NFL survivor pool strategy, Week 15: Some obvious names
The strongest picks this week are likely some teams you used early in the year. You have to go deeper.
Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
It’s either a great week for some easy Survivor pool picks, or an awful one. See, there are three picks this week that rise well above “obvious” territory and into “holy crap you better use them.” And that’s all well and good.
Except it’s Week 15. For some Survivor players, that could mean it’s an easy pick. Grab New England, Seattle or Kansas City and check back next week. (Yes, they could lose. For the purposes of this, I’m pretending they won’t because come on.)
But for the vast majority of Survivor pool players, these are three good teams whose time has probably come and gone. Maybe not Kansas City, and if so, huzzah, but by and large, you have to look past the top three.
Below, I look at some deeper plays for those still kicking in Survivor, and highlight some options you definitely don’t want to use. And at the bottom, John Daigle and I rank our Survivor plays this week, 1-32.
Sleepers
Frequently, your Survivor pick is as much about opponent as anything. The Dolphins are bad -- €”they haven't strong more than two wins in a row all year and only did that once, and they've lost to Jacksonville, Dallas, Buffalo twice. But the Chargers are just done. They started 2-2, but have gone 1-8 since. They've scored exactly three points in three of their last four games. Players are dropping like flies. The Dolphins are bad. The Chargers are worse.
You'd be forgiven if you passed on the Jets early in the season. Many thought the team was worse off with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback than Geno Smith (not me, but whatever), and hesitated on them. The Jets started strong enough, but went in the tank right as people started buying in. There just hasn't been an obvious "use the Jets" week most of the year. This week, though? The Jets have won three in a row and now get a Cowboys team that just can't score points. The Jets are a strong pick this week.
Stay-aways
I might've saved them early in the season. We didn't realize how bad the NFC East would be, so avoiding the Falcons as they rolled to a 5-0 record largely on the backs of that division made some sense. And then, suddenly, the Falcons were terrible. Like, terrible terrible. If you used them in the middle, well, you're out of your pool and not reading this. So maybe they're saved, and you see the Jaguars as the matchup and get intrigued. Do not do this.
One of the game’s best defenses. One of the game’s best offenses. The team that comes in as a big underdog, Denver, is 10-3 and has shut down some big teams. The team that comes in as a big favorite, Pittsburgh, isn’t even currently in line for a playoff berth. On top of that, Pittsburgh gets Baltimore in Week 16, and Denver gets an AJ McCarron-led Cincinnati. This is not the week.
| Rank | Team | Opp. | DK | JD |
| 1 | Seattle | CLE | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | New England | TEN | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Kansas City | @BAL | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | NY Jets | @DAL | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Carolina | @NYG | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Green Bay | @OAK | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | Arizona | @PHI | 6 | 9 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | @SF | 11 | 6 |
| 9 | Minnesota | CHI | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | Miami | @SD | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | DEN | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | Jacksonville | ATL | 14 | 11 |
| 13 | New Orleans | DET | 8 | 17 |
| 14 | Buffalo | @WAS | 16 | 13 |
| 15 | Tampa Bay | @STL | 13 | 16 |
| 16 | Houston | @IND | 18 | 15 |
| 17 | Indianapolis | HOU | 15 | 19 |
| 18 | Denver | @PIT | 21 | 18 |
| 19 | Detroit | @NO | 25 | 14 |
| 20 | Washington | BUF | 17 | 22 |
| 21 | St Louis | TB | 20 | 23 |
| 22 | Atlanta | @JAC | 19 | 25 |
| 23 | NY Giants | CAR | 28 | 20 |
| 24 | Philadelphia | ARI | 27 | 21 |
| 25 | San Diego | MIA | 24 | 24 |
| 26 | Chicago | @MIN | 23 | 26 |
| 27 | San Francisco | CIN | 22 | 29 |
| 28 | Oakland | GB | 26 | 28 |
| 29 | Dallas | NYJ | 29 | 27 |
| 30 | Baltimore | KC | 30 | 31 |
| 31 | Tennessee | @NE | 31 | 30 |
| 32 | Cleveland | @SEA | 32 | 32 |
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