Justin Jefferson returned in Week 14, but not for long. A serious chest injury sent him to the hospital to get check out after just 13 offensive snaps. Everything checked out fine at the hospital, and Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is hopeful that Jefferson will be able to play in Week 15, which is going to leave Fantasy managers with an uncomfortable decision to make. Do they go right back to Jefferson as well? I would say unequivocally, yes.
In those 13 offensive snaps Jefferson was targeted three times and hauled in two of them for 27 yards. He was not a decoy coming off of his hamstring injury and there's no reason to believe he will be this week either. We don't know for sure who will start for the Vikings but the expectation is that it will be Nick Mullens, and strictly for the receivers, that is probably an upgrade over Joshua Dobbs. The matchup is against a Bengals defense that has ranked amongst the league's worst for most of the season. If Jefferson is on your lineup, and active for the Vikings, he should be in your starting lineup.
The more difficult decision is what to do with Jordan Addison. Well, only if you play in a three-receiver league. Addison can be benched in two receiver leagues, likely even if you start a flex. The rookie has been very touchdown dependent with Jefferson on the field, which puts him in that Gabe Davis range of "start him if you don't have three good receivers." For what it's worth, I would prefer Addison, but they are in the same neighborhood this week if Jefferson plays.
Samuel is my highest projected wide receiver for Week 15 who is available on the waiver wire. He has been targeted on more than 30% of his routed over the last month and he plays on one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league. He doesn't have quite the upside of Beckham or Robinson, but he may be a better one-week starter.
Beckham continues to be elite on a per-route basis but his upside is limited by the fact that he hasn't played even 60% of the offensive snaps since Week 1. Still, the Jaguars have given up 65 points over the past two weeks to offenses quarterbacked by Jake Browning and Joe Flacco so there may be more upside here than I am accounting for. If Beckham was a full-time player over the next three weeks he would rank as a top-25 wide receiver for me.
You can get in trouble chasing one game, but Robinson looked special once again on Monday night. He produced 115 yards and 17.5 PPR Fantasy points without a touchdown. If the Giants lean into him as their No. 1 receiver over the last month he could help decide Fantasy championships. Robinson is my favorite WR add if you have a bye this week.
Five of my top seven projected wide receivers are not on the main slate, so it basically comes down to CeeDee Lamb vs. Tyreek Hill in cash games. Lamb is $1,000 cheaper, has a much better matchup, and doesn't have a bum ankle. The choice is not that difficult.
I am expecting Hill will play, which will help control Waddle's roster rate, but as of now I am not certain Hill will be himself. Besides, Waddle scored 19.4 PPR Fantasy points without a touchdown less than a month ago against this defense.