NFL1000: Ranking the Top 1,000 Players from Week 15

The bill came due for a few quarterbacks in Week 15.    

Houston's Brock Osweiler, whose four-year, $72 million contract with $37 million guaranteed already looks like one of the worst contracts in NFL history, was benched in the second quarter of the Texans' 21-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Osweiler has been an unmitigated disaster through most of his first season in Houston—missing reads, throwing horribly inaccurate passes and balking under pressure—and head coach Bill O'Brien finally had enough, replacing him with erstwhile backup Tom Savage. Savage proved to be the better option, completing 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards, while Osweiler threw two picks and just six completions.

Both of Osweiler's picks exposed a fatal flaw. The first was a high throw to rookie receiver Will Fuller V that he couldn’t bring in, and the ball floated into the arms of cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The second came on the next Texans drive when Osweiler ran to evade pressure and made a staggeringly bad read, throwing the ball in the direction of DeAndre Hopkins while failing to note that linebacker Telvin Smith was in intermediate coverage, ready to jump the route.

These are mistakes that would get a rookie benched, and Osweiler's been making different iterations of these errors throughout the season.

O'Brien has a tough series of decisions to make through the end of this season into 2017. Osweiler clearly lacks the tools to be a credible starting quarterback at this time, but his contract ties him to the team for at least next season. According to Over the Cap, cutting Osweiler before the 2018 league year would create a huge crater of dead salary-cap money—$25 million in 2017 alone.

Sadly, if Osweiler's not able to improve in that time, eating that much money may be the preferable alternative to putting him on the field. This season, the 8-6 Texans need to go with Savage as they continue to compete in the AFC South. Their expensive starter isn't at all ready for prime time.

Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles' continuing inefficiency had a starker price after the loss to Houston—the firing of head coach Gus Bradley. Bortles completed a mere 12 passes in 28 attempts for 92 yards and an interception, continuing the marked regression that he's experienced through the 2016 season. Like Osweiler, Bortles has crumbled in the face of increased expectations and has often proved to be ill-suited for the pressures of his position at this level.

Meanwhile, in Denver, the Patriots came to town in a rematch of the 2015 AFC title game. The Broncos offense wasn't ready. Yes, New England's defense has been more aggressive and efficient of late, but putting up three points at home in a key conference game is not good. NFL.com's Michael Silver adroitly detailed the frustrations of Denver's defense, which boiled over after this loss. It's tough to blame the "No-Fly Zone" for lobbing missiles at its offense.

Quarterback Trevor Siemian wasn't entirely at fault, though his own production has diminished at times this season—he completed 25 of 40 passes for 282 yards. But the conservative nature of head coach Gary Kubiak's play-calling, Siemian's own (at times) regrettable decisions and the offensive line's inability to protect and open lanes have sent the defending Super Bowl champs to third in the AFC West. The Broncos are on the outside looking in for another playoff run at 8-6.

Siemian is not yet the kind of player capable of transcending the limitations of the offense around him. As much as he adds to those limitations, he looks like an albatross at times.

Three stories that prove the same insurmountable edict: If you don’t have a real quarterback in today's NFL, you're in trouble over the long haul.

Part of Bleacher Report's NFL1000 player rating methodology that matters is the ability to look at our grades from week to week (as you, dear reader, can) and suss out which patterns are turning into trends and which are flukes in the relatively small sample size of an NFL season.

There are many ways to dissect and learn from what the NFL presents on the field every week, and the NFL1000 goes as deep as any to tell you just what's going on.

With a 17-person crew of experienced evaluators, we'll comb through the game tape each week to bring you concise, clear evaluations of every player in the NFL. We'll tell you which rookies are rising and which undrafted players are coming out of nowhere to make an impact. We'll tell you which players are rising and falling in performance and why.

There is no predetermined narrative with these grades. No mysterious clutch factor. No tweaked-out quarterback ratings that defy explanation. Our grades are based on pure scouting—and lots of it. We grade the key criteria for each position based on a series of attributes and add in a score for positional importance.

In the case of a tie, our scouts ask, "Which player would I want on my team?" and adjust accordingly.

Is it a subjective process? Of course—that's what scouting is, and as we like to say, ties are no fun.

Each player is evaluated and graded by our crack team of scouts, who possess more than 100 combined years of experience in playing, front-office work, coaching and media. Cian Fahey, John Middlekauff, Alex Kirby, Mark Schofield, Duke Manyweather, Ethan Young, Joe Goodberry, Justis Mosqueda, Charles McDonald, Zach Kruse, Derrik Klassen, Jerod Brown, Ian Wharton, Kyle Posey, Mark Bullock, Chuck Zodda and Doug Farrar have watched tape for months to bring you these grades, and we'll be bringing you player grades based on the game action every week.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 15 of the 2016 NFL season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Methodology

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

The NFL1000 team of scouts uses a series of important attributes to grade for every player in their positional reviews. Using a grading scale starting at zero and going up to anywhere from five to 50 based on the position and the attribute, our scouts grade each player every week based on their own expertise and countless hours of tape review over the years. 

• Doug Farrar: Lead scout
• Cian Fahey: Quarterbacks
• John Middlekauff: Running backs/fullbacks
• Marcus Mosher: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Mark Schofield: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Duke Manyweather: Offensive tackles
• Ethan Young: Offensive guards/centers
• Joe Goodberry: AFC defensive ends
• Justis Mosqueda: NFC defensive ends
• Charles McDonald: Defensive tackles
• Zach Kruse: 3-4 outside linebackers
• Derrik Klassen: 4-3 outside linebackers
• Jerod Brown: Inside linebackers
• Kyle Posey: Cornerbacks
• Ian Wharton: Cornerbacks
• Mark Bullock: Safeties
• Chuck Zodda: Special teams

We observe and grade every NFL player with snaps in offensive and defensive roles based on a multitiered process that marks specific attributes per position. As we're combing through All-22 footage to assess each performance, there are additional factors we consider.

We adjust for opponent based on the obvious notion that the cornerback we're grading is doing a better job if he's shutting down Antonio Brown than if he's negating the efforts of a seventh-round rookie receiver.

We also adjust for players with multiple responsibilities in the course of a game and over the course of time. Think of guys like Mike Daniels and Michael Bennett on the defensive line—how they seamlessly switch from gap to gap. Or how cornerbacks such as Chris Harris Jr. and Tyrann Mathieu dominate outside and in the slot. Or how receivers such as Doug Baldwin and Larry Fitzgerald bedevil those cornerbacks from multiple field positions.

That's more important than ever in today's NFL, and we pay attention to it.

We do not adjust for injuries. If a player is underperforming because of an injury, that's part of his performance, fair or unfair, and we need to grade him accordingly.

Grading any player is a subjective process, but with a series of attributes per position and a specific direction as to what to grade and how, we make it as definitive as possible.

Top 50 Overall from Week 15

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is tied with Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Carson Palmer at the top of this week's NFL1000 rankings, with Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers just behind.

It's been an up-and-down year for Palmer—last month, I wrote about how the long pass had become a thing of the past in head coach Bruce Arians' formerly explosive offense—but Palmer looked his old self in a 48-41 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

He completed 28 of 40 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. Two of those passes were over 20 yards in six attempts for one of those scores—a beautiful fourth-quarter deep-boundary throw to John Brown under serious pressure. Palmer was actually propelled off the ground by that pressure when he made the throw, and it was dead-on. At 5-8-1, the Cardinals are pretty much out of the playoff race, but there's a bit more positivity around Palmer's assertion he expects to play in 2017—if he keeps making throws like that.

Luck, on the other hand, continues to transcend the efforts of those around him. Colts general manager Ryan Grigson has essentially built a real-life fantasy team—a great quarterback, a few flexible contributing skill players and a worrisome lack of attention to the fundamentals that make great teams go.

In a 34-6 thrashing of the Vikings, only rookie center Ryan Kelly was able to keep Luck clean. It's been up to Luck all season to make big plays even when things are collapsing around him.

Indy's line was a bit better than expected at times, but that could also have a bit to do with a Minnesota defense that has regressed severely in the last few weeks. Without Luck at the controls, the Colts wouldn’t be anywhere near their 7-7 record. The good news is Kelly has become one of the league's best centers in a short time—he's fifth at his position this week.

When discussing Rodgers' recent uptick in efficiency, it's important to mention the positive effect Green Bay's protection has had. A liability a few years back, the Packers offensive line is now a clear strength. Tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga are among this week's highest-rated players at their positions, something that's happened a lot this season.

Bakhtiari didn’t allow a single pressure in 61 snaps against the Chicago Bears in Week 15, and he's ranked behind only Trent Williams among left tackles. Bulaga allowed three quarterback hurries, but he and Bakhtiari helped Green Bay's rushing attack put up 226 total yards against Chicago, including Ty Montgomery’s 162 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

Speaking of offensive linemen defining the efforts of those around them...

After a bit of a slow start in September, when he was adjusting to Atlanta's quick zone-blocking scheme, former Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack has been on quite a tear. The now four-time Pro Bowler has mixed power, alignment and agility in a compelling combination that has him among the best at his position once again.

In the Falcons' 41-13 beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Mack—who hasn’t allowed a single pressure in two weeks and hasn't allowed a sack since Week 6—was at his best in all aspects. He allowed his guards to pull with no concerns because he was so good at taking out the nose tackle—he would often jump a gap to block ends. On Devonta Freeman's second-quarter touchdown run, Mack owned 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite from start to finish.    

Mack started the play by chipping nose tackle Glenn Dorsey and then hit the second level to deal with Wilhoite. As Freeman worked his way to the right of the offensive line, Mack blocked the linebacker all the way out of the picture. As the 9-5 Falcons continue their run to the postseason, Mack remains as important to their offense as anyone. The decision to sign him to a five-year, $47.5 million deal in the offseason was yet another strong move by a front office that also wildly succeeded in the 2016 draft hitting on picks like Deion Jones and Keanu Neal.

When things get fractious in the postseason, a quality offensive line—often led by one or two tent-post players—can make all the difference. The Packers have lost seven playoff games in Mike McCarthy's tenure as head coach, and five of those losses have come on the last play. Perhaps this year's line can propel Rodgers and Co. to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2010.

Top 50 Overall from Week 15

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	NFL1000 Score	LW	Moving
1	Andrew Luck	QB	IND	86	348	↑
2	Carson Palmer	QB	ARI	86	417	↑
3	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB	85	1	↓
4	Jadeveon Clowney	3-4 OLB	HOU	83	42	↑
5	Trent Williams	LT	WAS	82	7	↑
6	Cam Newton	QB	CAR	82	21	↑
7	Chris Boswell	K	PIT	82	343	↑
8	Keanu Neal	SS	ATL	81	89	↑
9	David Bakhtiari	LT	GB	81	22	↑
10	Ndamukong Suh	DT	MIA	80	16	↑
11	LeSean McCoy	RB	BUF	80	141	↑
12	Jason Peters	LT	PHI	80	27	↑
13	Ryan Mathews	RB	PHI	79	137	↑
14	Bryan Bulaga	RT	GB	79	12	↓
15	Aaron Donald	DT	LA	79	119	↑
16	Devonta Freeman	RB	ATL	79	559	↑
17	Tyron Smith	LT	DAL	79	5	↓
18	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	DAL	79	67	↑
19	Melvin Ingram	3-4 OLB	SD	79	60	↑
20	Ron Parker	FS	KC	79	331	↑
21	Travis Frederick	C	DAL	78	36	↑
22	Devin McCourty	FS	NE	78	333	↑
23	Josh Sitton	OG	CHI	78	30	↑
24	Drew Brees	QB	NO	78	627	↑
25	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	78	2	↓
26	Joe Thomas	LT	CLE	78	9	↓
27	Mike Adams	SS	IND	78	618	↑
28	Mitchell Schwartz	RT	KC	77.5	29	↑
29	Jake Matthews	LT	ATL	77	57	↑
30	DeMarco Murray	RB	TEN	77	53	↑
31	Brandin Cooks	WR	NO	77	360	↑
32	Tony Jefferson	SS	ARI	77	226	↑
33	Andy Levitre	OG	ATL	77	200	↑
34	Golden Tate	WR	DET	77	427	↑
35	Colin Kaepernick	QB	SF	77	491	↑
36	Ryan Shazier	ILB	PIT	77	122	↑
37	Ty Montgomery	RB	GB	77	140	↑
38	Mike Tolbert	FB	CAR	77	234	↑
39	Donald Penn	LT	OAK	77	39	↔
40	Marcus Gilbert	RT	PIT	77	25	↓
41	Keith Tandy	SS	TB	77	14	↓
42	Alex Mack	C	ATL	77	381	↑
43	Matt Bryant	K	ATL	77	342	↑
44	Jerraud Powers	CB	BAL	76	1,040	↑
45	Khalil Mack	4-3 DE	OAK	76	114	↑
46	Telvin Smith	4-3 OLB	JAX	76	531	↑
47	Paul Posluszny	ILB	JAX	76	272	↑
48	Kyle Juszczyk	FB	BAL	76	38	↓
49	Stephon Gilmore	CB	BUF	76	172	↑
50	Drew Kaser	P	SD	76	1,016	↑

Quarterbacks

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

There was strong competition to be the top quarterback in the NFL this week. Each of Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton would have been worthy winners. 

Luck cut apart a Vikings defense that surprisingly struggled to match up with the Indy offense. The Colts offensive line gave Luck more time and space in the pocket than he would have anticipated. When it did give up pressure, Luck consistently created big plays.

He had one long touchdown to Phillip Dorsett that showed off his arm strength, but the highlight of the day was his touchdown pass to Erik Swoope. Luck found the tight end despite his protection failing quickly. He released the ball as defenders came from both sides, throwing Swoope open as he ran behind linebacker Chad Greenway. The throw was phenomenal, but his read and the quick process to get the ball out cleanly were even better.

Some have seen Palmer as a problem in Arizona this year. That has rarely been the case. Palmer has played behind an offensive line decimated by injuries and ineffectiveness while his receivers have continually dropped accurate passes.

Michael Floyd's release may have been a reflection on how poorly he had played this year than anything else. His inability to catch the ball was replaced by J.J. Nelson's inability to do so. Palmer repeatedly hit Nelson with precision throws into tight coverage or throwing him open despite facing heavy pressure in the pocket.

