Fantasy Football Week 15: Best FanDuel, DraftKings Lineups and Advice

One of the central tenets in improv comedy is saying "yes, and" to your scene partner. In essence, this philosophy suggests that you should say yes to the concept or idea your scene partner puts forth and then look to build upon it with another suggestion in the same vein. 

That's a rudimentary explanation, but the idea is that it is far funnier to watch people agree on an idea, however silly, and build upon it together than to watch them argue about something on stage. If we wanted to do that, we would just hang out with an old married couple for a few hours, amirite you guys?

This week, I'm following the "yes, and" philosophy. In essence, I'm saying yes to a player I love and building my team around him. If you have a hunch that a player is going to explode this week, don't hesitate to add him. We'd all love to have the perfectly balanced lineup, sure, but it's better to have a player you just know is going to explode and take a few chances around him than to play it safe across the board.

Safe is boring. And in one-week leagues, it generally doesn't pay off.

FanDuel

Position	Player	Salary
QB	Eli Manning	$7.5k
RB	Alfred Morris	$7.0k
RB	Lamar Miller	$6.7k
WR	T.Y. Hilton	$8.8k
WR	Alshon Jeffery	$8.4k
WR	Martavis Bryant	$6.8k
TE	Travis Kelce / Dwayne Allen	$5.4k
DEF	New York Jets	$4.9k
K	Kai Forbath	$4.5k
		Total = $60k

I can practically hear the incredulous cries now. Eli Manning? You want me to start Eli Manning? The same player who has scored 20 or more FanDuel points just four times this season?

Yes, yes I do. If you'll just calm down for a moment, I'll explain.

For starters, he's a pretty solid gamble and is going to free you up to spend big at other positions (this week, I splurged at wide receiver). He faces a Washington defense that has given up 28 touchdown passes this season, 30th in the NFL. Oh, and when the New York Giants played Washington in September, Manning scored 33.1 FanDuel points.

So yes, I think you should start Manning. I know it's risky, but fortune favors the bold, as the cliche goes.

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

To be honest, heading into this week, I wasn't planning on spending a lot of my budget on running backs (I really like some of the wide receiver matchups available to the top players this week), so I was pretty pumped to pick up Alfred Morris and Lamar Miller on the cheap. 

Morris struggled last week, sure, but he gets a Giants defense that is giving up 134.5 rushing yards per game, 30th in the league, while Miller doesn't have the greatest of matchups against the New England Patriots but has scored double-digit points in FanDuel leagues in nine of his last 11 games. 

For the price, I'll gladly snag Miller.

Going a bit cheaper at quarterback and running back allowed me to go big at wide receiver. T.Y. Hilton was one of the players I absolutely, positively had to have this week (he was my "yes, and"). Yes, the fact that he has 334 receiving yards and four touchdowns in his last three games was a big part of that—or that he has seven touchdowns in his last eight games and has exceeded 100 receiving yards five times in that span—but he also has an amazing matchup this week against the Houston Texans.

Houston is giving up 264 passing yards per game, 28th in the NFL, and has given up 18 receiving touchdowns to opposing wideouts, tied for 30th in the league. Oh, and in Week 6, Hilton torched the Houston secondary for nine receptions, 223 receiving yards and one touchdown.

So yes, I'm all about Hilton this week, and I think you should be too.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

With Brandon Marshall done for the year, Alshon Jeffery has to step up. Given how well he's played thus far this season, I expect him to do just that, especially against a shoddy New Orleans secondary giving up 265 passing yards per game (29th in the NFL).

Jeffery might struggle against better defenses that roll the coverage his way with Marshall out, but the Saints should have a tough time slowing him down. 

Finally, I rolled the dice on Martavis Bryant, as he offers huge upside for the price you're paying. His opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, has given up 2,641 receiving yards to opposing wideouts, 31st in the NFL. Bryant is a huge play waiting to happen, and if you watched the Green Bay passing attack carve up Atlanta's secondary, you know the Falcons defense is pretty accommodating to deep plays down the field. 

