The Monday NFL Roundup: Week 15

You made it!

You navigated the fantasy regular season to lock in a playoff berth! 

Or you came up short and are reading this because you are the best people on earth. 

Either way, we are here to recap and look ahead. 

Week 14 was filled with milestones, with multiple running backs topping 1,000 yards on the season and receivers crossing career thresholds. It is almost as if the league knew the regular season for caring about stats ended. 

It is a great time to hit an annual December favorite:

The Hot or Not List

Hot: Bellcows - Six running backs are over 1,000 rushing yards. If you squint hard, you can talk yourself into as many as 14 other players joining the club. Over the last nine years, we have had two seasons with 16 1,000-yard rushers, two with 12, and five more under ten. We should get to 16 again, with room for more. Oh, and the all-time single-season record is under assault. 

Not: Driving safety - My wife was in an accident this summer. Someone blew a red light without bothering to slow down. We are all fine and have a new family car. We are blessed. Unfortunately, everyone has a story like this now. Slow down and be patient. We are all doing our best. 

Hot: Tight Ends- September was brutal for tight ends. A funny thing happens in fantasy football. We lock in opinions for the season early. The death of tight ends was a common refrain. Since Week 5, everything has changed. George Kittle’s 15.1 average is the fourth highest in the last ten years. Brock Bowers' 14.4 is the seventh-best year. 2023’s TE1 Sam LaPorta’s 11.5 is the same as Mark Andrews has averaged as TE6. TE9 Cade Otton has more points than 2023’s TE6 Evan Engram. Tight ends have had a massive season after September. 

Not: "Rookie Disappointments" - 2024’s rookie wide receiver class was one of the most hyped in history. The excitement pushed ADPs sky-high. Players "fell short." But did they? Marvin Harrison Jr. is one of three Cardinals with rookies with a 45-655-7 rookie season. Malik Nabers is one of two rookie Giants players, with 80-819-3. Ladd McConkey is one of two Chargers with 58-815-4. Brian Thomas Jr. is the only Jaguar with 54-851-6. Brock Bowers broke the rookie tight end reception record in 13 games. Rome Odunze and Xavier Worthy are two of the most productive Bears and Chiefs rookies ever. Unrealistic expectations are unrealistic. 

Hot: Walking - Go for a walk. It changes a lot. 

Not: The Playoff Race—Denver is two games up for the seventh seed with four left. They play the Colts in Week 15, and the result could end that hunt. The NFC South and NFC West are tight. The Commanders could lose the seven-seed. But with four weeks left, the field looks pretty settled. 

Thank you, Nathan Jahnke. 

And now, The Roundup.

Blind Resume

2024 has been an onslaught on all of our fantasy notions. One was believing that receiving game production had to be locked up early in drafts. The Week 14 receiving leaderboard is filled with off-the-radar receivers who have been key contributors to playoff-bound offenses. 

Can you name them all?

Deep League Waiver Watch List

"Waivers of the Future," released after this column, provides in-depth coverage of waivers. Below is a light introduction to players to watch on your waivers this week, emphasizing Superflex and deep leagues. 

• QB Desmond Ridder, Las Vegas (25% Sleeper rostered)
• QB Spencer Rattler / Jake Haener, New Orleans (64% Sleeper rostered)
• RB Isaiah Davis, NY Jets (48% Sleeper rostered)
• RB Patrick Taylor Jr., San Francisco (32% Sleeper rostered)
• RB Darrynton Evans, Chicago (0% Sleeper rostered)
• WR Ray-Ray McCloud III, Atlanta (72% Sleeper rostered)
• WR KaVontae Turpin, Dallas (25% Sleeper rostered)
• TE Stone Smartt, LA Chargers (0% Sleeper rostered)
• WR Tutu Atwell, LA Rams (49% Sleeper rostered) 

Stats Of The Week

• 1,623 rushing yards - RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia - Barkley broke LeSean McCoy’s Eagles single-season record. Barkley’s 124.8 yards per game has him on pace for 2,122 yards, which would narrowly edge Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105. Barkley needs to average 94.25 yards to record the ninth 2,000-yard season. His 11 rushing touchdowns are six behind McCoy’s franchise lead of 17. His teammate Jalen Hurts may have a better chance at that mark, with 13 rushing touchdowns in 2024. 

• 12,000 receiving yards - TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City - Kelce became the 31st player to hit 12,000 yards. He sits third in all-time tight end receiving yards, his 12,010 trailing Tony Gonzalez’s 15,127 and Jason Witten’s 13,046.

