Fantasy Football: Jonathan Taylor's touch volume with Philip Rivers at QB and more key stats from Week 15
Each Monday, fantasy analyst Joel Smyth will go over eight important stats that you may have overlooked from this week. Week 15 had plenty of notable stats. What keys to fantasy success do you need to know that your leaguemates may have missed?
16-13
The RB touch split for Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal. Hampton's 16 touches came on only 23 snaps played, compared to Vidal's 39 snaps. Neither crossed 10 fantasy points on an offense that's been on the decline behind an injured offensive line. Since losing Joe Alt and several other linemen, the Chargers' star-studded offense has dropped to 21st in scoring. Split backfields in struggling offenses aren't ideal in fantasy.
The Chargers' run game was split 50/50 the entire game, with neither RB getting the hot hand. In the passing game, it was still Vidal with the clear edge. Hampton's seven routes compared to Vidal's 18 is a big hit to his fantasy value the rest of the playoffs. This is especially key against a Dallas defense. Since the Quinnen Williams trade and the return of key players back from injury, the Cowboys weakness against RBs has primarily been through the air. The matchup makes their Week 16 outlook better than Week 15, but don't expect Hampton to pull away from Vidal anytime soon.
Chargers RBs vs. Chiefs:
- Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) December 14, 2025
Omarion Hampton: 15/61/0 rushing + 1/4/0 receiving = 7 fantasy points
Kimani Vidal: 12/33/0 rushing + 1/15/0 receiving = 5.3 fantasy points pic.twitter.com/ArSkbN1OLO
75%
Of the Giants' RB touches went to Tyrone Tracy Jr., a clear season high and the second-highest by a New York RB to Cam Skattebo in Week 4. After only having 54% since the Skattebo injury, Tracy separated himself from Devin Singletary when it mattered most. The significance of the one-game adjustment means more to me considering the Week 14 bye and the Giants recent coaching change.
Tracy turned his 18 touches into 23.2 fantasy points on Sunday. Singletary, sadly, still got the one goal-line attempt, but Tracy controlled the passing game role and red-zone snaps overall. As the starter in 2024, Tracy was a volume fantasy RB2 in a poor situation. If he can get back to his 2024 volume with an improved situation, he can be a difference-maker in the fantasy playoffs. The Vikings will be a tougher opponent in Week 16; however, a better shot of keeping the game close for a 2-12 Giants team is just as important.
9/10
The number of times Trevor Lawrence has finished as a top-15 fantasy QB on the week since Week 5. After being a top-20 QB one time in his first four games to open the season, Lawrence has started to click in the new Jaguars offense. He was the overall QB1 in Week 5, and again this weekend, as he now ranks as the QB3 after the first month of the season. Remember, in a very similar situation last season, Baker Mayfield finished as the QB3 in PPG in Liam Coen's offense.
The Jaguars have an offensive line that can protect Lawrence well, weapons all around the field, and an aggressive downfield attack. Lawrence's 9.3 air yards per attempt is fourth in the NFL, with the fourth-highest rate of throws 15+ yards downfield (the only QB top four in both). It's not only aggressive but consistent. To add to it, the rushing production, much like the rest of his career, has been incredibly underrated. His 4.6 rushing fantasy PPG this season ranks sixth among QBs as he has now scored six rushing TDs on the year. Only six players have more QB runs this year. It keeps him as a great Superflex option versus the Broncos next week and usable in the fantasy championship against the Colts.
Trevor Lawrence since the Week 8 Bye
- Joel Smyth (@fantasysmyth) December 14, 2025
21.2 PPG
QB3 (QB9 before today)
Top-15 in 9/10 weeks pic.twitter.com/cVLT8PQOXa
76.2%
Of the Tampa RB carries went to Bucky Irving. A good sign if you survived the floor game in Round 1 of the playoffs. Irving's day was largely ruined thanks to Sean Tucker being the goal-line back, plunging in an easy one-yard TD run on Thursday. However, Irving once again dominated the touches in the Buccaneers backfield, even with Tucker and Rachaad White available.
Prior to Week 15, Irving was averaging 17.4 PPR PPG with zero goal-line carries. It's disappointing that the role he controlled in 2024 doesn't seem to be reappearing, but the negatives largely end there. His 3.9 targets per game this season rank eighth among RBs and are a part of a strong offense that's healthier than ever. He'll have an even better matchup against a struggling Panthers defense in a bounce-back spot next week, as Carolina has ranked 30th in rushing fantasy PPG allowed in the back half of the season. In his rookie year, Irving scored over 25 fantasy PPG versus the Panthers defense.
