Week 15 Fantasy Biggest Takeaways

Welcome to the second to last Biggest Fantasy Headlines article of the season presented by the Fantasy Coaches Podcast Network. If you’re still reading this article, you are likely still in the playoffs or a true degenerate like ourselves. Either way, congratulations as you’ve clearly made some great decisions this year.

In this article, I’m going to be going over some of the biggest fantasy football headlines from Week 15. In doing so I hope to better prepare you for these final two weeks of the season, with a couple of tidbits about 2023 sprinkled in as well. Good luck in your semifinal matchups this weekend and may you win the cash and bragging rights that you deserve.  

Jalen Hurts Shoulder Injury

Jalen Hurts suffered a shoulder injury that initial reports are calling a sprain leaving his status ahead of Week 16 uncertain. It isn’t considered a long term injury, but him missing one to two weeks is very realistic at this point. It’s a devastating blow as Jalen Hurts has finished as a top 6 fantasy Quarterback in all but two games this season. He is likely one of the more rostered players among the fantasy football semifinalists, leaving many managers turning to the waiver wire at a crucial point in the season. Minshew won’t be anywhere near as productive as Hurts as a fantasy Quarterback, and managers would be best checking if Daniel Jones or Brock Purdy would be available first.  

This is also concerning, but not a death blow, to the fantasy prospects of the rest of the Eagles’ offense. Hurts’ has shown improvement as a passer this year, but is still far from a volume passer. Philadelphia’s receivers should see a similar amount of targets no matter who is under center, although their touchdown upside is likely reduced with Minshew.  

This will actually likely cause an uptick in usage for Miles Sanders, who receives a sporadic workload with Hurts under center. His likelihood of running in a score goes up as well so Sanders will receive a bump up in my rankings when I update them on Tuesday.  

Don’t get me wrong though, this is a fantasy football disaster as we get down to the final two weeks of the season. Jalen Hurts is on a ton of my remaining fantasy football teams, and this injury hurts worse than most in a season absolutely filled with them

Drake London Late Season Push

Don’t look now but Drake London has received 23 targets over his last two games and has accumulated 165 yards receiving as well. The change has occurred with two different Quarterbacks as well, which suggests it could be a change in the offensive philosophy. Either way, it’s a pleasant sight for fantasy managers who have been waiting on these kinds of performances since Week 3. It’s likely too little too late at this point in the season, but if you do have Drake London and are still in the playoffs, he’s certainly a solid flex play in Week 16.  

However, London’s dynasty prospects are much more exciting as the sky is the limit for 2023 and beyond. He sits right alongside Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson in my dynasty fantasy football rankings, and you could make an argument for any of the three going forward. None of the three were put into great situations, but London has clearly been in the most frustrating one. Desmond Ridder is far from an elite passer, but at least he tried to get the ball in his best player’s hands in his first game. Going forward, hopefully the Falcons are able to improve their Quarterback situation through the draft or free agency in 2023.  

Jonathan Taylor High Ankle

Jonathan Taylor suffered a high ankle sprain early on in Week 15 and is now likely out for the remainder of the season. It is unfortunate as he was just beginning to find his groove after a slow start to the season. He finished with over 80 rushing yards in four straight contests and ran for touchdowns in three of those games. It will end what was a disappointing fantasy season overall after going number one in a lot of fantasy drafts this past Summer. He will look to bounce back in 2023 and will still undoubtedly be a first round pick again in what is hopefully a better offensive situation.

For fantasy managers still in the playoff hunt, this opens up an opportunity for two young Running Backs who are likely on your waiver wire. Deon Jackson and Zack Moss shared the backfield after Taylor left with an injury, and they received a considerable workload as the Colts TRIED to nurse a large lead. Moss out touched Jackson 24 to 14, however, Jackson scored the touchdown and was more efficient. This could have been the game script as well, as Jackson is the passing down back and caught the lone target between the two.  Going forward it will be tough to trust either player as more than a mid-tier RB3 in Week 16, even in a favorable matchup against the Chargers. My preference would be Jackson though as I think he gets a bit more work as the Colts will likely play from behind against Los Angeles. I’m not rushing to start either player, but at this point in the season, injuries are leaving starting lineups thin, particularly in leagues with multiple flex positions.  

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