What is going everyone! Andrew Erickson here, hoping to help you on your DraftKings daily fantasy football lineups for Week 15 of the NFL season. I will be going through all the Sunday early and afternoon games, offering my expert analysis on which players to have in your lineups.
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants (FOX)
PHI -7.5 40.5
Carson Wentz, is out which means it is time for QB Nick Foles at $5,500 to take over the reigns for the Eagles. Foles is a nice play this week, as the Giants have allowed the second most fantasy points to the QB position over the last six weeks. However, my concern that it may be a blowout making the Eagles run the ball more in the second half. That is why I love RB Jay Ajayi at $5,000 in this spot. The Giants have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to the RB over the past six weeks. I fully expect Jay Ajayi to have high ownership percentage so if you want to break from the norm, start RB LeGarrette Blount at $4,100. Blount is a bigger back and the Eagles make actually lean him more in the second half than Ajayi. If you do decide to go with Foles stack him with TE Zach Ertz at $6,000 and WR Nelson Agholor at $4,400. The Giants have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to the WR and eighth most fantasy points to the TE over the past six weeks. Ertz is a great TE to target because he is coming off an injury and people may be off him with Wentz out. Agholor does not need tons of targets as he is the 21st ranked wide receiver despite the fact that out of the top 24 receivers he has the least amount of targets.
For the Giants, it is less than ideal. Eagles rank first over the past six weeks versus the QB, RB, and TE positons. Avoid Giants players today and start the Eagles D/ST at $3,600. Fire them up.
Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers (FOX)
CAR -3 47
QB Aaron Rodgers at $6,800 is the cheapest he will ever be at. Considering that the Panthers are 28th against the QB, 22nd against the RB, and 32nd against the WR, Rodgers is a must-play in DFS. Combining him with WR Jordy Nelson at $6,300 and WR Davante Adams at $6,800, could be the stack of the week. RB Jamaal Williams at $6,500 has a good matchup, but is pricey and with Rodgers back the Packers may not lean on the run as heavily.
On the Carolina side of the ball, have confidence in QB Cam Newton at $6,400. This game is going to be back and forth high scoring so I expect both QBs to finish with great stat lines. That being said stack Cam with WR Devin Funchess at $6,600 and RB Christian McCaffrey at $6,000. The Packers defense over the past four weeks have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to the QB and eighth most fantasy points to the WR. In terms of production allowed the pass-catching RBs, the Packers have been vulnerable. In the past four weeks, they have allowed the most receptions to the RB position. RB Johnathan Stewart at $4,100 is a trap! The matchup on paper looks great on DraftKings, but Stewart needs touchdowns to be relevant. The Packers have only allowed one rushing touchdown over the past four weeks.
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings (CBS)
MIN -11 42
Start your Vikings RBs this week. The Bengals players are a shell of themselves and this game has the makings of a blowout. The Bengals defense over the past six weeks has allowed the third most fantasy points to the RB. Both RB Jerrick McKinnon at $4,800 and RB Latavius Murray at $4,900 can be started. I do not think that the Bengals will be able to keep up in this game, which is why QB Case Keenum at $6,100 and his receivers are players I am not targeting.
For the Bengals, it is tough. RB Giovani Bernard at $5,300 is a volume play, but does not have the upside that I want in the matchup. However, I do think that the Bengals wide receivers have some sneaky value. The Vikings rank 15th versus the WR over the past six weeks, and with it being a negative game script, both WR A.J. Green at $6,500 and WR Brandon LaFell at $3,400 have some underlying value. Especially LaFell who could see a ton of targets with Xavier Rhodes locking up with Green.
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (CBS)
BUF -3 39
A game that will feature a lot of running plays, RB Kenyan Drake at $5,800 and RB LeSean McCoy at $8,400 are great options at the position. The Bills rank last versus RB over the past six weeks and the Dolphins rank second to last versus the RB. However after the RBs it is slim pickings for the other skill players. The Bills rank third versus the QB and WR over the past six weeks, making Smokin’ QB Jay Cutler at $4,800 and WR Jarvis Landry at $6,100 guys I am looking to avoid.
However, TE Charles Clay at $3,000 is a player that I would want to play. He is dirt cheap and has a lot of factors going in his favor. WR Jordan Matthews was put on IR, and QB Tyrod Taylor at $5,400 is starting. Taylor and Clay have great chemistry together, so for his price he is definitely worth being in a lineup. The Dolphins are also terrible the TE ranking 29th over the past six weeks. And to really convince the last time Clay played Miami at home? 8-82-2 stat line. Boom.
