2012 Fantasy Football Week 15: Wide Receivers (WR) Rankings, Projections

The Chargers finally picked up a win and did so against a playoff-caliber team while on the road. While Danario Alexander started off slow, he eventually had his way with the Steelers secondary, picking up seven receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Alexander has done a terrific job in the short passing game, crossing routes and big plays down the field. Those of you that watched the Chargers play the Steelers on Sunday also know he has terrific balance and body control when going up in the air on 50/50 balls against a defender.

This makes him a dangerous man inside the red zone and like his first touchdown, his body control around the sidelines allowed him to leap up into the air, come down with the football and twirl around next to the sideline and then run in for the score.

With opponents giving respect to fellow teammates Antonio Gates, Ryan Mathews and Malcom Floyd, Alexander should continue in his breakout second half of the season with a WR1 performance against the Panthers this weekend.

What Did We Learn From Week 14?

- Mike Wallace came back to life in a big way with Ben Roethlisberger back in the lineup. Playing from behind, Wallace did most of his damage at the end of the game, but fantasy owners will take it. This week Wallace will face off against the Cowboys' respectable corners, but they have concerns at safety and in sub-packages. Wallace is a must start as long as Big Ben is active.

- Steve Smith is starting to perform more like what we saw from him in 2011, with Cam Newton pulling out of his sophomore slump in recent weeks. Smith is still a Pro Bowl talent, and should have a strong finish to the season.

- It appears Steve Johnson made it out if the Rams game with this hamstring alright, based on him finish the game without signs of a re-injury. Johnson was questionable heading into the game but once again he led the Bills in receiving yardage. He remains a WR3 option, especially if Richard Sherman is suspended this week.

Sean’s Week 15 Watch List

- In what will be a huge divisional matchup between the Bears and Packers, expect Jay Cutler to play after suffering a possible whiplash injury, rather than another concussion against the Vikings. Marshall will be the top target for either Cutler or Jason Campbell but obviously his upside is higher with Cutler playing.

- Keep an eye on Jeremy Maclin’s groin injury, as he missed practice on Monday. The Eagles are playing in an early week game against the Bengals on Thursday night, so if he’s healthy he makes for a boom-or-bust WR3 option.

- Golden Tate was a non-factor against the Cardinals but credit his poor performance to the Cardinals using Patrick Peterson on him and Seattle rolling up a huge lead, early on. Can’t blame the Seahawks for sticking with the run when they had two running backs go over 100 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns. Expect better things against the Bills secondary this week.

1	Calvin Johnson	@ Cardinals
2	Victor Cruz	@ Falcons
3	Andre Johnson	Colts
4	Vincent Jackson	@ Saints
5	Julio Jones	Giants
6	A.J. Green	@ Eagles
7	Brandon Marshall	Packers
8	Demaryius Thomas	@ Ravens
9	Danario Alexander	Panthers
10	Roddy White	Giants
11	Steve Smith	@ Chargers
12	Mike Wallace	@ Cowboys
13	Marques Colston	Buccaneers
14	Randall Cobb	@ Bears
15	Wes Welker	49ers
16	Michael Crabtree	@ Patriots
17	Pierre Garcon	@ Browns
18	Eric Decker	@ Ravens
19	Reggie Wayne	@ Texans
20	Sidney Rice (I)	@ Bills
21	Cecil Shorts (I)	@ Dolphins
22	Hakeem Nicks (I)	@ Falcons
23	Mike Williams	@ Saints
24	Josh Gordon	Redskins
25	Steve Johnson (I)	Seahawks
26	Lance Moore	Buccaneers
27	Miles Austin (I)	Steelers
28	Anquan Boldin	Broncos
29	Kenny Britt	Jets
30	Greg Jennings	@ Bears
31	Jeremy Maclin (I)	Bengals
32	Torrey Smith	Broncos
33	Denarius Moore	Chiefs
34	Chris Givens	Vikings
35	Larry Fitzgerald	Lions
36	Justin Blackmon	@ Dolphins
37	Golden Tate	@ Bills
38	Antonio Brown (I)	@ Cowboys
39	Jason Avant	Bengals
40	Brian Hartline	Jaguars
41	Darrius Heyward-Bey	Chiefs
42	Davone Bess	Jaguars
43	James Jones	@ Bears

Week 15 Standard Rankings – QB | RB | TE | K | D |