Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

Playoffs. Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs. Like you, I'm sure, the fantasy playoffs are about all I can think about these days. Tweaking that lineup. Trying to find that one final waiver-wire gem. Praying to the fantasy gods that my questionable players will be good to go by Sunday.

And of course, poring over the matchups, hoping to start the players in the best position to win. 

So below, you'll find my look at a few players with matchups I absolutely love this week, along with my full rankings for every position. And as always, may the fantasy points be with you!
 

Schedule

Sunday, Dec. 14	Time (ET)
Monday, Dec. 15	Time (ET)
Oakland at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Atlanta	1 p.m.
Washington at NY Giants	1 p.m.
Miami at New England	1 p.m.
Houston at Indianapolis	1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Baltimore	1 p.m.
Green Bay at Buffalo	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina	1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Cleveland	1 p.m.
NY Jets at Tennessee	4:05 p.m.
Denver at San Diego	4:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit	4:25 p.m.
San Francisco at Seattle	4:25 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia	8:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Chicago	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Drew Brees	25
2	Peyton Manning	22
3	Andrew Luck	21
4	Aaron Rodgers	20
5	Jay Cutler	18
6	Eli Manning	17
7	Philip Rivers	17
8	Tom Brady	16
9	Matt Ryan	16
10	Ben Roethlisberger	16
11	Tony Romo	15
12	Mark Sanchez	14
13	Matt Stafford	14
14	Joe Flacco	13
15	Russell Wilson	13

Drew Brees has been up and down for fantasy owners this year, and never has that been more apparent than in the past two weeks. Brees' owners were loving his 30-point performance in Week 13, only to be left shaking their heads in disgust after the quarterback only scored 11 points in standard leagues last week. 

But even in blustery Chicago in prime time, it's hard to imagine Brees slumping for a second straight week. The Chicago Bears have the 30th-ranked pass defense and are 31st in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks per week. The Bears have given up 936 passing yards and six touchdowns in the past three weeks, so Brees and company should feast in this matchup.

With a division title still hanging in the balance, they better.

And then there's Eli Manning, who has been dramatically inconsistent for fantasy owners. How could you possibly trust him in a playoff matchup?

Well, you could remember that Manning torched his Week 15 competition, Washington, for 32 fantasy points in Week 4. Or that Washington is 32nd in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks per week. Or that Washington is a complete mess.

Manning is a risk, yes, but he's a risk with a huge ceiling this week. If you've been streaming quarterbacks, Manning is the plug-and-play option you want this week. 

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Le'Veon Bell	22
2	Jamaal Charles	20
3	Matt Forte	19
4	Arian Foster	19
5	DeMarco Murray	17
6	Justin Forsett	16
7	LeSean McCoy	16
8	Marshawn Lynch	15
9	Alfred Morris	14
10	Mark Ingram	14
11	C.J. Anderson	13
12	Lamar Miller	13
13	Eddie Lacy	12
14	Joique Bell	12
15	Isaiah Crowell	11
16	Jonathan Stewart	10
17	Fred Jackson	9
18	Jeremy Hill	9
19	Giovani Bernard	8
20	Chris Ivory	8
21	Chris Johnson	7
22	Rashad Jennings	7
23	Steven Jackson	7
24	Darren Sproles	6
25	Ryan Mathews*	6
26	LeGarrette Blount	6
27	Dan Herron	5
28	Trent Richardson	5
29	Doug Martin	5
30	Latavius Murray	5

It's a little boring recommending Le'Veon Bell to fantasy folks this season. After all, he's scored fewer than nine fantasy points just once this season and has scored a whopping 98 fantasy points in the past three weeks. To put that in perspective, Frank Gore has 92 fantasy points all season long.

So if you need someone to recommend starting Bell to get him into your lineup, you might be new to this fantasy thing.

Still, Bell's three-game streak of fantasy dominance should be extended against an Atlanta offense giving up 22.3 fantasy points to opposing running backs per week, worst in the NFL. Bell owners should be rewarded handsomely this week.

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Justin Forsett is another player primed to blow up. One of fantasy's steadiest performers—he has nine or more fantasy points in 10 straight games—faces a Jacksonville defense that is 27th in fantasy points allowed to opposing backs and has given up 51 total fantasy points to opposing backs in the past two weeks.

