RADIO
Week 15 is here, meaning the playoffs are here in the majority of fantasy football leagues. While it's great to make it to the postseason, it's not as fun to have to choose between inconsistent receivers in must-win games. There are plenty of players who deserve spots on fantasy football rosters but aren't always a joy to have.
Nonetheless, it's a huge luxury to have a team full of must-starts, but that's not the reality for most managers. And inconsistent players with upside can give you a huge boost if they're started in the right matchups, as tough as it may be to identify them.
Let's look at three players who have had consistency issues and break down whether you should start them in Week 15.
Should I Start Tee Higgins for Fantasy Football?
If you only look at the box score, you might not think Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is an elite player. But the fact is that he is. The problem is that he's on the same team as WR Ja'Marr Chase. Higgins was targeted just five times in Week 14, catching two passes for 23 yards. Chase caught 14 of his 18 targets for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
If Tee Higgins was in New England he wouldn’t be treated this way pic.twitter.com/zofTeeIleQ
— Chase (@Chase6D) December 10, 2024
It's important to focus on the upside, though. It's unlikely quarterback Joe Burrow will review the film and decide not to make some adjustments. No. 5 was still getting open and is still a great player. It's obviously up to Burrow to throw it to him more. We'd still start Higgins in Week 15 as a WR2/WR3 with WR1 upside.
Tee Higgins has been dominant when healthy:
He's averaging a career high in PPG (1️⃣6️⃣.6️⃣) to go along with (2️⃣.1️⃣8️⃣) fantasy points per target vs man coverage.
Coming off of a 2/23 performance, are you firing him up against the Titans this week⁉️pic.twitter.com/MI5NfAwrbx
— PlayerProfiler NFL (@Profiler_NFL) December 11, 2024
Should I Start Jayden Reed for Fantasy Football?
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed was blanked in Week 14. He was targeted just once and didn't record a reception. It was a poor matchup for him. He struggles against man coverage, and Dataroma on X gave us an excellent breakdown of the poor matchup.
Jayden Reed could struggle this week. Reed did have a strong outing against the Lions in week 9 (113 yards), but the Lions have been absolutely locking down the slot since then. They are allowing the 7th fewest YPA there (6.24) and the single lowest CPOE (-11.8%) since week 11.…
— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) December 4, 2024
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is an incredibly sharp offensive mind and likely knew that Reed would struggle. Also, the Detroit Lions had a ton of injuries at linebacker and along the defensive line, which helped Green Bay's run game. While Reed will face an easier matchup against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15, his target volume is alarming.
He averages just 4.5 targets and 3.4 catches per game. That's awful usage, and it's contributed to his inconsistency. The Packers are likely to stick to their run-heavy game plan against the Seahawks as well.
Reed should only be started in leagues with 14 or more teams. Sure, he could have a blow-up game, but they're very tough to predict. Higgins over Reed all day.
Should I Start Khalil Shakir for Fantasy Football?
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir caught five of his 10 targets for 106 yards and a touchdown in his team's Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. This was in a game without WR Keon Coleman (wrist), though, who seems set to return in Week 15. We'd recommend starting Shakir again on Sunday.
CAN'T CATCH KHALIL.
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/xThEm2UMXD
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 8, 2024
Shakir is elite after the catch, but he could see a slight ding in target volume. He's Josh Allen's primary target as of now, but his volume could be limited. It seems wild, but we'd recommend Higgins over Shakir if you're deciding between them. Higgins simply has more upside.
Popular Week 15 Searches - Start/Sit Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 15 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Tee Higgins, Jayden Reed, Khalil Shakir compared to others. You can also use the free Who Should I Start tool to run your own start/sit comparisons, up to four players at once:
