The Atlanta Falcons will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Falcons and Raiders skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 15 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Aidan O’Connell, QB | LV
Outlook is cloudy, come back later.
I can’t be the only one who feels like this Aidan O’Connell health situation is a run of randomly assigned eight-ball quotes, but here we are. At this moment, his status isn’t clear, but what is pretty obvious is that, for your QB slot, it shouldn’t matter.
I’ll address the ramifications on his two pass catchers but a player with a 3.3% career touchdown rate operating at less than full strength without a stable run game just isn’t going to cut it for me.
Crazy, I know.
Desmond Ridder, QB | LV
This season, 45 quarterbacks have thrown at least 40 passes this season. Within that data set, the Desmond Ridder rankings are … well, they are what you’d think.
- 40th in touchdown rate
- 41st in first down rate
- 42nd in yards per pass
- 44th in air yards per pass
- 45th in sack rate
Ridder is on the fringe of pushing my “I’d take any starting QB over a skill position player” logic when it comes to filling out my Offensive Player roster spot in Superflex settings should Aidan O’Connell be ruled out.
Kirk Cousins, QB | ATL
Kirk Cousins is the first starting QB with zero passing touchdowns and 8+ interceptions in a four-game span since Ben Roethlisberger from 2005-06. He hasn’t been a top-20 producer at the position in any of those games, something that is hard to do when you consider the volume of byes over those weeks.
There’s no reason to bet on this profile at the moment. If you want to leverage overall panic in this offense and get a piece of the pie facing off against a vulnerable Raiders defense, I fully support it. But asking Cousins to get you through to the next round of a redraft postseason is taking on far more risk than is necessary in Week 15.
Alexander Mattison, RB | LV
Alexander Mattison continues to nurse an ankle injury, and with just a 3.3 yards-per-carry average this season, there’s no need to hold out hope. The emergence of Sincere McCormick and the general ineptitude of this offense leaves next to no projectable projection available for Mattison, even if he were to be deemed fully healthy.
Ameer Abdullah, RB | LV
Ameer Abdullah carried the ball just one time in the Week 14 loss to the Bucs, putting his value squarely on his ability to earn targets in a spotty passing offense. We saw Abdullah catch five passes three weeks ago against the Broncos, and there’s the opportunity for that to happen again, especially if the Raiders fall behind, but this profile is far too thin to count on in most leagues.
If you don’t have Brock Bowers, you’re best off not playing a Raider. That’s true for this week, next week, and until otherwise noted.
Bijan Robinson, RB | ATL
Even with the offense collapsing around him, Bijan Robinson has reached 20 toques in six of his past seven games and has scored four times over the past month. Last week, in what was eventually a 42-21 loss in Minnesota, the Falcons made it clear how they planned on competing — Robinson had six touches on the opening drive.
The Saints own the second-worst run defense in the NFL this season, and with Atlanta ranking seventh in rush rate over expectation, this could be an explosion spot for the former eighth overall pick.
We haven’t seen an explosive touch from Robinson in three straight games — I think there’s a good chance that changes on Sunday in the midst of a top-five performance.
Jakobi Meyers, WR | LV
This Raiders offense has been about as concentrated as any in the NFL. That doesn’t lock in production, but it gives the featured options a chance, and Jakobi Meyers is a prime example of that.
Meyers has six top-30 PPR finishes this season, an impressive accomplishment all things considered. With Aidan O’Connell under center this season, Meyers has posted a 29.4% on-field target (2.6 yards per route). That’s a role I can justify playing against a Falcons defense that creates pressure at the second lowest rate, thus allowing Vegas’ WR1 time to create separation.
His upside is limited as it is in an offense that rarely frequents the red zone, and any change under center only increases the risk. If O’Connell guts this out, Meyers is a low-end Flex, but if not, I’d rather take a wait-and-see approach for an offense that could be one of the three worst in the league.
Tyler Allgeier, RB | ATL
Tyler Allgeier scored from six yards out on Atlanta’s first drive last week, his first score in a month, and he ran hard against a strong Vikings defense (nine carries for 63 yards).
The performance was good to see and is a reminder that he can be Zach Charbonnet-like should he be given the opportunity, but we aren’t in a position to project that right now with Bijan Robinson at full strength.
His proximity to a top-20 role is why he needs to be rostered, but you’re not playing him as long as the RB1 is at full strength.
Darnell Mooney, WR | ATL
Darnell Mooney cleared 100 yards in the first half last week against the Vikings, continuing a season that I don’t think any of us saw coming. He already has set a career-high in touchdown receptions for a season and is just 183 yards from the best yardage total during his five years in the NFL.
The 21.3% on-field target share is suitable if Kirk Cousins can figure his life out, and the 12.8-yard aDOT has me optimistic in this specific matchup against a defense that struggles to create pressure, even when bringing an extra player (32.4% pressure rate when blitzing, second-lowest). Cousins is struggling to properly process defensive schemes right now, but I’m confident that if he is just sitting in the pocket, he can find Mooney down the field as he separates.
Keenan Allen and Adam Thielen are receivers that come with similar quarterback risk but less per-target upside — I have Mooney ranked just ahead of both of them as low-end Flex options.
Drake London, WR | ATL
Drake London has seen 46 targets over his past four games, and while all of that volume hasn’t paid off in a single touchdown due to the struggles of Kirk Cousins, he’s been a usable asset for three of those four games, a nice showing all things considered.
Ja’Marr Chase is the only player in the NFL with more end-zone targets this season than London, a role that will pay off with time. The Raiders are a bottom-10 defense in end-zone completion percentage and bottom-five in end-zone completions per game — the volume appears safe and the scoring equity is higher than you might assume, even with a struggling signal caller.
Brock Bowers, TE | LV
It has seemed inevitable for a while, and now it’s official — Brock Bowers is your rookie TE record holder for receptions. He didn’t give you the stat line you’re used to in Week 14 (3-49-0), but there’s nothing to do here besides start the elite talent and consider yourself lucky to do so.
This Aidan O’Connell injury is one to watch (27% on-field target share for Bowers with him under center), but not to the level where you’re starting a lesser player on Sunday over Bowers with an unknown QB on Monday night.
This offense is always going to carry risk, but a weather-proof game, on extended rest, against a defense that just coughed up 347 yards and five scores to Sam Darnold on 28 attempts — you’re not getting cute with your season on the line.
Kyle Pitts, TE | ATL
When growing up, did you sometimes get so angry at a sibling, cousin, or pet that your emotions came out as laughter instead of anything violent? Like, a weird chuckle that sort of resembled a villain in a horror movie, where it was clear that the frustration was bubbling beneath the surface and just manifesting itself in an odd, nightmare-inducing cackle?
That’s about where we are in the Kyle Pitts experience. Over his past three games, the former Gator has run 82 routes and turned them into just 11 targets and 23 yards.
Gross.
Over the past 20 seasons, there have been three instances in which a tight end ran over 25 routes and earned multiple targets but failed to clear 15 receiving yards in three straight games
- Levine Toilolo (2014)
- Cameron Brate (2021)
- Pitts (2024, active)
Is that an oddly specific list? Of course, it is, but I don’t think you’d argue that it is an oddly specific way to highlight ineptitude at the highest of levels and that is what we are looking at here.
Harness the feelings you have toward Pitts right now and I’ll do the same. Together, we can resist the urge to go back to the well in August.
I hope.
