Week 15 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Devin Neal vs. Omarion Hampton
The fantasy football playoffs are upon us, and fantasy owners have some tough start or sit decisions to make. One of the toughest decisions for many fantasy owners is a choice between two rookie running backs. Fantasy owners have to decide whether they want to start New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal or Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton. We are here to help you make that tough decision.
RB Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints
The Case For Devin Neal
The case for Neal is simple: volume and matchup. It does not look like Alvin Kamara will be returning this week, and the Saints will be matched up against the Carolina Panthers. Carolina is allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs this season. With Kamara once again sidelined, Neal will be a bell-cow back. Over the past two weeks with Kamara off the field, Neal has totaled 33 carries and four receptions. Results have been mixed, but he had a solid game last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he totaled 84 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
Fantasy Sports On SI's Shawn Childs gave his take on Neal this week in his most recent projections:
"The Saints had Neal on the field for 74%, 82%, and 71% of their plays over the past three weeks. He comes off his best NFL game (19/70/1 with one catch for 14 yards) with an uptick in play in Week 13 (69 combined yards with three catches on 17 touches). Over his previous three matchups, Neal had a reasonable floor in catches (3/9, 5/43, and 3/22). He has two favorable matchups at home (CAR and NYJ) over the next two weeks. Carolina comes into this week ranked 23rd vs. running backs (296/1,411/13 – 4.8 yards per carry with 62 catches for 380 yards and two touchdowns on eighty targets)."
The Case Against Neal
Neal simply isn't as good a player as Hampton. He is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry on the season and failed to top 3.7 yards per carry in either of the past two games. The Saints' offense as a whole is also significantly worse than the Chargers', which allows fewer touchdown opportunities. While the upside is there thanks to the volume, he also comes with a lower floor, especially if the volume is close.
RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
The Case For Omarion Hampton
Hampton is an elite talent who returned from a broken ankle last week and looked great. He is averaging 4.7 yards per carry on the season, and last week rushed 13 times for 56 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards and a touchdown. We only expect him to see more work this week after being eased in last week, even if that is still only around a 60% - 40% split with Kimani Vidal. As much as we love playing the matchup week to week, sometimes you just have to go with the superior talent.
The Case Against Hampton
Hampton's naps and touches are both still potentially volatile, and this week he has a tough matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, who are allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to running backs this season. When these teams faced off in the season opener, Hampton averaged just 3.2 yards per carry in the first game of his career. He rushed 15 times for 48 yards and caught both his targets for 13 yards. His uncertain touches and difficult matchup make this a tough decision.
Devin Neal vs. Omarion Hampton Week 15 Fantasy Football Verdit
This one could go either way, and we'd have no issue if you wanted to go with Neal. However, Hampton still saw 13 carries and two targets last week. That is more than enough to sway us towards his side. Week 15 is the start of the fantasy football playoffs; it's not the time to get cute. We are playing our best player and starting Hampton.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
-0e06b43c57ceb063781f337e307e72d4.png "Mark Morales-Smith")
Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.
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