Here’s a look at 10-team DRAFT lineup advice for Week 15 NFL contests. I provide my rankings per position, a list of injuries to keep an eye on, and I conclude the article with a sample draft to give you a sense of how to approach your DRAFT contests. This article includes two Saturday games for this week.

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Quarterback

 
Most people probably don’t realize that Big Ben currently ranks second in fantasy PPG on the season. He has been slightly aided by three TD runs, but he also sits second in passing yards on the season. Big Ben is well known for his drastic home/road splits. This year hasn’t been quite as ridiculous as usual, but he is still averaging 2.7 more fantasy points per game at home this season. Big Ben gets the Patriots at home this week. The Pats are fresh off of their last-second loss to the Dolphins in Miami. Tannehill threw for 265 yards and three TDs on 19 attempts. New England ranks 25^th in defense versus QBs on the season and is a matchup you can exploit. Last week with Conner sidelined, the Steelers leaned on the passing game heavily. Conner looks likely to miss this game as well, and again I expect the Steelers to lean on their passing game.

Big Ben is often still available in the 4^th round. This is generally the earliest I will take a QB this week (you will see an exception in my sample draft). I usually wait until the 5^th round and take my top QB remaining, but I will also have Roethlisberger a handful of times this weekend.

Injury Watch

Ben Roethlisberger didn’t practice on Wednesday with a rib injury. He obtained the injury last Sunday against Oakland. He briefly exited that game, but was able to come back. He returned as a full participant Thursday, indicating he’s good to go.

Running Back

 
Leonard Fournette has had a very rough 2018 season to say the least. He has only played in 6/13 games this year, missing one to suspension and six to injury. He has only averaged 3.4 YPC on the season and hasn’t eclipsed 100 yards rushing in any game despite seeing over 20 carries twice this year. I know, I’m really selling him right? On the plus side he does have five TDs in six games and has actually played a fairly tough schedule for RBs. This week Fournette gets Washington. They have seen an unbelievable rash of injuries to their offense. They now roll out their 4^th string QB this week and a makeshift offensive line. I don’t expect Washington to move the ball effectively against the Jaguars defense. This should lead to lots of positive game script and lots of carries for Fournette. Washington is fresh off of Saquon Barkley rushing for 12 YPC and 170 rushing yards. I expect Fournette to bounce back in a big way this week against Washington. I will take Fournette as early as the late 1^st round.

Injury Watch

None

Wide Receiver/ Tight End

 
I already wrote about Big Ben in the QB section of this article. Now I will talk about Rob Gronkowski from the same game. This game is expected to be a high-scoring affair with an over/under currently sitting at 52. The Steelers are ranked 7^th in defense versus RBs, 14^th in defense versus WRs and 29^th in defense versus TEs. The best way to attack the Steelers this week should be through Gronk and it looks like he and Brady got their connection back just in time. Gronk is a great 2^nd WR/TE this week and you can almost always get him in the 5^th round.

Injury Watch

Julio Jones was sent home from practice Thursday with an illness. Usually illnesses don’t keep players out of games, but check his status Friday and Saturday to make sure he is going to suit up.

T.Y. Hilton didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday this week with another new injury. This time it is his ankle. Hilton didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday last week but still was able to play. Make sure he gets in at least a limited session Friday.

Odell Beckham Jr. was in my top 20 to start the week and I have drafted him a few times. He went from a limited practice Wednesday to absent from practice on Thursday. This is never a good sign, so I have removed him from my list. If he returns to practice Friday and looks likely to play, I would put him at #18 on the list.

Sample Draft

My pick: 9^th

1^st round – Michael Thomas (WR – NO)
Fournette was my top RB remaining on the board, but I chose to go with my #1 WR on the week, Michael Thomas. This was a close call for me and I went with Thomas because I already had quite a few more shares of Fournette than Thomas.

2^nd round – Phillip Lindsay (RB – DEN)
I skipped over Fournette to my next highest ranked RB, Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay often goes in the 1^st round and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to snag him in the 2^nd round.

3^rd round – Drew Brees (QB – NO)
Since I was picking 9^th in this draft there is only one team to pick in between my 3^rd and 4^th round picks. That team took two RBs in the first round so I knew that they would not be taking an RB in between my picks. I also had decided that I would wait to (hopefully) take Gronk in the 5^th round. Meaning I would take a QB and RB with my 3^rd and 4^th round picks. I took Brees in the 3^rd round, knowing I would still have my choice of RBs in the 4^th round.

4^th round – Damien Williams (RB – KC)
I did this draft with the Thursday game included. Damien Williams was my top rated RB still on the board at this point. Had this been the Saturday-Monday slate I likely would have ended up with Lamar Miller or Doug Martin here.

5^th round – Rob Gronkowski (TE – NE)
I ended up getting Gronk as my 2^nd WR/TE in the 5^th round. This is a strategy I will employ a handful of times this week and is one of the only reasons I would consider taking a QB before the 4^th round.

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Steven Roy is a correspondent for FantasyPros. For more from Steve, follow him on Twitter @Rockhead_Roy.