With Alexander Mattison officially ruled out for the Minnesota Vikings‘ Week 15 showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals, Ty Chandler steps into the featured role. Should he be viewed as a starter for your fantasy football team as you head into your fantasy playoff matchup?
Should You Start Ty Chandler in Week 15?
On the scale of backup running backs that ranges from Joshua Kelley to De’Von Achane, Chandler skews closer to Kelley’s level. But with a nice touch projection in a strong matchup, he’s worth considering for your starting lineup.
#Vikings second-year RB Ty Chandler scores his 1st #NFL TD 🫡#Skol
pic.twitter.com/B6yud0tTy9— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 12, 2023
The pride of North Carolina has been given 10+ carries on three occasions this season, and he has either scored a touchdown or caught 3+ passes in each of them. His role is not a question for me this week, but the overall flow of this offense with a banged-up Justin Jefferson and Nick Mullens under center does make me pause.
The Bengals are a bottom-five run defense across the board, and they’ll be on short rest for a second consecutive week — a scheduling rarity since they played on Monday night in Week 13, Sunday in Week 14, and host the Vikings on Saturday this week.
I don’t think Chandler is likely to win you your playoff matchup, but with the lead role in an above-average offense, this Week 15 starting RB deserves Flex consideration. I have him ranked behind most other running backs with a defined role but ahead of the complementary pieces that carry volume concerns.
Trending Start/Sit Searches For Chandler
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Should You Start Chandler or James Conner?
I’m going with Conner here, even in a tough matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Prior to the Week 14 bye for the Arizona Cardinals, Conner looked the part of a solid fantasy asset — 125 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburgh — and the versatility of Kyler Murray creates running lanes that Chandler doesn’t get the benefit of.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
I’m not sure either of these players will be overly efficient this week, but Conner’s touch projection and situation grade out as favorable for me.
Should You Start Chandler or Chuba Hubbard?
The list of running backs with a projectable role that can match that of Hubbard’s this week is short. Really short. It might be three players long: Christian McCaffrey, Kyren Williams, and Zack Moss. That’s not to say he is in the range of those star running backs in my ranks, but the floor created by that level of usage is tough to deny.
This Panthers’ offense is pretty clearly a mess, but them getting game scripted out of their run-centric offense is unlikely against a low-octane Falcons offense. I think the best case for Chandler is to be what we already know Hubbard to be — I’ll take a bird in the hand with my season on the line and go with Hubbard.
Kyle Yates’ Week 15 RB Rankings
1) Christian McCaffrey | SF (at ARI)
2) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. WAS)
3) Alvin Kamara | NO (vs. NYG)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at CAR)
5) Rachaad White | TB (at GB)
6) Saquon Barkley | NYG (at NO)
7) Tony Pollard | DAL (at BUF)
8) Zack Moss | IND (vs. PIT)
9) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. DEN)
10) Austin Ekeler | LAC (at LV)
11) Derrick Henry | TEN (vs. HOU)
12) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. BAL)
13) Raheem Mostert | MIA (vs. NYJ)
14) David Montgomery | DET (vs. DEN)
15) Ezekiel Elliott | NE (vs. KC)
16) Breece Hall | NYJ (at MIA)
17) Joe Mixon | CIN (vs. MIN)
18) Javonte Williams | DEN (at DET)
19) D’Andre Swift | PHI (at SEA)
20) James Cook | BUF (vs. DAL)
21) De’Von Achane | MIA (vs. NYJ)
22) Chuba Hubbard | CAR (vs. ATL)
23) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. CHI)
24) Najee Harris | PIT (at IND)
25) Ty Chandler | MIN (at CIN)
26) Jaylen Warren | PIT (at IND)
27) James Conner | ARI (vs. SF)
28) Kenneth Walker III | SEA (vs. PHI)
29) Antonio Gibson | WAS (at LAR)
30) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at JAX)
31) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at NE)
32) Devin Singletary | HOU (at TEN)
33) Jerick McKinnon | KC (at NE)
34) AJ Dillon | GB (vs. TB)
35) D’Onta Foreman | CHI (at CLE)
36) Tyjae Spears | TEN (vs. HOU)
37) Gus Edwards | BAL (at JAX)
38) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (vs. PHI)
39) Kareem Hunt | CLE (vs. CHI)
40) Zamir White | LV (vs. LAC)
41) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. MIN)
42) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at CAR)
43) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
44) Ameer Abdullah | LV (vs. LAC)
45) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. NYG)
46) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at LAR)
47) Miles Sanders | CAR (vs. ATL)
48) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at BUF)
49) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (at SEA)
50) Samaje Perine | DEN (at DET)
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