In this article, we take a look at the list of games for Week 15 in an effort to give you options that we think can help you get the most out of your lineup. We are looking to maximize your lineup by giving you a few cheaper options that can help you to get your lineup loaded up in other areas.
We give consideration to the script of each of the games to determine how these games will likely play out. We also evaluate the play of the wide receivers and tight ends and how they will match up with the defenses they will face. We also look at players that are injured, or those coming back from injury. We then target plays that we like and a few that we don’t.
With the help of our defensive guru Aaron Rudnicki, let’s take a look at players that we both like and a few that we would avoid this week.
GOOD MATCHUPS
Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit @ New Orleans ($6,900)
Bischoff: The Detroit Lions face the leagues leakiest secondary (from a touchdown perspective) on Monday night on the road in New Orleans. The Saints have given up 36 touchdowns via the pass in 2015 and opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 114.2 versus this defense. Vegas likes this as one of the higher scoring games in Week 15, and when considering the Lions really have a hard time running the ball, it’s easy to see a script in which the Lions do their damage through the air. Also, the Saints are going to score points and push the Lions to do the same and I see this as a shootout.
Rudnicki: Johnson was shut down by the Rams tough defense last week, but he should find things much easier this week against the Saints. The game is on Monday night so he will get an extra day of rest, but a matchup with Brandon Browner should really help him get healthy.
John Brown, WR, Arizona @ Philadelphia ($4,900)
Bischoff: Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is having a tremendous season as the vertical threat in a very potent offense. This week the Cardinals draw a very poor Eagles secondary and Brown should be able to take advantage of this matchup. His cost is extremely palatable and he will have the opportunity to get to GPP value in Week 15.
Rudnicki: The Eagles gave up nearly 200 yards to the Bills outside receivers last week. They are weak at corner, and Brown should be able to get deep on Byron Maxwell who has been the main weak spot all year. Brown comes into the game with 4 strong games in a row and should be able to keep things going again here. Michael Floyd is also a strong option here. Larry Fitzgerald has had a lot of success against the Eagles, but he seems to be trending downward and the Eagles have been surprisingly tough against slot receivers.
Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami @ San Diego ($6,300)
Bischoff: The Chargers have done a very nice job of slowing down No. 1 outside receivers in 2015, but Landry plays out of the slot and he’ll have a tremendous advantage in this matchup. The Dolphins are using a short-throwing offense to move the chains and that is allowing Landry to flourish.
Rudnicki: The strength of the Chargers defense is their two outside corners, but the Dolphins passing game goes almost exclusively through their slot WR Landry. The injury to Brandon Flowers has left Craig Mager in that spot, which should give Landry a shot at another huge game.
Danny Amendola, WR, New England vs. Tennessee ($5,700)
Bischoff: The Patriots face a struggling Titans defensive unit at home in Week 15 and this matchup is very much in the Patriots favor. The Titans have been very bad recently against the pass and I’m expecting the Patriots to pass the ball at will this week. Amendola is primarily a short-to-intermediate route runner, and he’ll help to move the chains in the Patriots game-plan. The nice thing with Amendola is that he is remarkably efficient in converting targets to catches and in this full PPR scoring system, he is very valuable.
Rudnicki: In a quiet game against the Texans last week, Amendola still caught 6 of 8 targets. This week, he should get an opportunity for more targets as the Titans pass defense has coughed up 11 touchdowns over the past 3 games. Nickel corner Coty Sensabaugh is particularly vulnerable, so Amendola should be open often.
Jeremy Maclin, WR, Kansas City @ Baltimore ($5,500)
Bischoff: The Ravens have had a very hard time slowing down wide receivers in 2015 and that should continue in Week 15. Maclin comes to Baltimore on a bit of a hot streak and he looks to be working nicely with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. It’s tough to find a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver like Maclin with a matchup that has as much upside as this one, at this price. It’s easy to see a script in which Maclin gets to 20+ points in Week 15 and that means he should be in a bunch of lineups this week.
Rudnicki: The Ravens corners have had issues all year, but hit a new low point last week when they gave up 5 touchdowns to two Seahawks WRs. That should bode very well for Maclin this week as he was slowed down slightly by the Chargers last week, but has still been one of the hottest WRs in the league over the past 3 weeks.
Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago @ Minnesota ($7,300)
Bischoff: Jeffery is proving himself to be an elite option at the wide receiver position, even on a year in which he has dealt with injuries and what feels to be a weekly poor matchup. Defenses are having a hard time slowing him down, and the Vikings are no exception. What sounds like a tough matchup is really not as the Vikings are very limited in the back end of their defense due to injuries and Jeffery and Bears quarterback Jay Cutler should take advantage on the road in Week 15.
Rudnicki: The Vikings are banged up on defense and were missing four starters last week. They moved CB Terrence Newman to safety and inserted rookie Trae Waynes into the starting lineup. If Jeffery is matched up with Waynes or Xavier Rhodes, he should remain a very attractive target for Cutler. Although he’s only played 8 games this year, Jeffery has averaged nearly 7 catches for 100 yards and should be a very popular choice this week.
Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay @ Oakland ($6,300)
Bischoff: Packers head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling duties last week and he revived Cobb as he saw 12 targets from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Cobb saw more volume last week than he has since Week 9 and he looked very comfortable converting eight targets into catches for 81 yards. Cobb’s price is low for his floor and upside in this juicy matchup against the Raiders slot corner, and he should be Rodgers primary weapon in this game.
Rudnicki: The Broncos passing game couldn’t get going last week against the Raiders, but Demaryius Thomas still piled up 10 catches. This week, Cobb should be in line for a big game after posting 8 catches on Dallas last week. He works primarily out of the slot which should give him a great matchup against Neiko Thorpe or T.J. Carrie.
Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo @ Washington ($6,200)
Bischoff: Watkins is really showing the skills that got him selected as high as he was, and the Bills look to have found a rhythm in terms of getting him the ball down the field. He has tremendous upside on a weekly basis because he can generate giant plays down the field and he looks to be in a favorable situation in Week 15 against a secondary missing a piece or two. Watkins is another mid-priced receiver with really intriguing upside with a good matchup in Week 15.
Rudnicki: Washington is down one starting corner in Chris Culliver, so Watkins could be matched up primarily against rookie Quinton Dunbar who was recently promoted from the practice squad. Bashaud Breeland has played very well this year and may give him more trouble at times, but Watkins has been heating up with roughly 350 yards and 4 TDs over the last 3 games.
Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit @ New Orleans ($3,000)
Bischoff: Scroll up to see the report on Calving Johnson to get a feel for why Ebron should be in your lineup. The Saints are getting lit up via the pass, not to mention they have struggled tremendously versus tight ends in 2015. This matchup looks like a shootout and at his price; Ebron is a very good option in GPP play.
Rudnicki: The Saints have been the most generous defense in the league against TEs this year. Ebron has mostly been underwhelming this year, but his playing time has been on the upswing and he should have a very favorable matchup this week.
Richard Rodgers, TE, Green Bay @ Oakland ($4,300)
Bischoff: The Raiders are another defense that has a very hard time defending tight ends and this week the Packers come to town, and they look to be getting on a roll offensively. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has found Rodgers for six touchdowns over the past six games and this matchup could generate another score which makes Rodgers a very nice tight end option in either cash or GPP play in Week 15.
Rudnicki: The Raiders have also been very generous to opposing tight ends all year with 11 touchdowns allowed. That should make Rodgers a strong play this week, who had a tough matchup against the Cowboys last week but still found the end zone.
Ben Watson, TE, New Orleans vs. Detroit ($4,800)
Bischoff: The Detroit Lions have been shorthanded all year without linebacker DeAndre Levy to a hip injury. They don’t have enough athleticism out of their linebacker group to stay close in coverage with tight ends that run crossers and intermediate routes in the seam. Watson catches the Lions at a good time as he and quarterback Drew Brees look to have a nice thing going, and in this high scoring game, that should continue this week.
Rudnicki: The Lions have given up 10 touchdowns to opposing TEs this year, and 6 of them have come in the last 7 games. While their pass defense has shown signs of improvement thanks primarily to CB Darius Slay, the safeties are inconsistent and the linebackers have missed DeAndre Levy all year. Watson looks like a safe play with upside in what should be a high scoring Monday night game.
