1 week Ago By Maurice Moton
Most fantasy football leagues are in the playoffs or one week away. It's time to pull out all the tricks needed to win a title. Our Week 15 sleeper list has a little bit of everything: a high-risk, high-reward quarterback, two rookie running backs and new names at tight end.
Aside from that, fantasy managers should focus on an underrated game that could generate more scoring than expected because of dynamic quarterback play. As a result, secondary wide receivers in that contest could be solid WR2 options in point-per-reception leagues. Now locked into playoff mode, let's go through our Week 15 sleepers—all of which are available in more than 50 percent of leagues based on FantasyPros' consensus roster percentages .
DraftKings DFS Price: $5,500 Managers who can stomach the Jameis Winston quarterback roller coaster may get off the ride with a smile on their faces and a little bit of vomit on their shirts. If you start Winston, expect an interception or two, maybe even a pick-six, but hope that the volume in his passing yards and touchdown passes outweigh the negatives. Since the Browns named Winston their starter, he's finished 12th or better in fantasy scoring for four out of six weeks, including a first-place finish in Week 13 in which he threw for 497 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions with a pick-six.
In Week 15, Winston could rack up 300-plus yards through the air against the Kansas City Chiefs' 20th-ranked pass defense. Over the past four weeks, the Chiefs have allowed an average of 255.8 passing yards.
Also, Kansas City is tied for 12th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. So yes, Winston comes with risks, though starting him against a leaky pass defense could reap greater rewards. DraftKings DFS Price: $5,600 In eight starts, Drake Maye has finished within the top 10 in fantasy scoring among quarterbacks three times.
In five consecutive weeks, he's finished 17th or better in fantasy scoring among players at his position. The New England Patriots offense could operate smoothly with an extra week to prepare coming off a bye week. Moreover, the Patriots will face the Arizona Cardinals' 19th-ranked pass defense, which has allowed 205-plus yards in three consecutive games.
On top of the potential passing production, Maye can rack up yards on the ground. He's averaging 38.3 rushing yards per game.
In his last outing against the Indianapolis Colts, the rookie signal-caller rushed for 59 yards on five carries. The Cardinals have allowed five offensive touchdowns in their last two games. As a playmaker under center with his arm and legs, Maye could have a big day in the desert against a middling defensive unit.
DraftKings DFS Price: $5,100 The Jacksonville Jaguars have flirted with the idea of featuring Tank Bigsby over Travis Etienne through the first three months of the season. Last week, that notion became reality. In a win over the Tennessee Titans, Bigbsy handled the majority of touches on the ground, logging 18 carries or 55 yards and a touchdown.
Etienne only recorded four rush attempts for 20 yards but maintained his prominent role in the short passing game, hauling in all four of his receptions for 50 yards. With Mac Jones under center in place of Trevor Lawrence, who's on injured reserve, the Jaguars won't field an explosive offense. Rather than force Jones, who has below-average arm strength, to push the ball downfield, expect Jacksonville to attack the New York Jets' middling 16th-ranked run defense.
By the way, the Jets are tied with the Cleveland Browns in giving up the fourth-most rushing touchdowns. Gang Green has surrendered a rushing score to a running back in six of its last seven contests . Coming off an 18-carry game, Bigsby is the Jaguars running back to start against the Jets on Sunday.
DraftKings DFS Price: $5,000 Managers can consider a bigger sleeper option at running back in the matchup between the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. Isaiah Davis is more widely available than Tank Bigsby, and he's a bigger asset in PPR leagues. Last week, Jets starting running back Breece Hall didn't practice because of a knee injury and missed the game against the Miami Dolphins.
Hall has sat out of practice this week as well. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter , the team doesn't plan to shut him down for the season. Still, he could miss another game.
Without Hall, Braelon Allen and Davis almost evenly split the workload out of the backfield. Allen logged 11 carries for 43 yards, and Davis logged 10 rush attempts for 40 yards and a touchdown. Allen and Davis saw nearly the same number of targets as well.
