Fantasy Football Outlook for Thursday Night Week 15: Should You Start Aidan O'Connell, Easton Stick, Austin Ekeler, Jakobi Meyers, Joshua Palmer and More?
Discussing the week 15 Thursday night matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers and determining which players you could start.
The Thursday night week 15 matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers is setting up to be an uneventful one.
Both teams are dealing with injuries to key players, and there’s not a lot of great fantasy football options. I covered the Chargers a bit earlier in the week, but after a key injury, I need to adjust my thoughts.
Let’s just look at both teams and determine if there are any starting options.
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Quarterback Breakdown
It appears that Aidan O’Connell will be starting for the Raiders, while Easton Stick gets the nod for the Chargers. Quite the primetime matchup, huh?
In all seriousness though, these guys might be started in a decent amount of leagues this week. Injuries to quarterbacks have left some fantasy owners with no other choice.
O’Connell has started six of the seven games he’s appeared in this season. He’s thrown four touchdowns, but seven interceptions.
He’s topped 150 passing yards in all of his starts, but only has topped 250 yards once. He’s not thrown for multiple touchdowns in a single game.
Stick replaced Justin Herbert last week. Stick finished 13-of-24, going for 179 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked twice and fumbled two times.
In the week 15 projections, O’Connell is ranked 26th, while Stick is 29th.
Verdict: O’Connell is my favorite fantasy quarterback in this matchup, but I’d be extremely worried that he gets benched given the team was contemplating a QB change coming into the week. With that thought in the back of my head, I’d try to avoid starting any quarterbacks in this game at all costs.
Running Back Breakdown
Raiders’ Josh Jacobs did not practice all week because of a quad injury, yet is listed as questionable. Keep an eye on social media for his official status for tonight, but I’d imagine he’s pretty limited if he is able to suit up.
That means Zamir White and Ameer Abdullah are the backs that could lead Las Vegas tonight. White is second on the depth chart, so I’d have to imagine he gets the majority of the workload.
Austin Ekeler will power the Chargers’ backfield. He got 15 touches last week and had one of his better showings.
Isaiah Spiller and Joshua Kelley also got a decent amount of work last week. Spiller played 12 snaps and got six touches, while Kelley had three touches across seven snaps.
It’s a pretty solid matchup for any backs tonight. Both defenses allow 23 fantasy points to the position per week.
In the weekly projections, Ekeler is ranked 17th, while Jacobs comes in 19th. White is ranked 45th and Kelley is 62nd.
Verdict: Ekeler is one of the few players in tonight’s game that I’d be even a little bit confident in - he should be the workhorse for the Chargers’ offense. I’d avoid Spiller and Kelley, even in deeper leagues, if I could. I’m against starting Jacobs because I think he’d only get a handful of touches. I’d also avoid White and Abdullah in standard leagues - I’d give them each consideration in deeper leagues if Jacobs is out, but wouldn’t feel great if I had to play either of them,
Wide Receiver Breakdown
The best two wide receivers in this contest might not play. Chargers’ Keenan Allen was ruled out already, and Raiders’ Davante Adams is questionable after missing Wednesday’s practice with an illness.
If Adams is out, Jakobi Meyers would be the top receiver in the Las Vegas offense. He had just five catches and 25 yards on six targets a week ago.
Hunter Renfrow could also be more involved. He had 46 yards on three catches and five targets last week.
Tre Tucker and DeAndre Carter would also likely get bumps in playing time with Adams out. Tucker had seven targets a few weeks ago, so he’d be my guess to serve as WR3 behind Meyers and Renfrow.
With Allen out, Joshua Palmer is likely going to be WR1. He’ll be playing his first game in several weeks but has no injury designation coming into the contest.
Quentin Johnston should also be more involved. He went for 91 yards on three catches and four targets last week.
Alex Erickson played 45 snaps last week and should play plenty of snaps again with Allen out. Erickson only had 9 receiving yards on one catch and seven targets last week.
Jalen Guyton and Derius Davis are other options to get expanded snaps without Allen around. Guyton has nine targets over the past three weeks, but had just one target last week. Davis has only two targets over the past four games.
The Chargers’ defense allows 38 fantasy points to opposing receivers, so whoever suits up for the Raiders have a favorable matchup - it’s not as favorable when you factor in the not-so-great play from the quarterback position. Los Angeles receivers have a tougher matchup, as Las Vegas allows only 31 fantasy points to the position.
Adams is the highest-ranked receiver in the contest with Allen out - Adams is ranked 24th. Meyers is ranked 47th, Palmer is 56th and Johnston is 60th.
Verdict: I love the matchup for the Raiders’ receivers, but I’m skeptical to start any of them because of O’Connell. If I had to play one of them, I’d take Adams if he plays, and Meyers if he doesn’t. I’d try to avoid all of the receivers in this game though. I see Palmer immediately stepping back in and being the Chargers’ top option, but I think things will be pretty balanced, making them all average to below-average fantasy options.
Tight End Breakdown
Chargers’ Gerald Everett and Raiders’ Michael Mayer are the top fantasy tight ends in this game. Underwhelming again, I know.
Everett had eight targets a week ago, turning those into five catches and 39 yards.
Donald Parham is also worth mentioning, but is questionable coming into the game. Parham had 11 yards on one catch and two targets last week.
Mayer tallied 14 yards on one catch and two targets a week ago. He had nine targets combined in the previous two games.
Austin Hooper also played 20 snaps last week, but only had 5 yards on one catch and target.
Mayer and Hooper have the more favorable matchup, as the Chargers’ defense allows 13 fantasy points to opposing tight ends per week. Everett and Parham have an average matchup, with the Raiders’ defense allowing 12 fantasy points per week.
In the weekly projections, Everett is ranked 21st, while Mayer is 25th.
Verdict: The projections pretty much tell you everything you need to know. I’d avoid any tight ends in this game in standard leagues, and only consider them in deep leagues with multiple TE starting spots. Everett is my favorite fantasy TE in this game, with Mayer a ways behind him.
Defense/Kicker Breakdown
Looking at season stats for each offense to evaluate the defenses in this matchup isn’t really fair. The Chargers are going to look a lot different without Herbert and Allen, while the Raiders are not the same offense without Adams and Jacobs.
With so many guys out, I think both defenses are pretty good starting options. The Chargers’ defense ranks fourth in the projections, while the Raiders are sixth.
Cameron Dicker does the kicking for the Chargers. He’s been great this season, missing just one of his 20 field goal attempts and none of his 31 extra point attempts. Dicker is ranked 24th in the weekly projections.
Daniel Carlson kicks for the Raiders. He’s 20-of-24 on field goals and perfect on his 18 extra point attempts. He’s ranked eighth in the weekly projections.
Verdict: I’m good with starting either defense in this game, as I expect a very low-scoring and sloppy game. Both kickers are solid fantasy options, and hopefully get a couple field goal attempts. If I currently owned them, I’d feel fine about starting them, otherwise I wouldn’t go out of my way to add them.
Game Prediction
I see this as a very low-scoring game, going under the 34.5-point mark currently set. I’d actually be surprised if either team has over 17 points.
I’ve gone back and forth on the winner all week, but believe the Raiders find a way to prevail. I don’t see them covering though. Give me Las Vegas 12, Los Angeles 10 for a final score.
Best of luck in week 15!
