Here are my fantasy football rankings, tiers and outlook for notable players Week 15.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Week 15
Quarterbacks Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Quarterbacks
Jaxson Dart‘s rushing volume is slightly down since the firing of former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, but Dart is still averaging 6.0 rushing attempts and 47.3 rushing yards per game in three games under interim head coach Mike Kafka, and Dart has run for a touchdown in two of those three games. The rookie quarterback has six TD runs in his last six games. Dart has a great matchup in the passing game against the Commanders, who rank 29th in DVOA against the pass, have the worst opponent passer rating in the league, and are averaging a league-worst 8.6 yards per pass attempt. I consider Dart a midrange QB1 this week.
I’m not especially concerned how effective or efficient Sam Darnold will be against the Colts on Sunday. If we were only counting first-half fantasy points for all the quarterbacks, I might have Darnold ranked in QB1 range. But I worry about what the passing volume is going to look like for Darnold in a game where the Seahawks are favored by 13.5 points against a team so desperate at quarterback that it’s bringing Philip Rivers out of retirement. As it is, the Seahawks are the run-heaviest team in the league. They’re the only team in the NFL that’s had more runs than passes this season. If the Colts can’t keep up in this game, Darnold might only throw 20-25 passes. I’m ranking him as a high-end QB2.
Jordan Love has thrown seven TD passes over the last two weeks and has been connecting with Christian Watson and the other Green Bay receivers on some big gains. In his last two games, Love faced the Lions and Bears. The Lions have allowed the second-most passing plays of 20 or more yards this season; the Bears have allowed the third-most. This week, the Packers play the Broncos in Denver. The Broncos have allowed the fifth-fewest completions of 20 or more yards. The Denver defense also leads the league in sacks. As well as Love has been playing, this is a tough matchup, so I’m ranking him as a midrange QB2.
Running Backs Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs
Bhayshul Tuten fumbled twice last week – once on a carry, once on a kickoff return – and got benched. With Tuten seemingly out of favor in Jacksonville, it’s a good bet that Travis Etienne is going to have a workhorse role in Week 15 against a Jets defense that’s giving up the third-most fantasy points per game to RBs. Etienne has had 18 or more touches in five of his last six games. Consider him a low-end RB1.
TreVeyon Henderson & Rhamondre Stevenson (NE)
The Patriots were on bye last week, so it’s easy to forget that Rhamondre Stevenson out-snapped TreVeyon Henderson 38-32 and out-touched him 15-14 in the Patriots’ Week 13 win over the Giants. Fantasy managers don’t want this to be a split backfield, but … it appears to be a split backfield. The New England RBs have a favorable matchup against a Buffalo defense that’s had trouble stopping the run. But I can’t rank Henderson as anything more than a midrange RB2 knowing that Stevenson is probably going to get about 50% of the work. Stevenson is a low-end RB3.
Jaylen Warren had eight carries for 13 yards against the Ravens last week, but he salvaged a respectable fantasy point total with three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Warren has been one of the most stable assets in fantasy football this year. He hasn’t had many big games, but he hasn’t laid many eggs either. He’s averaging 12 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, which puts him at RB22 in per-game fantasy scoring. His single-game high this season is 17.8. His single-game low is 7.3. I have him ranked just inside the top 20 at RB this week against the Dolphins.
Ashton Jeanty has averaged 3.5 yards per carry or fewer in eight straight games dating back to Oct. 12. Over his last seven games, Jeanty’s single-game high in rushing yardage is 60, and he’s had games with 31, 30, 21 and 7 rushing yards. Jeanty has one touchdown run over his last seven games. None of this is Jeanty’s fault. The Raiders’ offensive line is terrible, and losing left tackle Kolton Miller and center Jackson Powers-Johnson to injuries didn’t help. At least Jeanty has been productive as a pass catcher. He’s averaging 5.0 catches and 28.8 receiving yards over his last six games, with a couple of touchdown catches over that span. I have him ranked outside the top 20 at RB in a tough Week 15 road matchup against the Eagles.
Kimani Vidal played more than twice as many snaps as Omarion Hampton in the Chargers’ Monday-night win over the Eagles. Yes, it was Hampton’s first game back from injury. The scales are going to inevitably start tipping back toward Hampton in the Chargers’ backfield, and the Chargers are probably going to be run-heavy the rest of the way since their battered offensive line is having so much trouble protecting QB Justin Herbert. We should still consider this a split backfield, and the poor quality of the Chargers’ offensive line is a problem. I’m viewing Hampton as a high-end RB3 this week.
The last time we saw the Panthers – in their upset win over the Rams in Week 13 — Chuba Hubbard out-snapped Rico Dowdle 38-27. And yet, Dowdle had 20 touches in that game, getting a carry or a catch on 74% of his snaps. That’s probably not a repeatable touch rate. Still, Panthers head coach and play caller Dave Canales seems to be trying to hide QB Bryce Young with run-heavy gameplans, so Carolina may well go run-heavy against the Saints this week, which means Dowdle is still a playable option even though this appears to be a split backfield now. A lot of Rico Dowdle investors are going to have tough lineup decisions this week.
