The first round of the fantasy playoffs is in the books, and hopefully you're still contending for your league title. At this point in the year, it's all about making the right waiver pickups and start 'em, sit 'em decisions, so let's take a look and whose stocks are up and down heading into Week 15.
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Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Stock up
Joe Mixon, RB CIN: Mixon had his best game of the season in Week 15, rushing for 146 yards on 23 carries and plunging into the end zone on one of them. He also had three receptions for 40 yards, good enough to total 27.6 PPR fantasy points on the day. If you somehow made the playoffs with Mixon on your team, you have to be loving what you are seeing from him lately. Over the past six games he has fantasy totals of 17.7, 17.1, 17.3, 7.9, 17.0, and 27.6 points, respectively. That from a guy who scored fewer than 12 fantasy points in six of the first seven weeks of the season. He has a tough matchup with the Patriots on tap in Week 15 but, if you survive that week, he closes out the fantasy season with a juicy matchup against Miami in Week 16.
Hayden Hurst, TE BAL: Hurst had the best game of his career on Sunday, hauling in all three of his targets for 73 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens' 24-17 win over the Bills. Mark Andrews is currently battling a knee/thigh injury, and with the Ravens playing Thursday night, there is a chance that Andrews is forced to miss the game. Hurst would still be fighting for looks with Nick Boyle, but Hurst is the better pass-catcher of the two and would be the better option for fantasy and DFS. He would only be worth a look in deep leagues, but he could be in line for a good game and is someone to keep in mind for DFS purposes this week (a cheap price tag). Don’t forget: He was a first-round pick in last year’s draft.
WEEK 15 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Justin Watson, WR TB: Watson was a major benefactor after Mike Evans was forced to leave Sunday's game with a hamstring injury. Watson finished with eight targets, five receptions, 59 yards, and a touchdown. He had just one reception for 13 yards over the first 12 games combined. If Evans is forced to miss extended time (likely), Watson could be relevant for those of you playing in deep leagues. We know the Bucs are going to throw the ball a ton, and Watson could continue to see increased looks. He is too risky in most formats, but he is worth keeping an eye on and could make for interesting DFS target in Week 15 when the Bucs take on the Lions (who struggle to stop anyone).
MORE WEEK 15:
Waiver pickups | FAAB planner | Snap counts | Fantasy playoff tips
Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Stock down
Russell Wilson, QB SEA: What has happened to this Seahawks passing attack? Wilson had his second-lowest fantasy output of the season (11.6 points) in Seattle’s loss to the Rams. It was his fourth straight game with fewer than 18 fantasy points, and he has now failed to reach that mark in six of the past seven games. Keep in mind: He topped 24 fantasy points in four of the first six games of the season. In the game against the Rams, he threw the ball 36 times and only managed 245 yards and zero touchdowns. He is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he isn’t one of the best fantasy quarterbacks right now. He has two more good matchups on tap, though, as he will face the Panthers and Cardinals in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively.
Tyler Lockett, WR SEA: We need a milk carton missing person’s ad for this guy. Where has he gone? He finished this week with four receptions for 43 yards… pretty awful right? Well, that was his best game since Week 9. He hasn’t topped 8.3 PPR fantasy points in any of his past four games, and he had fewer than six points in three of them. His worst game of the season through nine weeks was 9.1 fantasy points (his only game with fewer than 11.4). This guy was elite all season long and a big part of why some people made playoffs, but now he’s a major reason why some people have been eliminated.
WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
David Njoku, TE CLE: I found it astonishing the amount of people who were high on Njoku making his return and were ready to just go ahead and plug him into their lineups. He hadn’t played since Week 2, was returning to an offense that has struggled all year, and his quarterback has struggled all year, too. This same offense has Odell Beckham in it, and he hasn’t done squat all season, but Njoku was going to just make a big splash return? Of course that didn’t happen, as Njoku finished with one reception for four yards on three targets. This is a low-scoring offense with Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Jarvis Landry, and OBJ all ahead of Njoku for touches. He may have a solid game down the stretch somewhere (like against Arizona in Week 15), and DFS players can take a shot at him if they want to, but he's a major risk.