Allen caught four of his five targets for 38 yards, and Davis hauled in three of his six targets for 27 yards. If you don't have Allen on your roster, pick up Davis in a matchup with the Jaguars' 24th-ranked run defense. Jacksonville allows the second-most fantasy points to running backs.
Both Jets rookie tailbacks could post RB2 numbers in PPR scoring formats. DraftKings DFS Price: $4,500 DeMario Douglas is similar to New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson. He's a volume-based asset in PPR leagues.
Douglas has at least four receptions in five consecutive games and racked up 50-plus receiving yards in three of his last four outings. He also leads the New England Patriots wideouts in targets (70). In Week 13, Douglas posted a modest stat line, catching four passes for just 20 yards, though it's worth noting that he battled an ankle injury that limited him at practices coming into that game.
Douglas may be closer to 100 percent after a bye week and able to eclipse the 50-yard mark and reach paydirt against the Arizona Cardinals' 18th-ranked pass defense. Douglas is on a different tier of receivers than Seattle Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but the latter had success against the Cardinals defense mostly out of the slot, catching 11 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns in two divisional matchups over the past three weeks. Primarily a slot wideout, Douglas could post respectable flex numbers.
DraftKings DFS Price: $4,400 Aside from two 100-plus-yard games, Arizona Cardinals rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. has underwhelmed this season. He'll likely draw attention from second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez, a budding defender allowing an impressive 56.
8 percent completion rate and a 71.8 passer rating in coverage. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray may have to look for his second wide receiver option in the passing game when he's not targeting tight end Trey McBride, who's limited at practice with a knee injury .
Michael Wilson is third on the team in targets, and he's racked up at least 54 receiving yards in three consecutive outings. Last week, Wilson recorded his fourth touchdown reception of the season. Averaging 12.
1 yards per catch, Wilson should be able to produce chunk plays in this contest. The Patriots are tied for sixth in net yards allowed per pass attempt. Wilson may only need a handful of targets to produce a solid stat line.
He's a WR3 or flex option with a high upside this week. DraftKings DFS Price: $2,800 Last week against the New Orleans Saints, Daniel Bellinger started in place of a rookie fourth-rounder Theo Johnson, who's on injured reserve. He played a season-high 78 percent of the offensive snaps .
In that game, Bellinger caught five passes for 45 yards, tying Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy Jr. to lead the team in receptions. Assuming Bellinger continues to start and play a big role in the Giants' aerial attack, he will have a favorable matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, who have allowed a tight end to score a touchdown in three of their last five games .
Furthermore, the Giants will likely play with a positive game script, trailing the Ravens for most of a lopsided contest. Oddsmakers via DraftKings have Baltimore favored by 16 points. If this game plays out as expected, Big Blue will need to be aggressive in throwing the ball downfield, which would mean plenty of targets for Bellinger.
Even with Tommy DeVito under center in place of Drew Lock (heel), Bellinger will have opportunities to rack up yards and reach paydirt. DraftKings DFS Price: $2,600 Last week, Will Dissly made our list of sleeper options, but unfortunately, he only played a half because of injury. According to Fox Sports insider Jordan Schultz , Dissly will miss "a couple of weeks" with a shoulder injury.
In Dissly's absence, Stone Smartt could establish himself as the Chargers' primary pass-catching tight end. He replaced Dissly in the second half of Los Angeles' game against the Kansas City Chiefs, hauling in all three of his targets for 54 yards. Like the Chiefs, which allow the third-most fantasy points to tight ends, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also struggle to cover players at the position.
Entering Week 15, the Buccaneers give up the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends. Wide receiver Ladd McConkey missed the Chargers' most recent game with shoulder and knee injuries. Though he's practiced with limitations , his status and workload for Week 15 remain uncertain.
The Chargers may have to lean on their tight ends to make plays in the passing game as they try to keep pace with Tampa Bay's fifth-ranked scoring offense. In a full-time starting role, Smartt could have a busy weekend against the Buccaneers. Eligibility restrictions apply.
See draftkings.com for details. Fantasy points scored against statistics are provided by FantasyPros.
Looking for more insight to prep for your draft or make some tough roster decisions? Check out all the latest B/R Fantasy Football essentials here . Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.
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