. Peoples-Jones does not have to worry about a top cover corner shutting him down this week. Look for a couple play-action passes to turn into large-chunk plays for Peoples-Jones as he saves the fantasy seasons of millions of managers this weekend, even if backup QB Case Keenum is the one slinging the ball his way.

Sneaky Running Back Pickups and Starts for Week 15

If Arizona’s James Conner (ankle) is ruled out before Sunday’s kickoff, you could pick up and play…

Mike Davis, Atlanta Falcons (RB) at SF

Davis has gone from Atlanta’s top tailback to being the guy holding Cordarrelle Patterson’s coffee on the sidelines this season. It has as much to do with Patterson’s breakout year as it does with Davis’ lackluster running, and Atlanta’s play calls and offensive game plans have not helped Davis’ cause. He has shown some signs of life the last two weeks, however, so his fantasy value is not flatlining yet. Davis turned 16 touches into 82 yards last week and had 69 combined yards and a TD the week prior.

Truth be told, Davis will not find much running room against San Francisco on Sunday. He won’t have to, though. Davis will make his money the J.D. McKissic way by catching passes out of the backfield. He has been sneakily piling up quiet PPR points with his three-to-five receptions per week, and the game script will likely call for plenty of dump-off passes to Davis in the second half of the 49ers game as the Falcons trail. Look for Davis to give fantasy managers five catches for 45 yards, 25 yards rushing, and a possible touchdown as Atlanta tries to keep its playoff hopes alive and keeps the game against the Niners closer than anyone would think.

Sneaky Tight End Pickups and Starts for Week 15

If Las Vegas’s Darren Waller (knee) misses his third consecutive game Saturday night, you could pick up and play…

Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks (TE) at LAR

This is not a record skipping. Yes, this is the second straight column where I have Everett as being the perfect last-second sub for Waller. There is not much to choose from at the tight end position on fantasy waiver wires at this point of the season. Most of the available tight ends block on 90 percent of their plays and catch one pass per game. Everett is arguably the best of the bunch left unsigned in most fantasy leagues.  He has scored touchdowns in two of his past three games and had opportunities to score more if he did not suffer from fumble fingers on a couple plays inside the five-yard-line.

Everett is facing his old L.A. Rams teammates and probably has revenge on his mind considering how he was misused during his four-year career with the organization. He never had 450 yards or four touchdowns in any of his seasons with the Rams, had to split time at tight end with Tyler Higbee, and was forced to watch Sean McVay call many more pass plays for his wide receivers than he ever did for Everett. The Rams are deluged with COVID-related issues so they might be shorthanded on Sunday, plus they might suffer a letdown after their humongous win over the Arizona Cardinals in their last game. If you need a TE at the last minute this weekend, Everett is my best bet.

Situation To Monitor

If Los Angeles’ Odell Beckham Jr. (COVID) is not cleared to play Sunday, you could pick up and play…

Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears (WR) at MIN

UPDATE: After this article was written, Allen Robinson was also placed on the COVID list. He is likely not playing this week, but we will update this as news comes in.

Robinson has been one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy football, and probably the biggest one at wide receiver. He was able to have 1,000-yard years with Blake Bortles and Mitchell Trubisky as his quarterbacks, but with the combo of Andy Dalton and Justin Fields tossing to him the poor guy has not been able to muster a 70-yard game, let alone a 100-yard outing. Oh, and he only has one touchdown all season. That’s why Robinson has gone from cornerstone keeper to available in half of fantasy leagues heading into Week 15.

Minnesota’s pass defense is ranked 25th in the NFL despite having All-Pro safety Harrison Smith on the back end. If you need proof that the Vikes pass defense is a problem, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Detroit’s Jared Goff combined for 600 passing yards and six touchdown tosses against them the past two games. That duo is not confused with Aaron Rodgers and Kyler Murray, at least not this year. If Robinson is going to have his best game of the season, it is this week against his division rival. The game script should be in his favor as much as his matchup.

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