Fantasy Football 2016: Best Week 15 Lineups, Rankings For FanDuel, DraftKings And More

Usually, at this point of an NFL season, many of fantasy’s superstars would be relegated to the bench as their respective teams try to get healthier prior to the playoffs. Luckily, for DraftKings and FanDuel players, this season’s playoff race is still every wide open and teams need their stars to secure a spot.

As we turn to Week 15 of the season, a number of major matchups with equally important playoff implications will take place and daily fantasy players can capitalize for the week’s best combinations.

The week starts Thursday with the Seattle Seahawks hosting the Los Angeles Rams, a matchup Seattle must be craving after such an awful letdown to Green Bay in Week 14 and they could take advantage following the Rams dismissal of head coach Jeff Fisher Monday.

It's the Packers that could very well be on the verge of “running the table” in hopes of a playoff berth and even a gimpy and on-fire Aaron Rodgers could excel against a Chicago Bears that’s actually been quite strong against fantasy QBs. The Bears just held back Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, but Rodgers is on a mission.

Any member of the Buffalo Bills attack will be high-priced but wealth worth the cap hit when they host the winless Cleveland Browns, while the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Tennessee Titans and the Detroit Lions vs. the New York Giants are each critical playoff and fantasy matchups.

The same goes for the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Minnesota Vikings, with a loss for either team likely equaling the end of their seasons, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoping to extend their winning streak to six against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

Each of the matchups mentioned should make up the bulk of the player pool that DFS players draw from in Week 15.

With that in mind, here are our latest rankings at every position for FanDuel, DraftKings and any other daily fantasy platform for Week 15.

QB

1.Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

2.Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills

3.Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins

4.Eli Manning, New York Giants

5.Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Technically the best matchup of the week is San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick against the Falcons league-worst work against QBs, but Ryan proved he could fire off touchdowns without Julio Jones and the 49ers are sixth-worst against quarterbacks. Taylor’s next up because the Browns are No. 31 in fantasy and because he’s a dual-threat. Cousins could unload when facing Carolina’s No. 25 ranked defense vs. quarterbacks and Manning gets the No. 24 ranked Lions. Smith is a value pick coming off one of the best games of his career and the Titans are fifth-worst vs. QBs.

RB

1.LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills

2.Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers

3.Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals

4.David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals

5.Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders

McCoy’s poised for a big week and will be a cheaper option than say Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott. The Bills meet the Browns No. 31 fantasy rushing D allowing 126.8 yards and 4.2 receptions for 32.8 yards to opposing backs per week. Hyde can dominate Atlanta’s No. 30 rushing D efforts, and Hill’s been the best working part of the Bengals offense for weeks now and should see plenty of touches against Pittsburgh’s No. 27-ranked unit. Johnson’s unstoppable and only this low due to his salary cap hit, but Murray can also against San Diego’s lackluster rushing fantasy D as Oakland tries to keep Philip Rivers off the field.

WR

1.Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

2.Rishard Matthews, Tennessee Titans

3.Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

4.DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins

5.Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks

If Jones turf toe injury heals up he’ll be worth the extra cap hit as the Niners are second only to last-place Kansas City vs. WRs. In the same vein, that’s why Matthews is this high, but be wary when it comes to the Chiefs, who made Oakland’s Derek Carr look mortal. So Hill might be the next best option as the Titans are third-worst against WRs. Jackson’s a constantly looming deep threat and the Panthers have let up 42 plays of 20 or more yards. Baldwin and the Seahawks can forget their Week 14 implosion against the Rams, who are No. 22 in fantasy.

TE

1.Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins

2.Ladarius Green, Pittsburgh Steelers

3.Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4.Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

5.Will Tye, New York Giants

Reed did play despite an injury in Week 14, though he was only good for one catch for 10 yards off one target. But expect much more against the Panthers and its last-place showing vs. TEs (11.48 points allowed per week). Green has shown he’s a solid pickup against teams with poor records against TEs (six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown in Week 13 vs. New York) and has trouble with stronger ones (two catches for 25 yards off six targets vs. Buffalo). This week he gets the Bengals, who are No. 29 in the league. Brate meets a Cowboys unit allowing 9.23 points per week, and Rudolph’s a cheap selection facing a Colts D that’s ninth-worst in fantasy.

FLEX

1.Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

2.T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

3.Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

4.Robert Woods, WR, Buffalo Bills

5.Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Bell’s here because his price will reach another stratosphere this week. Yeldon’s one of the few things to like about Jacksonville and he could have a strong game facing the Texans so-so rushing defense. Coleman’s a threat in and out of the backfield facing the last-ranked Niners, and Woods is a sleeper with major potential against the Browns. Lockett’s another dark horse who’s cheap and could blow up when meeting a Rams squad that’s last in punt return yardage allowed.

Defense

1.Seattle

2.Buffalo

3.Houston

4.New England

5.Miami

We’ve known who the worst teams in the league are for some time and almost every D/ST pick in Week 15 and beyond will face either Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Jacksonville. The Patriots might seem like an odd choice – only No. 19 in fantasy with 78 points scored according to FantasyData.com – but with Denver fielding sub-par quarterbacks it’s easy to see the crucial conference matchup being a very low scoring affair.