Week 15 Fantasy Football Projections: Top 100 Flex Players and Stat Predictions

Whether you're trying to finish your fantasy regular season strong or stay alive in the playoffs, your flex position can make or break your team. 

Fantasy owners are finding two things to be true as we approach the end of the season. The first is that for many, their quarterback situation is in serious flux. Multiple starters became injured in Week 14 or were already out for the season. 

The second fact is that many starting-caliber skill position players have also exited the season due to injury, making those players on your bench more important than ever.

Who knew that, for example, Philadelphia's Darren Sproles would outscore DeMarco Murray with 12.5 points in Week 14 or Seattle's Doug Baldwin would be the highest-scoring fantasy wideout with 32.20 points?

Let's break down the best flex plays for Week 15, with projected point totals rounded to the nearest half-point.  

Week 15: Top 100 Flex Projections 

Rank	Player	Projection
1	Julio Jones, ATL	22
2	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	21.5
3	Antonio Brown, PIT	21.5
4	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	20
5	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	20
6	Golden Tate, DET	19
7	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	18
8	A.J. Green, CIN	17.5
9	Michael Crabtree, OAK	17.5
10	Allen Robinson, JAC	17
11	Amari Cooper, OAK	16.5
12	Jarvis Landry, MIA	16.5
13	Brandon Marshall, NYJ	16
14	Danny Amendola, NE	15
15	Calvin Johnson, DET	15
16	Dez Bryant, DAL	15
17	Jeremy Maclin, KC	15
18	Stevie Johnson, SD	14.5
19	Eric Decker, NYJ	14.5
20	Martavis Bryant, PIT	14
21	Brandin Cooks, NO	14
22	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	14
23	Anquan Boldin, SF	14
24	Doug Baldwin, SEA	13.5
25	Kamar Aiken, BAL	13
26	Randall Cobb, GB	13
27	Mike Evans, TB	13
28	T.Y. Hilton, IND	13
29	DeSean Jackson, WAS	13
30	John Brown, ARI	13
31	Brandon LaFell, NE	13
32	Sammy Watkins, BUF	13
33	Michael Floyd, ARI	13
34	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	13
35	Travis Benjamin, CLE	12.5
36	Jordan Matthews, PHI	12
37	Marvin Jones, CIN	12
38	Davante Adams, GB	12
39	Ted Ginn Jr., CAR	11.5
40	Tavon Austin, STL	11

Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

Detroit's Golden Tate has quietly put together a very effective fantasy season, and if you handcuffed him with Calvin Johnson, in many weeks you've been more impressed with Tate's performance in your flex slot than Johnson's in your WR1 or WR2 slot.

That was certainly the case in Week 14 against the St. Louis Rams.

Tate was Matthew Stafford's favorite target on Sunday, catching nine passes on 10 targets for 60 yards and two touchdowns, which made him a good play in both standard and PPR leagues. 

His teammate Johnson, on the other hand, had an extremely disappointing outing on Sunday, as he was held in check by the Rams defense throughout the game. Johnson only managed 2.6 points in standard leagues on Sunday. 

Tate is not only a smart flex play for the playoffs, but he could even earn justification as a WR2 in some leagues.

The only question is how much he will score; although Tate has had at least 50 yards in every game since Week 8, he has only scored in two games through that period of time. 

In PPR leagues, Tate is a must-play for flex. In standard leagues, he's worth heavy consideration. 

Rank	Player	Stat Projections
1	Devonta Freeman, ATL	22
2	Adrian Peterson, MIN	20
3	DeAngelo Williams, PIT	19
4	LeSean McCoy, BUF	18
5	David Johnson, ARI	17
6	Doug Martin, TB	16
7	Javorius Allen, BAL	15.5
10	Todd Gurley, STL	15.5
9	Frank Gore, IND	15
10	Lamar Miller, MIA	15
11	T.J. Yeldon, JAC	15
12	Tim Hightower, NO	14.5
13	Matt Forte, CHI	14.5
14	Darren McFadden, DAL	14
15	Latavius Murray, OAK	14
16	Danny Woodhead, SD	13.5
17	Shaun Draughn, SF	13.5
18	Darren Sproles, PHI	13.5
19	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	13
20	Charcandrick West, KC	13
21	Eddie Lacy, GB	13
22	Jeremy Hill, CIN	12
23	Giovani Bernard, CIN	11.5
24	Chris Ivory, NYJ	11.5
24	LeGarrette Blount, NE	11
25	C.J. Spiller, NO	11
26	Melvin Gordon, SD	11
27	Bilal Powell, NYJ	10.5
28	Theo Riddick, DET	10.5
29	C.J. Anderson, DEN	10
30	Ryan Mathews, PHI	10
31	Ameer Abdullah, DET	10
32	Matt Jones, WAS	10
33	Jeremy Langford, CHI	9.5
34	Andre Ellington, ARI	9.5
35	Shane Vereen, NYG	9
36	Charles Sims, TB	9
37	Spencer Ware, KC	9
38	Duke Johnson Jr, CLE	8.5
39	Dexter McCluster, TEN	8
40	James Starks, GB	8

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Frank Victores/Associated Press

The Steelers are getting hot at exactly the right time as they make a late-season playoff push, and while Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown have got things covered through the air, DeAngelo Williams is providing the support on the ground. 

Williams was the fourth-highest scoring fantasy running back in Week 14, but given his average draft position, he is likely at least the third running back on many rosters. 

That makes him a perfect flex play in Week 15. 

Williams had 76 yards on 23 carries Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals run defense and found the end zone twice. This was just one week after Williams recorded the 21st 100-yard game of his career:

To say those who drafted Williams this year, or even acquired him on waivers, have set themselves up for success is an understatement. 

After a shaky middle of the season, the veteran has been remarkably productive in the final half, with four games of 70 yards or more since Week 8. If you have Williams on your roster, he's a must-play at the flex slot. 

Rank	Player	Stat Projections
1	Greg Olsen, CAR	16.5
2	Rob Gronkowski, NE	15
3	Jordan Reed, WAS	14
4	Delanie Walker, TEN	13
5	Jacob Tamme, ATL	12.5
6	Travis Kelce, KC	12
7	Heath Miller, PIT	12
8	Julius Thomas, JAC	12
9	Antonio Gates, SD	12
10	Zach Ertz, PHI	11.5
11	Tyler Eifert, CIN	11
12	Gary Barnidge, CLE	11
13	Benjamin Watson, NO	10.5
14	Richard Rodgers, GB	10
15	Jason Witten, DAL	10
16	Coby Fleener, IND	10
17	Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TB	9.5
18	Will Tye, NYG	9.5
19	Charles Clay, BUF	9
20	Zach Miller, CHI	9

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

George Bridges/Associated Press

Sorry, owners who picked up Scott Chandler on the waiver wire; Tom Brady's favorite weapon, Rob Gronkowski, is back in the lineup and ready to produce in the final few games of the season.

Gronkowski was reportedly only supposed to have a "limited role" in Sunday night's game against the Houston Texans, as FanDuel's Will Carroll reported, the end result was anything but. 

True, the tight end only had four receptions, but he gained 87 yards off them to match his jersey number and connected with Brady on a touchdown, as well. 

Of course, you may be asking yourself why anyone in his or her right mind would play Gronkowski in the flex slot.

But if you happened to pick up another well-performing tight end when Gronkowski was out injured (think Jacob Tamme or Zach Miller), playing two tight ends in Week 15 could be a good strategy, especially if your receiving or running back corps have been decimated by injuries. 

Scoring stats courtesy of Yahoo Sports.