Snap Count Observations: Week 15
The fantasy zenith is upon us! Unless your fantasy championship takes place in week 17, in which case you should probably re-evaluate your league structure. Many tough decisions will be made this week. Play it safe? Start your studs? Desperation play? Tough decisions indeed.
Doug Baldwin 70% / Tyler Lockett 62% / Jermaine Kearse 61%
Lockett did not have the explosive season some of us had predicted, but he very well may win championships for people this week. He was targeted 8 times in week 15, the same amount as Baldwin (6) and Kearse (2) combined.
Jay Ajayi 85% / Damien Williams 15% / Kenyan Drake 10%
Ajayi is still being used as the lead back. However, he has not produced lately. He has only scored 1 total TD in his last 6 games, while tallying no more than 87 total yards in any of those contests. Williams nor Drake have produced much with their limited carries either, but the most disturbing trend has been Williams attempting goal line carries each of the last two games. If you haven’t already, it may be time to bench Ajayi.
Brandon Marshall 96% / Robby Anderson 93% / Quincy Enunwa 88%
Anderson has been a fun, under the radar, player to follow this year. He has scored in 2 of his last 3 games, but facing the Patriots this week is not ideal. In their last game, he received his fewest targets (2) since becoming a starter. It will be hard to trust any of these receivers in week 16, especially with the uneasy QB situation.
Aldrick Robinson 81% / Mohamed Sanu 68% / Justin Hardy 40% / Taylor Gabriel 35%
I like the way the Falcons have handled the Julio Jones injury. Facing the hapless 49ers in week 15 helped, but kudos nonetheless. Gabriel was the most targeted player even with the limited snap count, and Robinson stepped up to the tune of 111 yards this week. If Jones plays in week 16, you start him. The Falcons are eying a deep playoff run and will not play him unless he is healthy. Hopefully, the decoy strategy employed when Jones was first injured was the actual decoy and full Julio can be unleashed in week 16. The vaunted double decoy!
Ty Montgomery 84% / Christine Michael 8%
Montgomery is a player I put a lot of stock into over the last two seasons, and I very happy to see him finally given a full opportunity to show his talents. His only setback as a runner is his short yardage ineptitude. If he can get better in that area, the Packers may finally have a dynamic player at the RB position. The Vikings will surely key on him in this week, but with Aaron Rodgers playing as well as he is, they cannot crowd the line too much. I look for another big day from Montgomery in week 16.
Alshon Jeffery 92% / Cameron Meredith 86% / Deonte Thompson 71%
The Bears have an exciting passing attack under Matt Barkley. Jeffery put up a decent game (6 receptions for 89 yards and a TD), but remains an enigma. Reports of he and the team looking forward to parting ways this offseason continue to surface. His awkward post game rant clearly shows a frustrated player who may just feel out of place. It would be a tough call, but I may choose to bench him in week 16 against the Redskins. Meredith, however, is a rising second year player looking to solidify his place as a potential starter for the Bears in 2017. I don’t see him slowing down in the coming weeks.
Dion Lewis 37% / James White 32% / LeGarrette Blount 31%
White has clearly taken a backseat to Lewis, while Blount’s torrid TD (15) pace continues. The Patriots may score 100 points on the Jets this week, which bodes very well for both Lewis and Blount.
DeAndre Hopkins 98% / Will Fuller 81%
If you managed to make a deep playoff run with Hopkins on your roster, congratulations! He could very well win you your championship this week. The switch to Tom Savage at QB will surely motivate Hopkins to prove to the world that he is still a dominant player when a competent NFL QB is at the helm. I predict a very big game from him at home against the Bengals, who just played their Super Bowl against the Steelers and came up short, officially eliminating them from playoff contention. Hopkins had 17 targets on the day. 15 of them came from Savage.
DeMarco Murray 79% / Derrick Henry 26%
Tough day for Murray owners. I would not have been surprised if this game script of 24 Murray opportunities to Henry’s 9, with Henry as the goal line back, had played out all season. As we know, it didn’t, and Murray produced well all year. He produced well this week too, but with Henry scoring both TDs, we have no idea what to expect in the all important week 16 matchup against the Jaguars. I still trust Murray, but week 15 set a damning late season precedent.
Jerick McKinnon 59% / Matt Asiata 21% / Adrian Peterson 21%
As we all know, fantasy football can be a cruel mistress. Asiata has scored TDs in 4 of his 5 previous games. All of a sudden, Superman Peterson is deemed healthy enough to play and Asiata is limited to 0 carries and 1 receiving target. Some of you rode Asiata into the playoffs and probably lost because of him this week. That being said, Peterson could be an intriguing start against the Packers in week 16. Cruel…
Kenneth Farrow 75% / Ronnie Hillman 24%
The Chargers handed the lead back reins to Farrow with Melvin Gordon on the mend. Farrow did not do much with his opportunity gaining only 53 total yards on 18 opportunities (15 rush 3 targets), while Hillman mustered 34 yards on 7 carries. The operative word here being, opportunity. Facing the porous Browns in week 16 could be the chance Farrow needs to make a name for himself.