The Tennessee Titans will face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Titans 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.
Will Levis, QB
Will Levis again hurt his throwing shoulder on Sunday. While he was able to ultimately return, this season isn’t going anywhere, and that puts his status in question should anything flare up during the work week.
What is Levis but a higher-pedigree Cooper Rush with a lifetime mayonnaise deal? With a similar size profile, he has a slightly higher career passer rating and a slightly lower TD/INT rate. In a vacuum, maybe I take Levis, but the point remains that they aren’t all that different.
- Rush vs. Bengals, Week 14: 31 passes, 183 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception
Any issues with that general projection for Levis? That was QB18 last week, a week in which Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix were sitting at home on a bye.
I understand the idea of wanting to stream in this direction if we get a clean bill of health mid-week, but I think absorbing more risk than reward potential.
Tony Pollard, RB
Tony Pollard hasn’t been the picture of efficiency, but he has more 10+ yard rush attempts over the past three weeks than carries that have failed to gain yardage and is averaging over two red-zone touches per game.
He’s projected to score 16.5 points in PPR formats this week. This includes 76 rushing yards, 3.5 receptions, and 0.5 total touchdowns.
Tyjae Spears, RB
Tyjae Spears touched the ball seven times in the loss to the Jaguars and netted as many yards, and Tony Pollard had touches (23).
I continue to think that Spears is an interesting long-term option should he ever be given the lion’s share of a backfield, but with Pollard signed for another two seasons, that time doesn’t appear to be close.
Calvin Ridley, WR
You can be worried about this Titans passing game all you want, but you can’t sweat Calvin Ridley’s usage. The team’s clear-cut WR1 has caught a deep pass in six of his past seven games and, since the middle of October, has five games with at least five targets 15+ yards downfield.
We obviously want to marry quality and quantity when it comes to targets, but a high number of chances can be enough when discussing an elite athlete like Ridley.
Last week, we got more evidence that the Bengals still lack the ability to take away top options. The similarly limited Cowboys marched down the field to open Monday Night Football with three of Cooper Rush’s completions, including the 11-yard touchdown, going in the direction you’d expect — CeeDee Lamb.
Lamb finished with the best WR stat line produced against the Bengals this season and continued the theme of big-play receivers piling up PPR points against Cincy.
The QB limitations make it impossible for me to rank Ridley as a WR1, but he’s a rock-solid WR2 whom I rank in the same range as other stars in limited offenses (Malik Nabers and Davante Adams).
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR
It’s almost like relying on touchdowns in a below-average offense is a risky maneuver. Go figure.
On Sunday against the Jags, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine earned just a pair of targets on his 31 routes. He’s just not a fantasy asset without chunk plays, and as long as he relies on Will Levis for those opportunities, this is an uphill battle.
An uphill battle, on ice, while trying to juggle flaming bowling pins.
On a unicycle.
For the season, Westbrook-Ikhine is averaging 2.4 PPR points per game not scored on touchdowns. Hard pass.