Week 15 Fantasy Busts: Rhamondre Stevenson, Miles Sanders among risky players on the start-or-sit bubble

December 15, 2021 admin

Bye weeks are over, so while having all active players on the table for Week 15 is mostly a good thing, there will be more risky traps to fall into. On the flip side, you should have enough options to avoid risky players on our Week 15 fantasy busts list — assuming you’re not decimated by COVID and injuries. We’ll lay out borderline start ’em, sit ’em options, like Rhamondre Stevenson and Miles Sanders, who haven’t been weekly studs and are in tough matchups, as well as Carson Wentz and Marquise Brown, who have cooled off in recent weeks.

As always, even perennial stars can bust in favorable matchups, but it’s tough to call superstars “busts” unless they’re less than 100 percent, they’ve really been trending downward, or they have a particularly brutal matchup. We mostly stick to naming guys on the start-or-sit bubble, not guys who are simply going to have a good-but-not-great week or guys who are on over 90 percent of waiver wires. Sometimes you don’t have the depth to reasonably bench these players (or you might just totally disagree with our assessments), but you’ll at least know who is at risk this week. Nothing is worse than being taken off guard by a fantasy dud.

WEEK 15 FANTASY: Sleepers | Start ’em, sit ’em

Last week, we hit the nail on the head with the Jets’ RBs, Courtland Sutton, Derek Carr, Tyler Conklin, Noah Fant, and the Panthers and Ravens defenses. Of course, we were wrong about a few guys, like Odell Beckham Jr., Saquon Barkley, and Jimmy Garoppolo, but we were more right than wrong at the end of the week, so hopefully, we’ll begin a hot streak as we jump into the fantasy playoffs.

Week 15 Fantasy Busts: Running backs

Miles Sanders, Eagles vs. Washington (Jackson Sparks). Washington has one of the worst secondaries in the league, but quietly, the front-seven has been strong and its defense ranks as the No.12 unit against fantasy RBs. Sanders (ankle) might head into the matchup as “questionable,” so even if he does play, he’ll be banged up and will be in a committee with some combination of Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, and Kenny Gainwell. There are too many red flags here to trust Sanders in the fantasy playoffs.

Chuba Hubbard, Panthers @ Bills (Vinnie Iyer). Buffalo has been more giving to running backs of late, but this is a major get-well game for the defense.

Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots @ Colts (Matt Lutovsky). Regardless of whether Damien Harris (ankle) is back, Stevenson figures to get a good amount of touches. He’s produced in that role, but the Colts have been stout against the run all year, allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to RBs. If Harris plays, Stevenson has a low floor and ceiling. If Harris is out, he’s a low-ceiling, volume-based flex, at best.

Week 15 Fantasy Football Busts: Quarterbacks

Carson Wentz, Colts vs. Patriots (Sparks). Wentz has had plenty of surprising success this year, but against New England, we’re not inserting him into lineups. In all likelihood, this will become a run-heavy battle on both sides, so expect a shortened game centered around defense. Even if the Colts try to pass, it will ultimately be a failed attempt in a matchup with the No. 2 defense against fantasy QBs.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks @ Rams (Iyer). This was an ugly matchup for Kyler Murray, and Russ might be seeing some of the same danger vs. Aaron Donald and friends. He also might have nightmares of how he hurt his mallet finger against LA, too.

Ryan Tannehill, Titans @ Steelers (Lutovsky). You likely don’t need encouragement to keep Tannehill on your bench, but with the way the Steelers’ defense has been struggling lately, you might think he’s a good sleeper. You’re not necessarily wrong, but ultimately, Tannehill is a major risk in a win-or-go-home week. The Steelers are weaker against the run, and we all know Tennessee prefers to ground-and-point its way to victory. Tannehill has averaged just 192.6 passing yards and 1.4 total touchdowns per game over his past five contests.

WEEK 15 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo

Week 15 Fantasy Football Busts: Wide receivers

Marquise Brown, Ravens vs. Packers (Sparks). Since Week 10, Marquise Brown is the WR40 in PPR leagues. Seriously. He’s no longer a must-start, especially when you consider Lamar Jackson (ankle) might be out against the Packers. Tyler Huntley frequently targeted Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman en route to a decent passing day in Week 14, and Brown looks to be the odd man out. After all, his production has taken a steep decline since Bateman joined the lineup. We hope you enjoyed his early-season breakout, but it’s over, and we don’t think it will pick back up in a neutral matchup with Green Bay.

DK Metcalf, Seahawks @ Rams (Iyer). Calling “Decaf” a bust applies to the entire season. He’s not suddenly getting well against a likely returning Jalen Ramsey.

Michael Pittman Jr., Colts vs. Patriots (Lutovsky). Pittman is the Colts’ No. 1 receiver, and while that usually translates to decent volume, production can be spotty, even in favorable matchups. This is about as bad as it gets, and the last time he faced an elite pass defense (Buffalo), he was held to two catches for 23 yards. Don’t risk it.

MORE WEEK 15 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup builder

Week 15 Fantasy Football Busts: Tight ends

Noah Fant, Broncos vs. Bengals (Sparks). Fant has produced like a low-end TE2 over the past several weeks, and even in a favorable matchup for tight ends against the Bengals, we’re done trusting virtually any Broncos’ pass-catcher in this stale passing offense led by Teddy Bridgewater.

Dallas Goedert, Eagles vs. Washington (Iyer). WFT somehow really covers the position well, so he’ll go back to bust from boom after the bye.

Tyler Conklin, Vikings @ Bears (Lutovsky). Conklin is always a candidate for a big play – and he’ll occasionally have high-target games – but he’s nowhere near a consistent fantasy producer. Even without Adam Thielen (ankle), Conklin can’t be trusted against a Bears defense allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to TEs.

Week 15 Fantasy Busts: Defenses

Carolina Panthers @ Bills (Sparks). Buffalo is a daunting matchup for any D/ST, and since Carolina only looks like an “elite” defense in easy matchups, this isn’t the place to trust them. Buffalo could score 40 points here and no one would be surprised.

Minnesota Vikings @ Bears (Iyer). They have good numbers and the Bears have been giving, but on the road in prime time vs. Justin Fields seems like a major letdown trap.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Packers (Lutovsky). Baltimore is still highly owned, so clearly there are owners thinking about starting the Ravens. That’s not a great idea against Green Bay’s dynamic offense, especially with injuries severely limiting Baltimore’s floor and ceiling (just four takeaways in the past six games).

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