FantasyPros publishes approximately 7.7 million pieces of weekly fantasy content to help you win your league, and eventually take home fantasy gold. It can be difficult to read such a vast amount of content, which is why we’ve rounded up a few of the most actionable, can’t-miss stat nuggets you absolutely need to know each week to aid with fantasy football start sit decisions.
We’ve broken down this weekly TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) article by each of the four main skill positions in fantasy football (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end), with at least two stats per position. Click on each author’s byline to read the entire article. Good luck this week.
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TL;DR Fantasy Football Week 15
Must-Know Quarterback Fantasy Football Stats
Last week, Jalen Hurts scored 24.2 fantasy points against the Carolina Panthers, his best fantasy performance since Week 10. However, the superstar needed two passing touchdowns on 21 attempts and a rushing score to reach that fantasy total. The Eagles have become one of the run-heaviest offenses in the NFL, with Hurts totaling 22 or fewer pass attempts in three consecutive games. More importantly, the star quarterback has struggled, averaging one passing touchdown and 18.9 fantasy points per game over the past four weeks, totaling 17.6 or fewer twice.
While offensive coordinator Kellen Moore told the media he wants to get A.J. Brown the ball more moving forward, don’t expect Philadelphia’s passing attack to have much success against the Steelers. Pittsburgh has held quarterbacks to 12.6 fantasy points per game, the fewest in the NFL. They surrendered 309 passing yards, three touchdowns and 19.3 fantasy points to Joe Burrow two weeks ago. However, the Steelers have held quarterbacks to 0.7 passing touchdowns and 11.9 fantasy points per game in their other seven matchups over the past nine weeks.
The Dolphins have won three of their last four games, scoring over 30 points in two of them. Miami is now inside the top 10 in red-zone efficiency (58.5%) and continues to limit turnovers with only 13 on the season.
The Dolphins lead with their passing game, and rightfully so. Their expected points added per pass (EPA/pass) of 0.05 is 10th in the league. Tua Tagovailoa leads the NFL in completion rate (73.8%) in his nine games played. Tagovailoa’s passer rating (107.4) also ranks fifth among qualified quarterbacks. He has thrown 17 touchdowns to only four interceptions. His Week 2 concussion railroaded the Dolphins’ season, but Tagovailoa has maintained the production fantasy managers are accustomed to when available.
Tagovailoa is averaging 18.4 fantasy points per game, and doing so efficiently. He is third at the position in EPA/dropback (0.21) and has thrown only one interception since he was injured. He should not be held accountable for his fantasy QB21 standing ahead of the 2025 draft season.
Must-Know Running Back Fantasy Football Stats
The Panthers give up the most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, and it isn’t even close. They allow 27 points per game; the Jaguars are second at just 24.9. Some of that can be blamed on their horrendous offense, which has improved of late, but most of the blame rests on what is simply the league’s worst rush defense. Carolina ranks first in yards per game given up to running backs, second in EPA allowed per rush and third in yards per carry for opposing running backs.
That sets up excellently for Dowdle, who has finally established himself as the workhorse No. 1 RB in Dallas’ backfield, with an elite 90% running back rush share in Week 14. It might feel risky putting Dowdle in your lineup for the fantasy playoffs, especially given that the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys are underdogs for this road matchup. But he should see enough volume against the soft Panthers’ defense to come through with a solid day.
Chuba Hubbard has 1,152 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns. He gets a weak Dallas defense this week ranked 29th against in rushing DVOA and that allows the fourth-most running back fantasy points. Dallas has allowed eight top-10 running back finishes this year, including most recently in Week 14 to Chase Brown (24.3 PPR points). Hubbard can extend his argument as one of the best value picks in 2024 fantasy football.
Last week, Rachaad White resumed his workhorse role, playing 76% of the snaps and finishing with 19 touches and 109 total yards as the RB3 for the week. White could easily do that again in Week 15. Even if Bucky Irving plays, he could be limited. Among 61 qualifying backs, White ranks 43rd in missed tackles forced per attempt and 10th in yards after contact per attempt.