Nelson flat-out dropped some and failed to make receptions he should have made on others. Palmer's highlight play of the game came when he evaded multiple defenders to hit David Johnson on the back shoulder downfield. It was one of many great plays.

The narrative on Rodgers has turned. He is now back in the MVP conversation despite taking the brunt of the blame for the Packers' early struggles this season. The difference for Rodgers has been simple: His receivers have returned to competence.

Wide receiver Davante Adams still managed to drop two perfect touchdown throws on vertical routes from Rodgers against the Bears, but Jordy Nelson and Jared Cook caught most of the balls that went their way. Rodgers' movement in the pocket and his precision pushing the ball deep downfield were the difference between winning and losing.

On Monday night, Carolina Panthers signal-caller Cam Newton showed off his ability as a passer. His receivers didn't help him much, nor did his pass protection. Kelvin Benjamin continues to be a liability with his route running, and his general performance and Ted Ginn Jr.'s drops continue to show up at inopportune times. Ginn had one huge drop on a perfect bomb from Newton, whereas Benjamin almost caused an interception by not running through his slant route after the initial release.

Newton didn't do much of anything as a runner, but the play designs the Panthers used hinged on his threat as one to set Jonathan Stewart up for bigger gains.

Grading Scale

Acc: Accuracy (Graded out of 25)

Arm: Arm Strength (Graded out of 25)

Press: Pressure/Run Threat (Graded out of 20) (Pressure weighted at 15, run threat at 5)

Dec: Decision-Making (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Quarterback Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Acc	Arm	Press	Dec	Pos	Ovr
1	Andrew Luck	IND	22	24	15	15	10	86
2	Carson Palmer	ARI	22	23	17	14	10	86
3	Aaron Rodgers	GB	23	24	14	14	10	85
4	Cam Newton	CAR	20	24	13	15	10	82
5	Drew Brees	NO	19	20	15	14	10	78
6	Colin Kaepernick	SF	17	21	15	14	10	77
7	Eli Manning	NYG	16	20	14	15	10	75
8	Matt Ryan	ATL	16	20	14	15	10	75
9	Russell Wilson	SEA	16	20	14	14	10	74
10	Dak Prescott	DAL	16	19	15	14	10	74
11	Matthew Stafford	DET	15	20	14	13	10	72
12	Marcus Mariota	TEN	16	20	12	13	10	71
13	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	15	22	12	12	10	71
14	Derek Carr	OAK	15	20	13	13	10	71
15	Philip Rivers	SD	16	18	13	14	10	71
16	Tyrod Taylor	BUF	13	19	15	13	10	70
17	Trevor Siemian	DEN	17	18	13	12	10	70
18	Sam Bradford	MIN	15	21	11	12	10	69
19	Tom Brady	NE	14	18	12	15	10	69
20	Alex Smith	KC	15	18	13	12	10	68
21	Matt Moore	MIA	15	18	12	12	10	67
22	Matt Barkley	CHI	11	17	14	14	10	66
23	Andy Dalton	CIN	14	18	12	12	10	66
24	Robert Griffin III	CLE	12	17	15	12	10	66
25	Tom Savage	HOU	14	19	12	11	10	66
26	Jameis Winston	TB	10	19	12	13	10	64
27	Case Keenum	LA	14	18	11	11	10	64
28	Blake Bortles	JAX	14	18	12	10	10	64
29	Joe Flacco	BAL	13	19	11	11	10	64
30	Jared Goff	LA	9	17	13	13	10	62
31	Kirk Cousins	WAS	12	17	10	12	10	61
32	Brock Osweiler	HOU	11	17	11	10	10	59
33	Carson Wentz	PHI	11	17	11	10	10	59
34	Bryce Petty	NYJ	12	17	10	9	10	58
35	Ryan Fitzpatrick	NYJ	11	16	10	10	10	57

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Running Backs

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

LeSean McCoy continues to prove Niners head coach Chip Kelly wrong with his big season in Buffalo. He toyed with the Browns on Sunday and is highest-graded running back for the week. He has quietly had an MVP-type season. His efficiency has also been historic, as he became the first NFL player to tally four games in the same season with 100-plus-yards and two touchdowns on fewer than 20 carries. That is an incredible statistic for a special player. 

While he's been up and down during this season with the Eagles, Ryan Mathews was fantastic Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. He broke tackles all game, ran hard downhill and got into the end zone once for Philadelphia. He's battled injuries his entire career, but he continues to run hard and fight for every extra yard.

Atlanta's Devonta Freeman just shredded the 49ers' pitiful run defense. He didn't even seem to break a sweat as he tallied three touchdowns.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell had a down week by his standards and still finished in the top five. The team was down early, which forced it to throw the football more, so Bell's numbers weren't as great on the ground.

The Packers' Ty Montgomery was sensational against the Bears. He displayed everything, inside and outside, while scoring two touchdowns. It was a dynamic performance that showed he should be able to fill the starter job for the rest of the year—if not for years to come.

Tennessee's DeMarco Murray was solid against the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the Titans to a massive upset win at Arrowhead Stadium. He rushed for 89 yards on 18 carries and caught five passes for 52 yards.

Adrian Peterson returned from injury but didn’t do much in a blowout loss to the Colts. He might be headed toward his last two games in Minnesota. With an $18 million cap hit in 2017 as a running back who turns 32 in March and has averaged 1.9 yards-per-carry this season, the money and his production don't add up anymore.

Grading Scale

In: Inside Running (Graded out of 25)

Out: Outside Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Running Back Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	In	Out	Rec	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	LeSean McCoy	BUF	21	20	16	17	6	80
2	Ryan Mathews	PHI	21	19	16	17	6	79
3	Devonta Freeman	ATL	21	20	16	16	6	79
4	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	21	19	16	17	6	79
5	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	19	19	17	17	6	78
6	DeMarco Murray	TEN	19	18	17	17	6	77
7	Ty Montgomery	GB	21	19	16	15	6	77
8	David Johnson	ARI	18	18	17	17	6	76
9	Spencer Ware	KC	19	18	17	16	6	76
10	Bilal Powell	NYJ	18	17	18	17	6	76
11	Jordan Howard	CHI	19	18	17	16	6	76
12	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	19	18	16	16	6	75
13	Terrance West	BAL	18	18	17	15	6	74
14	Mark Ingram	NO	19	17	16	16	6	74
15	Latavius Murray	OAK	18	17	16	17	6	74
16	Carlos Hyde	SF	19	17	16	16	6	74
17	Jeremy Hill	CIN	18	17	16	16	6	73
18	Frank Gore	IND	18	16	16	17	6	73
19	Tevin Coleman	ATL	18	17	16	15	6	72
20	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	17	17	16	16	6	72
21	Duke Johnson	CLE	16	17	18	15	6	72
22	Lamar Miller	HOU	17	17	16	16	6	72
23	Robert Turbin	IND	16	18	16	16	6	72
24	DeAndre Washington	OAK	18	16	16	16	6	72
25	Doug Martin	TB	18	17	15	16	6	72
26	Derrick Henry	TEN	18	17	15	16	6	72
27	Mike Gillislee	BUF	17	18	15	15	6	71
28	Tim Hightower	NO	17	17	16	15	6	71
29	Christine Michael	GB	18	16	15	16	6	71
30	Dion Lewis	NE	18	17	15	15	6	71
31	Paul Perkins	NYG	18	16	16	15	6	71
32	Shane Vereen	NYG	15	17	17	16	6	71
33	Rex Burkhead	CIN	17	15	16	16	6	70
34	Chris Ivory	JAX	18	16	15	15	6	70
35	Todd Gurley	LA	17	16	15	16	6	70
36	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	15	16	18	15	6	70
37	Jalen Richard	OAK	17	16	16	15	6	70
38	Charles Sims	TB	17	15	16	16	6	70
39	Justin Forsett	DEN	16	16	16	16	6	70
40	Kerwynn Williams	AZ	16	18	15	15	6	70
41	Terron Ward	ATL	17	16	15	15	6	69
42	Kenneth Dixon	BAL	17	16	15	15	6	69
43	T.J. Yeldon	JAX	16	15	16	16	6	69
44	Travaris Cadet	NO	15	16	17	15	6	69
45	Thomas Rawls	SEA	17	15	15	16	6	69
46	Robert Kelley	WAS	17	14	16	16	6	69
47	LeGarrette Blount	NE	17	16	14	16	6	69
48	Jonathan Grimes	HOU	16	15	16	15	6	68
49	Jay Ajayi	MIA	17	15	15	15	6	68
50	Kenyan Drake	MIA	16	15	15	16	6	68
51	Matt Asiata	MIN	15	15	16	16	6	68
52	Adrian Peterson	MIN	16	16	15	15	6	68
53	Chris Thompson	WAS	15	16	16	15	6	68
54	Lance Dunbar	DAL	16	15	16	15	6	68
55	Zach Zenner	DET	15	14	16	17	6	68
56	Dwayne Washington	DET	16	15	15	16	6	68
57	Matt Forte	NYJ	16	14	15	16	6	67
58	Shaun Draughn	SF	16	15	15	15	6	67
59	Jeremy Langford	CHI	15	14	16	16	6	67
60	James White	NE	16	14	16	15	6	67
61	Rashad Jennings	NYG	16	14	15	16	6	67
62	Fozzy Whittaker	CAR	15	14	16	15	6	66
63	Alfred Blue	HOU	15	14	15	16	6	66
64	Charcandrick West	KC	16	14	15	15	6	66
65	Byron Marshall	PHI	16	14	15	15	6	66
66	Kenjon Barner	PHI	14	15	16	15	6	66
67	Kenneth Farrow	SD	15	14	16	15	6	66
68	Ronnie Hillman	SD	16	14	15	15	6	66
69	Josh Ferguson	IND	15	14	15	15	6	65
70	Damien Williams	MIA	15	14	15	15	6	65
71	Alex Collins	SEA	15	14	15	14	6	64
72	Devontae Booker	DEN	15	13	15	14	6	63

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Giovani Bernard—injury
• C.J. Anderson—injury
• Ameer Abdullah—injury
• Theo Riddick—injury
• James Starks—injury
• Eddie Lacy—injury
• Jamaal Charles—injury
• Melvin Gordon—injury
• Darren Sproles—injury
• DeAngelo Williams—injury

Fullbacks

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Panthers' Mike Tolbert had his best game all season Monday night against the Washington Redskins. He was solid as a lead blocker, running the football and also catching it out of the backfield. While he still looks heavy, it was easily his most productive game in a long time.

Kyle Juszczyk continues to be one of the Ravens' best overall players and most consistent offense weapons. He was very good in pass protection as their running backs struggled to block. Like always, he contributed in the passing game as a security blanket for Joe Flacco. 

Atlanta's Patrick DiMarco played at a high level against a bad 49ers front seven. He blocked linebackers with ease, allowing his running backs to rack up big statistical performances.

Packers fullback Aaron Ripkowski is starting to remind me a little of Juszczyk because of his versatility—both in his blocking and his ability to function as a weapon for coach Mike McCarthy's offense. It seems he can do just about anything in the offense.

Both the Titans' Jalston Fowler and the Bills' Jerome Felton were excellent as lead blockers as their running backs went off in big wins for their respective clubs.

Grading Scale

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 50)

Run: Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Fullback Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Blk	Run	Rec	Pos	Ovr
1	Mike Tolbert	CAR	44	18	11	4	77
2	Kyle Juszczyk	BAL	45	17	10	4	76
3	Patrick DiMarco	ATL	45	16	9	4	74
4	Aaron Ripkowski	GB	44	17	9	4	74
5	Jalston Fowler	TEN	44	17	9	4	74
6	Jerome Felton	BUF	45	15	9	4	73
7	Jay Prosch	HOU	44	15	9	4	72
8	Anthony Sherman	KC	44	15	9	4	72
9	James Develin	NE	44	14	10	4	72
10	Marcel Reece	SEA	41	16	11	4	72
11	Keith Smith	DAL	43	15	9	4	71
12	John Kuhn	NO	43	15	9	4	71
13	Jamize Olawale	OAK	43	15	9	4	71
14	Dan Vitale	CLE	43	14	8	4	69
15	Roosevelt Nix	PIT	43	14	8	4	69

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Paul Lasike—insufficient snaps
• Michael Burton—insufficient snaps
• Zach Line—insufficient snaps

Wide Receivers

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

In the NFC, small wide receivers took the stage. Brandin Cooks had himself another outstanding game—it was his third game this season with at least 140 yards receiving. The 5'10" wideout was able to get open on multiple different routes against Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson and used his speed in space (4.33 40-yard dash) to cruise by defenders.  

Detroit's Golden Tate is one of the few receivers this year to find success when facing the Giants. He could've had an even bigger game, but Eli Apple knocked away a touchdown after Tate won early on a route in the end zone and Matthew Stafford's pass was short. After a poor start to the season, Tate has 27 receptions in his last four games. 

Falcons receiver Aldrick Robinson had one of the more surprising performances of the week. Filling in for Julio Jones, Robinson caught all four of his catchable targets for 111 yards. 

Over in the AFC, Jarvis Landry had a big night Saturday against the New York Jets, notching three catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. The score came on a quick slant route where Landry did the bulk of the work after the reception, outrunning the Jets secondary for a 66-yard score. 

DeAndre Hopkins of the Texans was targeted 17 times with eight receptions for 87 yards and showed new life after quarterback Tom Savage entered the game. His day would have been bigger were it not for the work done by rookie defensive back Jalen Ramsey, who held his own on many vertical routes. 

Brandon LaFell had one of the better games of his season for the Bengals, catching seven passes on nine targets for 91 yards while contributing a solid day as a blocker on the edges.      