• 11,000 receiving yards - WR Keenan Allen, Chicago - Allen became the 42nd player to top 11,000 career yards. Sensing a trend?...

• 8,000 receiving yards - WR Adam Thielen, Carolina - Thielen became the 112th player with 8,000 yards. His 102-yard day pushed him from 118th place to 112th on the career yardage leaderboard. 

• 7,000 receiving yards - TE George Kittle, San Francisco - Kittle became the 14th tight end to top 7,000 receiving yards. He is on pace for a 76-1,091-10.9 season. That reception total would be his third-highest mark, the yardage total is second best, and his career high in touchdowns is 11 in 2022. 

• 7,000 receiving yards - WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota - Jefferson became the youngest player to top 7,000 yards, becoming the first under 26 and the first to accomplish it in his first five seasons. His 73 games to hit the mark trailed just Julio Jones and Lance Alworth, who did it in 72 games.

• 1,000 rushing yards / 90 rush yards / 4 receptions - RB Chuba Hubbard, Carolina - Hubbard recorded the eighth 1,000-yard season in Panthers franchise history. Hubbard recorded his sixth game with 90+ rushing yards and 4+ receptions. LaDainian Tomlinson and Deuce McAllister share the NFL record; each did it eight times in 2003. Priest Holmes did it seven times that same season. No other player has more than six. 

• 3 touchdowns / 1,000 rush yards / 10 touchdowns- RB Josh Jacobs, Green Bay - Jacobs had three touchdowns for the second time in three weeks. Don Hutson holds the Packers record with three games hitting the mark. Tomlinson has the NFL mark, with six in his fantasy-fabled 2006 season.  Alvin Kamara (3 in 2018), Derrick Henry (3 in 2021), and Todd Gurley (3 in 2018) are the only players who have done it more than twice since 2008. Jacobs topped 1,000 yards and ten touchdowns in this game, the 11th time in franchise history. Aaron Jones in 2019 was the last to do it. 

• 1,000 rush yards / 12 touchdowns - RB Kyren Williams, LA Rams - Williams topped 1,000 yards and hit 12 rushing touchdowns for the second consecutive season. He joins Todd Gurley, Marshall Faulk, Greg Bell, and Eric Dickerson as Rams who have hit those numbers twice. Dickerson is the only Rams back who has done it three times. 

• 134 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns, 7 receptions, 59 yards - RB Zach Charbonnet, Seattle - Charbonnet is the tenth player in NFL history to record 130+ rush yards, two touchdowns, seven receptions, and 50+ receiving yards. Taysom Hill, from Week 11 of 2024, is the only player to hit the marks since Chris Johnson in 2009. Johnson and Marshall Faulk are the only two backs who have done it twice.

Josh Allen Stats Of The Week

• 342 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 82 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns - QB Josh Allen, Buffalo - Allen became the first player to throw three touchdowns and run for three touchdowns. Four players have posted games of 340+ passing yards and 80+ rushing yards: Allen, Cam Newton, Justin Herbert, and Russell Wilson. All four threw for at least three touchdowns, but Allen was the only one who added a rushing touchdown. Allen’s 82 rush yards were his most since 2022. He had one other game over 70 rushing yards in 2023. His 342 yards were a season high, topping 323 in Week 7. 

Backfield Hierarchy

Splitting backfields into key categories based upon snaps and opportunities (rushes plus targets). While carries may be similar, backfields that fall into a Committee with a Lead over a straight Committee saw wide disparities in snap counts.

Bellcows

• Conner remains entrenched. Conner discussed extra motivation after the Seahawks shut him down in Week 12. He responded with his best fantasy game of the year. This loss was brutal for the Cardinals' playoff hopes. They have dropped three straight after a four-game win streak, putting them on top of the division before the first Seattle matchup. Wins against New England and Carolina should keep them motivated going into Week 17. His playoff schedule is very favorable, with New England, Carolina, and the Rams all in the top half in fantasy points allowed to running backs.

• Robinson remained the Falcons' lone bright spot. Allgeier was a touchdown vulture early, getting the score after Robinson handled every touch on the opening drive. Las Vegas, the Giants, and Washington give Robinson a favorable fantasy playoff schedule. 

• The Rams blocked a punt for a touchdown early to build a 17-7 lead, and the Bills defense had no answers. The game script eliminated the run game. Cook took the backfield workshare, though we know the team is willing to involve Davis and Johnson. Detroit is a difficult Week 15 matchup, though their depleted defense struggled to stop the Packers' run game. New England and a Jets team with little motivation in Week 17 will be easier matchups. 

