Week 15 means the semifinals for most fantasy football leagues. If you have made it to this point, ideally you would have a feel for who to play this week. But the war of attrition that is the NFL season has taken its toll on many of our favorite players. With so many questionable tags designated, there are still many things to be decided prior to this week’s games. My current Week 15 rankings are based on information currently available. As always, you can contact me on Twitter with any questions you may have regarding your roster, as these rankings may change as news develops.
The Week 15 Landscape
There is not a ton of news on the quarterback front. Lamar Jackson appears to still be in line to start for Baltimore over Joe Flacco, but John Harbaugh is keeping his plan close to the vest for now. I currently have Jackson as a high-end QB2 but may bump him to low QB1 status by week’s end. Baltimore faces Tampa Bay, who has been better of late but is still a passing defense to attack when possible. Josh Johnson is indeed alive, and his return is a nice story. But I see no reason to add him unless you are in a deep two-QB league. Washington’s next two opponents (Jacksonville and Tennessee) are both top-10 fantasy defenses against quarterbacks.
Melvin Gordon’s return to practice on Tuesday is an encouraging sign, but I still do not expect him to suit up this week. If he does indeed play in this week’s divisional showdown with Kansas City, I suppose you have to play him. But I would temper expectations just a bit. Think of Gordon as more of an RB2/Flex than surefire RB1 if he takes the field on Thursday. I also do not expect James Conner or Matt Breida to play this week. Jeff Wilson and Jaylon Samuels are both in the top 20 in my Week 15 rankings. Outside of that range is Derrick Henry. To me, he is the sucker play of the week. Don’t go chasing waterfalls or last week’s fantasy points. He clearly has upside in a favorable matchup, but I think he is a Flex play this week.
The wide receiver position also has its fair share of question marks. Both Tyreek Hill and Odell Beckham are listed as questionable, but I believe both will play. They are top-eight options in my Week 15 rankings. Like Gordon, Hill plays on Thursday night. This may not benefit the players involved, but at least fantasy owners who have these players rostered will know whether they are playing before setting lineups. I was a bit surprised to see that I had Broncos receivers DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick much higher than the Expert Consensus Rankings. I was worried I was too low. They clearly have roles in this new-look receiving corps. I still have Courtland Sutton ranked higher, but the gap is shrinking. If Hill and Beckham indeed play, I would rather start Hamilton or Patrick over the Sterling Shepards and Chris Conleys of the world.
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Week 15 Rankings
Mick Ciallela has been writing for FantraxHQ since July 2017. He has also written for Bleacher Report. He is a lifelong sports fan and has been an avid fantasy sports player for many years. Mick was the Overall Champion of both the 2016 Football Challenge – Roto and 2017 Play 3 Football contests hosted by CDM Sports. Mick was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York and currently resides in New London, Connecticut.
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