Dominate Week 15 with Salo Vetri’s keys to fantasy football victory.
Draft Spot of the Week: Tyrone Tracy Jr. vs. PACK
Tracy Jr. had a strong game against the Saints in Week 14. It was a good matchup as New Orleans ranked 32nd against the run entering Week 14. Tracy took advantage of this great spot and converted 26 opportunities for 83 yards and a touchdown. Tracy completed 84% of his snaps, his most against an active Devin Singletary this season, and converted 26 of 28 opportunities in the backfield. All this is wonderful to see. Concerns about Tracy’s role from a few weeks ago seem to be long gone.
However, his matchup this week is a major concern.
The Giants are massive 15-point underdogs against the Ravens this week. Baltimore is allowing just 3.5 rushing yards per game, the fewest in the league. This is as sketchy as a spot for an opposing RB. The Giants are projected to score just 14 points this week, one of the team’s lowest points this season. Landing up is definitely down for Tracy in this matchup and he will likely have to rely on his transition role this week. If you have a better option, consider starting them through Tracy.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
Subscribe Yahoo Fantasy Forecast on Apple podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Best RB spot of the week: Brian Robinson Jr. @ NO
Robinson finds himself in an incredible spot this week. He will return from the bye week to face the Saints. The bye week came at the perfect time, as Robinson has spent the past few months battling knee and hamstring injuries. But he appeared to be healthier in Week 13 before the bye, when he made his first play for an explosive 40-yard touchdown. Robinson finished that game with 109 total yards and a score on 17 touchdowns. Most impressively, he did it in essentially three quarters of a game when the Chiefs blew out the Titans and pulled several starters, including Robinson, in the fourth quarter.
Robinson now has a top spot in the week against the 32nd ranked Saints. We’ve previously discussed how Tyrone Tracy Jr. had had a successful day against New Orleans last week, running behind the Giants’ offensive line in the bottom 10. The Commanders are seven-point favorites against the Saints this week. In six completed games as the favorite this season, Robinson is averaging 14.7 fantasy points on 16 touches per game. Robinson must start in Week 15 fantasy games.
Essential start to the week: Rico Dowdle @ CAR
Dowdle continued his career-best performances last week. It started in Week 13 against the Giants, when Dowdle topped 100 rushers for the first time in his career and racked up a career-high 25 touches and 123 total yards. That production led to Dowdle finishing as a top-10 weekly RB for the third time this season. But in the 14th week, the production improved even more. Dowdle set a new career high with 141 total yards on 19 touches. His 7.4 yards per touchdown was also a career best.
Dowdle has taken advantage of strong matches in recent weeks and will get another one this week. The Cowboys will hit the road to face the Panthers. This game only has a one-point spread, so expect it to stay close. That benefits Dowdle, who should see carries in all four quarters if the game script remains neutral or positive for Dallas. Carolina is allowing the most rushing yards per game and the second-most rushing touchdowns this season. Dowdle you must start this week.
Sleeper of the week: Sean Tucker @ LAC
Bucky Irving re-injured his back last week and did not return for the second half. That led to Rachaad White and Tucker splitting touches in the backfield. If you just look at the results, you’ll see that White earned 73% of the catches in the second half. That would lead you to believe that White is the clear front-runner should Irving miss Week 15. However, we have to take a closer look at what actually happened in the second half of last week.
The Bucs had just four second-half drives in Week 14. Through the first three drives, White gained 39 yards on five occasions, while Tucker gained 47 yards on four occasions. That includes a 34-yard run for Tucker where he was tackled at the three-yard line and replaced by White, who scored a touchdown on the next play.
Then, on the final drive of the game, White hauled in three carries for seven yards to separate from Tucker for the final score. But this was a nearly split backfield before the final drive, where Tucker was the more explosive back. Irving is officially questionable in Week 15, and if he ends up missing Tucker, he becomes a sleeper option for Week 15. The last time we had Tucker extended was in Week 6, when he had 192 total yards and two touchdowns.
Hide it D/ST: Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are coming off a bye week and have been playing better defense lately. For starters, they’re healthier since the first month of the season when they’ve been powered by any team they’ve faced. Despite this improvement, Indy’s defense is still available in over 80% of Yahoo leagues and that’s crazy to me when you look at their fantasy playoff schedule.
They take on the Broncos this week. Bo Nix has been great this season, but he’s not at the level of a QB where you have to worry about him throwing three or more touchdowns every week. Last time we saw Nix, he threw two INTs against the Browns and completed just 51% of his passes.
In Week 16, the Colts will take on the Titans, who allow the most fantasy points per game against a fantasy defense. Will Levis has been better lately, but still turns the ball over at a high rate. Levis is also a bit bloated, which could lead to Mason Rudolph starting in the coming weeks.
Then, in Week 17, the fantasy championship, the Colts face the Giants. New York is allowing the third-most fantasy points per game against fantasy defenses, and Tommy DeVito is taking sacks at an unusually high rate. Grab the Colts defense if they are still available in your league.
Return of the week: Isiah Pacheco @ CLE
Pacheco averaged just 7.1 fantasy points last week in his second game back from injury. This was a disappointment for those who were counting on Pacheco as a last-ditch effort to try and make a playoff run on Sunday night. But for those who survived this subpar performance, there’s good news.
Baseline usage of Pacheco was encouraging at week 14. His snaps went from 33% to 48%, but more importantly, he caught 70% of the carries in the backfield compared to just 50% the previous week. That led to 16 touches for Pacheco compared to just six for Kareem Hunt. Pacheco appears to be back as the Chiefs workhorse and his usage is trending in the right direction.
He’ll be starting a shaky Browns defense this week. Cleveland is allowing the 10th most rushing yards per game and the fourth most rushing touchdowns this season. The Chiefs are four-point favorites this week and are projected to score 24 points. At seven similar points in his career as a starter, Pacheco is averaging 13.4 fantasy points per game on 18.3 touches per game, according to RotoViz’s game breakdown tool. You can start Pacheco in the first round of your fantasy playoffs this week.