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 25)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Wide Receiver Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Brandin Cooks	NO	21	19	17	11	9	77
2	Golden Tate	DET	21	19	17	11	9	77
3	Jarvis Landry	MIA	19	18	15	13	9	74
4	Tyler Lockett	SEA	19	18	16	11	9	73
5	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	19	17	16	11	9	72
6	DeSean Jackson	WAS	19	18	16	10	9	72
7	Aldrick Robinson	ATL	17	17	17	11	9	71
8	Cameron Meredith	CHI	18	17	15	12	9	71
9	Brandon LaFell	CIN	19	19	11	13	9	71
10	Dez Bryant	DAL	18	18	14	12	9	71
11	Jordy Nelson	GB	20	16	14	12	9	71
12	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	18	19	12	13	9	71
13	Rishard Mathews	TEN	20	19	11	12	9	71
14	Ted Ginn Jr.	CAR	18	16	16	11	9	70
15	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	19	18	12	12	9	70
16	Julian Edelman	NE	18	19	12	12	9	70
17	Michael Thomas	NO	18	18	13	12	9	70
18	Doug Baldwin	SEA	19	18	13	11	9	70
19	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	17	17	14	12	9	69
20	Taylor Gabriel	ATL	17	17	16	10	9	69
21	Deonte Thompson	CHI	17	17	15	11	9	69
22	Marvin Jones	DET	17	18	14	11	9	69
23	Jeremy Maclin	KC	18	18	11	13	9	69
24	Sterling Shepard	NYG	18	16	15	11	9	69
25	Robby Anderson	NYJ	18	17	13	12	9	69
26	Quincy Enunwa	NYJ	17	18	12	13	9	69
27	Michael Crabtree	OAK	18	17	13	12	9	69
28	Eli Rogers	PIT	18	18	12	12	9	69
29	Dontrelle Inman	SD	18	18	12	12	9	69
30	John Brown	ARI	18	16	15	10	9	68
31	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	17	18	13	11	9	68
32	Cole Beasley	DAL	18	17	14	10	9	68
33	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	18	18	11	12	9	68
34	Kenny Stills	MIA	17	16	13	13	9	68
35	Willie Snead	NO	18	17	14	10	9	68
36	Antonio Brown	PIT	18	17	12	12	9	68
37	Mike Evans	TB	17	17	13	12	9	68
38	Pierre Garcon	WAS	17	17	14	11	9	68
39	Mohamed Sanu	ATL	17	17	13	11	9	67
40	Mike Wallace	BAL	17	16	13	12	9	67
41	Marquise Goodwin	BUF	16	18	11	13	9	67
42	Brice Butler	DAL	17	17	13	11	9	67
43	Will Fuller V	HOU	17	18	11	12	9	67
44	T.Y. Hilton	IND	17	16	12	13	9	67
45	Kenny Britt	LA	17	16	14	11	9	67
46	Josh Bellamy	CHI	16	15	15	11	9	66
47	Terrance Williams	DAL	16	16	13	12	9	66
48	Anquan Boldin	DET	16	17	12	12	9	66
49	Charles Johnson	MIN	17	17	13	10	9	66
50	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	15	16	15	11	9	66
51	Victor Cruz	NYG	17	15	14	11	9	66
52	Travis Benjamin	SD	17	17	11	12	9	66
53	Freddie Martino	TB	16	17	13	11	9	66
54	Justin Hardy	ATL	16	16	13	11	9	65
55	Steve Smith Sr.	BAL	17	16	11	12	9	65
56	Davante Adams	GB	17	13	15	11	9	65
57	Allen Robinson	JAX	18	15	11	12	9	65
58	Bryan Walters	JAX	17	16	11	12	9	65
59	Tavon Austin	LA	16	16	14	10	9	65
60	Brandon Marshall	NYJ	17	15	11	13	9	65
61	Adam Humphries	TB	16	17	13	10	9	65
62	Sammy Watkins	BUF	15	15	11	14	9	64
63	Phillip Dorsett	IND	16	15	12	12	9	64
64	Brian Quick	LA	16	16	12	11	9	64
65	Pharoah Cooper	LA	16	16	13	10	9	64
66	Amari Cooper	OAK	16	15	12	12	9	64
67	Aaron Burbridge	SF	15	16	13	11	9	64
68	Russell Shepard	TB	16	16	12	11	9	64
69	Jamison Crowder	WAS	16	16	13	10	9	64
70	J.J. Nelson	ARI	16	15	13	10	9	63
71	Brittan Golden	ARI	15	16	13	10	9	63
72	Philly Brown	CAR	15	15	13	11	9	63
73	Tyler Boyd	CIN	16	15	11	12	9	63
74	Cody Core	CIN	16	15	11	12	9	63
75	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	16	16	11	11	9	63
76	Chester Rogers	IND	16	16	11	11	9	63
77	DeVante Parker	MIA	16	15	11	12	9	63
78	Stefon Diggs	MIN	15	17	12	10	9	63
79	Malcolm Mitchell	NE	16	15	11	12	9	63
80	Chris Hogan	NE	15	15	11	13	9	63
81	Seth Roberts	OAK	15	15	11	13	9	63
82	Andre Holmes	OAK	15	16	11	12	9	63
83	Rod Streater	SF	15	15	13	11	9	63
84	Wendall Williams	HOU	16	15	11	12	9	63
85	Kamar Aiken	BAL	16	15	11	11	9	62
86	Corey Coleman	CLE	15	15	11	12	9	62
87	Keith Mumphery	HOU	15	15	11	12	9	62
88	Chris Conley	KC	15	14	11	13	9	62
89	Jordan Matthews	PHI	16	16	10	11	9	62
90	Cobi Hamilton	PIT	15	15	11	12	9	62
91	Tajae Sharpe	TEN	15	15	11	12	9	62
92	Kendall Wright	TEN	15	15	11	12	9	62
93	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	14	15	12	11	9	61
94	James Wright	CIN	15	15	11	11	9	61
95	Jordan Taylor	DEN	14	16	11	11	9	61
96	Mike Thomas	LA	17	14	11	10	9	61
97	Nelson Agholor	PHI	14	15	12	11	9	61
98	Tyrell Williams	SD	16	13	11	12	9	61
99	Jeremy Kerley	SF	14	15	12	11	9	61
100	Jordan Norwood	DEN	14	15	11	11	9	60
101	Devin Street	IND	14	14	11	12	9	60
102	Marqise Lee	JAX	15	14	11	11	9	60
103	Tyreek Hill	KC	16	13	11	11	9	60
104	De'Anthony Thomas	KC	14	14	11	12	9	60
105	Leonte Carroo	MIA	14	14	11	12	9	60
106	Charone Peake	NYJ	15	14	11	11	9	60
107	Dorial Green-Beckham	PHI	15	15	11	10	9	60
108	Sammie Coates	PIT	15	14	11	11	9	60
109	Breshad Perriman	BAL	14	14	11	11	9	59
110	Robert Woods	BUF	14	14	11	11	9	59
111	Justin Hunter	BUF	14	14	11	11	9	59
112	Brandon Tate	BUF	14	15	11	10	9	59
113	Terrelle Pryor Sr.	CLE	15	13	11	11	9	59
114	Rashard Higgins	CLE	14	14	11	11	9	59
115	Bennie Fowler	DEN	14	14	11	11	9	59
116	Albert Wilson	KC	14	14	11	11	9	59
117	Geremy Davis	SD	14	14	11	11	9	59
118	Quinton Patton	SF	16	12	11	11	9	59
119	Harry Douglas	TEN	14	14	11	11	9	59
120	Michael Campanaro	BAL	14	13	11	11	9	58
121	Devin Funchess	CAR	13	13	10	11	9	56
122	Adam Thielen	MIN	13	13	10	11	9	56
123	Jarius Wright	MIN	13	13	10	11	9	56
124	Roger Lewis	NYG	13	12	10	11	9	55
125	Randall Cobb	GB	13	12	10	10	9	54
126	Brandon Coleman	NO	12	12	10	11	9	54
127	Paul Richardson	SEA	13	12	10	10	9	54
128	Andre Roberts	DET	12	12	10	10	9	53
129	Tanner McEvoy	SEA	12	12	10	10	9	53
130	Jermaine Kearse	SEA	12	12	10	10	9	53
131	Lucky Whitehead	DAL	11	11	10	11	9	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Julio Jones—injury
• A.J. Green—injury
• Braxton Miller—injury
• Donte Moncrief—injury
• Allen Hurns—injury
• Danny Amendola—injury
• Eric Decker—injury
• Jalin Marshall—injury
• Darrius Heyward-Bey—injury
• Keenan Allen—injury
• Markus Wheaton—injury
• Torrey Smith—injury
• Michael Floyd—inactive

Tight Ends

Peter Aiken/Getty Images

Cameron Brate continues his breakout campaign for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he caught five balls for 73 yards and a score against Dallas. Brate's ability to get open quickly combined with his toughness makes him the perfect No. 2 receiver for Tampa Bay. He was put in dangerous spots numerous times, only to catch the ball each time.

Eric Ebron's roller-coaster season continued with another up-and-down game in New York. The Lions tight end was able to separate with ease against the Giants secondary, but multiple mental mistakes and drops prevented him from being higher than No. 11 on this list. Twice, he caught passes close to the first-down marker and failed to give any extra effort for the last yard.

Philadelphia's Zach Ertz is starting to get a nice connection with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. For the second time in consecutive weeks, Ertz has led the Eagles in receiving and is starting to look like the player they saw at Stanford. 

In the AFC, Travis Kelce was held under 100 yards for the first time since Week 10 but still notched a high score in terms of his grade. He ran solid routes on the afternoon and was usually an option for quarterback Alex Smith. A fine example of this came on a 3rd-and-goal play midway through the third quarter. Kelce ran a great pivot route and was open, but Smith threw to Jeremy Maclin on a post pattern. The Titans intercepted the pass, ending the scoring threat.

Charles Clay had a big day for the Bills, catching all seven of his targets for 72 yards and a touchdown. On his scoring play, he managed to get behind the coverage and then make a great adjustment to an underthrown pass, finishing with a sliding catch in the end zone.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 20)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Tight End Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Travis Kelce	KC	15	19	15	19	6	74
2	Cameron Brate	TB	17	21	14	16	6	74
3	Greg Olsen	CAR	16	18	14	18	6	72
4	Charles Clay	BUF	14	20	12	19	6	71
5	Jason Witten	DAL	17	18	11	18	6	70
6	Jared Cook	GB	16	17	14	17	6	70
7	Ryan Griffin	HOU	14	18	13	19	6	70
8	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	17	17	12	18	6	70
9	Will Tye	NYG	13	17	16	17	6	69
10	Ed Dickson	CAR	14	17	14	17	6	68
11	Eric Ebron	DET	18	15	14	15	6	68
12	Jack Doyle	IND	13	17	11	21	6	68
13	Ladarius Green	PIT	13	18	13	18	6	68
14	Jimmy Graham	SEA	15	16	15	16	6	68
15	Levine Toilolo	ATL	13	17	13	18	6	67
16	Erik Swoope	IND	14	18	11	18	6	67
17	Zach Ertz	PHI	15	16	14	16	6	67
18	Dion Sims	MIA	13	17	11	19	6	66
19	Martellus Bennett	NE	13	16	12	19	6	66
20	John Phillips	NO	13	16	13	18	6	66
21	Jerell Adams	NYG	13	16	15	16	6	66
22	Hunter Henry	SD	14	16	11	19	6	66
23	Luke Willson	SEA	13	16	14	17	6	66
24	Garrett Celek	SF	13	16	14	17	6	66
25	Austin Hooper	ATL	14	17	11	17	6	65
26	MarQueis Gray	MIA	13	16	11	19	6	65
27	Delanie Walker	TEN	13	17	12	17	6	65
28	Jordan Reed	WAS	14	17	12	16	6	65
29	Jermaine Gresham	ARI	13	16	13	16	6	64
30	Jeff Heuerman	DEN	13	16	11	18	6	64
31	Coby Fleener	NO	14	16	12	16	6	64
32	A.J. Derby	DEN	13	15	11	18	6	63
33	Dwayne Allen	IND	12	16	11	18	6	63
34	Lance Kendricks	LA	14	15	12	16	6	63
35	Clive Walford	OAK	12	15	11	19	6	63
36	Vernon Davis	WAS	15	15	11	16	6	63
37	Tyler Eifert	CIN	12	15	11	18	6	62
38	Richard Rodgers	GB	13	13	13	17	6	62
39	Mychal Rivera	OAK	12	15	11	18	6	62
40	Dennis Pitta	BAL	12	15	11	17	6	61
41	Daniel Brown	CHI	12	13	13	17	6	61
42	Eric Tomlinson	NYJ	11	14	11	19	6	61
43	David Johnson	PIT	12	15	11	17	6	61
44	Anthony Fasano	TEN	11	14	11	19	6	61
45	Darren Fells	ARI	12	14	11	17	6	60
46	Nick Boyle	BAL	11	14	11	18	6	60
47	Darren Waller	BAL	11	14	11	18	6	60
48	Nick O'Leary	BUF	11	14	11	18	6	60
49	Tyler Kroft	CIN	11	14	11	18	6	60
50	Gary Barnidge	CLE	12	13	11	18	6	60
51	Tyler Higbee	LA	12	13	14	15	6	60
52	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	NYJ	12	14	11	17	6	60
53	Jesse James	PIT	11	13	11	19	6	60
54	Antonio Gates	SD	12	14	11	17	6	60
55	Ryan Hewitt	CIN	11	14	11	17	6	59
56	Seth DeValve	CLE	11	14	11	17	6	59
57	Stephen Anderson	HOU	12	14	11	16	6	59
58	Ben Koyack	JAX	11	14	11	17	6	59
59	Demetrius Harris	KC	11	14	11	17	6	59
60	Brent Celek	PHI	12	13	11	17	6	59
61	Xavier Grimble	PIT	11	14	11	17	6	59
62	Sean McGrath	SD	11	14	11	17	6	59
63	Phillip Supernaw	TEN	11	14	11	17	6	59
64	Neal Sterling	JAX	11	14	11	16	6	58
65	Alex Ellis	JAX	11	14	11	16	6	58
66	James O'Shaughnessy	KC	11	14	11	16	6	58
67	Brandon Bostick	NYJ	11	14	11	16	6	58
68	Virgil Green	DEN	11	14	11	15	6	57
69	Trey Burton	PHI	13	12	10	16	6	57
70	Brandon Williams	SEA	11	12	10	18	6	57
71	Logan Paulsen	CHI	10	12	10	18	6	56
72	Randall Telfer	CLE	11	14	11	14	6	56
73	Matt Lengel	NE	11	14	11	14	6	56
74	Nick Vannett	SEA	11	12	10	17	6	56
75	Luke Stocker	TB	10	12	10	17	6	55
76	Gavin Escobar	DAL	10	12	10	15	6	53

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Troy Niklas—injury
• Zach Miller—injury
• Josh Hill—injury
• Vance McDonald—injury
• Crockett Gillmore—injury
• Maxx Williams—injury
• Julius Thomas—injury
• Marcedes Lewis—injury
• Jordan Cameron—injury
• Rob Gronkowski—injury

Left Tackles

Elsa/Getty Images

Washington's Trent Williams returned from his four-game suspension in Week 14 and was our second-ranked left tackle. He carried that momentum into Week 15 as he claimed the top ranking at the position. Despite Washington's loss to Carolina on Monday Night Football, Williams continued his impressive display of elite agility in pass protection and explosive power in the running game, as he has done the entire 2016 season. The NFL announced Tuesday that Williams would represent the Redskins in the 2017 Pro Bowl roster for his fifth straight selection.

