It’s fantasy playoff time! The squad that brought you to the playoffs is likely quite different from what you had on draft day. The injury bug still abounds and COVID is creating a huge stir all around the league this week, so hopefully your team is healthy enough to weather the storm and take home the “W.” As usual, we’ve got our featured pundits here to offer their opinions on who you should start in a pinch and who you may want to temper your expectations for. Read on below to see what they have to say.
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Q1. Who is a player outside of our top 100 flex rankings that is a deep sleeper start and why do you think he has upside this week?
Allen Lazard (WR – GB)
“The injury to Randall Cobb has opened the door for Lazard to become the No. 2 target behind Davante Adams for Aaron Rodgers in the Packers’ offense. Lazard saw 82% of the offensive snaps on his way to season-highs in targets (seven), catches (six), and yards (75) with a score. He even added a 14-yard run that allowed him to finish as the WR7 in Week 14. The Packers have a plus matchup in Week 15 against a banged-up Baltimore Ravens secondary. Lazard has been inconsistent throughout his career, but he seems to be the primary beneficiary of Cobb’s targets and has moved into a more prominent role in the Packers’ offense.”
– Dennis Sosic (Fantasy Six Pack)
“Allen Lazard enjoyed the best game of his season in Week 14 with six receptions, 75 yards, and a touchdown. Normally, that would mean we wouldn’t hear from him for another few weeks, but it could be different this time. The Packers play a Ravens team that has become a pure funnel defense, allowing the fewest fantasy PPG to running backs and the eighth-most to wide receivers in that span. Lamar Jackson’s high-ankle sprain could keep the Ravens on defense much of the game where both Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling look to be in a smash spot while Randall Cobb remains sidelined.”
– Pierre Camus (RotoBaller)
Laquon Treadwell (WR – JAC)
“Treadwell is interesting this week. He’s had three straight weeks of at least four receptions and 50 yards, giving fantasy players a decent floor as the highest-scoring Jaguars WR in that time. This week he gets a plus matchup with the Houston Texans. Week 1 against the Texans still ranks as by far Trevor Lawrence’s best fantasy day as a passer.”
– Mike Wright (The Fantasy Footballers)
“Did you know that Laquon Treadwell has finished as a top-40 WR each of the past three weeks? Not only that, but he now gets to take on the Houston Texans’ defense. Buying into the Jacksonville offense is a terrifying thing to do from a fantasy perspective at this point, but Treadwell is getting the job done and he has plenty of upside due to the matchup. If you’re in a pinch and need a flex play this week, Treadwell’s worth scooping up off of your waiver wire.”
– Kyle Yates (FantasyPros)
Mike Gesicki (TE – MIA)
“Staying away from the ambiguous injury situations, I’ll cast a vote for Gesicki. He has a tasty Week 15 matchup against the Jets, and he’s been getting target volume. Gesicki had 11 targets in his last game, though he didn’t fully cash in, finishing with seven catches for 46 yards and no touchdowns. He’s had at least six targets in 10 of his 13 games. Gesicki is my TE9 this week.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
Rondale Moore (WR – ARI)
“Moore is a difficult option to trust, especially in the playoffs, but given DeAndre Hopkins‘ absence, he’s worth a look in deeper leagues. The Lions’ secondary has been ravaged by injuries all year and although they don’t often give up a ton of fantasy points to opposing wide receivers (because their run defense is so bad), they rank 31st in DVOA against the pass. A.J. Parker should practice this week and potentially return from IR, but whether Moore draws him or Will Harris, it will be a plus matchup for the young receiver who should see the field even more than usual. As Arizona looks to get more out of their passing game without Hopkins, I’d expect them to look to get Moore heavily involved, and he has the potential for a big fantasy day.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Q2. On the flip side, what player inside the top 40 flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy managers this week?
D.K. Metcalf (WR – SEA)
“It has to be Metcalf. In the five games since Russell Wilson returned from a finger injury, Metcalf has caught 17 passes for 199 yards and zero touchdowns. He has a tough matchup this week against the Rams and his old adversary Jalen Ramsey (assuming Ramsey can clear COVID protocols by Sunday). Metcalf had a 5-98-2 game against the Rams earlier this season, but that was in early October, before the Wilson-Metcalf chemistry went bad.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
“As we head into the fantasy playoffs, fantasy managers have to be nervous about what they are not getting from D.K. Metcalf. He and Russell Wilson have not been on the same page this season. Metcalf has not scored since Week 3. He has not exceeded 60 receiving yards since their Week 9 bye and has been a non-factor in the passing game while Tyler Lockett is winning championships for fantasy managers. Week 15 brings a matchup against the LA Rams where All-Pro corner Jalen Ramsey will shadow Metcalf. His upside is challenging to bench, but it’s tough to have confidence in Metcalf producing fantasy numbers that you will be happy with when you are trying to win a fantasy title.”
– Dennis Sosic (Fantasy Six Pack)
Cordarrelle Patterson (RB – ATL)
“It doesn’t look like Patterson will be a league winner after all. He was effectively a WR1 playing RB for the first half of the season but things have changed. Since Week 10, Patterson has a total of seven receptions in the four games he’s played. He had a blowup game against Jacksonville because … well, Jacksonville, but he has performed more as a low-end RB2 since then while Mike Davis is getting more involved with 11 carries in Week 14. If Patterson is simply a running back in a timeshare, he won’t be a top-40 flex option in a road matchup with the 49ers, who allow 3.9 yards per carry over the past eight weeks.”
– Pierre Camus (RotoBaller)
Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
“Antonio Gibson is an outstanding running back, but there are a lot of things working against him. The Football Team is dealing with a pretty big COVID-19 outbreak which will almost certainly impact their ability to compete against a rested Eagles team. Taylor Heinicke is dealing with a knee injury and Terry McLaurin has a concussion, so expect the Eagles, who are stronger against the run than the pass anyway, to focus on taking away Washington’s lone weapon in Gibson. He’s been succeeding largely when Washington keeps games close, but they’ll be in danger of falling behind here early. If Washington is forced to play catch-up, Gibson could be phased out. If you roster him, you’re likely starting him, but I’d look for other options if I had them.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Deebo Samuel (WR – SF)
“Samuel is an incredible player and he has the potential to take any opportunity to the house for a long touchdown. However, we have now seen his role completely shift and he has morphed into a full-time RB in this offense. In previous weeks, Samuel was starting to be utilized as an extension of the running game, but he was still seeing targets as a receiver. Now, Samuel is barely seeing work in the receiving game and is relying on anywhere from six-to-eight carries to return top-10 WR value. He’s still start-worthy, of course, but we should be a little bit concerned with the overall volume and how efficient he needs to be to return value.”
– Kyle Yates (FantasyPros)
Saquon Barkley (RB – NYG)
“Barkley had his most productive day this past week since Week 4. But, it was up against the run-funnel defense of the Chargers. This week he gets the Cowboys, which is one of the worst matchups for all running backs. The Giants’ offense is likely to struggle as a whole and Barkley isn’t likely to overcome his obstacles this week.”
– Mike Wright (The Fantasy Footballers)
Thank you to all the experts for giving their sleeper starts and duds. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter for more great advice. Also, please check out our latest podcast episode below.
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