10 Most Intriguing Players of Week 15 (2025 Fantasy Football)

Assuming you qualified, congratulations on making the fantasy football playoffs.

Some of you didn’t qualify for the fantasy playoffs but still have a game this week, because you’re playing in the consolation bracket.

Uh… yay?

I despise consolation brackets. They’re a relic of fantasy football’s Stone Age, and I hope they’ll eventually reach a point of near-extinction much like touchdown-only leagues.

Perhaps consolation brackets made more sense when the average fantasy football enthusiast played in only one league. It was a way to extend the fun of fantasy football for the playoff non-qualifiers.

But now that even your aunt plays in three leagues, consolation brackets seem pointless.

Have you ever been excited to compete in a consolation bracket? When you have a team that wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs, or a team that had a terrible run of luck, don’t you just want to be put out of your misery after 14 weeks? I certainly do.

Having to set a lineup for my failed teams in Week 15 feels like going to see the dentist.

And why incentivize a consolation tournament with prize money for the Toilet Bowl winner? It’s just taking prize money away from the playoff teams.

Some leagues use the consolation bowl to determine draft order for the following season. Some leagues use it to determine who gets a loser’s punishment.

Why? Just use the regular season to determine that stuff.

Abolish consolation brackets. Make them extinct. Kill them with fire.

And on that happy note, let’s get to the 10 most intriguing players of Week 15.

The 10 Most Intriguing Players of Week 15

1. Philip Rivers (QB – IND)

How can anyone else headline this week’s list?

A Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate who’s been retired since 2020 and is a grandfather — a grandfather! — is coming back to start for a team that’s had its quarterback room wiped out by injuries.

The NFL never has a shortage of juicy stories. This one is juicier than Violet Beauregarde after she chewed the experimental gum.

What diehard football fan isn’t going to enjoy seeing that trademark Philip Rivers release again?

Obviously, this isn’t how the Colts envisioned their quarterback situation working out. But Daniel Jones tore his Achilles last week. Rookie backup Riley Leonard entered the game and sprained his PCL. And former No. 4 overall draft pick Anthony Richardson is still sidelined after a Wile E. Coyote-type of mishap with an elastic stretch band resulted in a fractured orbital bone. (Note to self: Never purchase an elastic stretch band from the Acme Co.)

Starting Rivers in the fantasy playoffs in a 1-QB league would be gutsy. And by “gutsy,” I mean “insane.” Even starting him in a Superflex league seems fanciful. Particularly with the Colts traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a matchup against the Seahawks, who have one of the NFL’s top defenses.

The bigger issue for fantasy is whether Rivers can make any Colts pass-catcher worthwhile starts. Michael Pittman is WR16 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game, Alec Pierce is WR32 and Tyler Warren is TE8. All of them seem like dicey options for Week 15.

The Rivers comeback story is going to be fascinating to watch. Let’s just hope it’s not fascinating the way a multi-car pileup is fascinating.

2. Michael Wilson (WR – ARI)

No player is going to inspire more offseason research and soul-searching among fantasy diehards than Michael Wilson.

The two things the diehards will be trying to figure out: (1) Were there any clues that hinted at Wilson’s 2025 breakout? (2) How do we rank him in 2026?

Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, has missed three games over the last month. Wilson has drawn 18, 15 and 16 targets in the three games Harrison has missed, and Wilson has had 10+ catches and 118+ yards in all three of those games.

Wilson hadn’t practiced this week as of Thursday due to a heel injury. If he’s out, Wilson figures to once again be a focal point of the Cardinals’ passing game.

But the Week 15 matchup is brutal. The Cardinals face the Texans, whose defense may well be the NFL’s best. Houston has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season.

If Harrison remains out, it will be interesting to see what Wilson can do in such a daunting matchup.

3. Omarion Hampton (RB – LAC)

Omarion Hampton stakeholders rejoiced over the rookie’s Week 14 return from an ankle injury that had cost him seven games. Before the injury, Hampton had begun to look like an impact player, with 129 yards from scrimmage against a tough Denver defense in Week 3 and 165 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Giants in Week 4.

Hampton looked good in the Chargers’ Monday-night win against the Eagles, with 13 carries for 56 yards along with two catches for 11 yards and a touchdown. The only concern was that Kimani Vidal played more than twice as many snaps as Hampton (51-23).

It seems inevitable that Hampton will play more in the weeks to come, and it can’t happen soon enough for his investors, who are hoping to get their money’s worth out of Hampton in the playoffs.

It’s encouraging that Hampton touched the ball on 65.2% of his snaps against the Eagles. There might be plenty of work to go around for both Hampton and Vidal this week. The Chargers’ injury-riddled offensive line seems incapable of adequately protecting quarterback Justin Herbert, so it might behoove the Chargers to go with a run-heavy approach to keep their star quarterback from ending up in traction.

Unfortunately, the poor quality of the Chargers’ offensive line is an issue for the running backs, too. Pro Football Focus (PFF) has the Chargers’ offensive line graded last in the league in run blocking.

Hampton has a tricky matchup this week against the Chiefs, whose run defense is typically stingy under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

4. Josh Allen (QB – BUF)

If you’re starting Josh Alen in a fantasy playoff matchup, here’s what should encourage you:

In Week 5, the Patriots upset the Bills 23-20 in Buffalo. Allen was just OK in that game. He threw for 253 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, and he ran nine times for 53 yards.