I'm willing to take a shot on Bryant this week.

At tight end, I had the budget for either Travis Kelce or Dwayne Allen this week. I prefer Kelce somewhat, if only because I don't love doubling up on two Colts options in the passing game, and I also like Kelce's matchup against the Oakland Raiders. I think the Colts are really going to focus on their wideouts again this week, and Allen's slow return to action (one reception for five yards) makes me think he could be slowly returning to form.

On the other hand, he was a touchdown-catching machine when he was healthy, so I do think he has more upside than Kelce. Both players are pretty good values and I wouldn't be made at either choice. 

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Defensively, the choice of the New York Jets may surprise you, but take into account a few things. For starters, Tennessee is 30th in yards per game and 29th in points per game. It is terrible on offense. The Jets don't have a very good secondary, no, but the Titans don't have the quarterback or receivers to beat the blitz and expose New York's porous pass defense. 

The Jets are an all-or-nothing play, but I'm all about the gamble this week. 

As for kickers, take a cheap one. The Saints don't have much in the way of a defense, so Robbie Gould should have the opportunity to make a few field goals. 

DraftKings

Position	Player	Salary
QB	Eli Manning	$6.4k
RB	Alfred Morris	$5.0k
RB	Lamar Miller	$5.0k
WR	T.Y. Hilton	$8.0k
WR	Julio Jones / Jordy Nelson	$7.8k
WR	Martavis Bryant	$4.8k
TE	Dwayne Allen	$3.3k
FLEX	LeSean McCoy / Mike Evans	$6.6k
DEF	Green Bay Packers	$3.1k
		Total = $50k

There aren't too many differences here, as I stuck with Manning, Morris, Miller, Hilton and Bryant and went with Allen at tight end, who was an unbelievable value at DraftKings. So let's go over the main differences. 

At wideout, I was able to budget for either Julio Jones or Jordy Nelson, an exciting development. Really, this one boils down to Jones' health. If he's healthy, I want the player who has caught 21 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns in the past two weeks, especially when he's facing a Pittsburgh defense that isn't particularly strong in the secondary and just gave up 11 receptions for 224 yards and a score to A.J. Green.

So if Jones is healthy, absolutely add him to your lineup.

If he isn't, however, Jordy Nelson is one heck of a consolation prize. Yes, I know Buffalo has a very good defense, but outside of Antonio Brown, there hasn't been a more consistent wideout in fantasy, so I'm not worried about no stinkin' matchup. I'm not worried about a road game in Buffalo, either—the Packers play on the "frozen tundra" of Lambeau Field, for heaven's sake. They aren't worried about the cold.

I also like Green Bay's defense this week. It's one thing to be torched by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. It's quite another to get torched by Kyle Orton. I think the Packers will really turn up the rush and hassle Orton all game long. They may have some issues with Sammy Watkins, but generally speaking, I think they'll rebound in a big way against Buffalo.

Finally, we've reached my conundrum at the flex.

I remain incredibly torn between LeSean McCoy and Mike Evans, though I'm leaning toward Shady. For starters, he torched the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving for 159 rushing yards and a score. And while the Cowboys rebounded by beating the Chicago Bears this past week, they still allowed Matt Forte to accumulate 100 yards from scrimmage and a score.

I have a feeling the Eagles will return to the ground game in a big way this week after being stifled by Seattle's defense in Week 14. So I'm going with Shady by a hair over Evans.

But I think selecting Evans would be totally justified. He has nine touchdowns in his last nine games, for heaven's sake, and faces a Carolina Panthers defense that ranks 21st in DraftKings points allowed to opposing wide receivers.

I'm choosing Shady because he's the slightly safer play. Evans has exceeded 100 receiving yards only three times this season, making his fantasy value closely tied to touchdown receptions. But there's no question that Evans has excellent upside, and owners who favor him given DraftKings PPR format wouldn't be wrong if they went that route over McCoy.

All statistics via FanDuel, DraftKings or ESPN 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.