Fantasy Football Start/Sit: Rico Dowdle, Justin Jefferson, Ryan Flournoy

Fantasy football playoffs are here, which means every lineup decision suddenly feels like it carries the emotional weight of a midseason coaching change. One wrong call and you’re doom-scrolling your league chat; one right call and you’re coasting into the semi-finals like you planned it all along. To help you avoid any tragic December blunders, our Featured Pros have rounded up their favorite Week 15 sleepers and duds — the sneaky starts who can save your season and the landmines you definitely don’t want detonating in your Flex spot. Let’s survive and advance.

Fantasy Football Week 15 Start/Sit Advice

Sleepers

Which player outside of the top 100 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is a good sleeper start, and why do you think he has upside this week?

Ryan Flournoy (WR – DAL)

“Ryan Flournoy had possibly the game of his career in Week 14 with a stat line of 9/115/1 (on 13 targets). If CeeDee Lamb misses any time with a concussion, Flournoy is in line to do this again. Pickens will be double-teamed by the Vikings, allowing Flournoy to have his way as he did with the Lions’ secondary. He is a must-add for all Lamb owners and a preventative/defensive add for all other teams during the upcoming fantasy playoff weeks.”
– Adam Dove (The Fantasy Couriers)

Duds

Which player inside the top 40 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy managers this week?

Rico Dowdle (RB – CAR)

“I think Rico Dowdle is likely to disappoint again, and I don’t think it’ll necessarily be his fault either. Since exploding on the fantasy scene during the middle of the season, he’s slowed down considerably and at times has fallen behind Chuba Hubbard in the pecking order. Last time he faced the New Orleans Saints, he averaged just 2.9 yards per carry and was saved by his touchdown. Averaging fewer than 3.3 yards per carry in three of his last four contests, Dowdle will continue to struggle from a production standpoint.”
– Trevor Land (FlurrySports)

Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN)

“The only thing that gave me pause in naming Justin Jefferson a leading disappointment in Week 15 is that his season has been so disappointing that I’m not sure fantasy managers expect very much from him at this point. Jefferson has two touchdowns and two 100-yard receiving games the entire season. He has scored double-digit fantasy points in only five out of 13 games, and, in his last five games, he has managed fewer than nine points in every game while producing 22.50 total points — production a fantasy playoff team would like to see in one game, not five combined. Going from bad to worse, in three of those five games, the defenses ranked 10th, eighth and third in points allowed to wide receivers. The Dallas defense ranks poorly, but Jefferson has struggled against bad defenses and good ones alike. Jefferson’s poor upcoming week won’t be disappointing to me, but that’s because I expect him to produce like a receiver on my bench, not someone I drafted in the first round to win me a title.”
– Chris Mitchell (FantasyData)