Week 15 Fantasy Football Studs
Much like a high seed playing a low seed in the fantasy playoffs, the NFL schedule in Week 15 featured a lot of matchups where one of the teams was simply overmatched. The Rams, Vikings, and Jaguars must notably took care of business on the gridiron. Let’s see which players filled up the stat sheets in Week 15 to help bury your fantasy competition.
Editor’s Note: Get the full breakdown on today’s podcast, and read up on the Week 15 Duds.
Quarterback
Cam Newton vs GB
242 passing yards, 4 TDs, 58 rushing yards
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to come back and give the Packers the final push they needed to sneak into the playoffs. Cam Newton had other plans.
Nick Foles @ NYG
237 passing yards, 4 TDs
24 for 38 passing with no turnovers is very reminiscent of what Foles managed in the 2013 season. He’s not someone to get excited about it fantasy, but I promise you that the Eagles are very excited that they have a capable backup.
Eli Manning vs PHI
434 passing yards, 3 TDs, INT
The Giants must fix this offensive line in the offseason. They kept Eli upright, for the most part, considering he dropped back 57 times. But this cannot and should not be their gameplan going forward.
Al Bello/ Staff
Blake Bortles vs HOU
326 passing yards, 3 TDs
No Robinson. No Hurns. No Lee. No Fournette. No matter, Bortles and what was left of the Jaguars offense just obliterated the Texans.
Brock Osweiler @ IND
194 passing yards, 2 TDs, 17 rushing yards, TD
Okay, so… don’t laugh… but Osweiler looked competent on Thursday night. He certainly looked better as a passer than he did on what must have been the world record for the slowest 18-yard TD run.
Aaron Rodgers @ CAR
290 passing yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 43 rushing yards
The rust showed with Rodgers, as evidenced by the 3 interceptions. Though he didn’t look timid in his first game back after having surgery to repair a broken collarbone. A few errant throws aside, he’s back.
Running Backs
Todd Gurley @ SEA
21 carries, 152 rushing yards, 3 TDs, 3 receptions, 28 receiving yards, TD
Gurley had 1.875 fantasy points per offensive opportunity in this game (targets+carries). That is simply next level. Unless you were playing against a roster that was stacked with other players from this article, you are probably advancing in your tournament.
Kareem Hunt vs LAC
24 carries, 155 rushing yards, TD, 7 receptions, 51 receiving yards, TD
Hunt is looking to finish the season the way he started it: on fire. 206 total yards and a couple scores will surely earn Hunt forgiveness for his mid-season slump.
Mark Ingram vs NYJ
12 carries, 74 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 5 receptions, 77 receiving yards
17 touches are all Mark Ingram needs to be an absolute beast. Payton’s doghouse or not, he’s taking his fantasy owners to the penthouse.
Melvin Gordon @ KC
19 carries, 78 rushing yards, TD, 6 receptions, 91 receiving yards
Perhaps the biggest improvement in Melvin Gordon’s game as a pro is his work in the receiving game. He put all of his skills on display against the division rival Chiefs, but it wasn’t enough.
Peter Aiken/ Stringer
Le’Veon Bell vs NE
24 carries, 117 rushing yards, TD, 5 receptions, 48 receiving yards
2018 1.01.
LeSean McCoy vs MIA
20 carries, 50 rushing yards, TD, 4 receptions, 46 receiving yards, TD
This was the perfect slippery fish game. High volume where he regularly has to make something out of nothing. He also chipped in one of his signature “season ending injuries” where he looks like he’s headed for a hospital but ends up in the studs column anyway.
Christian McCaffrey vs GB
12 carries, 63 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 73 receiving yards, TD
CMC is just 15 receptions away from matching Reggie Bush‘s record for a rookie RB. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he gets there. Who said Cam Newton will never throw to the RB?
Kenyan Drake @ BUF
16 carries, 78 rushing yards, TD, 6 receptions, 35 receiving yards
Kenyan Drake is going to get my vote for the waiver wire pickup of the year. Especially considering how late in the season owners were able to scoop him up. Reinforcements aren’t supposed to be available that late in the season. He’s been amazing.
Alvin Kamara vs NYJ
12 carries, 44 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 45 receiving yards, TD
I know that there are those of you reading this that are excited to see what Kamara can do with a backfield all to himself, but I, for one, hope that Ingram returns to the Saints in 2018. This duo is dynamic together.
Jerick McKinnon vs CIN
9 carries, 24 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 114 receiving yards
This is when McKinnon is in his element. A change of pace back that gets the ball in space.
Latavius Murray vs CIN
20 carries, 76 rushing yards, TD, 1 reception, 28 receiving yards
And this is what Murray should be at this point in his career. A thumper that can help to ice a victory for his team.
C.J. Anderson @ IND
30 carries, 158 rushing yards
It is both exciting and surprising that the Broncos finally gave Anderson a full complement of touches. For those of us in PPR leagues, a few receptions would’ve been nice, though nobody is complaining when their RB gets 30 carries.
