Fantasy Football: Week Fifteen Staff Must Start, Must Sit and Sleeper Picks

Connor Wilcoxen

START: Johnny Manziel, QB – Cleveland Browns

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

It’s time for Johnny Football to prove that he can be an elite quarterback in this league. Manziel’s only NFL stats are one rushing touchdown and one fumble in three games played. However, he has never played an entire NFL game, and this week he will be motivated to perform well. Manziel needs to play well this week in order to keep the Browns’ starting quarterback job. He also needs to play his hardest because he has haters to silence, and this week will be his perfect chance to do so. Another huge motivation for Manziel is the fact that the coach on the other sideline believes Manziel is too much of a “midget” to beat his team. We all know Manziel performs well when he has something to play for, therefore fantasy owners that don’t have a very good quarterback may want to pick up Manziel to help get their team extra points in the second week of the playoffs.

SIT: Mark Sanchez, QB – Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles need to get Nick Foles back, and soon. Sanchez had a few good games, but it’s gotten bad now. Last week, against the Seattle Seahawks, Sanchez threw for 96 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Those touchdowns are decent, but they aren’t good enough for the second round of the fantasy playoffs, especially since I believe they will be even worse this week. Sanchez and the Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, a team that they just played two weeks ago. Sanchez played well that game, throwing for 217 yards, one touchdown, and the Eagles won, but the Cowboys will be ready for Sanchez this week. Plus, Dallas needs to win in order to surpass Philadelphia in the standings, and to be one step closer to an elusive playoff game. If fantasy owners are looking for a solid quarterback to get their team to the championship game, then they don’t want to go anywhere near Mark Sanchez. He is a huge risk, and there will be no reward.

SLEEPER: Eli Manning, QB – New York Giants

New York is having a terrible football season, but there is one other city that currently has a worse football team than the Jets, Giants, and Bills. That team would be the Washington Redskins, and this week Eli Manning will go up against them. This game is going to be a war between the two worst teams in the NFC East, and I believe Eli Manning will lead his team to victory on Sunday. The last time Manning and the G-men took on the Redskins was Eli’s best performance of the season, he threw for 300 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Eli can also exploit the Redskins defense by throwing the ball to wide receivers like Odell Beckham Jr. and Larry Donnell. If a fantasy owner needs a quarterback and they’re willing to take a small risk, then they should pick up Eli manning, and expect a reward.