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It's difficult to determine which players at certain positions will have the easiest playoff schedules for fantasy football in any given season before the year actually starts. Too many things change year over year, and it's tough to determine anything coherent because of that.
However, we're just about to start Week 13, meaning we have a much better idea of players at one position -- specifically, wide receiver -- who should have a cakewalk through the fantasy football playoffs in Weeks 15-17. While easy matchups don't guarantee explosive performances, they can help a player maximize their fantasy scoring. And that's what matters to us.
Let's get into the receivers with the best possible schedules for that crucial three-week period. We'll focus on offenses that don't spread the ball around too much so that their WRs are trustworthy.
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Malik Nabers, New York Giants
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers has proven to us that he's elite. Unfortunately, he's dealt with subpar quarterback play, bad playcalling, a lousy offense, a bad organization, an inadequate offensive line, and bad coaching. But he has one of the easiest possible upcoming playoff schedules of any receiver.
Malik Nabers is kind of good pic.twitter.com/Cn9kt3bHii
— Anthony Rivardo (@Anthony_Rivardo) November 29, 2024
Elite talent and an easy schedule should overcome all the bad. We hope. He'll face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15, who allow the most PPR fantasy points per game to receivers in the league this season. In Week 16, he'll get the Atlanta Falcons (they allow the fourth-most, and just got embarrassed by the Denver Broncos WRs), and the Indianapolis Colts (15th-most).
Raheem Morris has talked about how pressures matter more than sacks. Yesterday, the Falcons pressured Geno Smith on 50% of his passes, and he absolutely torched the defense. If you don't have any finishers then all that pressure does you no good. You have to get sacks. pic.twitter.com/XZObRuNlo3
— Tre’Shon (@tre3shon) October 21, 2024
The Colts allow the seventh-most yards per pass attempt to opponents this year. So, none of those pass defenses are good. They're about as porous as SpongeBob. Meaning "Leek" could rip off three huge games in a row and be a league-winner, if the team can reliably get the ball to him.
It helps that the Giants' defense has played terribly this season. The team should be forced to pass the ball often, as they'll likely be playing from behind for much of their games for the rest of the season. The quarterback carousel they're currently implementing hasn't done them any good, though.
That's the biggest thing holding "Leek" back from being a sure-fire league winner. He has a ton of talent. On a team with a good quarterback, he could be a league-buster. But poor QB play always caps a WR's ceiling. He'll surely be getting open early and often.
Malik Nabers WIDE open... $40 million QB sails it 10 feet over his head with a clean pocket. pic.twitter.com/aAEARcPoeg
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) November 10, 2024
Pressure has been a killer for Giants quarterbacks. They weren't able to deal with the Dallas Cowboys pass rush in Week 12, and quarterback Drew Lock was sacked six times. So the Falcons are clearly the best matchup because they're historically awful at getting pressure. Expect him to explode in that game.
He may not have a great game in Week 15, as the Ravens are solid at getting pressure. But he should have a nice day in Week 17. It's not a terrible idea to bench Nabers in Week 15 in fear of the offense not getting anything going if you're in a 10-team league. But he's a must-start in all leagues in Weeks 16-17.
Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers will face three straight bottom-6 defenses against wide receivers in PPR fantasy scoring in the playoffs. Given the numbers he's putting up, he's one of the most probable league-winning players over the last three weeks of the fantasy football season.
Jakobi Meyers with back to back big catches pic.twitter.com/QzLXRD5TgF
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 29, 2024
He's in a much better situation than Nabers. Quarterback Aidan O'Connell has clearly demonstrated he's the best quarterback on his team, and his impressive showing in Week 13 on Black Friday against the Kansas City Chiefs undoubtedly gave the whole team more confidence.
Meyers has been one of the most underrated fantasy receivers this season, and his upside in PPR is astounding in Weeks 15-17. He'll face the aforementioned Atlanta Falcons in Week 15. Then he gets the Jacksonville Jaguars defense in Week 16 (literally the worst). They are god-awful.
The 2020 Lions are the ONLY team in the past 25 years with a worse pass defense than this year’s #Jaguars (circled below) pic.twitter.com/1vKeObc7Wc
— Gus Logue (@gus_logue) November 21, 2024
They're second-worst-in-the-last-25-years level of bad. Meyers should dominate them with ease. JAX's offense is no slouch when quarterback Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) plays, and he should, meaning the game could be a comical shootout. Then Meyers gets the New Orleans Saints in Week 17, who don't have a great secondary after the departure of their best defender, Marshon Lattimore (hamstring).
The Saints ranking dead last in total yards allowed is just flat-out absurd.
As frustrating as the last 2 seasons were, Dennis Allen’s defense never looked this defeated. pic.twitter.com/czuuM4AyUF
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) October 14, 2024
They're sixth in yards per pass attempt allowed. It cannot be overstated how much of a cakewalk this schedule is for Meyers. He could go supernova so hard that he pushes his fantasy draft stock up a few rounds for next season.
Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley (ankle) will get the Jacksonville Jaguars defense in Week 17. In the previous sections, we've emphasized how much of a hilariously bad pass defense they are, so we won't elaborate on that further. Ridley also gets the Colts, and we've talked about them.
It's important to note that quarterback Will Levis has played much better football since returning from his injury, and Ridley, who is now healthy, has benefitted greatly. There have still been plenty of big plays that they haven't connected on.
Calvin Ridley 51-yard TD nullified on an illegal formation penalty. Sheesh. pic.twitter.com/ot1Jakltjg
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 18, 2024
Yet Ridley has games of 22.6, 12.3, 25.4, and 14.3 PPR fantasy points in his last five contests. He'll get to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15, who are just outside the bottom 10 in FPTs allowed to wideouts. All three matchups are highly favorable for the Titans WRs.
Ridley doesn't have a ton of competition for targets, and ever since DeAndre Hopkins led for the Kansas City Chiefs, he's been the clear No. 1 WR and commanded a significant portion of the targets and first-read looks.
First-Read Targets and Air Yards Shares
[through Week 10, via @FantasyPtsData]- A few weeks ago I said I was ignoring how good Ridley looked here. Obvious mistake by me.
- Pickens or Metcalf is probably the next explosion, if I had to pick pic.twitter.com/8LRa51d5BG
— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) November 14, 2024
Titans offensive coordinator Brian Callahan's dreams of an offense that emphatically establishes the vertical passing game will get a chance to explode in the fantasy football playoff weeks, with Ridley being far and away the biggest beneficiary. Lock him into your starting lineups every game from Weeks 15-17.
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