Fantasy football advice, Week 15: Who to start/sit for Indianapolis Colts vs. Minnesota Vikings

With only four teams remaining in each fantasy league across the board, it’s not exactly a news flash to say that fantasy owners have to be at the top of their game. Several factors present themselves for the matchup between the Colts and Vikings on Sunday, and fantasy owners will absolutely have to examine them closely to get the upper hand on their opponent. Let’s take a look:

Andrew Luck finds himself in another tough matchup, but fantasy owners who advanced with Luck’s respectable performance against the Texans aren’t about to bench him against the Vikings. Though the Vikings boast the NFL’s No. 3 pass defense, Luck still fronts a pass-heavy offense, one efficient enough to propel him to be No. 4 in fantasy points per game among other quarterbacks. Luck can be started as usual, along with T.Y. Hilton, who likely won’t have to do battle with Donte Moncrief for targets. Frank Gore remains a high-floor RB2 against the Vikings’ middling run defense, but it is one that has allowed just six rushing touchdowns on the season.

Though Moncrief hasn’t practiced all week, fantasy owners would be advised to find options other than Jack Doyle, Dwayne Allen or Philip Dorsett against the Vikings’ vaunted pass defense.

In the course of each NFL team’s last three games, only five teams have attempted more passes than the Vikings. It’s led to respectable outings from Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph, and the extra volume has made Adam Thielen a high floor option as well. With such a terrible backfield, it’s no wonder the Vikings have taken to the air so frequently, and against the Colts’ 26th ranked pass defense, all three can remain in lineups.

Yes, Adrian Peterson is back. But even with encouraging reports out of practice, fantasy owners would be playing with fire to start a running back who hasn’t seen the field since September. It remains a complete mystery as to how effective Peterson will be, and if fantasy owners have gotten to their league’s final four without Peterson’s assistance, they likely have plenty of less risky options available.

Sam Bradford has just three multi-touchdown games in 2016, and just one in his last eight contests. More over that span would make Diggs, Rudolph and Thielen more attractive options, but fantasy owners can’t bank on that happening. Bradford can remain on the bench with Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata, who wouldn’t be advisable fantasy options even if Peterson was still out of action.