Week 15 Saturday Fantasy Football WR/TE Start/Sit Decisions: Diontae Johnson, Michael Pittman, Courtland Sutton, T.J. Hockenson, Sam LaPorta and More

Week 15 of the NFL season has three Saturday games lined up. Let’s dive into the FantasySP start/sit tool and discuss some of the more popular trending decisions involving players in those games.

We already took a look at some quarterbacks and running backs from those games. While no wide receivers or tight ends from Saturday’s games are as popular amongst the trending decisions, there are a few guys involved with some of the popular names, so we’ll cover them here.

The first game will see the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals battle. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts then face off in the mid-afternoon contest before the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions square off in the night game.

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Wide Receiver Debate

Denver’s Courtland Sutton, Pittsburgh’s Diontae Johnson and Indianapolis’ Michael Pittman all find their names in trending decisions.

Sutton has led Denver’s pass catchers this season, but is coming off a game in which he only had four targets. For the season, Sutton has 699 yards and 10 touchdowns on 53 catches and 79 targets. He’s easily the team’s best red zone threat, making 12 grabs on 16 targets.

Johnson has at least five targets in each of the team’s past four games. He’s missed some time this season, but still has 475 yards and three touchdowns on 37 catches and 67 targets. 

Pittman is the Colts’ leading receiver, and has at least 11 targets in each of the past three contests. For the year, Pittman has 984 yards and four touchdowns on 95 catches and 138 targets. He’s made 14 grabs on 18 red zone targets.

Sutton is pitted against Tennessee Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins in the start/sit tool, with fantasy owners preferring Hopkins over Sutton, but far more often starting both guys. Pittman is part of a trending decision with Kansas City Chiefs’ Rashee Rice, with owners heavily favoring Pittman, but also most often starting both guys. Johnson is in a trending decision with Carolina Panthers’ Adam Thielen, with fantasy owners narrowly liking Thielen more - owners are only starting both in 8% of leagues as of this publication.

If you add in decisions that Thielen, Rice and Hopkins are part of, you add Baltimore Ravens’ Odell Beckham, Atlanta Falcons’ Drake London and New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson to the picture.

In the weekly projections, Sutton and Pittman are the highest ranked guys, while Thielen is the lowest. Beckham has the easiest matchup on paper, while Thielen has the hardest.

I’d follow the projections and take Sutton first among these receivers in his matchup against the Lions. I’d then take Pittman against the Steelers.

Next, I’d go with Hopkins against the Houston Texans, and then try Rice against the New England Patriots. Give me Wilson against the Miami Dolphins next, followed by Beckham against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

To wrap things up, I’d take Johnson against the Colts, London against the Panthers and Thielen against the Falcons.

Tight End Debate

Surprisingly, Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson and Detroit’s Sam LaPorta are the only tight ends that are part of Saturday games that are trending in the start/sit tool right now.

Hockenson is part of a decision against Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride, while LaPorta is up against Jacksonville’s Evan Engram. 

Hockenson has been the Vikings’ top pass catcher this season, and could again be the focal point on Saturday if Justin Jefferson misses the game. Even if Jefferson plays, I think Hockenson will still be the team’s most-targeted pass catcher. For the season, Hockenson has 839 yards and five touchdowns on 85 receptions and 116 targets. 

LaPorta continues to impress in his rookie season, even having to contend with Amon-Ra St. Brown for targets. LaPorta has 702 yards and six scores on 66 grabs and 92 targets for the year. He’s caught 7-of-10 red zone targets.

Hockenson is heavily favored in his decision with McBride, while LaPorta is also an overwhelming favorite over Engram.

If you add tight ends in trending decisions with McBride and Engram, you add Cleveland Browns’ David Njoku, Philadelphia Eagles’ Dallas Goedert and Baltimore Ravens’ Isaiah Likely to the mix.

LaPorta is the highest ranked TE at 3 in the weekly projections, while Likely is the lowest at 15. The easiest matchup on paper goes to Hockenson, while McBride has the toughest.

I’d follow the matchups here and give Hockenson the slight edge over LaPorta for the top TE in this discussion.

I then like Njoku against the Chicago Bears, followed by Goedert against the Seattle Seahawks. I’d wrap things up by taking Engram against the Ravens, Likely against the Jaguars and McBride against the San Francisco 49ers.

Best of luck in week 15!