Starts & Fades 15.24

This article is intended to highlight some players who may have a positive or negative weekly outlook relative to their baseline value. 

“Starts” are players who might generally be on fantasy benches but might have a terrific perceived matchup or game script/environment, or the potential for an expanded role due to past performance or injuries to teammates or opponents. 

“Fades” are players who were likely drafted as fantasy starters or have performed as automatic starters lately but face a particularly tough week due to a poor matchup or a lack of short-term role clarity due to an injury, etc. 

Here are a few of my notable starts and fades for Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season, likely the first round of your fantasy playoffs, with some notes on my thought process included:

QB

Start: Jordan Love, GB (at SEA)

• Love missed two full games and half of a third before the team’s bye week, but he has performed as a top-10 fantasy QB on a per-game basis. He has multiple TD passes in seven of his 11 starts this year, and his 6.4% TD rate is tied for the fifth best in the league. GB has spread the ball around, with six Packers recording at least 25 catches and 260 receiving yards on the season.
• The Packers head to Seattle for Sunday Night Football as three-point road favorites in a game with an implied point total of 46.0. It’s one of three games this week between two teams with 8+ wins. The Seahawks have been a tough pass defense this year, allowing the 10th-fewest passing yards per game, but they’re been closer to the middle of the pack in scoring defense (21.8 PPG allowed), TD passes allowed (19), and red-zone TD rate (52.2%).
• Love’s big fantasy games come when he can pile up the TDs, which he does often, throwing for 2+ TD passes in 18 of his 28 career regular-season starts, including eight games with 3+. I like him to pass for multiple TDs this week in what profiles as a back-and-forth game against the Seahawks.

Fade:  Baker Mayfield, TB (at LAC)