Fantasy Football Sleepers, Week 15: Dare we mess with Texans?
Let’s be honest about sleeper picks, they often make more sense in the middle of a fantasy season. You’re navigating bye weeks, you have deeper roster needs. Hopefully most of your fantasy teams rolled into the playoffs, and you’re set with a lineup that essentially plays itself.
Nonetheless, we keep up our pursuit. Perhaps these sleeper calls will make more sense as DFS options, or encourage you to make a daily fantasy play. In deeper leagues, they might be fantasy starters, but I want to be mindful of how the shape of the game is different at this time of year.
There’s no right and wrong way to digest this piece (or ignore this piece). It’s all up to you. Zay Jones hit for us last week, the rest of the picks were off the map. It’s a moving target, it’s a wicked game.
We’re onto Week 15.
WR Chris Moore vs. Chiefs
I get it, we want to skate to where the puck is headed, not where it’s been. Perhaps Moore’s 10-124-0 line from last week was a mirage, never to be seen again. But the Texans probably need him again. Dameon Pierce, Brandin Cooks, and Nico Collins all missed Wednesday practice, and only Collins appears to have a shot at playing against Kansas City.
The Chiefs defense is a help, of course. This leaky unit made the broken 2022 Broncos look like The Greatest Show on Turf last week. Houston isn’t likely to challenge Kansas City, but the Texans did hang around against Dallas and Cleveland the last two weeks. I might need Moore in a few tricky flex spots.
WR Elijah Moore vs. Lions
Moore was in the doghouse a few weeks ago, but all is forgiven. The Jets not only want him in the lineup, they need him — Corey Davis is hurt again. Mike White should play, despite his rib injury, and obviously that gives the Jets passing game a chance. And it’s much easier to throw on the Lions than it is to run on them these days; consider last week, when Dalvin Cook couldn’t do a thing (15-23) but Justin Jefferson put out a highlight tape (11-223-0).
Garrett Wilson is the electric guitarist on the Jets; Moore is the bassist now. But Moore also had 10 targets last week, and that was against a difficult Bills defense. The Lions will be much easier to navigate.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Despite reports from the Jets' coaching staff and Mike White himself stating he would play, he has been ruled out for Week 15 since this story went live.
It's your team, do what you want, but I just want the points. I don't care what you thought about Saquon Barkley, say, a few months ago. If you like Bam Knight or Brian Robinson more this week (and I sure do), the hell with name brands. Friendliest Loss is a pox. Play to win.
— scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) December 15, 2022
TE Jeff Driskel vs. Chiefs
Hey, I don’t make the rules. Driskel has tight-end eligibility in Yahoo, and he was proactively used in the competitive loss at Dallas (7-36 rushing, plus a 38-yard touchdown pass). Tight end has so few right answers this year, between injuries and underperformance and quarterbacks submarining various offenses. Driskel also has no floor — he could easily give us the Blutarsky, the 0.0 — but we can say that about 85 percent of this position. Two Texans on the same sleeper page? It’s a Christmas miracle.
[Week 15 Fantasy Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Kickers]
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo vs. Chargers
Okonkwo is not the primary Tennessee rookie I want to play this week — I have some rosters that desperately need Treylon Burks back. Maybe Burks will be able to go, maybe not. But Ryan Tannehill loves throws between the numbers — Okonkwo and Austin Hooper have both been popping lately — and Okonkwo also gets some of that sweet hybrid treatment, receiver-type routes and usage. We love when teams get creative with these guys.
