Justin Herbert Fantasy Week 15 Outlook Falling With Poor Play and Keenan Allen, Mike Williams Injuries

It would be a good idea to look elsewhere for a Week 15 starting quarterback.

7 PM Update: Both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are ACTIVE, but will be on a “rep count,” per Adam Schefter. 

It seemed like just yesterday Justin Herbert was a “set it and forget it” weekly starter and a consistent top-five fantasy quarterback option. But after cutting his long, beautiful locks and the recent Austin Ekeler activation, Herbert’s fantasy outlook has fallen off a cliff. Over the last three weeks, Herbert has put his fantasy owners at a serious disadvantage and he might have even sent some owners home early from the fantasy playoffs. Now in a must-win Week 15, I’d suggest Herbert owners look elsewhere at the position if they want to advance to their respective fantasy championship game.

Not only has he failed to exceed 20 fantasy points in his last three games — including by a 1 pt stinker against the Patriots — both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are game-time decisions for Week 15 and both are more on the doubtful side (as of publication). Prior to these injury designations, Herbert was thought to be in a big-time bounce-back spot against a terrible Raiders’ secondary, but losing his two top perimeter weapons makes the rookie borderline unstartable.

With Williams most certainly out and Allen more of the true game-time decision, Austin Ekeler and Hunter Henry should be bathed in targets and both would be DraftKings locks. If you’re desperate for a streamer or want a cheap TNF DraftKings option, look no further than Tyron Johnson at $3,300.

According to PFF, Johnson has the second-best yards per route run at 3.00 yds out of receivers who have run at least 50 routes this year. He also has a league-leading 23.4-yard average depth of target.

Furthermore, when Williams exited Week 14 early, Johnson snagged a touchdown and put up 55 yards on six receptions.

While we primarily focus on fantasy here, Herbert is the odds-on favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year and is only three touchdown passes away from passing Baker Mayfield for the most touchdowns thrown by a rookie — a feat that could have been broken tonight if Allen and Williams were to suit up.

“He’s got everything you’re looking for. Faced some tough moments — he’s been hit, been behind and lost games in the last second. He comes back every single week (and) comes back strong,” Jon Gruden said. “I think he’s a superstar in waiting.”

If you’re looking for another QB option off the waiver wire, check to see if Jalen Hurts (32% owned), Taysom Hill (60%), Baker Mayfield (45%), or Philip Rivers (43%) are available (in that order).

Prior to these WR injury designations, Herbert checked in at QB13 on The Wolf’s Week 15 Fantasy Rankings, but check back before kickoff for an updated list of options.

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