At No. 2, Green Bay's David Bakhtiari was once again outstanding. In 61 snaps against the Chicago Bears, he surrendered no sacks, pressures or quarterback hits and helped paved the way for 226 rushing yards on the ground. As we've mentioned often, 2016 has seen Bakhtiari establish himself as an elite-level pass protector, and his efforts have not gone unnoticed. He was named a first alternate for the 2017 Pro Bowl.

Philadelphia's Jason Peters checks in as our third-ranked left tackle. He showed power and agility when getting out in space to execute blocks and was just as impressive displaying his range in pass protection. Peters was facing a tough Ravens defense, but he held his own and surrendered only one quarterback hit in 87 snaps. Peters was also named to the 2017 Pro Bowl, his ninth selection. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Left Tackle Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Trent Williams	WAS	20	20	17	17	8	82
2	David Bakhtiari	GB	22	19	15	17	8	81
3	Jason Peters	PHI	18	20	17	17	8	80
4	Tyron Smith	DAL	19	18	18	16	8	79
5	Joe Thomas	CLE	19	19	15	17	8	78
6	Jake Matthews	ATL	19	19	15	16	8	77
7	Donald Penn	OAK	19	19	16	15	8	77
8	Duane Brown	HOU	19	19	16	14	8	76
9	Taylor Lewan	TEN	18	20	15	15	8	76
10	Cyrus Kouandjio	BUF	19	19	14	15	8	75
11	Nate Solder	NE	18	20	15	14	8	75
12	Ronnie Stanley	BAL	18	18	15	16	8	75
13	Taylor Decker	DET	18	18	15	16	8	75
14	Andrew Whitworth	CIN	20	17	15	14	8	74
15	Branden Albert	MIA	19	17	14	16	8	74
16	Russell Okung	DEN	18	20	13	15	8	74
17	Eric Fisher	KC	18	19	14	15	8	74
18	Anthony Castonzo	IND	18	18	14	15	8	73
19	Ereck Flowers	NYG	18	19	15	13	8	73
20	Alejandro Villanueva	PIT	18	18	14	15	8	73
21	Mike Remmers	CAR	16	19	15	15	8	73
22	Andrus Peat	NO	17	18	16	13	8	72
23	Donovan Smith	TB	18	17	15	14	8	72
24	King Dunlap	SD	17	19	15	13	8	72
25	Charles Leno Jr.	CHI	17	17	14	15	8	71
26	John Wetzel	ARI	17	18	14	14	8	71
27	Ben Ijalana	NYJ	17	17	14	14	8	70
28	Kelvin Beachum	JAX	17	17	14	14	8	70
29	Zane Beadles	SF	17	17	14	13	8	69
30	T.J. Clemmings	MIN	15	18	15	12	8	68
31	Greg Robinson	LA	15	16	14	14	8	67
32	George Fant	SEA	14	16	13	14	8	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jared Veldheer—injury
• Cordy Glenn—injury
• Michael Oher—injury
• Luke Joeckel—injury
• Matt Kalil—injury
• Terron Armstead—injury
• Ryan Clady—injury
• Joe Staley—injury
• Chris Hairston—insufficient snaps
• Ty Nsekhe—insufficient snaps

Right Tackles

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Green Bay's Bryan Bulaga claimed our top ranking among right tackles in Week 15 with his stellar performance against Chicago. He has been outstanding all season, and this year, he ranks among the best offensive tackles in the NFL regardless of left or right designation.

Kansas City's Mitchell Schwartz checks in as our second-ranked right tackle and was steady in pass protection, not allowing anything around the quarterback in 58 snaps. Pittsburgh's Marcus Gilbert is our No. 3-ranked right tackle in Week 15, and little separated him from Schwartz, but Schwartz did allow one QB hurry. He continues to show strength, power and explosion at the point of attack and demonstrated agility and patience in pass protection, which has become the norm week in and week out for him.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run-Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Right Tackle Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Bryan Bulaga	GB	20	20	16	16	7	79
2	Mitchell Schwartz	KC	22	19	15	15	7	78
3	Marcus Gilbert	PIT	19	20	15	16	7	77
4	Marcus Cannon	NE	18	19	16	16	7	76
5	Ryan Schraeder	ATL	18	20	16	15	7	76
6	Morgan Moses	WAS	20	18	15	15	7	75
7	Riley Reiff	DET	19	20	15	14	7	75
8	Jack Conklin	TEN	18	21	15	14	7	75
9	Zach Strief	NO	17	21	16	14	7	75
10	Trenton Brown	SF	18	19	16	14	7	74
11	Doug Free	DAL	17	20	17	13	7	74
12	Jermey Parnell	JAX	20	18	15	14	7	74
13	Bobby Massie	CHI	19	18	15	14	7	73
14	Jake Fisher	CIN	18	19	14	15	7	73
15	Austin Pasztor	CLE	18	20	14	14	7	73
16	Ja'Wuan James	MIA	18	19	15	14	7	73
17	Ricky Wagner	BAL	17	19	15	14	7	72
18	Trai Turner	CAR	17	19	16	13	7	72
19	Austin Howard	OAK	17	19	16	13	7	72
20	Le'Raven Clark	IND	18	17	14	15	7	71
21	Earl Watford	ARI	17	18	15	14	7	71
22	Bobby Hart	NYG	17	17	15	15	7	71
23	Jordan Mills	BUF	17	18	14	14	7	70
24	Joe Barksdale	SD	17	17	15	14	7	70
25	Donald Stephenson	DEN	16	18	14	13	7	68
26	Isaac Seumalo	PHI	16	17	14	14	7	68
27	Bradley Sowell	SEA	16	17	14	13	7	67
28	Chris Clark	HOU	16	16	14	13	7	66
29	Rob Havenstein	LA	16	16	14	13	7	66
30	Jeremiah Sirles	MIN	16	16	14	13	7	66
31	Brandon Shell	NYJ	15	16	14	13	7	65
32	Gosder Cherilus	TB	14	16	14	13	7	64

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• D.J. Humphries—injury
• Daryl Williams—injury
• Eric Winston—injury
• Derek Newton—injury
• Andre Smith Jr.—injury
• Breno Giacomini—injury
• Halapoulivaati Vaitai—injury
• Allen Barbre—injury
• Demar Dotson—injury
• Lane Johnson—suspension
• Cedric Ogbuehi—insufficient snaps
• Garry Gilliam—insufficient snaps

Offensive Guards

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Two weeks ago, if you would have said the Los Angeles Rams' Andrew Donnal, the Jets' Dakota Dozier and the Browns' Jonathan Cooper would all be top-15 guards in Week 15, I would not have believed you. But here we are. At this point of the year, this is what happens as teams continue to dive deeper into their offensive line depth.

Donnal blew me away with his power and his motor in the running game. He consistently plays through the whistle, and the Rams need those types of tone-setters up front. Consistency, especially in pass protection, will be key for Donnal going forward, as he can be a waist-bender at times. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Offensive Guard Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Josh Sitton	CHI	19	18	19	15	7	78
2	Andy Levitre	ATL	18	20	18	14	7	77
3	Richie Incognito	BUF	17	19	19	14	7	76
4	Lane Taylor	GB	19	17	16	16	7	75
5	Marshal Yanda	BAL	17	19	17	15	7	75
6	Jahri Evans	NO	19	17	17	14	7	74
7	Zack Martin	DAL	17	18	17	15	7	74
8	Gabe Jackson	OAK	16	19	18	14	7	74
9	Justin Pugh	NYG	17	18	17	15	7	74
10	Andrew Donnal	LA	16	18	17	15	7	73
11	John Miller	BUF	16	18	17	15	7	73
12	Kevin Zeitler	CIN	16	18	17	15	7	73
13	Dakota Dozier	NYJ	18	17	17	14	7	73
14	Jonathan Cooper	CLE	17	15	16	17	7	72
15	James Carpenter	NYJ	19	15	17	14	7	72
16	Kelechi Osemele	OAK	18	16	17	14	7	72
17	Ramon Foster	PIT	16	17	18	14	7	72
18	Brandon Brooks	PHI	16	16	17	16	7	72
19	Zach Fulton	KC	18	17	17	13	7	72
20	Andrew Tiller	SF	17	18	17	13	7	72
21	T.J. Lang	GB	15	18	17	14	7	71
22	Joe Berger	MIN	17	15	17	15	7	71
23	Andrew Norwell	CAR	16	17	17	14	7	71
24	Xavier Su'a-Filo	HOU	15	16	17	16	7	71
25	Michael Schofield	DEN	17	15	16	16	7	71
26	Kevin Pamphile	TB	18	16	16	14	7	71
27	Jonotthan Harrison	IND	15	18	17	13	7	70
28	Stefen Wisniewski	PHI	16	17	17	13	7	70
29	David DeCastro	PIT	17	15	15	16	7	70
30	Mike Iupati	ARI	15	17	17	14	7	70
31	Larry Warford	DET	18	15	16	14	7	70
32	Ronald Leary	DAL	15	17	18	13	7	70
33	Ali Marpet	TB	15	16	16	16	7	70
34	Chris Chester	ATL	15	18	17	13	7	70
35	Shaq Mason	NE	16	15	16	15	7	69
36	Quinton Spain	TEN	15	17	17	13	7	69
37	D.J. Fluker	SD	14	17	17	14	7	69
38	Joe Haeg	IND	17	15	14	16	7	69
39	Clint Boling	CIN	15	16	17	14	7	69
40	Orlando Franklin	SD	16	16	17	13	7	69
41	Laken Tomlinson	DET	15	16	16	15	7	69
42	Alex Boone	MIN	15	15	16	16	7	69
43	Brian Winters	NYJ	17	15	14	15	7	68
44	Joshua Garnett	SF	15	16	17	13	7	68
45	Tim Lelito	NO	17	15	16	13	7	68
46	Josh Kline	TEN	16	15	16	14	7	68
47	Ted Larsen	CHI	16	15	16	14	7	68
48	Oday Aboushi	HOU	15	16	16	14	7	68
49	Vladimir Ducasse	BAL	15	16	16	13	7	67
50	Brandon Scherff	WAS	15	15	15	15	7	67
51	Jeremiah Poutasi	JAX	14	18	17	11	7	67
52	Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	KC	16	14	13	17	7	67
53	John Jerry	NYG	14	16	17	13	7	67
54	Taylor Boggs	ARI	14	15	15	15	7	66
55	Jermon Bushrod	MIA	16	14	15	14	7	66
56	Tyler Shatley	JAX	15	14	16	14	7	66
57	Joe Thuney	NE	11	17	15	16	7	66
58	A.J. Cann	JAX	13	17	16	12	7	65
59	Chris Scott	CAR	13	16	16	13	7	65
60	Laremy Tunsil	MIA	15	12	15	16	7	65
61	Senio Kelemete	NO	13	16	16	12	7	64
62	Rodger Saffold	LA	15	13	15	14	7	64
63	Mark Glowinski	SEA	14	13	15	14	7	63
64	Shawn Lauvao	WAS	15	13	16	12	7	63
65	Max Garcia	DEN	14	15	16	11	7	63
66	Spencer Drango	CLE	12	14	15	14	7	62
67	Germain Ifedi	SEA	13	13	15	13	7	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jack Mewhort—injury
• John Greco—injury
• Kyle Long—injury
• Chris Reed—injury
• Jeff Allen—injury
• Joel Bitonio—injury
• Evan Mathis—injury
• Brandon Fusco—insufficient snaps
• Vadal Alexander—insufficient snaps
• Zane Beadles—insufficient snaps
• Denver Kirkland—insufficient snaps
• La'el Collins—insufficient snaps

Centers

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

The rich get richer at center in Week 15. The rankings didn't end up straying much from the status quo. The biggest departure was Cameron Erving, who put up his first solid performance in pass protection in what seems like months.

