Week 15 Flex Rankings: Charging Forward

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Sure, the holiday season is upon us, but the real reason that it is the most wonderful time of the year is that the fantasy football playoffs begin this week! The grind of the regular season is finally behind us, and the sprint to the championship is on. There are no more bye weeks for the rest of the year, which means my Week 15 Flex rankings encompass plenty of players. Of course, that does not mean fantasy managers are in the clear by any means. There are several high-profile injury situations we must deal with, most of which seem to revolve around Thursday night’s game. That game features three players who are among the top 50 Flex players in year-to-date scoring, and there is a chance that all three will miss the game! Fun times.

Another issue that fantasy managers will have to navigate is the Week 15 schedule. In addition to the regular Thursday night game, there are three staggered games on Saturday. I would not make drastic changes to your lineup based on the schedule. However, there is the potential for you to be significantly ahead or behind in your head-to-head matchup going into Sunday depending on what takes place Thursday and Saturday. That may alter how conservatively or aggressively you approach Sunday’s slate. But before we get too bogged down with hypotheticals and what-ifs, let’s get to the rankings! You may note that I tend to be optimistic when it comes to injured players, so use your discretion. As always, these are based on half-PPR scoring, so keep that in mind when setting your lineups. Good luck and I hope to see you again next week!

Running Back Notes

Josh Jacobs is one of the players whose status for Thursday is still in doubt as of this writing. Jacobs is the overall RB11 this year but is questionable with a knee injury. His absence for the first round of the playoffs would be a tough pill for fantasy managers to swallow. The timing of the injury is doubly painful because the Raiders are facing a Los Angeles Chargers team that ranks 28th in the NFL in defensive DVOA and 27th in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. I currently have Jacobs as my overall RB9 this week. That may be a bit optimistic, but I wanted to stress that I would start him if he plays. If Jacobs is out, Zamir White and Ameer Abdullah would likely split touches. I prefer White in that scenario, but he would be a risky start.

Isiah Pacheco missed last week’s action due to a shoulder injury. His injury comes on the heels of back-to-back top-eight weekly fantasy finishes. In his absence, the combination of Jerick McKinnon and Clyde Edwards-Helaire handled the workload for the Chiefs. McKinnon finished last week as the RB22, while Edwards-Helaire was the RB31. Pacheco has yet to practice this week but still has a few days to improve. The matchup is not ideal against a New England Patriots defense that leads the NFL in rush defense DVOA. However, I would start Pacheco if he recovers in time for this game. Kansas City is a 7.5-point favorite, so a positive game script should buoy Pacheco’s opportunity share. I would prefer McKinnon over Edwards-Helaire in the event Pacheco misses this game, particularly in PPR formats.

While there is no clear-cut choice for fantasy managers to rely on if Jacobs and/or Pacheco are out, those with Ezekiel Elliott on their rosters have no such concern. Elliott embodied the old “volume is king” mantra last week, leading all running backs in fantasy scoring. He did so despite averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. But Elliott was granted 29 carries, as New England’s offense has precious few playmakers these days. Elliott led all Patriots in targets and had seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. I expect another monster workload for Elliott this week. Kansas City’s biggest weakness defensively is against the run. And quarterback Bailey Zappe has proven he will check down to Elliott out of the backfield. I think Ezekiel Elliott is an elite Week 15 Flex option for those who already have their running back position covered.

Wide Receiver Notes

Keenan Allen enters Week 15 as the overall WR3 in fantasy scoring and a top-five Flex player. Unfortunately, he cannot improve on that this week. Allen is out for Thursday’s contest due to a heel injury. This will be an especially difficult situation for fantasy managers on multiple fronts. First, no other Chargers wide receiver has stepped up this season. The team activated Josh Palmer off of injured reserve for this game. Palmer has essentially been out of action since Week 8. He has also been wildly inconsistent when in the lineup. In his eight games this season, Palmer has finished 37th or better four times and 78th or worse four times. Quentin Johnston has largely been a bust in his rookie campaign. Johnston has yet to finish a week inside the top 25 in fantasy points and has finished outside the top 70 in nine of 13 weeks.

Worse still is that franchise quarterback Justin Herbert is out for the season with a broken finger. Easton Stick will be the Chargers quarterback in Week 15 and beyond. Stick targeted Allen on nine of 24 throws last week, so someone else will be his top target this week. But I think it is just as likely that Austin Ekeler and the tight end combination of Gerald Everett and Donald Parham fill that void than Palmer and/or Johnston. I currently have Palmer just inside the top 100 overall in my Week 15 Flex rankings, while Johnston is just outside that threshold. However, I would not go out of my way to start any Chargers wide receiver this week.

Fantasy managers may also be in a bit of a pickle when it comes to Houston’s wide receivers. Nico Collins missed most of last week’s game with a calf injury. He has yet to practice, leaving his status for Week 15 up in the air. If Collins is out, Noah Brown would be the most likely beneficiary, but his normally high ceiling would be reduced with Davis Mills under center in place of rookie phenom Stroud. Stroud is in the league’s concussion protocol after taking a hit late in last week’s loss. Robert Woods and John Metchie would be in the mix behind Brown, though neither project to be a recommended fantasy option. Metchie has not cleared 25 yards in a game all season, while Woods hasn’t scored more than 7.1 fantasy points in a game since Week 2.

Tight End Notes

Depending on how things shake out among the Texans wide receivers this week, Dalton Schultz is someone to monitor in the coming days. Schultz has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury which he suffered in Week 12. But he returned to practice on Wednesday and could be on track to return this week. I currently have him just inside my top 20 tight ends but may bump him up based on his health as well as those of Houston’s wide receivers. The Texans will face the Titans in Week 15. Tennessee is one of the top pass-funnel defenses in the NFL. If Mills is indeed Houston’s quarterback this week, that may benefit Schultz as well. Though the Texans are running a different offense this year, Mills targeted tight ends on nearly 25 percent of his throws last season.

More Week 15 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty

Week 15 Flex Rankings