The Los Angeles Rams offense looks very different from how fantasy football managers expected entering Week 15, and it has made both Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek waiver wire targets this week. Let’s take a look at what we have seen from Jefferson and Skowronek in recent weeks and whether fantasy managers should prioritize either on the waiver wire in Week 15.
Are Van Jefferson or Ben Skowronek Waiver Wire Targets in Week 15?
The Rams’ offense is now lacking its top two pass-catching playmakers, Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. That has left Jefferson and Skowronek as the two of the top-three pass-catching options from the start of the season, alongside Tyler Higbee.
The usage pattern of that trio in recent weeks has been frustrating. While Jefferson has played on 73%, 87%, 100%, and 97% of the offensive snaps in the past four weeks, he has averaged just 4.75 targets, 2.5 receptions, and 38.25 receiving yards across that time frame. It has taken Jefferson finding the end zone in two of the three games for him to have fantasy value in any scoring format.
Skowronek has been playing regularly throughout the season. There has not been a single game in which he has played fewer than 60% of the offensive snaps. Meanwhile, he has played over 80% of the offensive snaps on nine occasions. However, he is averaging just 4.46 targets, 2.92 receptions, and 28.7 receiving yards per game on the season.
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Even as a starter in the last five weeks, he has averaged just 5.2 targets, 2.8 receptions, and 28.4 receiving yards in that stretch. However, he is coming off his best game this season as a receiver, with eight targets, seven receptions, and 89 receiving yards. We got teased by an eight-target game in Week 5, but he then has just eight targets combined over the following three weeks.
Neither Jefferson nor Skowronek appear to have a role in this offense that appears to be consistent or big enough to give them significant fantasy value. We have seen both Brandon Powell and Tutu Atwell getting bigger roles in recent weeks, with both having opportunities in the passing and rushing game.
With the four wide receivers and Tyler Higbee all involved, plus the QB situation in flux, it is tough to trust anyone in the group to be consistent producers for fantasy managers. The upside of Atwell is almost more intriguing, especially if you are looking at it from an Underdog Fantasy Best Ball perspective. The eight targets make Skowronek somewhat intriguing from a PPR perspective, but his ceiling is capped, and trusting the targets to remain is tough to do.
How Should Fantasy Managers Prioritize Jefferson and Skowronek in Week 15?
It is tough to put much of a priority on the Rams’ situation right now. Week-to-week, the group has been hard to judge. How you prioritize the three main Rams’ wide receivers — Jefferson, Skowronek, and Atwell — to each other depends on your scoring format and your roster needs.
Atwell has the most intriguing upside, while Jefferson appears to have the safest floor across the scoring formats. However, Skowronek could be the intriguing option in PPR scoring if he were to keep seeing the eight targets we saw last week, but that is far from assured.
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Therefore, the likes of D.J. Chark, Demarcus Robinson, Chris Moore, and Elijah Moore are all more intriguing. That group has a chance to be a high-target option as either a WR1 or WR2 option in their offense. Meanwhile, the likes of Jameson Williams also carry intriguing upside, and Williams, in particular, comes with a first-round pedigree.
Depending on which player you want, this group is not really worth more than a 5% FAAB bid as a relatively low-priority add. All three have some element of potential, but it is limited to 14-team leagues. Even then, the upside is limited enough that you cannot rely on any one of the group to produce.