Dion Lewis @ PIT
13 carries, 67 rushing yards, TD, 1 reception, 13 receiving yards
I wonder why the Patriots even bothered bringing in Gillislee and Burkhead if they were just going to give the work to Dion Lewis.
Wide Receivers
Keelan Cole vs HOU
7 receptions, 186 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
I want to be excited about Cole, I really do. But I’m also aware that this performance required injuries to the Jaguars first, second and third WRs, combined with a matchup against the most generous defense in the league.
Don Juan Moore/ Contributor
Sterling Shepard vs PHI
11 receptions, 139 receiving yards, TD, 16 targets
As we start to peek ahead at 2018, the pass catchers for the Giants are looking like a solid group with Beckham, Shepard, and Engram.
Jaydon Mickens vs HOU
4 receptions, 61 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 5 targets
Jaydon Mickens is 5’11 170 lbs. Not exactly the type of guy you expect to be the weapon he was in the red zone.
Tavarres King vs PHI
2 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 2 TDs
Playing an NFL game, catching 2 passes and not getting tackled looks pretty good on the stat sheets, but is just silliness at the end of the day.
Michael Thomas vs NYJ
9 receptions, 93 receiving yards, TD, 11 targets
Double-digit targets with 90-something yards is the quintessential Michael Thomas fantasy day. He did score this time though, which was a nice touch.
Rishard Matthews @ SF
6 receptions, 95 receiving yards, TD, 8 targets
If you had to gamble on a Titans WR in your fantasy semi-final matchup, and your roulette wheel landed on Matthews, congrats.
Marquise Goodwin vs TEN
10 receptions, 114 receiving yards, 13 targets
Marquise Greatwin has become much more than just a speedster. He has some magic working with Garoppolo as he now has at least 99 receiving yards in all three of Garoppolo’s starts.
Randall Cobb @ CAR
7 receptions, 84 receiving yards, TD, 14 targets
Rodgers’ return to the lineup resurrected Randall Cobb.
Davante Adams @ CAR
5 receptions, 57 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
Adams was on the receiving end of another monster hit. His status is now “week to week”. You need to have another option ready for Week 16.
Tyreek Hill vs LAC
5 receptions, 88 receiving yards, TD, 6 targets
The Chargers are usually a tough matchup for opposing WRs, but Tyreek the Freak isn’t your average WR.
DeAndre Hopkins @ JAX
4 receptions, 80 receiving yards, TD, 13 targets
It goes to show how great Jalen Ramsey is when you see how upset he was that he allowed 4 receptions on 13 TARGETS.
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski @ PIT
9 receptions, 168 receiving yards, 13 targets, 2 pt conv
TEs don’t have 168 receiving yards. They just don’t.
Justin Berl/Getty Images
Greg Olsen vs GB
9 receptions, 116 receiving yards, TD, 12 targets
I guess his foot is fine. It is worth noting that the Panthers WRs all seemed to leave the game at one point or another with shoulder injuries. Perhaps that had something to do with Olsen’s outburst.
Richard Rodgers @ CAR
4 receptions, 77 receiving yards, TD, 4 targets
This didn’t help anyone, except that one diehard Packers fan in a DFS lineup.
Benjamin Watson @ CLE
4 receptions, 74 receiving yards, TD, 4 targets
If you had to start Watson in your fantasy playoffs, I don’t know if that makes you lucky or unlucky.
Zach Ertz @ NYG
6 receptions, 56 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
It was a slow day at the office for Ertz.
Evan Engram vs PHI
8 receptions, 87 receiving yards, 13 targets
When you saw that Eli had 57 pass attempts, you knew Engram got his.
Eric Ebron vs CHI
5 receptions, 33 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
Ebron has re-emerged over the last couple weeks but it will take some intestinal fortitude to start him in Week 16.
Delanie Walker @ SF
5 receptions, 37 receiving yards, TD, 10 targets
I had to check these stats. It just seemed like he should’ve had way more than 37 receiving yards.
Maybe that’s just me.
Kickers
Robbie Gould vs TEN
6/6 FGs, 1 XP
Gould has been gold for the 49ers.
I know, I’m sorry. I’ll just see myself out.
Honorable Mentions
Tyrod Taylor vs MIA
224 passing yards, TD, 42 rushing yards, TD
Joe Flacco @ CLE
288 passing yards, TD, 1 rushing TD
Case Keenum vs CIN
236 passing yards, 2 TDs, 20 rushing yards
Jimmy Garoppolo vs TEN
381 passing yards, TD, 1 reception, -6 receiving yards
Robert Woods @ SEA
6 receptions, 45 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
Nelson Agholor @ NYG
7 receptions, 59 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
Jarvis Landry @ BUF
10 receptions, 99 receiving yards, 13 targets
Brandin Cooks @ PIT
4 receptions, 60 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
Juju Smith-Schuster vs NE
6 receptions, 114 receiving yards, 6 targets