On the other side of the coin, Matt Paradis has had a solid year, but he has started to regress recently, especially in the ground game, where he was a huge asset early on. Losing the ability to run has hurt the Broncos, and Paradis' getting back to his early level of play would help solve that. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Center Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Travis Frederick	DAL	20	18	19	15	6	78
2	Alex Mack	ATL	18	19	17	17	6	77
3	Corey Linsley	GB	19	19	17	15	6	76
4	Max Unger	NO	20	18	17	15	6	76
5	Ryan Kelly	IND	17	18	17	17	6	75
6	Jason Kelce	PHI	18	18	16	17	6	75
7	Weston Richburg	NYG	19	18	17	14	6	74
8	Maurkice Pouncey	PIT	18	17	16	17	6	74
9	Cameron Erving	CLE	18	16	16	17	6	73
10	Wesley Johnson	NYJ	18	16	17	15	6	72
11	Jeremy Zuttah	BAL	18	17	17	14	6	72
12	Rodney Hudson	OAK	16	17	17	15	6	71
13	A.Q. Shipley	ARI	18	16	16	15	6	71
14	Cody Whitehair	CHI	17	15	15	17	6	70
15	Ryan Groy	BUF	16	17	16	15	6	70
16	Mitch Morse	KC	15	16	15	17	6	69
17	Greg Mancz	HOU	15	18	17	13	6	69
18	Ben Jones	TEN	17	16	15	14	6	68
19	Joe Hawley	TB	15	16	17	14	6	68
20	Russell Bodine	CIN	16	15	17	14	6	68
21	Brandon Linder	JAX	15	16	16	14	6	67
22	Nick Easton	MIN	16	14	15	16	6	67
23	Tyler Larsen	CAR	16	14	14	16	6	66
24	Justin Britt	SEA	16	14	15	15	6	66
25	David Andrews	NE	16	14	15	14	6	65
26	Kraig Urbik	MIA	16	13	15	14	6	64
27	Matt Paradis	DEN	15	14	16	13	6	64
28	Spencer Long	WAS	15	13	15	14	6	63
29	Marcus Martin	SF	13	15	16	13	6	63
30	Tim Barnes	LA	16	13	15	13	6	63
31	Graham Glasgow	DET	17	11	13	15	6	62
32	Matt Slauson	SD	14	12	15	14	6	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• John Greco—injury
• Daniel Kilgore—injury
• Nick Mangold—insufficient snaps
• Travis Swanson—insufficient snaps
• Mike Pouncey—insufficient snaps
• Ryan Kalil—insufficient snaps
• Eric Wood—insufficient snaps

3-4 Defensive Ends

Norm Hall/Getty Images

As we near the conclusion to the 2016 regular season, the remaining players have settled into common spots on this list. Arizona's Calais Campbell, San Diego's Joey Bosa, San Francisco's DeForest Buckner, Washington's Chris Baker, Green Bay's Mike Daniels and Chicago's Akiem Hicks have routinely graded out as the best players at this position.

Pittsburgh's Stephon Tuitt was injured after the first drive in Week 15, but you can count on him to perform as one of the elite 3-4 ends in the NFL as well. As the Jets started playing more of a three-man front, Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson have responded with better play.

On the other end of the spectrum, somebody needs to find out where the early-season Timmy Jernigan has gone. As the edge players got healthy for Baltimore, Jernigan seemed to lose opportunities and effort. Campbell was the best run defender, which is no surprise. Cornelius Washington of the Bears was the highest-scoring pass-rusher. 

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 15)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 30)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Defensive End Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Calais Campbell	ARI	12	17	22	15	7	73
2	Joey Bosa	SD	14	17	20	14	7	72
3	DeForest Buckner	SF	11	17	21	15	7	71
4	Chris Baker	WAS	12	17	21	14	7	71
5	Mike Daniels	GB	10	17	21	15	7	70
6	Jared Crick	DEN	12	15	21	15	7	70
7	Sheldon Richardson	NYJ	12	14	20	15	7	68
8	Akiem Hicks	CHI	11	17	20	13	7	68
9	Cornelius Washington	CHI	11	18	19	13	7	68
10	Dean Lowry	GB	10	16	20	14	7	67
11	Emmanuel Ogbah	CLE	13	16	18	13	7	67
12	Chris Jones	KC	12	15	19	14	7	67
13	Muhammad Wilkerson	NYJ	12	13	21	13	7	66
14	Ronald Blair	SF	10	16	19	14	7	66
15	Quinton Dial	SF	10	15	20	14	7	66
16	Ziggy Hood	WAS	10	16	19	14	7	66
17	Denico Autry	OAK	11	14	19	15	7	66
18	Frostee Rucker	ARI	10	15	19	14	7	65
19	Josh Mauro	ARI	10	15	19	14	7	65
20	Robert Nkemdiche	ARI	11	15	18	14	7	65
21	Jonathan Bullard	CHI	10	16	18	14	7	65
22	Mitch Unrein	CHI	9	15	21	13	7	65
23	Ricky Jean-Francois	WAS	10	15	19	14	7	65
24	Derek Wolfe	DEN	12	14	19	13	7	65
25	Lawrence Guy	BAL	11	14	19	13	7	64
26	Jurrell Casey	TEN	11	13	19	14	7	64
27	Ricardo Mathews	PIT	10	13	19	14	7	63
28	Jamie Meder	CLE	9	14	18	15	7	63
29	L.T. Walton	PIT	10	13	18	14	7	62
30	Adolphus Washington	BUF	11	12	19	13	7	62
31	Antonio Smith	HOU	10	14	18	13	7	62
32	Leger Douzable	BUF	10	12	19	13	7	61
33	Karl Klug	TEN	11	14	17	12	7	61
34	Carl Nassib	CLE	11	13	16	13	7	60
35	Billy Winn	DEN	10	12	18	13	7	60
36	Henry Anderson	IND	11	13	18	11	7	60
37	Joel Heath	HOU	9	12	18	13	7	59
38	Corey Liuget	SD	10	12	19	11	7	59
39	DaQuan Jones	TEN	9	12	18	13	7	59
40	Timmy Jernigan	BAL	10	12	17	12	7	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Stephon Tuitt—insufficient snaps
• Christian Covington—insufficient snaps
• Arik Armstead—injury
• Kendall Reyes—inactive

4-3 Defensive Ends

Peter Aiken/Getty Images

This week's action started off with above-average play from several defensive ends in the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. With Robert Quinn out for L.A., William Hayes stole the show as the team's premier pass-rusher. Meanwhile, Seattle's Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Frank Clark and Cassius Marsh turned up the heat on rookie quarterback Jared Goff, eventually spoiling the team's debut without the recently fired Jeff Fisher.

Two of the league's youngest stars—Khalil Mack (25) and Vic Beasley (24)—continued their streak of dominance. Mack's Raiders frustrated Philip Rivers to close out their win against the San Diego Chargers, whose last offensive snap was a fourth-down interception.

New Orleans' Cameron Jordan and Philadelphia's Brandon Graham continue to climb their way up the NFL's totem pole of edge defenders too.

The breakout player of the week is Dallas' David Irving. After seeing little time in the first half, he took over in the fourth quarter on Sunday Night Football to record several pressures and force multiple interceptions by Jameis Winston in the Cowboys' comeback victory at home against the Bucs. If not for Irving, Ryan Delaire's Monday Night Football effort with the Carolina Panthers would have been the most surprising performance of the week. 

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Defensive End Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Snap	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Khalil Mack	OAK	22	16	16	14	8	76
2	Michael Bennett	SEA	21	16	16	13	8	74
3	Cliff Avril	SEA	23	13	16	14	8	74
4	Vic Beasley	ATL	21	13	17	14	8	73
5	Cameron Jordan	NO	21	14	16	14	8	73
6	David Irving	DAL	21	13	16	14	8	72
7	Brandon Graham	PHI	20	14	15	15	8	72
8	Frank Clark	SEA	22	12	16	14	8	72
9	Cameron Wake	MIA	21	12	16	14	8	71
10	Benson Mayowa	DAL	20	14	15	14	8	71
11	William Hayes	LA	20	13	15	15	8	71
12	Mario Addison	CAR	20	13	15	14	8	70
13	Ryan Delaire	CAR	20	14	13	15	8	70
14	Ezekiel Ansah	DET	21	12	15	14	8	70
15	Danielle Hunter	MIN	21	13	15	13	8	70
16	Olivier Vernon	NYG	20	13	14	15	8	70
17	Cassius Marsh	SEA	21	13	14	14	8	70
18	Trey Flowers	NE	22	14	13	13	8	70
19	Dwight Freeney	ATL	20	13	14	14	8	69
20	Ryan Davis	DAL	20	13	14	14	8	69
21	Devin Taylor	DET	20	13	14	14	8	69
22	Ethan Westbrooks	LA	20	14	14	13	8	69
23	Eugene Sims	LA	19	13	14	15	8	69
24	Kasim Edebali	NO	19	13	15	14	8	69
25	Noah Spence	TB	20	12	15	14	8	69
26	Jabaal Sheard	NE	21	13	14	13	8	69
27	Margus Hunt	CIN	19	15	12	14	8	68
28	Wes Horton	CAR	19	13	14	14	8	68
29	Kerry Hyder	DET	19	12	14	15	8	68
30	Everson Griffen	MIN	20	14	15	11	8	68
31	Romeo Okwara	NYG	19	13	13	14	8	67
32	Marcus Smith	PHI	18	13	14	14	8	67
33	Connor Barwin	PHI	19	13	14	13	8	67
34	Ryan Russell	TB	18	13	14	14	8	67
35	Brooks Reed	ATL	19	12	14	13	8	66
36	Jack Crawford	DAL	17	13	14	14	8	66
37	Paul Kruger	NO	19	13	13	13	8	66
38	Owamagbe Odighizuwa	NYG	19	12	14	13	8	66
39	Robert Ayers	TB	18	13	14	13	8	66
40	Yannick Ngakoue	JAX	20	12	14	12	8	66
41	Tyson Alualu	JAX	17	14	11	16	8	66
42	Andre Branch	MIA	19	11	13	14	8	65
43	Tyrone Crawford	DAL	18	12	14	13	8	65
44	Brian Robison	MIN	19	12	13	13	8	65
45	Vinny Curry	PHI	19	12	13	13	8	65
46	Chris Long	NE	18	14	12	13	8	65
47	Michael Johnson	CIN	17	14	13	12	8	64
48	Malliciah Goodman	ATL	18	12	13	13	8	64
49	Anthony Zettel	DET	19	12	12	13	8	64
50	Morgan Fox	LA	17	13	13	13	8	64
51	William Gholston	TB	18	13	12	13	8	64
52	Carlos Dunlap	CIN	19	12	12	12	8	63
53	Jason Jones	MIA	17	13	11	14	8	63
54	Kony Ealy	CAR	17	12	13	13	8	63
55	Dante Fowler Jr.	JAX	17	12	12	12	8	61
56	Will Clarke	CIN	17	12	13	10	8	60
57	Mario Williams	MIA	16	12	10	12	8	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Robert Quinn—injury
• Jason Pierre-Paul—injury
• Adrian Clayborn—injury
• DeMarcus Lawrence—injury
• Charles Johnson—injury
• Jared Odrick—inactive
• Lorenzo Mauldin—inactive

Defensive Tackles

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Miami Dolphins tackle Ndamukong Suh had a monstrous game against the Jets on Saturday night. He and Cameron Wake teamed up to make quarterback Bryce Petty's life hell. Suh finished with two quarterback hurries, one QB hit and three stops. Even though Jets running back Bilal Powell had a solid day on the ground, Suh was strong versus the run. 

Buffalo's Kyle Williams was dominant against the Browns offensive line with three total tackles and 1.5 sacks. He is flying under the radar (again) but continuing the strong play he's shown his entire career. Giants tackle Damon Harrison mauled the Lions offensive line. He was immovable at the point of attack and showed off some freakish quickness for a 350-pound nose tackle. He's been worth the price New York paid for him in the offseason ($46.25 million over five years).

Atlanta's Grady Jarrett and the Jets' Leonard Williams have had strong sophomore seasons. Jarrett played well against the 49ers offensive line, while Williams left little room for Miami running back Jay Ajayi to work. Both look like future centerpieces for their team's defensive line. New England's Malcom Brown is becoming a force on the Patriots defense as well. His technique is impeccable, and it's helped him develop into a top-tier run defender, even though he isn't the biggest defensive tackle at 6'2", 320 pounds. 

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Defensive Tackle Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ndamukong Suh	MIA	21	20	19	13	7	80
2	Aaron Donald	LA	19	19	21	13	7	79
3	Geno Atkins	CIN	19	19	18	12	7	75
4	Kyle Williams	BUF	18	19	18	12	7	74
5	Damon Harrison	NYG	16	15	22	13	7	73
6	Grady Jarrett	ATL	17	15	19	13	7	71
7	Malcom Brown	NE	16	16	19	13	7	71
8	Leonard Williams	NYJ	17	16	19	12	7	71
9	Fletcher Cox	PHI	18	18	17	11	7	71
10	Malik Jackson	JAX	18	17	17	11	7	70
11	Star Lotulelei	CAR	17	15	18	12	7	69
12	Kawann Short	CAR	17	14	19	11	7	68
13	Dominique Easley	LA	16	17	16	12	7	68
14	Nick Fairley	NO	17	17	16	11	7	68
15	Michael Pierce	BAL	15	12	21	12	7	67
16	Hassan Ridgeway	IND	16	16	16	11	7	66
17	Michael Brockers	LA	14	15	19	11	7	66
18	Ra'Shede Hageman	ATL	16	16	15	11	7	65
19	Maliek Collins	DAL	16	15	16	11	7	65
20	T.Y McGill	IND	15	16	17	10	7	65
21	Linval Joseph	MIN	16	13	18	11	7	65
22	Johnathan Hankins	NYG	15	15	17	11	7	65
23	Deon Simon	NYJ	15	14	19	10	7	65
24	Javon Hargrave	PIT	16	14	17	11	7	65
25	Jarran Reed	SEA	15	14	18	11	7	65
26	Zach Kerr	IND	16	15	15	11	7	64
27	Sheldon Rankins	NO	16	15	16	10	7	64
28	Brandon Williams	BAL	14	13	18	11	7	63
29	Marcell Dareus	BUF	16	14	15	11	7	63
30	Vernon Butler	CAR	15	13	17	11	7	63
31	Terrell McClain	DAL	14	13	17	12	7	63
32	Cedric Thornton	DAL	15	14	16	11	7	63
33	Kenny Clark	GB	16	14	15	11	7	63
34	D.J. Reader	HOU	15	14	17	10	7	63
35	Sen'Derrick Marks	JAX	16	15	14	11	7	63
36	Earl Mitchell	MIA	16	15	15	10	7	63
37	Alan Branch	NE	15	14	16	11	7	63
38	Tony McDaniel	SEA	14	14	17	11	7	63
39	Corey Peters	ARI	15	14	16	10	7	62
40	Letroy Guion	GB	15	14	16	10	7	62
41	Sheldon Day	JAX	16	13	15	11	7	62
42	Darius Latham	OAK	15	14	15	11	7	62
43	Daniel McCullers	PIT	14	13	17	11	7	62
44	Courtney Upshaw	ATL	15	14	14	11	7	61
45	Haloti Ngata	DET	14	13	16	11	7	61
46	Dontari Poe	KC	16	13	14	11	7	61
47	Jay Bromley	NYG	14	11	17	12	7	61
48	Bennie Logan	PHI	15	14	15	10	7	61
49	Beau Allen	PHI	14	14	15	11	7	61
50	Gerald McCoy	TB	15	14	14	11	7	61
51	Al Woods	TEN	14	13	16	11	7	61
52	Jerel Worthy	BUF	14	14	15	10	7	60
53	Kyle Love	CAR	13	14	16	10	7	60
54	Khryi Thornton	DET	15	14	14	10	7	60
55	Vince Wilfork	HOU	14	12	16	11	7	60
56	Abry Jones	JAX	15	14	14	10	7	60
57	Jordan Phillips	MIA	15	14	14	10	7	60
58	Tom Johnson	MIN	14	15	14	10	7	60
59	Vincent Valentine	NE	14	13	16	10	7	60
60	Justin Ellis	OAK	14	13	15	11	7	60
61	Ahtyba Rubin	SEA	13	15	15	10	7	60
62	Danny Shelton	CLE	14	13	15	10	7	59
63	Rakeem Nunez-Roches	KC	15	14	13	10	7	59
64	Cam Thomas	LA	13	14	14	11	7	59
65	Tyeler Davison	NO	14	13	15	10	7	59
66	David Onyemata	NO	15	13	14	10	7	59
67	Damion Square	SD	15	13	14	10	7	59
68	Rodney Gunter	ARI	13	14	14	10	7	58
69	Domata Peko	CIN	15	13	13	10	7	58
70	Stephen Paea	CLE	15	14	12	10	7	58
71	Jordan Hill	JAX	14	13	14	10	7	58
72	Dan Williams	OAK	13	12	15	11	7	58
73	Austin Johnson	TEN	13	13	15	10	7	58
74	Jonathan Babineaux	ATL	14	13	13	10	7	57
75	Deshawn Williams	CIN	14	13	13	10	7	57
76	Tyrunn Walker	DET	14	13	12	11	7	57
77	David Parry	IND	14	13	13	10	7	57
78	T.J. Barnes	KC	13	14	12	10	7	56
79	Destiny Vaeao	PHI	13	12	14	10	7	56
80	Tyson Jackson	ATL	12	13	13	10	7	55
81	Jihad Ward	OAK	13	12	13	10	7	55
82	Clinton McDonald	TB	13	13	12	10	7	55
83	A'Shawn Robinson	DET	13	12	12	10	7	54
84	Akeem Spence	TB	12	13	12	10	7	54
85	Cullen Jenkins	WAS	12	14	12	9	7	54
86	Shamar Stephens	MIN	12	11	13	10	7	53
87	Pat Sims	CIN	12	11	12	10	7	52
88	Mike Purcell	SF	13	11	12	9	7	52
89	Sylvester Williams	DEN	13	12	10	9	7	51
90	Will Sutton	CHI	12	11	11	9	7	50
91	Glenn Dorsey	SF	13	10	11	9	7	50

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• John Jenkins—inactive
• Sharrif Floyd—injury
• Steve McLendon—injury
• Eddie Goldman—injury
• Stacy McGee—inactive
• Paul Soliai—inactive

3-4 Outside Linebackers

Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

There may not be a more underappreciated player in the NFL right now than Jadeveon Clowney, who continues to be an unblockable force for the Texans. He notched a sack for the second straight game in Week 15, giving him a career-high five sacks for the season. Clowney doesn't always pile up the volume stats, but few players disrupt a higher percentage of plays from week to week. The former No. 1 overall pick earned the top pass-rushing and overall grades for Week 15. 

Right behind Clowney is Melvin Ingram, who continues to play like one of the more versatile 3-4 outside linebackers in the game. At No. 3 is Shane Ray, who was a lone bright spot for a Broncos defense that struggled to get consistent pressure on Tom Brady.

Erik Walden's two-sack game against the Vikings gave him a career-high 10 for the season, while Green Bay's Julius Peppers had a huge strip-sack to begin the second half against his former team in Chicago.

The top rookie in Week 15 was Brennan Scarlett, who came off injured reserve and filled in admirably for Whitney Mercilus and John Simon during the Texans' win over the Jaguars.

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Cvg	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Jadeveon Clowney	HOU	27	17	9	22	8	83
2	Melvin Ingram	SD	24	15	11	21	8	79
3	Shane Ray	DEN	24	14	10	19	8	75
4	Erik Walden	IND	25	12	10	20	8	75
5	Brian Orakpo	TEN	23	13	12	18	8	74
6	Julius Peppers	GB	23	14	9	19	8	73
7	Markus Golden	ARI	23	13	9	19	8	72
8	Pernell McPhee	CHI	24	12	9	19	8	72
9	James Harrison	PIT	19	13	10	22	8	72
10	Kyle Emanuel	SD	20	15	11	18	8	72
11	Terrell Suggs	BAL	23	13	9	18	8	71
12	Brennan Scarlett	HOU	22	14	9	18	8	71
13	Robert Mathis	IND	23	12	9	18	8	70
14	Dee Ford	KC	21	13	9	18	8	69
15	Shaquil Barrett	DEN	19	15	9	18	8	69
16	Chandler Jones	ARI	21	13	9	18	8	69
17	Elvis Dumervil	BAL	22	12	9	18	8	69
18	Lorenzo Alexander	BUF	23	12	9	17	8	69
19	Trent Cole	IND	21	13	9	17	8	68
20	Ryan Kerrigan	WAS	22	11	9	18	8	68
21	Shaq Lawson	BUF	22	11	9	18	8	68
22	Cam Johnson	CLE	20	13	10	17	8	68
23	Trent Murphy	WAS	21	12	10	16	8	67
24	Willie Young	CHI	20	12	9	18	8	67
25	Derrick Morgan	TEN	19	12	10	17	8	66
26	Datone Jones	GB	19	13	8	18	8	66
27	Ahmad Brooks	SF	17	14	9	18	8	66
28	Preston Smith	WAS	20	12	9	17	8	66
29	Von Miller	DEN	18	14	7	18	8	65
30	Jerry Hughes	BUF	20	12	9	16	8	65
31	Akeem Ayers	IND	17	12	10	18	8	65
32	Aaron Lynch	SF	18	13	9	17	8	65
33	Bud Dupree	PIT	17	12	10	18	8	65
34	Justin Houston	KC	19	11	9	17	8	64
35	Alex Okafor	ARI	18	12	9	17	8	64
36	Matt Judon	BAL	18	12	9	17	8	64
37	Akeem Dent	HOU	18	12	9	17	8	64
38	Albert McClellan	BAL	17	12	10	17	8	64
39	Chris Landrum	SD	18	13	9	16	8	64
40	Tamba Hali	KC	18	11	9	17	8	63
41	Clay Matthews	GB	17	11	9	17	8	62
42	Leonard Floyd	CHI	18	10	10	16	8	62
43	Tank Carradine	SF	17	12	9	16	8	62
44	DeMarcus Ware	DEN	17	11	9	16	8	61
45	Jamie Collins	CLE	18	10	9	16	8	61
46	Eli Harold	SF	17	11	9	16	8	61
47	Aaron Wallace	TEN	18	10	9	16	8	61
48	Joe Schobert	CLE	17	11	9	16	8	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Za'Darius Smith—injury
• Nick Perry—injury
• Whitney Mercilus—injury
• John Simon—injury
• David Bass—injury
• Jayrone Elliott—insufficient snaps
• Kyler Fackrell—insufficient snaps
• Frank Zombo—insufficient snaps
• Jarvis Jones—insufficient snaps
• Arthur Moats—insufficient snaps
• Anthony Chickillo—insufficient snaps
• Kevin Dodd—insufficient snaps

4-3 Outside Linebackers

Don Juan Moore/Getty Images

Overall linebacker play bounced back this week. Many of the players who faltered in Week 14 returned to a more normal level of play.

Third-year linebacker Telvin Smith was a menace this week. Although the Jaguars offense could not get much going, the defense held it down with Smith leading the charge. He made plays in every phase of the game. While playing in zone coverage early on in the matchup, he poached the middle of the field and snatched an interception from Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler.

The Jags asked Smith to blitz on occasion as well, and he often forced the Houston quarterbacks to retreat or rush their throws. As a run defender, Smith had a typical day. It was not his finest game, but he did his job and bogged down the Texans' rushing efforts. 

Sean Lee of the Cowboys had another great game. He has been good throughout the season, but Lee has been especially impressive of late. With the season coming to a close and the Cowboys gearing up for a playoff run, Lee is getting into his groove at the right time. The Cowboys need him to lead their defense.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Telvin Smith	JAX	21	19	10	20	6	76
2	Sean Lee	DAL	19	21	8	19	6	73
3	Bruce Irvin	OAK	16	19	12	20	6	73
4	Nigel Bradham	PHI	18	18	12	19	6	73
5	Shaq Thompson	CAR	17	19	8	19	6	69
6	Vontaze Burfict	CIN	19	18	7	19	6	69
7	Lavonte David	TB	15	19	10	19	6	69
8	Thomas Davis	CAR	17	18	8	19	6	68
9	Devon Kennard	NYG	18	19	7	18	6	68
10	De'Vondre Campbell	ATL	17	19	7	18	6	67
11	DeAndre Levy	DET	18	18	7	18	6	67
12	Darron Lee	NYJ	16	19	7	19	6	67
13	Jordan Jenkins	NYJ	16	18	9	18	6	67
14	Malcolm Smith	OAK	17	18	7	18	6	66
15	Karlos Dansby	CIN	17	17	7	18	6	65
16	Jonathan Casillas	NYG	15	18	7	19	6	65
17	Kyle Van Noy	NE	17	16	7	18	6	64
18	K.J. Wright	SEA	15	17	8	18	6	64
19	Vincent Rey	CIN	16	17	7	17	6	63
20	Justin Durant	DAL	15	17	7	18	6	63
21	Anthony Barr	MIN	16	15	9	17	6	63
22	Rob Ninkovich	NE	15	17	8	17	6	63
23	Mychal Kendricks	PHI	16	17	7	17	6	63
24	Paul Worrilow	ATL	17	14	8	17	6	62
25	Josh Bynes	DET	17	15	7	17	6	62
26	Myles Jack	JAX	15	17	7	17	6	62
27	Mark Barron	LA	15	16	7	18	6	62
28	Philip Wheeler	ATL	15	16	8	16	6	61
29	Damien Wilson	DAL	16	16	7	16	6	61
30	Dannell Ellerbe	NO	15	15	9	16	6	61
31	Jelani Jenkins	MIA	16	15	7	17	6	61
32	Michael Morgan	SEA	15	16	7	17	6	61
33	Cory Littleton	LA	14	16	7	17	6	60
34	Spencer Paysinger	MIA	16	16	7	15	6	60
35	Neville Hewitt	MIA	15	16	7	16	6	60
36	Chad Greenway	MIN	13	17	7	17	6	60
37	Shea McClellin	NE	15	15	8	16	6	60
38	Daryl Smith	TB	14	16	7	16	6	59
39	Craig Robertson	NO	15	15	7	15	6	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jaylon Smith—injury
• Josh Forrest—injury
• Stephone Anthony—injury
• Keenan Robinson—injury
• Sean Weatherspoon—insufficient snaps
• Kyle Wilber—insufficient snaps
• Antwione Williams—insufficient snaps
• Arthur Brown—insufficient snaps
• Donald Butler—insufficient snaps
• Koa Misi—insufficient snaps

Inside Linebackers

John Grieshop/Getty Images

Grades are down across the board, with few inside linebackers having highlight-worthy performances in Week 15. While some guys stood out for a variety of individual plays, few players put together an entire game's worth of quality play. The expectations for inside linebackers are increasingly varied and, as such, increasingly difficult. Few linebackers can routinely make an impact versus both the run and the pass. As a result, players like Atlanta rookie Deion Jones are garnering more attention. 

A player to spotlight this week for all the wrong reasons is Minnesota's Eric Kendricks. Early in the season, he appeared to be the second-best inside linebacker in the league behind Carolina's Luke Kuechly. The Vikings were rolling with a 5-0 record, and Kendricks did everything for them. However, an injury in the middle of the season slowed his momentum, and his play Sunday was his worst all season. Indianapolis doesn't boast a particularly impressive offensive line, and yet it had no trouble dealing with Kendricks and the Vikings front.

At the start to the season, Kendricks excelled with a combination of speed, instincts and preparation. He seemed to know what was coming, and more importantly, he was physically equipped to deal with it. Now, as the season comes to a close, Kendricks struggles to show the first-step burst and anticipation that made him look so special early. Whether it's a combination of cold weather, nagging injuries or a disappointing season for the team overall, Kendricks' performance this week is indicative of an entire Vikings team that's ready for the season to be over.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Defense (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 35)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Inside Linebacker Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ryan Shazier	PIT	20	28	12	11	6	77
2	Paul Posluszny	JAX	19	30	10	11	6	76
3	Jatavis Brown	SD	20	28	10	11	6	75
4	Bobby Wagner	SEA	20	27	10	11	6	74
5	C.J. Mosley	BAL	20	27	10	11	6	74
6	Deion Jones	ATL	20	27	9	11	6	73
7	Dont'a Hightower	NE	19	28	10	10	6	73
8	Perry Riley Jr.	OAK	18	27	10	11	6	72
9	Lawrence Timmons	PIT	19	27	10	10	6	72
10	Kevin Minter	ARI	18	26	11	11	6	72
11	Todd Davis	DEN	18	28	9	11	6	72
12	Benardrick McKinney	HOU	18	26	11	10	6	71
13	Brian Cushing	HOU	18	28	9	10	6	71
14	Wesley Woodyard	TEN	17	28	9	11	6	71
15	Ramik Wilson	KC	17	27	9	11	6	70
16	Jordan Hicks	PHI	19	26	8	11	6	70
17	Antonio Morrison	IND	16	28	10	10	6	70
18	Zach Brown	BUF	18	26	9	11	6	70
19	Kiko Alonso	MIA	19	25	10	9	6	69
20	Bruce Carter	NYJ	16	29	8	10	6	69
21	Tahir Whitehead	DET	19	25	9	9	6	68
22	Joe Thomas	GB	18	24	10	10	6	68
23	Corey Nelson	DEN	17	26	8	11	6	68
24	Nick Vigil	CIN	18	25	9	10	6	68
25	Avery Williamson	TEN	17	25	9	10	6	67
26	Anthony Hitchens	DAL	16	26	8	11	6	67
27	Edwin Jackson	IND	15	27	9	10	6	67
28	Elandon Roberts	NE	17	26	8	10	6	67
29	Preston Brown	BUF	16	24	9	11	6	66
30	Kelvin Sheppard	NYG	17	24	8	11	6	66
31	Michael Wilhoite	SF	18	23	9	10	6	66
32	Demario Davis	CLE	16	23	10	11	6	66
33	Mason Foster	WAS	16	24	9	10	6	65
34	John Timu	CHI	17	23	9	10	6	65
35	Denzel Perryman	SD	18	22	9	10	6	65
36	Korey Toomer	SD	18	23	9	9	6	65
37	Nathan Stupar	NO	16	23	9	10	6	64
38	A.J. Klein	CAR	16	24	9	9	6	64
39	Jake Ryan	GB	17	22	10	9	6	64
40	Nick Kwiatkoski	CHI	17	22	10	9	6	64
41	Blake Martinez	GB	17	21	9	10	6	63
42	Chris Kirksey	CLE	16	21	9	11	6	63
43	D.J. Alexander	KC	16	22	9	10	6	63
44	Sio Moore	ARI	16	22	9	10	6	63
45	Kwon Alexander	TB	14	23	8	11	6	62
46	Rey Maualuga	CIN	17	20	9	10	6	62
47	Alec Ogletree	LA	17	20	9	9	6	61
48	David Harris	NYJ	14	20	10	10	6	60
49	Eric Kendricks	MIN	14	22	8	9	6	59
50	Zach Orr	BAL	16	19	9	9	6	59
51	Martrell Spaight	WAS	12	21	9	10	6	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Deone Bucannon—injury
• Luke Kuechly—injury
• Danny Trevathan—injury
• Brandon M. Marshall—injury
• Derrick O. Johnson—injury
• Gerald Hodges—injury
• Sean Spence—injury
• Will Compton—injury
• Su'a Cravens—injury
• Zaire Anderson—insufficient snaps
• Nick Bellore—insufficient snaps
• Jerrell Freeman—suspension
• D'Qwell Jackson—suspension

Cornerbacks

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Week 15 of the 2016 NFL season belonged to AFC cornerbacks, as we saw many high-end performances from that group. The AFC boasts a blend of young, ascending talent to go with several more well-known names, and when that developing youth performs, the entire positional landscape is much stronger.

In the NFC, most of the cornerbacks graded closer to average, as the conference scored a mean total of 23 points per team. The AFC averaged three points fewer per team, likely in part to the better cornerback play. 

One surprisingly lower-graded cornerback in recent weeks, as well as Week 15, is Trumaine Johnson of the Rams. After losing Janoris Jenkins last offseason, the Rams switched from a primarily Cover 2 press team to an off-ball alignment with their cornerbacks. This move, made to protect their flawed secondary, has basically neutered Johnson's impact on the game in a contract year.

Even this past week, Johnson allowed two of three targets to be completed. Johnson is a physical corner who wins at the line of scrimmage. By playing him eight yards off the receiver, he's being forced to read the quarterback earlier, and opponents take advantage of the slightest hesitation. It hasn't been a positive scheme change for him, and the Rams must take this into account this offseason when building a roster for their new staff.

The top-ranked cornerback this week is Jerraud Powers of the Ravens. With Baltimore ace Jimmy Smith nursing an injury, the team asked Powers to do more in coverage against the Eagles, and he responded in spades. On seven targets, he gave up three catches for a measly 14 yards. He was also aggressive in the run game, as he came up with three stops, one where he beat a block for a tackle for loss.

Tennessee's LeShaun Sims is taking to his new role as a starter quite well. Against Kansas City, he only allowed one catch on five targets for four yards. He also made a big interception in the end zone, undercutting a slant route from Jeremy Maclin. The Titans need all the help they can get in the secondary, and Sims is providing that.

Sean Smith continues to have a dreadful first year in Oakland. The Chargers' receivers are replacement-level players at best, but he still struggled Sunday. Smith looks and runs like a linebacker. He gave up four catches on six targets for 86 yards and was beaten five times on those targets, including a long 47-yard touchdown. Smith is going to cost Oakland in the playoffs.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

React: Reaction/Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Cornerback Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	React	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Jerraud Powers	BAL	21	22	17	7	9	76
2	Stephon Gilmore	BUF	23	23	16	5	9	76
3	Jalen Ramsey	JAX	22	24	15	6	9	76
4	Richard Sherman	SEA	22	21	17	7	9	76
5	LeShaun Sims	TEN	22	23	16	6	9	76
6	Chris Harris Jr.	DEN	22	22	16	6	9	75
7	Shareece Wright	BAL	22	22	16	5	9	74
8	Adam Jones	CIN	22	22	16	5	9	74
9	Logan Ryan	NE	21	22	16	6	9	74
10	Eli Apple	NYG	22	20	18	5	9	74
11	Terrance Mitchell	KC	21	22	16	5	9	73
12	Tony Lippett	MIA	21	23	15	5	9	73
13	Xavier Rhodes	MIN	19	21	18	6	9	73
14	Darryl Morris	IND	20	21	16	6	9	72
15	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	NYG	21	20	17	5	9	72
16	David Amerson	OAK	22	20	16	5	9	72
17	Casey Hayward	SD	21	21	16	5	9	72
18	Trovon Reed	SD	21	20	16	6	9	72
19	Xavien Howard	MIA	20	21	16	5	9	71
20	Bashaud Breeland	WAS	19	18	19	6	9	71
21	Orlando Scandrick	DAL	19	18	19	5	9	70
22	AJ Bouye	HOU	20	20	15	6	9	70
23	Kareem Jackson	HOU	20	18	17	6	9	70
24	Malcolm Butler	NE	20	20	16	5	9	70
25	Artie Burns	PIT	19	21	16	5	9	70
26	Steven Nelson	KC	19	20	16	5	9	69
27	Dre Kirkpatrick	CIN	15	21	16	7	9	68
28	Jamar Taylor	CLE	19	19	16	5	9	68
29	Nickell Robey-Coleman	BUF	19	18	16	5	9	67
30	Daryl Worley	CAR	18	17	17	6	9	67
31	Joe Haden	CLE	19	18	16	5	9	67
32	Josh Norman	WAS	16	18	18	6	9	67
33	Chris Milton	IND	18	19	15	5	9	66
34	Brice McCain	TEN	18	18	16	5	9	66
35	Vontae Davis	IND	18	18	15	5	9	65
36	Terence Newman	MIN	17	17	17	5	9	65
37	Sterling Moore	NO	16	17	17	6	9	65
38	Nolan Carroll	PHI	18	17	15	6	9	65
39	Vernon Hargreaves	TB	17	17	16	6	9	65
40	Aqib Talib	DEN	18	18	14	5	9	64
41	Bradley Roby	DEN	17	18	15	5	9	64
42	Robert Nelson Jr.	HOU	17	18	15	5	9	64
43	Trumaine Johnson	LA	16	18	15	6	9	64
44	Eric Rowe	NE	18	17	15	5	9	64
45	Tavon Young	BAL	16	18	15	5	9	63
46	Ronald Darby	BUF	17	17	15	5	9	63
47	James Bradberry	CAR	16	18	15	5	9	63
48	Tramaine Brock	SF	16	16	17	5	9	63
49	Brent Grimes	TB	18	15	17	4	9	63
50	Patrick Peterson	ARI	17	15	16	5	9	62
51	Robert Alford	ATL	16	17	15	5	9	62
52	Briean Boddy-Calhoun	CLE	17	16	15	5	9	62
53	Marcus Peters	KC	17	16	15	5	9	62
54	Jalen Mills	PHI	17	15	16	5	9	62
55	DeShawn Shead	SEA	16	15	16	6	9	62
56	Anthony Brown	DAL	15	16	16	5	9	61
57	Nevin Lawson	DET	16	15	16	5	9	61
58	Darrelle Revis	NYJ	17	15	15	5	9	61
59	William Gay	PIT	16	16	15	5	9	61
60	Quinton Dunbar	WAS	16	15	16	5	9	61
61	Rashaan Melvin	IND	16	15	15	5	9	60
62	Lamarcus Joyner	LA	15	16	15	5	9	60
63	Leodis McKelvin	PHI	15	16	15	5	9	60
64	Ross Cockrell	PIT	17	15	15	4	9	60
65	Antwon Blake	TEN	16	15	15	5	9	60
66	Bobby McCain	MIA	16	15	14	5	9	59
67	Leonard Johnson	CAR	15	14	15	5	9	58
68	Brandon Carr	DAL	15	14	14	6	9	58
69	Ladarius Gunter	GB	14	15	15	5	9	58
70	Ken Crawley	NO	14	15	15	5	9	58
71	Coty Sensabaugh	NYG	14	15	15	5	9	58
72	Tyrann Mathieu	ARI	14	15	13	6	9	57
73	Tracy Porter	CHI	15	14	14	5	9	57
74	Marcus Williams	NYJ	15	14	14	5	9	57
75	Javien Elliott	TB	14	14	15	5	9	57
76	Cre'von LeBlanc	CHI	14	13	14	6	9	56
77	Rashard Robinson	SF	15	13	14	5	9	56
78	Brandon Williams	ARI	14	13	14	5	9	55
79	C.J. Goodwin	ATL	14	13	14	5	9	55
80	Prince Amukamara	JAX	14	13	14	5	9	55
81	Justin Burris	NYJ	14	13	14	5	9	55
82	Trevor Williams	SD	14	13	14	5	9	55
83	Jeremy Lane	SEA	14	13	14	5	9	55
84	Brian Poole	ATL	12	14	13	6	9	54
85	Deji Olatoye	ATL	13	13	14	5	9	54
86	Demontre Hurst	CHI	13	14	13	5	9	54
87	Mike Jordan	LA	12	14	13	6	9	54
88	Captain Munnerlyn	MIN	13	14	13	5	9	54
89	Marcus Cooper	ARI	13	13	13	5	9	53
90	Greg Toler	WAS	13	14	13	4	9	53
91	Quinten Rollins	GB	13	12	12	6	9	52
92	TJ Carrie	OAK	13	12	13	5	9	52
93	Jimmie Ward	SF	12	13	13	5	9	52
94	Jonathan Bademosi	DET	13	12	13	4	9	51
95	Damarious Randall	GB	12	12	13	5	9	51
96	Peyton Thompson	JAX	13	13	13	3	9	51
97	Josh Shaw	CIN	12	11	12	5	9	49
98	Sean Smith	OAK	11	11	13	5	9	49
99	B.W. Webb	NO	11	12	12	4	9	48
100	Asa Jackson	DET	10	10	11	4	9	44

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Desmond Trufant—injury
• Jalen Collins—injury
• Delvin Breaux—injury
• Janoris Jenkins—injury
• Morris Claiborne—injury
• Darius Slay—injury
• Brandon Flowers—injury
• Jason Verrett—injury
• Craig Mager—injury
• Jimmy Smith—injury
• Byron Maxwell—injury
• Buster Skrine—injury
• Daryl Roberts—injury
• Alterraun Verner—insufficient snaps
• Aaron Colvin—insufficient snaps
• Keyvon Semour—insufficient snaps

Free Safeties

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In a week with few standouts at the free safety position, Kansas City's Ron Parker had a strong outing against the Titans. He made a number of plays against the run, especially in the first half, against a Titans team that ranks third in rushing yards per game.

In the first quarter, he came from deep to help finish off a tackle in the run game, while a few plays later he burst through the line of scrimmage to make a tackle for no gain. In the second quarter, he made another tackle on a run that saved a first down and set up a 3rd-and-short. On that 3rd-and-short, Parker burst through the line of scrimmage again to make another tackle for no gain, preventing the first down and forcing the Titans to punt. 

Parker's highlight play, though, came in the third quarter in coverage. The Titans ran a play-action pass with tight end Delanie Walker running a deep over route. Parker didn't bite on the run fake, staying with Walker while reading the throw. He undercut the route and made a fantastic one-handed interception to get the Chiefs the ball back.

Eagles safety Rodney McLeod has been a disappointment recently. He's an incredible talent with elite range that is second only to Earl Thomas, but he's failed to perform to the best of his abilities in recent weeks.

That was the case again in Week 15 against the Ravens. In the first quarter, McLeod filled in a run from the back side of the play. He made the tackle on the running back but was dragged across the first-down marker before he was able to fully secure the tackle. Later on, the Ravens took a deep shot to receiver Steve Smith Sr. McLeod, as the free safety, has to stay on top of everything deep, but he failed to do so on this occasion.

In the fourth quarter, he was far too tentative on Kenneth Dixon's touchdown run. He came up to meet Dixon but then hesitated, stopping his feet and his momentum. That delay allowed Dixon to run over him and burst into the end zone for a touchdown.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 10)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Free Safety Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ron Parker	KC	25	24	7	15	8	79
2	Devin McCourty	NE	24	24	6	16	8	78
3	Byron Jones	DAL	23	23	6	16	8	76
4	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	GB	24	23	6	15	8	76
5	Tre Boston	CAR	23	22	5	16	8	74
6	Glover Quin	DET	23	21	6	15	8	73
7	Darius Butler	IND	22	23	5	15	8	73
8	Anthony Harris	MIN	22	21	6	16	8	73
9	Andrew Adams	NYG	22	21	6	16	8	73
10	Mike Mitchell	PIT	22	22	6	15	8	73
11	Darian Stewart	DEN	22	21	5	16	8	72
12	Isa Abdul-Quddus	MIA	22	21	6	15	8	72
13	Antoine Bethea	SF	22	22	5	15	8	72
14	T.J. Green	IND	20	22	6	15	8	71
15	Cody Davis	LA	20	23	5	15	8	71
16	Leon Hall	NYG	21	20	6	16	8	71
17	Reggie Nelson	OAK	23	20	5	15	8	71
18	Bradley McDougald	TB	21	21	6	15	8	71
19	Ricardo Allen	ATL	21	22	4	15	8	70
20	George Iloka	CIN	22	20	5	15	8	70
21	Andre Hal	HOU	21	21	4	16	8	70
22	Tashaun Gipson	JAX	22	21	4	15	8	70
23	Rodney McLeod	PHI	20	22	5	15	8	70
24	Lardarius Webb	BAL	22	21	4	14	8	69
25	Corey Graham	BUF	21	20	5	15	8	69
26	Adrian Amos	CHI	20	21	6	14	8	69
27	Ed Reynolds	CLE	20	20	6	15	8	69
28	Ibraheim Campbell	CLE	19	21	6	15	8	69
29	Jeff Heath	DAL	21	21	4	15	8	69
30	Justin Simmons	DEN	20	20	5	16	8	69
31	Corey Moore	HOU	20	21	5	15	8	69
32	Michael Thomas	MIA	20	20	6	15	8	69
33	Duron Harmon	NE	20	20	5	16	8	69
34	Dwight Lowery	SD	21	21	4	15	8	69
35	Jairus Byrd	NO	21	19	5	15	8	68
36	Steven Terrell	SEA	19	21	5	15	8	68
37	Doug Middleton	NYJ	20	20	4	15	8	67
38	D.J. Swearinger	ARI	18	19	5	15	8	65
39	Kevin Byard	TEN	18	19	5	15	8	65
40	Vonn Bell	NO	18	19	5	14	8	64
41	Rashad Johnson	TEN	19	18	4	15	8	64
42	Will Blackmon	WAS	18	19	4	15	8	64
43	Dontae Johnson	SF	18	16	4	15	8	61
44	Marcus Cromartie	SF	17	18	4	14	8	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Maurice Alexander—inactive
• Harrison Smith—inactive
• Nat Berhe—inactive

Strong Safeties

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Indianapolis' Mike Adams was one of the NFL's top-performing strong safeties in Week 15, as he notched two big turnovers in the second quarter against Minnesota.

The first came on a run from Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Adams came from deep to fill in after Peterson had worked through the first line of defense. Initially, Adams went too high with his tackle attempt, getting driven back past the first-down marker. But then he focused on stripping the ball. It's a risky tactic that often results in giving the runner extra yards, but for Adams, it paid off big time, as he stripped the ball loose for a fumble. 

Later on in the same quarter, Adams worked down to the flat in zone coverage. He sat on the tight end, Kyle Rudolph, in the flat, taking away the checkdown option for the quarterback. But Adams kept his eyes in the backfield the whole time, reading quarterback Sam Bradford and waiting for him to make his throw. Bradford looked to hit a route behind Adams, but Adams read the throw the whole way, sinking back in his zone to undercut the throw and intercept the pass, ending the Vikings' drive after just one play.

Against Carolina on Monday Night Football, Washington safety Donte Whitner had one of the worst performances from any safety this season. It started on the Panthers' opening drive.

After Carolina worked its way down to the red zone with relative ease, Washington decided to bring pressure in the form of a cover-zero blitz. Whitner happened to be the blitzer that was unaccounted for, but he was the last defender to react to the snap, meaning he was late to start his rush. Since he was unaccounted for, Whitner had a free rush to the quarterback, but with only a few steps to make up, he hesitated and stopped his feet, allowing Panthers quarterback Cam Newton to make his throw without being hit.

Just a few series later, Whitner gave up a big touchdown to Panthers receiver Ted Ginn. Whitner appeared to be focused on rotating toward the middle of the field, completely ignoring Ginn running behind him into the end zone. Newton lofted an easy throw over the top of Whitner, who had no chance of getting back to save the touchdown.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 25)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Strong Safety Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Keanu Neal	ATL	22	21	16	16	6	81
2	Mike C Adams	IND	21	20	15	16	6	78
3	Tony Jefferson	ARI	19	20	16	16	6	77
4	Keith Tandy	TB	19	19	17	16	6	77
5	Shawn Williams	CIN	20	19	15	16	6	76
6	Barry Church	DAL	19	20	16	15	6	76
7	Eric Berry	KC	19	20	16	15	6	76
8	Landon Collins	NYG	19	19	16	16	6	76
9	Nate Allen	OAK	20	19	16	15	6	76
10	John Cyprien	JAX	16	18	18	17	6	75
11	Eric Weddle	BAL	19	18	16	15	6	74
12	Kurt Coleman	CAR	20	18	15	15	6	74
13	Rafael Bush	DET	18	18	15	16	6	73
14	Sean Davis	PIT	18	19	14	16	6	73
15	Jahleel Addae	SD	18	18	15	16	6	73
16	Tavon Wilson	DET	17	18	16	15	6	72
17	Quintin Demps	HOU	19	17	15	15	6	72
18	Daniel Sorensen	KC	17	18	15	16	6	72
19	Kam Chancellor	SEA	18	18	15	15	6	72
20	Daimion Stafford	TEN	17	18	15	15	6	71
21	Deon Bush	CHI	17	18	14	15	6	70
22	T.J. Ward	DEN	17	17	15	15	6	70
23	T.J. McDonald	LA	17	17	15	15	6	70
24	Patrick Chung	NE	17	17	15	15	6	70
25	Tramon Williams	CLE	16	16	15	16	6	69
26	Will Parks	DEN	16	17	15	15	6	69
27	Rontez Miles	NYJ	16	17	15	15	6	69
28	Bacarri Rambo	MIA	17	16	14	15	6	68
29	Malcolm Jenkins	PHI	16	17	14	15	6	68
30	Jaquiski Tartt	SF	16	18	14	14	6	68
31	Corey White	BUF	16	16	14	15	6	67
32	Miles Killebrew	DET	16	16	14	15	6	67
33	Morgan Burnett	GB	16	16	14	15	6	67
34	Adrian Phillips	SD	16	16	14	15	6	67
35	Demontre Hurst	CHI	15	16	14	15	6	66
36	Eddie Pleasant	HOU	16	15	14	15	6	66
37	Roman Harper	NO	16	15	14	15	6	66
38	Duke Ihenacho	WAS	15	17	14	14	6	66
39	Jaylen Watkins	PHI	15	16	13	15	6	65
40	Andrew Sendejo	MIN	16	15	13	14	6	64
41	Calvin Pryor	NYJ	14	15	14	14	6	63
42	Vinnie Sunseri	SF	14	15	13	14	6	62
43	Donte Whitner	WAS	13	13	13	14	6	59

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• J.J. Wilcox—inactive
• Karl Joseph—inactive
• Harold Jones-Quartey—insufficient snaps
• Robert Golden—insufficient snaps
• Chris Conte—insufficient snaps
• Da'Norris Searcy—insufficient snaps

Kickers

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Chris Boswell nearly single-handedly won the Steelers' battle with the Bengals on Sunday, putting up 18 points on a perfect 6-of-6 day on field goals. Boswell made five kicks between 40 and 49 yards, tossing in another chip shot, and was one of the key reasons why the Steelers pulled out a victory in a tough divisional game. 

He struggled for a brief period early in the season, but he remains one of the more consistent young kickers and is likely to be a leader as this next generation comes of age. 

Baltimore's Justin Tucker had another strong outing in Week 15, finding himself in fourth place after ending up in third place the previous week. Barring a complete collapse in the final two weeks, Tucker will end the year as the NFL's top kicker in a competition that he has turned into a blowout.

Grizzled veterans complete the rest of the top five, with Atlanta's Matt Bryant, Indianapolis' Adam Vinatieri and Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski filling out the top of the leaderboard.

While gray hair dominates the faces of all three kickers, their performances this week were stronger than any of the young guns trailing them, such as Jason Myers of the Jaguars and Wil Lutz of the Saints. All three have plenty left in the tank as they head into the final stretch of the season, and their teams remain in contention for the playoffs as well.

Chandler Catanzaro, on the other hand, continues to deepen his funk, as the Cardinals kicker struggled for the second week in a row. He looks mechanically lost at the moment, with no consistency to the pattern of his misses or the causes of them.

Catanzaro's first two years in the league showed he has an above-average leg, but he needs to prove he can self-diagnose his mechanical issues and adjust quickly. All kickers face periods such as this one, with New England's Stephen Gostkowski this year and Seattle's Steven Hauschka in 2014 being prime examples of great kickers who struggled for several weeks before addressing their mechanical issues. Catanzaro needs to prove he can do the same.

Also struggling this week were San Francisco's Phil Dawson, San Diego's Josh Lambo and Miami's Andrew Franks, while Dan Bailey of the Cowboys makes a rare visit to this part of the leaderboard after missing two 50-plus-yard field goals in Dallas' win over the Buccaneers.

Grading Scale

Pwr: Kick Power (Graded out of 40)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 40)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Kicker Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Pwr	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Chris Boswell	PIT	32	40	7	3	82
2	Matt Bryant	ATL	32	37	5	3	77
3	Adam Vinatieri	IND	32	36	5	3	76
4	Justin Tucker	BAL	32	35	5	3	75
5	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	31	35	5	3	74
6	Nick Novak	HOU	30	36	5	3	74
7	Jason Myers	JAX	33	33	5	3	74
8	Wil Lutz	NO	31	34	5	3	73
9	Ryan Succop	TEN	33	32	5	3	73
10	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	30	34	5	3	72
11	Mason Crosby	GB	30	34	5	3	72
12	Kai Forbath	MIN	33	31	5	3	72
13	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	30	34	5	3	72
14	Cody Parkey	CLE	31	32	5	3	71
15	Nick Folk	NYJ	31	32	5	3	71
16	Steven Hauschka	SEA	31	32	5	3	71
17	Roberto Aguayo	TB	31	32	5	3	71
18	Connor Barth	CHI	29	33	5	3	70
19	Matt Prater	DET	31	31	5	3	70
20	Robbie Gould	NYG	31	31	5	3	70
21	Randy Bullock	CIN	30	30	5	3	68
22	Greg Zuerlein	LA	31	28	5	3	67
23	Brandon McManus	DEN	30	28	5	3	66
24	Cairo Santos	KC	30	28	5	3	66
25	Graham Gano	CAR	31	26	5	3	65
26	Dustin Hopkins	WAS	31	24	5	3	63
27	Dan Carpenter	BUF	30	24	5	3	62
28	Dan Bailey	DAL	28	23	5	3	59
29	Andrew Franks	MIA	30	21	5	3	59
30	Josh Lambo	SD	30	20	5	3	58
31	Phil Dawson	SF	30	18	5	3	56
32	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	29	16	5	3	53

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Punters

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

In Week 14, San Diego's Drew Kaser was the 26th-ranked punter with a score of 56 points, as he struggled to generate any hang time or distance.

This week, Kaser is the top-rated punter in the NFL. He put up his best score of the year with a 76, as he finally showed the consistent booming leg we saw in the preseason with outstanding distance and hang time.

While the field for punters this week was weaker than usual, largely due to cold temperatures and nasty winds throughout much of the country, Kaser's score would still typically rank in the top five to seven punters in a normal week. Kaser has endured a challenging rookie campaign, but with a couple more weeks like this one, he is in position to springboard into 2017.

Also near the top were mainstays Johnny Hekker of the Rams and Sam Koch of the Ravens, ranking third and fourth respectively, with rather similar profiles this week, though Koch's strong distance is somewhat of an outlier.

Houston's Shane Lechler makes an appearance in the second spot with one of his best games of the year, largely due to a directional game that he has not featured consistently, and Chicago's Pat O'Donnell overcame miserable conditions in Chicago en route to being the fifth-best punter of Week 15. 

Matt Wile ended up as the worst-graded punter of the week, having taken over for Drew Butler in Arizona after Butler was released last week. Wile flashed a big leg in a fill-in game for the Falcons earlier this year, but he was unable to duplicate the performance against the Saints. His subpar showing means the Cardinals may be looking at an offseason competition to see who ends up as their starting punter next year if Wile does not perform better in Weeks 16 and 17.

Buffalo's Colton Schmidt continues to hang around the bottom of the rankings, coming in with another rough week here, while the typically strong Sam Martin of Detroit, Brett Kern of Tennessee and Marquette King of Oakland round out the bottom five with performances below their talent level.

Kern has struggled for much of the year to regain the form that made him the best punter in the league last year, but Martin and King are likely to bounce back in upcoming games.

Grading Scale

Dist: Kick Distance (Graded out of 20)

Hang: Kick Hang Time (Graded out of 20)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 45)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 5)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Punter Rankings Week 15

Rank	Player	Team	Dist	Hang	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Drew Kaser	SD	19	17	34	3	3	76
2	Shane Lechler	HOU	17	13	39	3	3	75
3	Johnny Hekker	LA	19	16	33	3	3	74
4	Sam Koch	BAL	19	14	34	3	3	73
5	Pat O'Donnell	CHI	16	17	32	3	3	71
6	Donnie Jones	PHI	14	16	35	3	3	71
7	Bryan Anger	TB	14	15	34	3	3	69
8	Jon Ryan	SEA	11	16	35	3	3	68
9	Bradley Pinion	SF	13	16	33	3	3	68
10	Chris Jones	DAL	12	17	32	3	3	67
11	Tress Way	WAS	13	12	36	3	3	67
12	Riley Dixon	DEN	18	13	29	3	3	66
13	Brad Nortman	JAX	20	16	24	3	3	66
14	Matt Bosher	ATL	14	14	30	3	3	64
15	Britton Colquitt	CLE	12	12	35	2	3	64
16	Pat McAfee	IND	12	17	29	3	3	64
17	Dustin Colquitt	KC	14	15	29	3	3	64
18	Kevin Huber	CIN	13	12	32	3	3	63
19	Jeff Locke	MIN	15	11	30	4	3	63
20	Ryan Allen	NE	15	15	27	3	3	63
21	Brad Wing	NYG	16	10	30	3	3	62
22	Jordan Berry	PIT	12	12	32	3	3	62
23	Matt Palardy	CAR	13	11	32	3	3	62
24	Matt Darr	MIA	13	10	32	3	3	61
25	Thomas Morstead	NO	8	15	32	3	3	61
26	Lachlan Edwards	NYJ	13	12	30	3	3	61
27	Jacob Schum	GB	12	11	31	3	3	60
28	Marquette King	OAK	18	13	23	3	3	60
29	Brett Kern	TEN	7	14	31	3	3	58
30	Colton Schmidt	BUF	12	9	30	3	3	57
31	Sam Martin	DET	10	12	29	3	3	57
32	Matt Wile	ARI	10	11	29	3	3	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Drew Butler—released
• Andy Lee—injury