Daily Fantasy Football December 16: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

The NFL could adapt MLB's 162-game schedule, and the fantasy landscape would still never settle into a safe zone of predictability. 

Whether expected, exciting or random, every week offers a new piece to the puzzle. Some developments vanish, but others grow stronger as the season reaches its final destination. These actionable trends will shake Week 15 decision-making for all DraftKings contestants.

In the highlighted cases, three streaking players can feed their hot streaks against weak opposition. The other three, however, must snap out of funks despite facing unfavorable circumstances.

Stock Up

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks ($7,000)

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Unless referring to the moon, up is an understatement here. Russell Wilson, who started the season costing $7,800, dropped to $5,600 two weeks ago. His historically amazing stretch has spiked his price all the way to $7,000, which still looks like a bargain.

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback is shattering his game-manager reputation, producing 16 touchdowns and 9.92 yards per pass attempt over the last four games. ESPN Stats & Info looked deeper into his incredible stint:

He's averaging 32.5 DraftKings points during this streak. Tom Brady, the season's top scorer, has only trumped that tally three times this season. A relative disappointment has suddenly climbed to No. 8 on DraftKings' quarterback leaderboard, and another huge game could vault Wilson ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.

He's on an otherworldly stretch of superb efficiency, which has translated into fantasy stardom without a healthy Marshawn Lynch to vulture his touchdowns. Anyone who rides his hot streak into Sunday will have company. At home against the Cleveland Browns, who have relinquished 8.1 yards per pass attempt and a 100.3 quarterback rating, it's still too tempting to pass up.  

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals ($5,700)

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The Arizona Cardinals should have turned to David Johnson a while ago. Before Chris Johnson suffered a season-ending fractured tibia, he averaged 2.9 yards per carry over the club's final four games.

In two starts, the younger Johnson has accumulated 243 total yards on 48 touches. While his 123 yards led to no end-zone visits against the Minnesota Vikings, the backfield of the league's top-ranked offense is prime real estate for scoring opportunities.

According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, Johnson's Week 14 performance netted the best grade for a Cardinals running back over the last two years. He's getting plenty of work on a team which has attempted the eighth-most rushes, and there's no reason for Arizona to cut back now.

The Philadelphia Eagles have given up 5.2 yards per carry and the second-most fantasy points through the last four weeks, per NFL.com. Unwilling to bestow everyone with a holiday bargain, DraftKings skyrocketed Johnson's price from $4,300 to $5,700. Even if he's no longer a steal, the new starter remains a solid value.

Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions ($5,500)

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

Early in the season, Golden Tate fulfilled preseason prophecies of getting lost in the shuffle behind a healthy Calvin Johnson. To little fanfare, however, the Detroit Lions wide receiver has quietly transformed back into point-per-reception gold. 

Over the last four games, Tate has collected 32 catches on 39 targets for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Although he's averaging a middling 8.9 yards per catch, his 76 receptions ties A.J. Green for No. 9 on the season's leaderboard.

His Week 15 adversary offers extra incentive to play Tate. The New Orleans Saints have coughed up 36 passing touchdowns on 8.5 yards per attempt. While they delivered their best game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the past dozen games speak more to their ineptitude. 

Despite the high volume, Tate has not exceeded 80 yards this season. Yet given a heavy workload and strong matchup, he's a safe, high-floor No. 3 receiver to utilize in cash contests for $5,500.

Stock Down

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers ($6,400)

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Ben Roethlisberger orchestrates football's most dangerous offense. He's averaging an NFL-high 332.1 passing yards per game, and only Carson Palmer has posted more yards per pass attempt. Entering Week 15, he has also compiled the fourth-most DraftKings points per game among quarterbacks:

Rank	Player	DK PPG
1	Tom Brady	26.0
2	Cam Newton	24.5
3	Carson Palmer	23.7
4	Ben Roethlisberger	22.8
5	Blake Bortles	22.4

He'd reside even higher on that list if not for gaining 15 touchdowns through nine games. On Sunday, he went scoreless for the second time, and he exited three of the other contests with exactly one passing touchdown.

A savvy fantasy player won't chase touchdowns, a volatile stat which fluctuates on a weekly basis. Yet it's not 100 percent pure luck. The Pittsburgh Steelers like to run near the goal line, as evidenced by NFLsavant.com. DeAngelo Williams and the injured Le'Veon Bell have combined to score eight touchdowns on 47 rushes inside the red zone, taking away precious opportunities for passing strikes.

Over the long haul, he'll be just fine. When the Steelers are rolling, they create too many scoring opportunities for this to hamper his stock. This Sunday, however, everyone is advised to stay away. Pittsburgh faces the Denver Broncos, who limit opponents to an NFL-low 188.2 passing yards per game. Only Seattle has relinquished fewer passing touchdowns (11) than Denver's 13.

While Roethlisberger faces football's stingiest defense, other elite quarterbacks will feast on weak prey. Along with Wilson's meeting with the Browns, Cam Newton gets the New York Giants, Palmer faces the Eagles and Brady combats the Tennessee Titans. 

Ronnie Hillman, RB, Denver Broncos ($4,300)

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

C.J. Anderson did not play against the Oakland Raiders, leaving Ronnie Hillman alone to face a defense ranked No. 20 in DraftKings points allowed to running backs. He turned 19 touches into 61 yards, recording 20 yards on his dozen rushes.

The Denver Broncos running back has tallied an underwhelming 3.9 yards per carry this season. His downside is immense, averaging 34.7 rushing yards in 10 games when he failed to reach 100. His upside has become impossible to project, as his big days are few and far between.

At $4,300, he remains priced in flex territory despite his ineffective running and inconsistent workload. With a prolific Peyton Manning under center the last three years, Denver was a golden spot for a starting running back. Now that Brock Osweiler has taken control of a No. 24-ranked offense, not so much.

Stay away from Denver's ground game this weekend against Pittsburgh, who has yielded the second-fewest DraftKings points to running backs but the 10th-most to quarterbacks. Jeremy Hill, another fantasy enigma, left last weekend with 16 rushing yards against the Steelers. Hillman is in jeopardy of delivering a similar dud.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs ($4,400)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Fantasy fiends will spend their final breaths touting Travis Kelce's potential of becoming the next Rob Gronkowski. He has the skills to morph into a star tight end, but the Kansas City Chiefs don't feature him enough to realize his destiny.

Already three targets away from matching last year's 87, he is gradually becoming a more active participant in Kansas City's safe offense. That progress, however, has stalled over the past two weeks, when he received little work against two bottom-10 passing defenses:

Week	OPP	REC	TAR	REC YD	TD
13	@ OAK	2	3	42	0
14	vs. SD	3	5	18	0

The Raiders are typically an opposing tight end's dream. According to NFL.com, they have surrendered a league-high 11 touchdowns to the position. Instead, Jeremy Maclin claimed both of Alex Smith's passing scores. Afforded 30 targets over the past three weeks, the wideout continues to steal Kelce's thunder in a unit not conducive to churning out several useful fantasy contributors.

Kelce now ranks No. 8 among tight ends in DraftKings scoring, a disappointing standing given his immense upside. After making little of two advantageous matchups, he faces a Baltimore Ravens defense which has submitted the second-fewest fantasy points to tight ends.

One day he might headline a second tier after Gronkowski, but he's currently another name among guys like Gary Barnidge and Benjamin Watson, who both have better matchups with more targets darted their way. 

Fantasy scoring data obtained from DraftKings.com unless otherwise noted.

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