Sunday is the Bills-Patriots rematch in Foxborough. If the Patriots win, they clinch the AFC East title. If the Bills win, they pull to within a game of the Patriots.

It’s a safe bet that Allen doesn’t want to be upstaged by young signal-caller Drake Maye, the prince who was promised to Patriots fans after King Tom Brady abdicated his throne. Maye was terrific in the first Patriots-Bills game of the season.

We are aware of Allen’s capabilities. I would not want to be facing him in fantasy this week.

5. TreVeyon Henderson (RB – NE)

Let’s stick with the Bills-Patriots game for a moment.

When we last saw the Patriots before their Week 14 bye, they beat the Giants 33-15 at Gillette Stadium. Rhamondre Stevenson out-snapped TreVeyon Henderson 38-32 in that game and out-touched the rookie 15-14.

And yet, Henderson is RB18 in FantasyPros’ expert consensus rankings (ECR) for Week 15, while Stevenson is RB36. Clearly, the rankers don’t want to believe that the Patriots have a split backfield.

But, well… it looks like a split backfield.

It’s possible both New England backs can outkick their rankings against a Bills defense that has been bludgeoned by running backs this season. Buffalo has allowed the sixth-most rushing yards to running backs, who are averaging five yards per carry against the Bills.

Henderson has scored five touchdowns over his last four games and has racked up 410 yards from scrimmage over that stretch. He might not need a workhorse role to put up big numbers versus the Bills.

6. Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE)

After leading all FBS pass-catchers in receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555) last year in his final college season at Bowling Green, Harold Fannin Jr. has been making waves for the Browns.

Fannin is coming off his best game of the season — eight catches for 114 yards and a touchdown in a 31-29 loss to the Titans. Fannin has scored a touchdown in two straight games and seems to be developing a nice rapport with fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, who’s been starting at quarterback for Cleveland since Week 12. In the three games Sanders has started, Fannin has been targeted 22 times and has averaged nine yards per target.

Fannin and the Browns visit Chicago this week, giving observers a chance to measure Fannin against fellow rookie tight end Colston Loveland. The Bears selected Loveland 10th overall. Fannin was a third-round pick.

The Browns-Bears game will also test Fannin’s ability to perform in adverse weather conditions. The forecast is calling for frigid temperatures in Chicago on Sunday, with feels-like temperatures of around -15 degrees.

7. George Pickens (WR – DAL)

When George Pickens was in Pittsburgh, he developed a reputation for running hot and cold. Pickens, at his best, could be a force of nature, making acrobatic contested catches and trying to steal the souls of defenders while blocking in the running game.

On his bad days, well… Pickens looked like a lesser player.

The Cowboys have mostly been getting the locked-in Pickens this season. He has 78 catches for 1,179 yards and eight touchdowns — career highs across the board. When CeeDee Lamb missed time with an ankle injury earlier this season, Pickens performed like a true alpha receiver.

But in a Week 14 loss to the Lions, Pickens’ effort drew criticism. He appeared to give up on some routes and make halfhearted efforts on some potentially catchable throws.

Pickens had five catches for 37 yards against Detroit — his lowest yardage total since a 30-yard game against the Eagles in the season opener.

Now that his effort has been openly questioned, will Pickens’ competitive fires roar when the Cowboys host the Vikings on Sunday night? Lamb sustained a concussion last week, and it’s not clear whether he’ll play this week, so the Cowboys might desperately need a locked-in Pickens.

8. Jahmyr Gibbs (RB – DET)

Jahmyr Gibbs has been on a tear for the Lions, with a trio of three-touchdown games over the last five weeks.

With his 16 touchdowns this season, the 23-year-old Gibbs now has 47 touchdowns for his career, tying another electrifying Lions running back, Barry Sanders, for most career touchdowns before the age of 24.

The versatile Gibbs has 1,062 rushing yards to go with 58 catches for 474 yards. He’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry

Gibbs has a tough matchup in a big game this weekend. The 8-5 Lions are fighting for a playoff berth, and they’ll be visiting the 10-3 Rams. The Rams have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to running backs and have yielded only four touchdowns to backs all season.

9. Jordan Love (QB – GB)

Jordan Love has thrown seven touchdown passes in the last two weeks in important Green Bay victories over division rivals Detroit and Chicago.

Can Love keep it up this week against a nasty Denver defense? The Broncos lead the league in sacks (55) and have given up only 13 touchdown passes in 13 games.

Love has connected with his receivers for some big plays the last two weeks — particularly Christian Watson, who had a 51-yard touchdown against the Lions and touchdowns of 23 and 41 yards against the Bears.

The Lions have allowed the second-most passing plays of 20+ yards this season; the Bears have allowed the third-most. The Broncos have allowed the fifth-fewest completions of 20+ yards.

Big plays might be harder for Love to come by Sunday in a big game between the two teams with the best records in their respective conferences.

10. Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF)

Pity the fantasy managers who have to go against Christian McCaffrey this week.

The RB1 in PPR scoring, McCaffrey should be fresh and well-rested off a Week 14 bye, and he has a scrumptious home matchup against the Titans.

The Titans have allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to running backs. And with the 49ers 13-point favorites, they figure to have a run-friendly game script.

McCaffrey is leading the NFL in touches with 322 and has 849 rushing yards, 806 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He has an excellent chance to pad those totals on Sunday — much to the chagrin of the fantasy gamers facing him.