• Brooks went down on his first carry on a non-contact move. He cut sharply outside, and his knee went. Early fears suggest an ACL mechanism on the knee that cost most of his rookie season. Even the best-case news could be enough to scare the Panthers into ending Brooks' season. Hubbard is back entrenched. Dallas, Arizona, and Tampa Bay give him a favorable playoff schedule. 

• Swift took most of the work with Roschon Johnson, who was missing due to a concussion. He was under 40 yards for the third consecutive game and averaged just 2.82 yards per rush in those games. At 1,057 scrimmage yards, he is 12 away from his second-best season from scrimmage, though a lack of touchdowns has been a season-long story. The Bears playoff hopes ended this week. Swift came into the game as questionable and is an injury shutdown candidate.

• The Packers leaned heavily on Jacobs, who pushed a challenging Lions run defense. Jacobs' rushing touchdowns are one off his career mark of 12 in 2022. Seattle and New Orleans present good matchups in the next two weeks, though Minnesota, in Week 17, has been stiff against fantasy backs, allowing the fourth fewest points. 

• Pacheco dominated in opportunities through the snaps split at 46%, 29%, and 25%. Expect Pacheco to continue to pull ahead following his ramp-up period. He is the Chiefs' top option. Cleveland, Houston, and Pittsburgh are all in the top half of the fewest points allowed to running backs. The Chiefs have not had a Top 10 running back finish since Week 9. 

• McCormick pulled ahead in the backfield derby. The Raiders' backfield usage has shifted weekly, but McCormick has played the best football of any option. The most significant impediment is likely a poor offensive environment, with the expectation Desmond Ridder is now the starting quarterback. The Raiders have a juicy matchup against a Jacksonville defense, allowing the second most points to running backs in Week 16, but Atlanta and New Orleans are more complicated. 

• Corum is seeing more attempts, but he is far from making this a split backfield. Williams saw a season-high 29 rush attempts, playing most of the game with a significant lead. His San Francisco, NY Jets, and Arizona playoff schedule is neutral. 

• Raheem Mostert missed Week 14 with a hip injury. Achane dominated snaps and touches, a disappointing development for Wright, who has struggled in his rookie season. The Dolphins' comeback win kept their playoff hopes alive, sitting two games behind Denver with four left. 2024 has been a 180 from 2023, when a split backfield created two fantasy stars in Achane and Mostert. Achane has eight touchdowns over his last seven games, ranking as RB5 since Week 7. He is doing it through the air, his 5.7 receptions and 40 yards per game in the previous seven paces to 97 catches and 680 yards, representing 60% of his fantasy point total.  Houston, San Francisco, and Cleveland have a demanding fantasy playoff schedule. 

• Jones scored for his third consecutive game as the Vikings offense exploded. Perhaps more importantly, he broke a three-game run of fumbles. His health and consistency have contributed to a solid but unspectacular fantasy RB19 season at 12.9 points per game, though spike games have been rare. Chicago, Seattle, and Green Bay are a favorable playoff stretch. 

• Tracy has bounced back from a backfield trending towards a split to dominate opportunities. He became the fourth back to see double-digit targets in a 2024 game. As fellow rookie Malik Nabers works through an injury in a lost season, the targets and Tracy's background as a converted college wide receiver are very encouraging. Baltimore and Atlanta are difficult matchups over the next two weeks, though a championship matchup against Indianapolis is more favorable. 

• Barkley was right about his season average of 124 yards. Pittsburgh and Washington have been strong against running backs, though championship-week opponent Dallas has been more generous. 

• With Ken Walker III out, Charbonnet dominated opportunities and posted a huge game. His 34.8 fantasy points are the season's third-best game of any running back. Walker went up to the end of the week before being announced out, though immediately following the game, coach Mike Macdonald suggested Walker could miss Week 15. With Charbonnet's performance, the team can err on caution and playoff preparation. The Seahawks have favorable matchups against Green Bay and Chicago, but they are sandwiching a difficult Minnesota matchup. Charbonnet is a top fantasy option with Walker out of the lineup. 

• Irving came into the game with an injury and left for the day in the second quarter. Tucker broke a 34-yard run in the 4th, going down at the three and allowing White to score his second touchdown. If Irving misses Week 15, expect White to serve in a Bellcow role and Tucker as relief (White handled 76% of the snaps, with the other 24% split equally between Tucker and Irving). 

• Pollard is ninth in rush attempts at 213 and 63 yards away from 1,000. He has taken to the Bellcow role we hoped for in 2023. The Titans' offensive environment has held him back. Aaron Jones is the only other back with over 165 carries and four touchdowns or fewer. The Titans have a favorable playoff schedule against Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville.