Fantasy Football QB/RB FAAB Report Week 15: How Much FAAB Are Joe Flacco, Chase Brown, Clyde Edwards-Helaire Worth?

Welcome to the playoffs!! In my weekly FAAB report article for fantasy football, I discuss my favorite additions at the QB and RB positions in shallower and deeper leagues while telling you how much FAAB you should be spending and why.

Want to make sure you don't waste your FAAB budget? Sync your fantasy teams with our Fantasy Assistant to access our Predictive Analytics, which predict the average winning FAAB bids for each week's hottest pickups BEFORE waivers are run, with accurate predictions landing each Tuesday!

Best Fantasy Football FAAB Pickups for Shallow Leagues (10 and 12 Teams)

QB Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

He made his second start of the season in Week 14, and not only did he put up 300+ yards and three TDs, but he also beat a great QB in Trevor Lawrence and a first-place team in the Jaguars. David Njoku and Amari Cooper have proven to be big-time playmakers for him, and they all get a great matchup in Week 15 against the 25th-ranked pass defense of the Bears. Spend 8-12% of your remaining FAAB on him.

QB Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

He led the Bengals to a victory in a must-win game against a Colts team that they are in direct competition with for an AFC Wild Card spot. Browning completed 75% of his passes for 275 yards and two TDs and somehow did it by only completing three passes to JaMar Chase for 29 yards. The Bengals will host the Vikings on Saturday night, a team that is middle of the pack against the pass, and Browning should be considered in a similar FAAB range to Flacco (8-12%). 

RB Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens

After starting November off with a 138-yard, 1 TD game, Mitchell has been fairly underwhelming in fantasy since. He hasn’t topped nine carries or 64 yards on the ground and has now gone three games without a TD. With that being said, in Week 14 he got more carries than Gus Edwards and caught more passes than Gus Edwards, and we already know he is more explosive than Gus Edwards. The Ravens love to run the football, and Edwards is really more of a red zone back, so make sure Mitchell doesn’t sit on the wire any longer by making a competitive bid in the 35-45% range. 

RB Clyde-Edwards Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs 

Isiah Pacheco may return this week, however, that’s far from a certainty. That of course means that CEH is going to get more work in the offense and share some passing-down work with Jerrick McKinnon. You’re going to want to make sure you add him this week, whether he is the starter or just as insurance if you roster Pacheco. This time of year is when handcuffs are the most important. If you roster Pacheco, I recommend a 15-20% bid. If you don’t have Pacheco, 7-10% should suffice. 

Best Fantasy Football FAAB Pickups for Deep Leagues (14 and 16 Teams)

QB Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots 

Zappe shocked the football world last Thursday by going to Pittsburgh and beating the Steelers. He didn’t just beat them though; he had a tremendous game, throwing for three TD passes and 240 yards while completing 19 of 28 passes. He certainly earned himself another start, and quite possibly earned the right to finish the season as the Patriots' starter, so pick him up this week in your deeper Superflex leagues for around 25-30% of your remaining budget. 

QB Nick Mullens, Minnesota Vikings 

Joshua Dobbs was terrible in Week 12 but still got the Week 14 start coming off the bye. It didn’t go well for Dobbs, who struggled to put up any points and turned the ball over multiple times. The Vikings decided to put Mullens into the game, and although he didn’t lead the Vikings to many points either, he did lead them to a 3-0 win and he’s likely to get the start next week because of it. He might also get Justin Jefferson back this weekend, who did play in the beginning of Week 14 but left the game with a chest injury. Either way, Mullens is worthy of a bid in Superfleex leagues, just keep it small in the 4-6% range because we don’t know Jefferson’s status yet or if Mullens is confirmed as the starter. 

QB Easton Stick, Los Angeles Chargers 

This is only if Justin Herbert can’t play on Thursday night. Herbert left Week 14 with a finger injury, and Stick played pretty well in his absence. He threw for 179 yards and no interceptions and completed 13 of 24 passes. If he does get the start on TNF, it will come against a league-average Raiders pass defense. With Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler, Stick has more than enough talent around him to provide solid fantasy production in Superflex leagues. He is a short-term option at best, though, so 3-5% is the appropriate bid unless you roster Herbert. If you do roster Herbert, 18-22% is safer so you ensure yourself a starter. 

RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals 

With Browning at QB, the Bengals have been getting their RBs involved a lot more in the passing game and also running the ball more. Joe Mixon has been better in fantasy and Brown has seen his most work this season in just the past two games. Those were also two games that the Bengals were expected to lose but ended up winning and getting back into the AFC playoff race. Brown being involved has led to good things, so expect to see more of it moving forward. Spending between 13-17% of your FAAB is a solid move here.