Before last week, Tony Pollard was averaging 14.8 touches a game, and yet he was averaging only 7.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, and there had only been two games in which he scored more than 9.2 points. Last week he had 25 carries for 162 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns. I don’t want to chase last week’s points. I’m ranking Pollard as a lower-end RB3 and would rather not play him with my fantasy season on the line.
Over the last two weeks, Blake Corum has run 19 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 11.0 yards per carry and scoring touchdowns on 15.8% of his carries. He faced the Cardinals and Panthers the last two weeks. Corum has a tougher matchup Sunday vs. the Lions, who’ve given up the ninth-fewest rushing yards to RBs and have only allowed six TD runs to RBs this season. Corum has consistently played about one-third of the Rams’ offensive snaps and has gotten 7-13 carries a game. That’s more of a desperation flex profile than an RB2 profile.
Wide Receivers Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Wide Receivers
The revenge-game narrative is overdone, but it’s worth remembering that when Stefon Diggs went up against the Bills in Week 5, he had 10 catches for 146 yards on 12 targets against his former team. Those were the most targets, catches and receiving yards Diggs has had in any contest this season. Over the last two weeks, Diggs has had two catches for 20 yards against the Bengals, and three catches for 26 yards against the Giants. I’m expecting Diggs to bounce back this week in the Patriots’ huge AFC East showdown with the Bills and am ranking him as a high-end WR2.
The Texans are a nightmare matchup for any offense, but I would find it hard to bench Michael Wilson if Marvin Harrison Jr. remains out with a heel injury. In the three games Harrison has missed, Wilson has had 18, 15 and 16 targets, and he’s had 10 or more catches and 118 or more yards in all three games. The Texans have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers and have only given up seven TD catches to WRs all season. Still, volume is king in fantasy football, and it’s hard to ignore the target volume Wilson has been getting with Harrison out. I’ll consider Wilson a must-start if Harrison doesn’t suit up.
Wan’Dale Robinson is averaging 8.5 targets a game this season and 10.6 targets over his last five games, with no fewer than eight targets in any game over that span. I view him as a midrange WR2 in a favorable matchup against a poor Washington pass defense.
Zay Flowers hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1, but he’s on pace for 1,165 receiving yards, and he gives you at least a little something pretty much every week. There have only been three games this season in which Flowers has failed to score double-digit PPR points. Flowers plays the Bengals this week. Yes, he laid an egg against the Bengals on Thanksgiving night, with two catches for six yards, and the Bengals have allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. But are we really going to shy away from this matchup for Flowers in a game with a Vegas total of 52 points? I’m ranking Flowers as a lower-end WR2.
Jauan Jennings has had four touchdowns in his last five games, and he’s had at least four catches in seven straight games. He has a favorable Week 15 matchup against the Titans, who have allowed the sixth-most receiving yards to wide receivers. Ricky Pearsall has done next to nothing since returning from a knee injury, leaving Jennings as the clear No. 1 receiver in San Fracisco. I’m ranking Jennings inside the top 25 at the position this week.
Michael Pittman Jr. & Alec Pierce (IND)
I don’t want to play any of the Colts’ wide receivers this week. Philip Rivers‘ emergence from retirement is fascinating, but the dude hasn’t played football since 2020, and now the Colts are going to start him against the Seahawks? I don’t want to stake my playoff fortunes on a quarterback who’s been retired for five years and will immediately face one of the best pass defenses in the league. I’m ranking Michael Pittman as a low-end WR3 and Alec Pierce as a low-end WR4.
Tight Ends Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Tight Ends
Maybe I’m overreacting to Fannin’s TE1 overall finish last week. The rookie had eight catches for 114 yards and a touchdown against the Titans, good for 25.4 PPR points. Fannin has had a TD catch in each of his last two games. I do think QB Shedeur Sanders has made Fannin more fantasy-viable than he was with the Browns’ other rookie QB, Dillon Gabriel. The Browns visit Chicago this weekend and face a Bears defense that’s given up the eighth-most receptions to TEs. I have Fannin ranked inside the top five at the position.
Mark Andrews & Isaiah Likely (BAL)
Mark Andrews is averaging 26.2 receiving yards a game, a career low. Isaiah Likely has finished with fewer that three half-point PPR fantasy points in seven of his 10 games this season. Still, I would find it hard to bench either Baltimore tight end this week against the Bengals, who have been steamrolled by TEs all year. Cincinnati has given up 1,258 receiving yards to tight ends; no other team has allowed more than 933 yards to TEs. The Bengals have given up 15 touchdown catches to TEs; no other team has given up more than nine to TEs.
Things just haven’t been trending all that well for Tyler Warren. Over his last six games, he’s had one touchdown and one game with more than 53 receiving yards. He’s had 26 or fewer receiving yards in three of those six games. I just don’t know if a rusty Philip Rivers is the guy who’ going to reverse the discouraging trends for Warren, so I just barely have Warren inside the top 10 at the TE position.
When he came back from injury in Week 12, Brenton Strange had five catches for 93 yards against the Cardinals, and since then he’s been ranked as a midrange TE1 in the FantasyPros Expert Consensus Rankings. But Strange has only been averaging five targets a game since he’s been back, and I wonder is the potential return of WR Parker Washington from a hip injury might further jeopardize Strange’s target count. I’m considering Strange more of a low-end TE1 than a midrange TE1 this week against the Jets.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
