If you survived the carnage that was Week 14 and advanced to the semi-finals, congratulations. Now you're going to have some very difficult lineup decisions to make. Do you trust the quarterback who has been red-hot or the future Hall of Famer? How do we value the low-end No. 2 running backs? We'll get to that below -- and you can get an early look at the waiver wire options for Week 15 here.
But even if you lost in Week 14, there's a little something for you. Namely, how we should think about Lamar Jackson heading into 2020. As we move further into December this column will look more and more at 2020 and Dynasty value of some 2019's best performers. Let's get started.
You should start Ryan Tannehill over Aaron Rodgers in Week 15.
Tannehill was phenomenal again on Sunday, throwing for 391 yards and three touchdowns against a bad Raiders defense. In Week 15 he'll face a Texans defense that just got lit up by Drew Lock.
Rodgers was mediocre again on Sunday, throwing for 195 yards and one score against a bad Washington defense. In Week 15 he'll face a Bears defense that held him to 203 yards and one touchdown in Week 1.
This is a pretty simple choice. Tannehill has been playing better and he has a better matchup. Start him with confidence.
Verdict: Believe it.
There's reason to believe you should start Tannehill over just about everyone, and strongly consider sitting Rodgers.
Since he became the starter, Tannehill has averaged 26 Fantasy points per game, which is better than every quarterback not named Lamar Jackson. He's only scored fewer than 22 points once in a start. Sunday was Rodgers' fourth game in his past five with 14 or fewer Fantasy points. He's only reach 22 Fantasy points five times all season.
Phillip Lindsay is a trustworthy RB2 for the next two weeks.
For the third time in his past four games Lindsay received at least 18 touches, and it finally paid off with a touchdown against the Texans. With so many injuries, unknowns, and committees around the league, I'm going to keep starting the guy with the consistent touches, even if the yardage numbers have been uninspiring. Especially with his matchups the next two weeks.
Verdict: Believe it.
In Week 15 Lindsay faces the Chiefs. In Week 16 he gets the Lions. These two defenses give up more than 22 Fantasy points per game to running backs. Lindsay is getting such a big chunk of the work that I'll treat him like a must-start in both matchups.
DeAndre Washington is a top-25 RB until Josh Jacobs returns.
I don't know if Jacobs is going to play again this season, but I'm going to be starting Washington until he does. Washington had 20 touches in Week 14, and that was with a terrible game script. If they have a lead, Washington could see even more work. With a Week 15 home game against the Jaguars, they may very well have a lead.
Verdict: Believe it.
This Raiders running back role has turned into a surprisingly valuable one. They've ran the ball well as a team (4.4 YPC) and they've committed to giving their running backs touches. The fact that Washington has seen more targets than Jalen Richard the past two weeks is just a cherry on top. Hs success in a bad game script makes him even more desirable.
Lamar Jackson should be the first quarterback drafted in 2020 redraft leagues.
Well, duh.
Jackson has outscored every other quarterback by at least 60 Fantasy points in a standard CBS league. He has scored fewer than 20 Fantasy points just once and he's reached 30 points seven times. Jackson has been a cheat code, and it's hard to see how opposing defenses could slow him down.
Verdict: Don't believe it.
"It's hard to see how anyone could slow him down."
Where have we heard that?
Maybe after Patrick Mahomes scored 515 Fantasy points in 2018. But it could have also been after Deshaun Watson scored 202 Fantasy points in just six and a half games in 2017.
We haven't seen this before, with Jackson's unprecedented rushing ability, but we have seen this type of Fantasy production from a quarterback each of the past two seasons. In fact, both Watson and Mahomes averaged more Fantasy points per game than Jackson has in standard CBS leagues.
I don't want to start the Jackson regression talk yet, and I certainly don't want to disparage his performance. But he has the shortest track record and despite what has happened this year he's the one I'd have the most injury concern with. There should be a tier of three quarterbacks at the top of 2020 rankings and Jackson should be third among them.