We arrive at week 15 of the 2022 NFL season and finally the long-awaited playoffs of the fantasy football leagues begin. Now there is no more time for mistakes, as any mistake can be “fatal” and cause the dream of winning the title to end.
Redoubled attention in lineups, and of course, in the waiver wire, which always gives us good names among a huge list of players that are free on the market. Whether you are in the bye week, playing in the quarterfinals or even intermediate positions in the “consolation”, strengthening yourself now tends to be of paramount importance for this final sequence of the season, even more so with some players suffering from injuries at the end of the season.
Therefore, once again the The Playoffs is here to help you in this mission of finding that “icing on the cake” that can be a new differential that will make your team go to the next stages or even make you champion in your league.
Remembering, again, that there is a warning to be careful with whom you are going to give up to make it possible to add a player via waivers, since the placement of a certain athlete of yours on the market may mean the unwanted improvement of an opposing squad.
To be eligible on our list, players have to be on a maximum of 60% of the Fantasy Football rosters on NFL.com, which is the most popular and famous platform among Brazilians.
It is also possible that the names mentioned here are in a greater or lesser percentage of casts in other applications, such as Yahoo, ESPN and Sleeper, although the tendency is for the average to be similar.
Once again we reiterate that we use the PPR score as a parameter (when there are points computed per reception), again because it is the standard and most famous model, currently, of the game, having stolen the “crown” of the old Standard (or non-PPR ) in the last years.
With that and without further ado, let’s get to the names for week 15!
RUNNING BACKS
Jerick McKinnon– Kansas City Chiefs (15,9% rostered*)
On the Kansas City Chiefs’ running backs committee, Jerick McKinnon is the one who has been making the most appearances. If at the beginning of the season Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the undisputed holder, he ended up losing space and is now injured in IL, McKinnon and freshman Isiah Pacheco started to dispute the “dominance” of the backfield with the veteran managing to score more points, mainly because he comes getting more passes than the rookie. If we take into account the week 14 match against the Denver Broncos, Pacheco had more volume on land, with 13 carries against his partner’s seven. However, in the air McKinnon dominated, catching seven passes for 112 yards and shining with two TDs. Name that can be very useful in this sequence of season and that has two extremely favorable matchups in a row, against the Houston Texans (worst team scoring the ground game) and the Seattle Seahawks (second worst team scoring the ground game).
J.K Dobbins – Baltimore Ravens (58,9% rostered)
Look who’s back! And it came back very well. After missing the Baltimore Ravens in seven games, JK Dobbins is recovered and showed this in the duel against the Steelers in week 14, appearing with 15 carries for 120 yards and a TD. If before the season started, selecting RBs from the Ravens was not a good deal due to the high value of carried by quarterback Lamar Jackson on the ground, now, with the injured QB, Dobbins can be an important weapon in a team that is still fighting for the playoffs. In Week 15, Baltimore faces Cleveland, which is the third-worst team against ground play. If Dobbins is available in your league, there is a great name to compose your squad or to fight for a place in your starting lineup.
*Percentage of teams in official NFL Fantasy leagues that have this athlete on their roster
WIDE RECEIVERS
Donovan Peoples-Jones – Cleveland Browns (37,7% rostered)
If there’s a name that has benefited from the return of Deshaun Watson, it’s undoubtedly Donovan Peoples-Jones. The wide receiver faced two good secondaries from the Texans and the Bengals and did wonderfully, thank you. In week 14, against the Bengals (second best team scoring the WR), Peoples-Jones “near” the house of 20 points in fantasy, being Watson’s target in 12 opportunities, getting eight receptions for 114 yards. It’s okay that the WR of the Browns has only one TD recorded during the entire season, but his numbers without receptions in the end zone are already great, imagine if the player “gets a taste” for the TD. Try to keep growing.
DJ Chark – Detroit Lions (15,5% rostered)
If there’s a team that kind of “out of nowhere” started to be funny this 2022 NFL season, without a doubt that team is the Detroit Lions. With Jared Goff in command of the attack and a defense that suffers to get turnovers, no one expected the Lions dreaming of playoffs in Week 15, let alone in 2nd place in the NFC North. Not even the most optimistic fan of the franchise imagined the team in front of the rival Green Bay Packers at this point in the championship. Much of this is due to Goff’s good season (amazing) and the appearance of good players with receptions, like DJ Chark. “Tubarão” comes from two great games, the last one against the Vikings, in which he had six receptions for 94 yards and a TD. In Week 13 it was another 98 yards for him, with five receptions. Good numbers and on a team still aiming for the postseason, this could be interesting.
TIGHT ENDS
Evan Engram – Jacksonville Jaguars (42,8% rostered)
Evan Engram was one of the big names of week 14 in the league, if not the biggest name of the round. The TE was triggered by Trevor Lawrence in 15 opportunities, getting 11 receptions for 162 yards and two touchdowns in lit afternoon. And it was not a “chance” performance, as Engram has become one of the “Sunshine” safety balls this year and has its load increased over the course of the games. If he is struggling in the TE position, that’s an excellent name that could be available in several leagues. It tends to be important in this final stretch!
Chigoziem Okonkwo –Tennessee Titans (1,2%% rostered)
Even though they are not brilliant, the Titans lead the AFC South and are one step away from winning the division and consequently the playoff spot. However, the team still cannot neglect, as the Jaguars are “on the tail” and with that they must play with maximum strength and with everything in the last rounds. So, one name that has started to look good on Tennessee’s offense is tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo. It’s been three straight games with good performances for him, and in the last one he received all six passes that went his way and had 45 yards and a TD noted. Look at him! There’s a weapon that tends to be interesting.
QUARTERBACK
Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers (5,0%% rostered)
For the second week in a row we have to talk about Brock Purdy. Beating out the injured Trey Lance and Jimmy Garroppolo, Purdy undoubtedly plays on one of the most organized teams in the NFL this season. Well protected and with excellent options around him, Purdy comes from two great displays, one with 210 yards and two TDs launched and another with 185 yards and two more TDs, one of them with a beautiful pass to Christian McCaffrey. Some fantasy teams struggle with QBs this fantasy season because the likes of Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and even Tom Brady haven’t performed as expected. Others like Matthew Stafford (yeah, he was pretty bad too) and Kyler Murray are not healthy. There is an interesting option for the position that can be consistent in this final stretch!
(Photo: Reproduction Twitter / JK Robbins)