Forsett, without question, is the waiver-wire MVP for the 2014 season. But with a tasty matchup this week, he could end up being the MVP of the playoffs, too.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Antonio Brown	20
2	Dez Bryant	18
3	T.Y. Hilton	18
4	Demaryius Thomas	17
5	Julio Jones	17
6	Alshon Jeffery	16
7	Jordy Nelson	15
8	A.J. Green	15
9	Emmanuel Sanders	14
10	Odell Beckham Jr.	14
11	Calvin Johnson	14
12	Kelvin Benjamin	13
13	Mike Evans	12
14	Randall Cobb	12
15	Jeremy Maclin	11
16	Sammy Watkins	10
17	Martavis Bryant	9
18	Torrey Smith*	9
19	Roddy White	9
20	Jordan Matthews	8
21	Vincent Jackson	8
22	Steve Smith	8
23	DeAndre Hopkins	7
24	Golden Tate	7
25	DeSean Jackson*	7
26	Josh Gordon	7
27	Julian Edelman	6
28	Keenan Allen	6
29	Brandon LaFell	6
30	Marques Colston	6
31	Kenny Stills	5
32	Kendall Wright*	5
33	Malcom Floyd	5
34	Mike Wallace	5
35	Jarvis Landry	5

If it's boring to recommend Bell in fantasy circles, it's downright dull bringing up Antonio Brown, who leads all wide receivers in fantasy points and has dipped below eight points just once this season. 

But yes, we have to bring up Brown because his matchup against the Falcons is just too tantalizing to ignore. The Falcons are 28th in fantasy points allowed to opposing wideouts per week and have given up 20 or more points to the position in all but one week. 

That also makes Martavis Bryant a high-risk, high-reward option for owners this week. Big Ben and company should torch this secondary. And Bell should run circles around the Falcons, too. I'm guessing a lot of points will be scored in that one.

And then there's T.Y. Hilton, arguably my favorite fantasy option at any position this week. No team has given up more fantasy points to opposing wide receivers than the Houston Texans—and only four teams are giving up more passing yards per game—including the 28 points Hilton scored against them in Week 6. 

Andrew Luck and Hilton should have a field day in a key divisional matchup this week. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jimmy Graham	15
2	Rob Gronkowski	14
3	Julius Thomas*	13
4	Greg Olsen	11
5	Antonio Gates	10
6	Larry Donnell	9
7	Martellus Bennett	9
8	Jason Witten	8
9	Travis Kelce	7
10	Delanie Walker	7
11	Jordan Reed	6
12	Dwayne Allen	6
13	Coby Fleener	5
14	Heath Miller	5

Jimmy Graham has to step up this week. The Saints need him to do so. His fantasy owners need him to do so. I would appreciate it if he did so, since it would make me look smart for breaking down his appealing matchup this week.

You already know from above that the Bears don't have a very good pass defense. They've proved to be pretty poor against opposing tight ends, not surprisingly, especially the elite players they've faced. 

Greg Olsen scored 19 fantasy points against them in Week 5, while Rob Gronkowski torched them for 32 points in Week 8. The sky is really the limit here for Graham, who has slumped of late with just two total fantasy points in his past two contests.

Expect that to change this week, however. We're all hoping it does.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Projected Points
1	Baltimore Ravens	15
2	Seattle Seahawks	13
3	Detroit Lions	12
4	New England Patriots	11
5	Kansas City Chiefs	10
6	Green Bay Packers	9
7	Denver Broncos	8
8	San Francisco 49ers	7
9	Minnesota Vikings	7
10	Philadelphia Eagles	7

Just about every single week, the defense facing the Jacksonville Jaguars is highlighted in this section. Why?

Because the Jags have not given up fewer than seven fantasy points to an opposing defense this season. That's why. Because the 13.4 points they are giving up to opposing defenses is easily the worst mark in the NFL. That's why.

Start the Baltimore defense with confidence.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	15
2	Cody Parkey	14
3	Justin Tucker	13
4	Dan Bailey	12
5	Adam Vinatieri	11
6	Matt Bryant	10
7	Dan Carpenter	10
8	Mason Crosby	9
9	Steven Hauschka	9
10	Randy Bullock	8

Have I mentioned that Jacksonville isn't very good this season? Yeah? I got around to that?

Then you really shouldn't be surprised to see Justin Tucker here. And you probably shouldn't be surprised that the Jags give up 10.1 fantasy points per week to opposing kickers, 29th in the NFL. This is just par for the course, folks.

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and tweet some corny jokes too. It's more fun than a Colin Kaepernick press conference.