Fantasy Football Week 15 Start 'Em Sit 'Em WRs: Odell Beckham Jr, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett and more

Fantasy managers don't (or at least shouldn't) need help with the obvious choices at receiver each week. Barring the first sign of an apocalypse, players like Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb should be in starting lineups every week.

Decisions get a bit tougher after that, and that's where I hope to help by providing a reason or two why we can trust certain WR3 or WR4 types that usually end up deciding fantasy matchups.

Below are a few receivers who could post fantasy week-winning performances and a few other wideouts who are typically considered good starts that could disappoint:

---

Fantasy Football Week 15 Start'Em WRs

San Francisco 49ers v Seattle Seahawks

1) Tyler Lockett, Seahawks (vs. PHI)

The Eagles are allowing a league-high 47.1 PPR fantasy points to receivers per game this season, which is nearly five points per game more than second-place Washington.

A whopping 26 receivers have scored at least 12.3 PPR fantasy points against Philadelphia - 20 of which have topped 15 points. Therefore, it's not a matter if a Seattle receiver will have a huge game, but a matter of how many. The answer is probably all three primary Seahawks wideouts (DK Metcalf, Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba).

Nevertheless, my favorite to lead the receiving corps this week is Lockett. Not only has he more consistently erupted in favorable matchups than Metcalf, but Lockett has also been the more preferred option against zone (Lockett holds a 52-36 target advantage against zone).

Philadelphia plays zone 73.4 percent of the time. Smith-Njigba also is a worthy start in deeper leagues, as the Eagles are allowing the league's second-highest target rate to slot receivers.

Drake London vs Tyler Lockett fantasy projection for Week 15

Our Start/Sit Optimizer also recommends starting Lockett this week, projecting a 10.9-point return for the Seahawks wideout.

2) Odell Beckham Jr. Ravens (@ JAC)

While it took Beckham a while for him to regain his fastball this season, he's the overall WR24 in fantasy points per game since Week 8.

Last week’s 10-target game against the Rams was his first since Los Angeles’ Super Bowl run to end the 2021 season and featured a pair of catches that displayed his incredible ability to track the ball. What’s more is that he left plenty of meat on the bone with only four catches on 10 targets.

The Jaguars have been predictable against receivers for most of the season. If Jacksonville’s opponent has an above-average deep threat, he has usually done very well.

Just over the last three weeks, Nico Collins (7-104-1), Ja’Marr Chase (11-149-1) and Amari Cooper (7-77-0) have enjoyed big games at the Jaguars’ expense. An interesting note: a league-high 74 percent of the total yards Jacksonville has surrendered this season have come through the air. Teammate Zay Flowers is also a great play this week.

Other potential strong start(s):

Zay Jones, Jaguars (A matchup against the Ravens is far from ideal, but Jones' usage in Jacksonville's first full game without Christian Kirk may be too much to ignore. In what was a bad on-paper matchup for receivers in Week 14 against the Browns, Jones was targeted 14 times and ran a route on a season-high 91 percent of the team's pass plays.)

---

Fantasy Football Week 15 Sit'Em WRs

Jacksonville Jaguars v Cleveland Browns

1) Calvin Ridley, Jaguars (vs. BAL)

This recommendation almost entirely depends on how Jacksonville utilizes Ridley. If he sees as much time in the slot as he did last week (season-high 28 percent), he could surprise in a good way.

If not, it could be another long day for him and his fantasy managers. Trevor Lawrence (ankle) is hurting, as evidenced by his season-low 5.1 yards per attempt and three interceptions last week. Moreover, the Ravens were one of the stingiest pass defenses in the league before the Rams had their way in Week 14.

The Jaguars have not consistently done a good job of keeping Ridley on the move this season, which is one of the primary reasons why he has been so inconsistent in 2023.

If they stick with their usual M.O. and use him mostly as a perimeter receiver in Week 15, then Baltimore's secondary may be able to lock him up. The Ravens have yielded the seventh-fewest yards per game to outside receivers (90.8) this season.

2) Drake London, Falcons (@ CAR)

London was presented with a beautiful matchup (Tampa Bay) in ideal conditions (home in a dome) last week and delivered 10 catches for 172 yards in Week 14.

The situation could not be much worse for him in Week 15, as he's set to face the fifth-stingiest pass defense against fantasy receivers in a game that is expected to be rainy and windy.

Unfortunately for London, HC Arthur Smith is always looking for a reason to run the ball and has at least two good ones this week: poor weather and the fact Carolina is abysmal against the run.

London was shut out when these NFC South rivals met in Week 1 and has not been targeted nearly as often against zone coverage (19.7 percent) as he has against man coverage (32.5) this season. The Panthers play zone at the third-highest rate in the league (85.3 percent).

Other potential weak start(s):

Adam Thielen, Panthers (It seems like months ago when Thielen was routinely attracting 10 or more targets just about every week. He has totaled 16 over the last three games. Not only did Atlanta hold him to two catches for 12 yards in the first meeting, but the Falcons also rank as the third-stingiest defense against fantasy receivers.)