BAD MATCHUPS
Odell Beckham Jr, WR, New York Giants vs. Carolina ($9,200)
Bischoff: At a $9,200 price, you want a player with a tremendous amount of upside to mitigate the cost, but you’re not going to find that with Beckham this week. Panthers cornerback Josh Norman has been shutting down the best of the best, and this week he draws Beckham. However, Beckham is ridiculously talented and it is unrealistic to think that Beckham gets completely shut down. He could have a decent game, but he isn’t going off in this game and it’s best to fade this situation.
Rudnicki: Everybody just saw Beckham terrorize the Dolphins on Monday night, but he should find things much more difficult this week. Josh Norman can give up some catches at times and Beckham may be good enough to beat him, but there’s just not much upside here given the cost.
Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia vs. Arizona ($4,300)
Bischoff: The Cardinals have a great luxury that most other teams don’t have, and it’s all about the kind of play they get out of their slot cornerback, Tyrann Mathieu. He is a chess piece, the type of player that offenses have to scheme around. He’ll cover Matthews in Week 15 and it’s tough to see much happening here for Matthews.
Rudnicki: Matthews has a back problem which might prevent him from playing this week. Even if he does suit up, you’ll want to avoid him as the Cardinals boast one of the toughest matchups for slot receivers thanks to the play of Tyrann Mathieu.
Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans vs. Detroit ($5,900)
Bischoff: Lions cornerback Darius Slay started the season slowly, but since Week 9 the Lions changed the scheme on defense to allow for Slay to lock horns with the opposing No. 1 receivers and follow that player all over the field instead of playing sides where he stayed in his own side of the field. Since then, he has been fantastic, shutting down and limiting No. 1 types to virtually nothing from a production standpoint. I expect Slay to cover Cooks and that is an advantage that goes to Slay.
Rudnicki: Cooks had a strong game against the Panthers in week 13, but he couldn’t take advantage of a weak Tampa secondary last week. Now he figures to match up against Darius Slay quite often, who has quietly been playing shutdown defense.
Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas vs. New York Jets ($6,000)
Bischoff: Bryant is going to have a trio of issues to deal with this week, and one is sometimes enough to scare people away from rostering a player. First is the fact that he hasn’t looked the same after hurting his foot. Second is the dramatic difference in quarterback play with Cassel now starting, and third is the fact that he’ll draw Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis in this matchup. That trio is too much to deal with and Bryant should be faded.
Rudnicki: Bryant hasn’t been the same player since returning from injury, and the downgrade at QB from Romo to Cassel has not helped either. Now he figures to be matched up primarily with Darrelle Revis this week. While Revis hasn’t played up to expectations of late, he should still be good enough to limit Bryant’s opportunities.
Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh vs. Denver ($8,700)
Bischoff: The league’s best defense against the pass against one of the league’s most potent offenses and something’s gotta give…period. At the core here are Steelers wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, and on the other side, the players responsible for covering them in Chris Harris and Aqib Talib. There will be plays made on offense, and on defense, but there’s nothing that stands out here to make me think there is value in this matchup, and I’d advise for this game to be faded.
Rudnicki: This is going to be a very interesting matchup to watch as you have arguably the best passing game in the league going up against the best passing defense. Brown figures to be matched up against one of the very best corners in the league in Chris Harris, while Martavis Bryant will often line up opposite Aqib Talib. Both WRs will certainly be able to make some plays, but this is a week when it’s likely a good idea to avoid them in your lineups.
Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia vs. Arizona ($3,200)
Bischoff: This fits in with the write-up above on Jordan Matthews. The Cardinals have the personnel and scheme to be able to run with RB’s and TE’s in coverage and it limits the amount of production that tight ends get against the Cardinals.
Rudnicki: The Cardinals have some vulnerability to tight ends in recent weeks, but have generally defended the position well. With their deep group of safeties, they should be able to keep Ertz in check here. He had a strong game against the Bills last week, but was a non-factor in the two games prior.
Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City @ Baltimore ($4,400)
Bischoff: On paper, this looks like a very nice matchup for Kelce, but a closer look shows a Ravens team that actually has done a nice job on tight ends in 2015. If the Chiefs are to score via the pass, it’ll likely come from wide receivers and not their tight ends in this matchup.
Rudnicki: The Ravens have been terrible against WRs all year but have been very good against opposing TEs. Gary Barnidge had two good games against them, but that’s about it. Kelce hasn’t been able to take full advantage of good matchups this year, so it’s tough to count on him for much here.
