Fantasy Football Playoffs: Five Burning Questions Managers Are Left To Answer

For many managers, there is a great deal of anxiety that coincides with the calendar turning from regular season to fantasy football playoffs. It’s a single-elimination matchup where bragging rights and money are on the line, after all.

And given how the 2022 campaign has been a weird one in the NFL — and the same can be said about fantasy — there might be a heightened sense of nervousness. It’s further impacted given some of the best players in fantasy football have suffered injuries recently.

Fantasy football managers now are left with some difficult questions to answer entering Week 15.

Which Saquon Barkley will fantasy football managers get?
The New York Giants star running back has had a fall from grace of sorts, and it almost certainly has fantasy managers second-guessing everything. From Weeks 1 to 8, Barkley received more touches than any running back in fantasy. He turned it into 19.6 points in full-point leagues and was sixth in average scoring, among the top point producers in the league, per Sportradar. But from Weeks 9 to 14, Barkley has dropped considerably. He’s RB17 in average scoring, tallying six points fewer, during that stretch. He’s also coming off a Week 14 game in which he played just 31% of snaps due to a neck injury. Barkley told reporters after that loss to the Philadelphia Eagles he was feeling fine physically, but it undoubtedly creates a question for fantasy managers. This isn’t to say Barkley should be stapled to the bench in playoff openers — you have to be in a very favorable position to do that — but confidence has been impacted. And the Giants schedule these next three weeks isn’t too favorable. Barkley and the Giants face the Commanders in Week 15 with Washington allowing the sixth-fewest points to running backs this season. From there, New York faces the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 and Indianapolis Colts in Week 17, respectively. Indianapolis has allowed the eighth-most points to running backs, but that’s still a matchup two wins away for fantasy managers. All things considered, the mid-season MVP has many managers on edge entering the playoffs.

How will Rhamondre Stevenson’s injury impact him?
The New England Patriots running back probably was viewed by managers as a league-winner given where he was drafted months ago. Stevenson, similar to Barkley, was seventh in touches during the first eight weeks and was averaging 16.7 points in full-point leagues during the first half of the fantasy season, per Sportradar. But recently, with the Patriots offense continuing to struggle — New England is dead last in red zone scoring — his production has dropped more than three points per game since Week 9. On top of that, Stevenson left the Patriots Week 14 victory on “Monday Night Football” with an ankle injury and his status is in question for a game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Even if Stevenson is active, however, he probably won’t be playing at 100% and who knows how his number of touches will be impacted. The Raiders allow the ninth-most points to running backs though future contests against the Cincinnati Bengals (Week 16) and Miami Dolphins (Week 17) are not overly-favorable matchups. Stevenson’s injury status is worth paying close attention to in the coming days, but if healthy and active it might be difficult to bench him given the volume he could see.

Could injury-hindered Tyreek Hill further impact Tua Tagovailoa?
The Miami Dolphins quarterback was one of the hot commodities on the waiver wire midway through the season after returning from a concussion. Tagovailoa ranked seventh in average scoring from Weeks 1 to 11, but a three-game stretch has caused Tagovailoa managers to question his standing. Tagovailoa ranks QB20 in average scoring since Week 11, per Sportradar. He’s behind Andy Dalton and Tom Brady and right with Aaron Rodgers — all three signal-callers who have struggled mightily this fantasy season. It’s been a notable trend. Tagovailoa and the Dolphins now will have to gear up for a stretch against tough defenses all while superstar wideout Tyreek Hill is dealing with an ankle injury. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel expressed how their was “legitimate concern” about Hill following Miami’s Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, a defensive effort which could serve as a blueprint for other teams in defending the Dolphins. Miami travels to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, Buffalo allowing the sixth-fewest points to QBs. Following that cold weather contest, the Dolphins will host the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 and travel to the New England Patriots in Week 17. Of note, both defenses have been better than average in fantasy points allowed to signal-callers. Despite how Tagovailoa and the offense has looked this season, managers might have to look in another direction during the playoffs.

Will DeAndre Hopkins be able to flourish without Kyler Murray?
Hopkins returned from a six-game suspension and quickly rewarded all the fantasy managers that drafted him. Since Week 7, Hopkins ranks sixth in average scoring on 19.61 points in full-point leagues, per Sportradar. Hopkins has received 11 or more targets in five of the seven games he’s played this season and went off for 87 or more yards in an identical five contests. He’s been on a tear. However, the Arizona wideout now will be without Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who tore his ACL in Monday night’s loss to the Patriots. Colt McCoy will take over for the Cardinals, as he did in Week 14. Might Murray’s injury impact Hopkins’ fantasy value? Well, it’s worth noting that McCoy stepped in for Murray during both Weeks 10 and 11 this season. Hopkins saw 14 and 12 targets, respectively, during those games and finished as WR12 each of those two games on 19.80 and 18.10 points. It’s definitely not time to sound the alarms on the superstar wideout, but the fact he faces the Denver Broncos in Week 15 isn’t ideal. Denver allows the fewest points to wide receivers this season.

Can Mark Andrews rebound from brutal second half?
On the surface, the Baltimore Ravens tight end ranks second in average scoring among players at the position. Good, right? Well, given that Andrews has struggled through the second half of the season — he hasn’t scored since Week 6 — and the fact Baltimore might be left with a third-string quarterback in the short term is not great for his managers. Andrews, after all, was an early-round pick and perhaps the second tight end off the draft board behind Travis Kelce. Now, he ranks TE12 in average scoring since Week 9 on 9.10 points in full-point leagues, per Sportradar. Even worse than that, he finished TE23 in Week 14 with quarterback Lamar Jackson sidelined. Andrews also will face two of the best defenses against tight ends in the next three weeks with the Cleveland Browns (Week 15) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 17).