Week 15 Start/Sit: Time to ride Ty to your title game

As we head into Week 15 of the 2016 NFL season (and, most likely, the first round of your league’s playoffs), here are 12 players to give extra consideration to when filling out your lineups – six that are looking better than usual, and a half dozen that are looking worse:

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STARTS

QB – Philip Rivers, SD ($32) – As the 15th-most expensive QB this week, Rivers is a DFS bargain. He’s finished top 13 or better at the QB position in four of his past six games, has thrown for at least two touchdowns in six straight games and tallied a ’16 fantasy-best 357 yards and 4 TD passes against Oakland (this week’s opponent) in Week 5.

RB – Ty Montgomery, GB ($14) – Weather conditions in Chicago are supposed to be frozen tundra-like, the kind of weather that’s not conducive to big numbers via a vertical passing attack. Luckily for Montgomery, he’s now a running back. And he’s an RB that head coach Mike McCarthy says could handle 20 carries “if he had to.” With James Starks dealing with post-concussion issues, Montgomery just might have to carry the mail for the Packers at Chicago on Sunday. In Week 7, against the Bears, Montgomery ran the ball nine times for 60 yards and caught a whopping 10 passes for 67 yards. As a dump-off option in the passing game, he’s likely to play a huge role in the adverse weather on Sunday. And, if Starks can’t go, expect Montgomery to get all the carries he can handle.

RB – Kenneth Dixon, Bal ($16) – Dixon’s ability to run between the tackles and make plays in the passing game is a bit reminiscent of former Ravens fantasy star Ray Rice – even their short-but-stout physical stature is similar. Last week we witnessed further progress in the changing-of-the-guard process in the Baltimore backfield, as Dixon out-touched Terrance West 19-6, including eight receptions on 11 targets. At home this week against a Philly defense that allows a healthy 4.2 YPC to the RB position, Dixon has a good chance to eclipse 20 touches for the first time in his career, and another 80-plus yards and a TD is likely to follow.

WR – Sammy Watkins, Buf ($22) – The matchup for Watkins doesn’t get much better than getting to face the Browns, a team allowing an NFL-high 104.2 QB Rating. After picking up 54 yards and a TD, while playing over 90 percent of Buffalo’s snaps, last week, you shouldn’t be overly concerned about Watkins’ foot injury.

WR – Dontrelle Inman, SD ($20) – Inman should be a big part of QB Rivers’ success on Sunday. He’s scored a TD in three consecutive games, and he’s been the fourth-best receiver in fantasy points in that span. The last time the Chargers faced Oakland, receivers Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin both tallied 117 receiving yards, with Williams’ total coming with a TD, as well. A Benjamin PCL injury has allowed Inman to jump him in San Diego’s receiver hierarchy, meaning it will more likely be Inman pushing the century mark in yardage against Oakland this time around.

TE – Kyle Rudolph, Min ($17) – ‘Tis the season for Rudolph the Red Zone Reindeer, who found the end zone, in addition to hauling in four of his eight targets for 60 yards, last week against the Jaguars. Rudolph has averaged a healthy 10 targets over his past three weeks, and that kind of attention should lead him back into painted grass this week against an Indy defense that has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points per game to the TE position.

[Week 15 rankings: Overall | FLEX | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | K]

SITS

QB –Marcus Mariota, Ten ($34) – Although his 88 yards passing was even worse than expected, most figured Mariota would struggle last week against Denver’s “No-Fly Zone” secondary. Now Mariota has to go play in Arrowhead Stadium, in 15 degree weather, against a Kansas City defense that has allowed 1 TD pass or less to four of the past five QBs it has faced. I’m not optimistic about the chances of Mariota returning to QB1 territory this week.

RB – Spencer Ware, KC ($22) – This is more about the state of the KC running game than the matchup against Tennessee’s defense. Since Week 8, Ware ranks outside the top 30 among RBs in fantasy points per game, averaging just 69 yards per game, 3.4 yards per carry and scoring only two touchdowns in that six-game span. With a shot at your league’s title game on the line, trust is a clear issue for Ware owners.

RB – Doug Martin, TB ($18) – Not too pricey, but still too rich for my liking. I expect Dallas to own time of possession in this game as Ezekiel Elliott moves the change in a methodical fashion on the ground against Tampa Bay defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to the RB position in road contests. For Martin, who averages a miniscule 3.0 yards per carry, he requires a volume workload to make a fantasy impact, and the Dallas defense has seen the fewest RB rush attempts this season thanks to its offenses’ ability to control the clock.

WR – Golden Tate, Det ($23) – When it comes to Detroit skill position players this week, consider it “All systems No!” Lions QB Matt Stafford is dealing with a dislocated finger on his throwing hand, which is not the condition you want to be in against a Giants defense that ranks among the best in pass defense this season. Tate has finished with less than 6.0 fantasy points in eight of his 13 games, and there’s a good chance he’ll add to that sub-6 total this week.

WR – Brandin Cooks, NO ($26) – If you want to start a receiver averaging 44 yards without a TD over his past four games and facing the real possibility of being shadowed by one of the league’s top cover corners (Patrick Peterson) this Sunday, you are a braver person than I.

TE – Delanie Walker, Ten ($19) – Walker is coming off a 2-for-30 game and now faces a Chiefs defense that has gone 39 straight games without allowing a tight end to reach 10 fantasy points. That’s an amazing streak, and one I wouldn’t want my tight end messing with in such an important fantasy week.