28
Touches for Jonathan Taylor with Philip Rivers under center on only 58 plays. In comparison, his season high of 35 touches earlier this season came on 78 plays. It ultimately didn't result in many fantasy points, but an encouraging sign for the Colts' focus after the Daniel Jones injury. Indianapolis moved to a near shotgun-only offense with the 44-year-old QB leading the way and 24 of Taylor's 25 carries came in gun, with only 54% being in shotgun prior. Before Sunday, Taylor's yards per carry decreased by 23% when in shotgun, ranking 13th among RBs compared to No. 1.
The scoring opportunities were way down in Game 1 with Rivers, but this can partially be blamed on the Seattle defense. The Seahawks are, in fact, first in defensive success rate on running plays this season, while the Colts next opponent, the 49ers, rank 28th. If Tony Pollard can go for over 100 rushing yards and a score on 14 carries versus San Francisco, then I feel much more confident in Taylor's potential next week.
15
Red-zone targets in the second half of the year for Colby Parkinson, tied for a team high with Davante Adams. Parkinson has 15 targets outside of the red zone altogether. It's an obscure difference, but when it comes to fantasy TEs, TD upside is usually all that matters. Once we get outside of the best of the best, we want to search for whatever TE has the highest odds to score. It's no coincidence that Parkinson has six touchdowns in his last six games, most without Tyler Higbee healthy. Now that Adams is injured as well, Parkinson's red-zone role can come into focus even more.
Parkinson had the other three red-zone targets in Week 15 that weren't to Adams. He was the only other player to run over 50% of the red-zone routes (with 100%). On the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL, Parkinson's TD run has a better chance of continuing than most fantasy tight ends. It's also worth noting that Puka Nacua goes from top five to No. 1 overall, with his targets per route on the season rising when Adams is not on the field to an absurd 44%. He may not be targeted like Adams is in the red zone, but Nacua will at least be on the field more, something that's held him back from being this year's fantasy WR1.
To quote @TomBrady, an absolute piss missle from Matthew Stafford to Colby Parkinson for six!
- x - Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 14, 2025
@NFLonFOX | #ProBowlVotepic.twitter.com/4OCFJe8QZ9
86.4%
Of routes run for Rashid Shaheed on Sunday, an increase of 18.6 percentage points compared to his average as a Seahawk. Since the trade, Shaheed has been slow to come on in Seattle's explosive passing attack. He hasn't been as useful in fantasy with a 9% target share. We saw a glimpse of Shaheed's potential in this offense versus Indianapolis as the deep threat led the team with 105 air yards.
In a short season with (now Seahawks) playcaller Klint Kubiak in 2024, Shaheed ranked first among all NFL WRs in air yard share on his way to being 25th in yards per route with Derek Carr. Seattle will get an in-division matchup versus Los Angeles next week, a pass defense that has been on a downward trend. The Rams allowed eight completions thrown 15+ yards downfield to Jared Goff on Sunday, setting up Shaheed as a home-run flyer for those in need.
I believe this is the first time since he joined the team that Rashid Shaheed has run more routes than Cooper Kupp for the Seahawks pic.twitter.com/VzdEC23Cyc
- Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) December 15, 2025
18.6
Fantasy points for Justin Jefferson if he didn't drop his end zone target and the Vikings weren't called for illegal formation. It's not only been a bad year for Jefferson but an unlucky one. Jordan Mason covered up" the TE, something that didn't affect the play at all, yet still cost Jefferson a TD. Then he had just his fifth drop of the season in the back of the end zone.
The good news: J.J. McCarthy has looked much better the last two weeks. And if you're thinking to yourself, they've played horrible defenses," I have more good news: they get one more in Week 16. The Giants defense ranks 27th in receiving fantasy PPG allowed to WRs this year. The Vikings' back-to-back games of 31 offensive points should keep some hope alive for the few Jefferson managers that have survived.
Justin Jefferson touchdown called back.
- SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) December 15, 2025
His griddy was interrupted by the flag he saw just as he started it pic.twitter.com/h7s1AO6yhP