White should have a monster day against a Bolts’ run defense that has fallen off in recent weeks. Since Week 9, Los Angeles has allowed the 12th-most rushing yards per game, the third-highest yards after contact per attempt, the sixth-highest zone rushing success rate and the 12th-highest yards per carry to zone runs (White – 53.3% zone).
Must-Know Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Stats
Michael Pittman has been a nightmare pick for fantasy managers this season. After the huge contract he received this offseason, it was expected Pittman would be a solid WR2 with WR1 upside thanks to being paired with exciting quarterback Anthony Richardson. However, that has not been the case as he comes into this week as the WR53 on the season.
If Pittman is still on your roster (probably due to Josh Downs’ injury), he absolutely should not be started under any circumstances this week. In addition to playing in the lowest passing volume offense this week, the scariest thing about Pittman this week is the shadow coverage of Defensive Player of the Year candidate Patrick Surtain.
Surtain is only allowing 0.13 fantasy points per route run, which is tied for the lowest in the NFL alongside Jaylon Johnson and Joshua Williams. Surtain is also only targeted on a measly 9.3% of targets run against him.
Week 14 will be remembered as the time when the Buffalo Bills finally unleashed Amari Cooper as part of their offensive game plan. After weeks of two, five, three and three targets, Cooper saw a massive 14 looks in the shootout with the Rams, leading to 254 air yards and 95 receiving yards. With eight targets not caught there was room for much more, but the most encouraging thing to see was how involved he was in a game where Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel all also played.
However, perhaps the most impressive thing about Cooper’s 12 targets was that he did it while playing on only 53% of the snaps. That is his high-water mark while with the Bills, but also shows he hasn’t reached his ceiling there yet. It will remain to be seen how the Bills incorporate Cooper when Keon Coleman returns. For now, it looks like Cooper is going to continue to be a major part of the offense.
Last week, DeVonta Smith returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a hamstring injury. Many had high hopes for him with Dallas Goedert (knee) on injured reserve (IR). Unfortunately, the star receiver had only 11.7 half-PPR fantasy points despite totaling 33.3% more targets than any other Eagle (six) while scoring a touchdown. More importantly, Smith was in a slump before getting hurt. He averaged 4.8 targets and 8.4 fantasy points per game over the five contests before the hamstring injury, totaling 4.9 or fewer in three matchups.
The Eagles have become a run-heavy offense, with Saquon Barkley chasing the NFL rushing record. Unfortunately, that has turned Smith into a risky WR3 or Flex option for fantasy players. Philadelphia has averaged only 21.8 pass attempts per game since the bye week. More importantly, the Steelers have one of the top pass defenses in the league. They struggled against the Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receivers in Week 13. However, Cincinnati surrendered only 21.1 fantasy points per game to wide receivers in their other seven contests over the past nine weeks.
Must-Know Tight End Fantasy Football Stats
I featured Juwan Johnson last week, and he proceeded to finish as the TE3 on the week, catching four of his five targets for 50 yards and a touchdown. This blurb can be considered part victory lap and part double-down.
Johnson’s solid day wasn’t just a fluke – he ranked second on the Saints to only Marquez Valdes-Scantling with a 77% route participation rate, tied for second on the team with five targets (a 16% target share) and posted a solid 23% first-read target share. New Orleans’ offense is desperate for playmakers, and they know Johnson is one of the best options they have.
Going forward, Johnson takes a hit with the loss of Derek Carr, who fractured his hand on Sunday. But there’s also a chance Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener or whoever gets the nod will look to the big tight end as a safety valve. In the three games Carr missed earlier this season, Johnson and Taysom Hill combined for a 20% target share … and that was with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Cedrick Wilson and Bub Means healthy (what a season the Saints have had).
Jonnu Smith has been on fire. He has pulled his season-long status up to TE6 in fantasy points per game. Since Week 8, he has been the TE5 in fantasy points per game, seeing an 18.6% target share with 2.35 yards per route run (YPRR) and a 22.8% first-read share. He has nine red zone targets across his last seven games played.
This week, Smith faces a Houston defense ranked 15th in yards per reception allowed to tight ends while giving up the 10th-most receiving touchdowns per game to the position.
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