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS)
JAX -11 38
QB Blake Bortles at $5,700 is a great asset this week. The Texans rank 23rd versus the QB over the past six weeks and allow over two passing TDs per game when playing on the road so far this season. This bodes well for both Bortles and his receivers. WR Marqise Lee at $5,800, WR Dede Westbrook at $5,100, and WR Keelan Cole at $3,700. I like Cole and Westbrook in particular. They have more big-play upside. RB Leonard Fournette at $7,500 is also out, RB Chris Ivory at $4,300 is a nice volume play at a cheap price. The matchup is descent as the Texans have had a strong run defense overall but over the last two weeks have allowed the 10th most fantasy points to the position. TE Marcedes Lewis at $2,600 is also dirt cheap and the Texans have allowed most fantasy points to the TE over the past four weeks. With the TE being so bad anyway, I advise going cheap at the position, so if it does not work out (which is more often that not) you do not lose a lot of salary on the player.
For the Houston Texans, I am staying away from WR DeAndre Hopkims at $7,700. I just do not see him having a big game with his injury, the matchup, and QB T.J. Yates at $4,300 playing QB. Playing Jacksonville on the road eliminates all upside from Houston players, so I am looking elsewhere for sure.
New York Jets at New Orleans Saints (CBS)
NO -15.5 47.5
Who Dat!? Targeting RBs that are favored by double digits at home is always best practice. So yes, I am telling you what you already knew, start RB Alvin Kamara at $8,600. Kamara is slightly priced higher than RB Mark Ingram at $8,200, but chances are you can only afford one, so I would go Kamara. QB Drew Brees has a great matchup, but I am not sure that the Jets will keep pace to keep him from just ending up handing the ball off. That being said I still do like WR Michael Thomas at $7,400 to do enough damage versus the Jets defense that has allowed the most fantasy points to the QB and the fifth most fantasy points to the WR over the past six weeks. WR Ted Ginn Jr. at $5,000 is a out in the game so I am targeting WR TommyLee Lewis at $3,000 as his big play replacement.
For the Jets QB Bryce Petty at $4,600 is getting the start, which means that all the targets will be going to WR Robby Anderson at $5,600. I think that Anderson will be extremely undervalued this week because of Petty starting but that should not be the case. They had great chemistry last year in garbage time games, and this game looks to have PLENTLY of garbage time. The Saints also over the past six weeks rank 16th versus the WR.
Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins (FOX)
WAS -4 41
QB Kirk Cousins at $6,000 will have a top-8 performance this week. Cousins at home this season averages more than 25 fantasy points per game. The Cardinals secondary has not been great on the road this season either allowing on average 1.8 touchdowns. Cousins will have a low ownership percentage for sure, but I think he can impress especially being at home. Stack him with WR Jamison Crowder at $5,600 and TE Vernon Davis at $3,900.
For Arizona, there are a ton of options. The Redskins are weak versus the TE so I like TE Ricky Seals-Jones at $3,000 and WR J.J. Nelson at $3,100 is another interesting target. The Redskins have been suspect versus the deep ball and rank 24th versus the WR over the past six weeks. RB Kerwynn Williams at $4,000, is a descent option but is limited because he is not used in the passing game.
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns (CBS)
BAL -7 41
A game that does not feature much firepower, there are only a few players I am targeting. RB Alex Collins at $5,000 is a steal and WR Mike Wallace at $4,700 is another great option for a high upside play. TE Ben Watson at $3,800 is a little more expensive, than other cheap TEs, but considering the Browns have struggled against the TE, he is worth throwing into lineups. The Browns over the past six weeks rank 25th versus QB, 25th versus RB, 21st versus WR, and 21st versus TE.
For the Browns, it is all about WR Josh Gordon at $6,800 who will be heavily owned, but it is worth mentioning to not forgot about WR Corey Coleman at $4,400. Ever since CB Jimmy Smith left the Ravens with his injuries the Ravens have allowed the eighth most fantasy points to the WR position.
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (FOX)
SEA -2.5 47.5
A high scoring affair in the making both QBs seem to be in play, but the numbers say differently. Over the past six weeks the Seahawks rank eighth versus the QB and the Rams rank 12th versus the QB. QB Russell Wilson at $7,300 and QB Jared Goff at $6,200 may not be worth their prices. However, there are some nice players that you should be targeting. For RBs, RB Todd Gurley at $8,300 struggled versus Seattle in his first game and over his last three games has yet to surpass 51 yards on the ground. I would rather pay up for other RBs this week. RB Mike Davis at $4,000 is great cheap option at RB versus the LA Rams defense that is very suspect to the ground game.
For WRs, Seattle has been roasted lately ranking 24th versus the position over the past six weeks. The best bet for me is WR Cooper Kupp at $6,200. TE Jimmy Graham at $4,900 is also cheap with a great matchup versus the Rams that have rank 27th versus the TE over the past six weeks.
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers (CBS)
NE -3 54
My favorite game for offensive points. For the Steelers, QB Ben Roethlisberger at $6,700, RB Le’Veon Bell at $9,300 and WR Martavis Bryant at $4,300. The Patriots will do their best to contain WR Antonio Brown, but that will most likely result in a bigger game for Bell in my opinion.
For the Patriots side, I expect big things from QB Tom Brady at $7,600, along with TE Rob Gronkowski at $7,300 who the Patriots missed last week. WR Chris Hogan at $5,500 is missing the game, so I like WR Brandin Cooks at $7,100 to step up this week.