Congratulations on remaining relevant for Week 15! Now at the end of the fantasy season, attention is no longer focused on cultivating the deepest team or preparing for future weeks. Rather, you must focus on the now, going 1-0 each week until you get to hoist that league championship and hold bragging rights until next fall.
Below, I have six tidbits for Week 15 that can help you do just that. They can provide a bit of insight and clarity for this week’s slate. They can be useful for projecting value, both good and bad, for season-long or daily fantasy. All ranks and fantasy points take half-PPR scoring into account.
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Jameis Winston is a top fantasy QB and should be started with confidence this week (if active) despite health and turnover concerns.
There are some knocks against Jameis Winston, who has been careless with the football this season. Ultimately, the pros outweigh the cons, since he’s the QB5 on the season. This is because Winston ranks top-three in passing yards (4,185) and passing touchdowns (26). If we took away turnovers, he would be the top-scoring QB in passing fantasy points.
The other knock against Winston is health. In addition to losing Mike Evans for the season, Winston is dealing with his own injury. He hurt his thumb early in Week 14 and did not start the second half. He would come back into the game and pass for 179 more yards, so if he’s active, there are zero worries on my end of reduced performance.
While not having Evans obviously hurts, Winston still has Chris Godwin. He is using O.J. Howard more, and both Breshad Perriman and Justin Watson stepped up and proved to be fully serviceable for this offense. If that’s not enough, Winston also faces the Detroit Lions, who gave up 25.9 and 19.7 points to Mitch Trubisky and 31.6 to Dak Prescott in three of their last five games. They rank as the sixth-worst in opposing passer rating (100.5) and allow the third-most passing yards per game (276.5).
Winston is a must-start.
Ryan Tannehill is a legitimate QB1 option this week.
Ryan Tannehill has been absolutely on fire since his first start in Week 7, averaging 22.6 fantasy points per week, which is second only to Lamar Jackson. Across the entire season, Tannehill ranks first in passer rating (109.4), first in yards per attempt (9.42), first in adjusted yards per attempt (9.35), and second in fantasy points per dropback (0.64).
What I am trying to say is that Tannehill has not just been great for his standards. He’s among the best in the league this season. Clearly, that work he did with Peyton Manning is paying off tenfold.
This week, Tannehill and the Titans face the Houston Texans, who have really struggled defensively as of late. They have given up the most fantasy points to QBs over the past five weeks (24.7) and even got lit up by Drew Lock last week. Although this should make them hungry for a bounce-back game, that will likely have to come from their offense. The combination of weak defense and the pressure Deshaun Watson and Houston’s offense should keep on Tannehill to stay aggressive makes him a quality QB1 option this week. Also, Derrick Henry was dealing with lower-body issues last Sunday. If still bothering him, it could lead to more passing attempts this week.
DeAndre Washington is in prime position to have a big game if Josh Jacobs sits again.
To start, let’s quickly discuss Josh Jacobs’ situation because if he plays, the rest of this tidbit can simply be applied to him. Jacobs has a shoulder injury and fought to play last week, getting emotional in the coaches’ office and crying on the sidelines. He even was given a painkiller in his shoulder in preparation to play. Ultimately, he wasn’t cleared. Gruden has not ruled Jacobs out this week, but Oakland signing veteran RB Rod Smith suggests Jacobs could be out again and possibly shut down for the season.
Now, onto DeAndre Washington, who became the Raiders’ lead back without Jacobs last week. Washington played 63 percent of the offensive snaps, getting 14 carries and catching six of his seven targets. He took these 20 total touches 96 yards and scored a touchdown, finishing with 18.6 fantasy points on the day.
This week, Washington gets a great matchup in the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville has given up the most fantasy points to RBs over the past four games, averaging 38.2 points allowed. During this stretch, they have allowed six different RBs to put up double-digit points. They have also allowed a league-high 5.3 yards per carry this season, which increases to 6.3 yards over the last five weeks. With Washington being effective and active both on the ground and through the air, he is a very solid start this week.
The stars are aligning for Chris Carson to lead your team to a Week 15 playoff win.
Chris Carson was recently at risk of losing snaps and touches to the electric Rashaad Penny. After Penny’s unfortunate season-ending injury, Carson will again get the full share of backfield work in Seattle. This could not have come at a better time, with the fantasy playoffs here and Carson having a solid matchup against the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina’s run defense has been terrible all season long. It’s given up 5.3 yards per carry (tied for last with Jacksonville) and surrendered league-highs in rushing touchdowns (24) and first-down percentage on rushes (28.5%). Over the past five weeks, the Panthers have surrendered the third-most fantasy points to RBs (30.0). In those games, they have allowed 5.96 yards per RB carry and a league-high 10 touchdowns to the position.
Coming off a loss and fighting for the NFC’s top seed, look for the Seahawks to establish the run and their offensive identity early. If there was ever a week to put your fantasy team’s trust in Chris Carson, it’s this one.
Seattle’s D/ST is a top streaming option against Carolina.
Before the waiver adds were processed this week, Seattle’s D/ST was available in nearly two-thirds of leagues. As discussed above, the Seahawks have a matchup against the struggling Panthers. While Christian McCaffrey was the most feared player in the NFL early this season, defenses have found ways to slow him down and cause trouble for this offense.
The Panthers have permitted the third-most fantasy points (11.2 per game) to opposing defensive units over the past five weeks. Kyle Allen has been sacked a league-high 24 times and thrown eight interceptions, which is only less than Winston during this stretch.
The Panthers haven’t been playing elite defenses. During this time frame, they have faced the Packers, Falcons, Saints, Redskins, and Falcons again. If you play DFS, a Carson+Seahawks D/ST stack could clearly be a profitable way to go.
If the Seahawks happen to be claimed by the time you’re reading, another popular, widely available streaming option is the New York Giants. They benefit from a matchup against Miami, who may be without even more offensive weapons this week.
Given his matchup and D.J. Chark’s uncertain status, Dede Westbrook is a strong start for Week 15.
After being seen with a scooter and walking boot following last week’s game, D.J. Chark is likely closer to doubtful than questionable. This opens the door for slot receiver Dede Westbrook to see more work, as he has done in every game where Chark has struggled this season. Chark has been held under 50 yards in five games this season. Westbrook was active for four of them and, in each instance, he was the team’s leading receiver. He averaged 62 yards on 7.8 targets and also found the end zone once.
Westbrook has a terrific Week 15 matchup against the Oakland Raiders, who have given up the fifth-most passing yards per game this season (268.4). He also has one of the best individual matchups of the week, going head-to-head with slot cornerback Lamarcus Joyner. Per Pro Football Focus, Westbrook is given a 23 percent advantage over Joyner, which is the seventh-largest WR matchup advantage of the week.
If Chark is out this week, as I expect, Westbrook immediately becomes a WR to start.
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Zach Brunner is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Zach, follow him @fantasyflurry.