Jakobi Meyers or Khalil Shakir
Adam Thielen or Jayden Reed
Jerry Jeudy or Khalil Shakir
Jerry Jeudy or Jayden Reed
Jordan Addison or Tee Higgins
Malik Nabers or Khalil Shakir
Malik Nabers or Tee Higgins
Garrett Wilson or Tee Higgins
Jayden Reed or Khalil Shakir
Tee Higgins or Khalil Shakir
Terry Mclaurin or Khalil Shakir
Zay Flowers or Tee Higgins
Aj Brown or Tee Higgins
Christian Watson or Tee Higgins
Cooper Kupp or Khalil Shakir
Cooper Kupp or Khalil Shakir
Courtland Sutton or Khalil Shakir
Darnell Mooney or Jayden Reed
Darnell Mooney or Tee Higgins
Davante Adams or Khalil Shakir
Davante Adams or Tee Higgins
Deebo Samuelsr or Jayden Reed
Devonta Smith or Jayden Reed
Dj Moore or Khalil Shakir
Dj Moore or Tee Higgins
Drake London or Jayden Reed
Drake London or Tee Higgins
Jakobi Meyers or Jayden Reed
Jameson Williams or Khalil Shakir
Jauan Jennings or Tee Higgins
Jaylen Waddle or Jayden Reed
Jordan Addison or Jayden Reed
Keenan Allen or Tee Higgins
Kyren Williams or Tee Higgins
Michael Pittmanjr or Jayden Reed
Mike Evans or Tee Higgins
Quentin Johnston or Jayden Reed
Tyreek Hill or Tee Higgins
Tyrone Tracyjr or Tee Higgins
Zay Flowers or Khalil Shakir
Aaron Jones or Jayden Reed
Aaron Jones or Jayden Reed
Adam Thielen or Khalil Shakir
Adam Thielen or Tee Higgins
Aj Brown or Khalil Shakir
Aj Brown or Khalil Shakir
Alvin Kamara or Tee Higgins
Amari Cooper or Khalil Shakir
Amari Cooper or Khalil Shakir
Amonra Stbrown or Jayden Reed
Bijan Robinson or Jayden Reed
Brian Thomasjr or Khalil Shakir
Bucky Irving or Jayden Reed
Calvin Ridley or Jayden Reed
Calvin Ridley or Khalil Shakir
Calvin Ridley or Khalil Shakir
Calvin Ridley or Tee Higgins
Christian Watson or Khalil Shakir
Courtland Sutton or Jayden Reed
Courtland Sutton or Tee Higgins
Dandre Swift or Khalil Shakir
Darnell Mooney or Jayden Reed
Darnell Mooney or Khalil Shakir
Davante Adams or Tee Higgins
David Njoku or Khalil Shakir
Deandre Hopkins or Jayden Reed
Deebo Samuelsr or Jayden Reed
Demarcus Robinson or Jayden Reed
Devonta Smith or Khalil Shakir
Dj Moore or Khalil Shakir
Dk Metcalf or Jayden Reed
Dk Metcalf or Jayden Reed
Dk Metcalf or Khalil Shakir
Drake London or Khalil Shakir
Drake London or Tee Higgins
Elijah Moore or Jayden Reed
Garrett Wilson or Jayden Reed
Garrett Wilson or Tee Higgins
George Kittle or Tee Higgins
Isaac Guerendo or Jayden Reed
Isiah Pacheco or Khalil Shakir
Isiah Pacheco or Tee Higgins
James Conner or Jayden Reed
James Cook or Tee Higgins
Jameson Williams or Jayden Reed
Jauan Jennings or Jayden Reed
Jauan Jennings or Khalil Shakir
Jauan Jennings or Khalil Shakir
Jauan Jennings or Tee Higgins
Jauan Jennings or Tee Higgins
Jaxon Smithnjigba or Jayden Reed
Jaxon Smithnjigba or Khalil Shakir
Jaxon Smithnjigba or Tee Higgins
Jayden Reed or Khalil Shakir
Jaylen Waddle or Tee Higgins
Jerome Ford or Tee Higgins
Jerry Jeudy or Jayden Reed
Jonathan Taylor or Jayden Reed
Jonnu Smith or Jayden Reed
Jordan Addison or Jayden Reed
Jordan Addison or Jayden Reed
Jordan Addison or Khalil Shakir
Justin Jefferson or Khalil Shakir
Keenan Allen or Jayden Reed
Keenan Allen or Jayden Reed
Keenan Allen or Khalil Shakir
Khalil Shakir or Jayden Reed
Khalil Shakir or Jayden Reed
Khalil Shakir or Tee Higgins
Ladd Mcconkey or Khalil Shakir
Marvin Harrisonjr or Khalil Shakir
Michael Pittmanjr or Jayden Reed
Michael Pittmanjr or Khalil Shakir
Mike Evans or Khalil Shakir
Mike Evans or Tee Higgins
Najee Harris or Khalil Shakir
Rachaad White or Khalil Shakir
Rayray Mccloudiii or Jayden Reed
Rico Dowdle or Jayden Reed
Rico Dowdle or Khalil Shakir
Rico Dowdle or Tee Higgins
Rome Odunze or Khalil Shakir
Tank Dell or Jayden Reed
Tony Pollard or Tee Higgins
Travis Etiennejr or Khalil Shakir
Tyreek Hill or Tee Higgins
Tyreek Hill or Tee Higgins
Tyrone Tracyjr or Jayden Reed
Tyrone Tracyjr or Khalil Shakir
Tyrone Tracyjr or Tee Higgins
Xavier Worthy or Khalil Shakir
Aj Brown or Tee Higgins
Amari Cooper or Khalil Shakir
Brandin Cooks or Tee Higgins
Breece Hall or Khalil Shakir
Brian Thomasjr or Khalil Shakir
Calvin Ridley or Jayden Reed
David Montgomery or Khalil Shakir
Deebo Samuelsr or Khalil Shakir
Jakobi Meyers or Tee Higgins
Josh Downs or Khalil Shakir
Malik Nabers or Khalil Shakir
Malik Nabers or Khalil Shakir
Marvin Harrisonjr or Jayden Reed
Nick Westbrookikhine or Jayden Reed
Rico Dowdle or Khalil Shakir
Tank Dell or Khalil Shakir
Terry Mclaurin or Tee Higgins
Tyrone Tracyjr or Jayden Reed
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