Fantasy Football Week 15: Rankings, Stat Projections and Top Waiver-Wire Adds

A spate of injuries to some big names in Week 14 will certainly have fantasy owners in desperate playoff games reshuffling the roster and perhaps dipping deep into the waiver wire in preparation for Week 15. 

Seattle rookie running back Thomas Rawls is done for the season with a broken ankle, per Bob Condetta of the Seattle Times. Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton might also be kaput. He left the Bengals' loss to Pittsburgh early with what turned out to be a fractured right thumb. According to ESPN's Bob Holtzman, the injury could keep him out for the rest of the season.

Panthers tight end Greg Olsen left his team's dominant win over Atlanta with a scary-looking knee injury and did not return to action. However, he might be relatively OK, as coach Ron Rivera said the star tight end "tweaked his knee," per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. 

Several other viable fantasy players left their respective Sunday games with injuries. USA Today has a solid roundup of the unfortunate carnage, which can be found here.

In order to get you prepped for Week 15, here's a look at Yahoo Sports' projections for the upcoming slate of action. The projections and rankings reflect the website's expected point totals, some of which are obviously worth extra scrutiny and will be detailed in the text below. 

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Cam Newton, Carolina	22.19
2	Carson Palmer, Arizona	21.98
3	Tom Brady, New England	21.33
4	Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay	20.98
5	Russell Wilson, Seattle	20.75
6	Derek Carr, Oakland	20.66
7	Drew Brees, New Orleans	20.37
8	Philip Rivers, San Diego	20.15
9	Matthew Stafford, Detroit	19.67
10	Blake Bortles, Jacksonville	19.12
11	Brian Hoyer, Houston	18.88
12	Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh	18.69
13	Matt Ryan, Atlanta	18.23
14	Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo	17.78
15	Eli Manning, New York Giants	17.66

Boom: Blake Bortles, Jacksonville

This may be hard to believe, but Jacksonville is totally in the playoff hunt, just a game back of Houston and Indianapolis in the dreadful AFC South. For fantasy owners, this is good news, as it means the Jags will bare their fangs going forward as they try to sneak into the postseason.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Blake Bortles is doing a fine job of chucking the football as of late, with eight touchdown passes in the last two weeks. Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are the finest wide receiver duo in Jacksonville since Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell and provide Bortles with ample talent on the flanks. Tight end Julius Thomas is on a scoring binge, with a touchdown in each of his past four games. 

Jacksonville gets an Atlanta team that hasn't been good for a couple of months now. Say yes to Bortles in Week 15.

Bust: Philip Rivers, San Diego

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

It's tough times for Philip Rivers, who stands tall and defiant as ever in the pocket despite his offense crumbling around him week after week. 

Rivers has been held without a touchdown pass in three of his past four games. That one blip was indeed a four-touchdown effort against Jacksonville, but it's tough to see Rivers conjuring that same brand of magic against a decent Miami defense in Week 15.

Rivers has two gimpy tight ends in Ladarius Green and Antonio Gates, a fairly anonymous wide receiver corps and little in the way of a run game to back him up. 

Per Yahoo Sports, the Dolphins have allowed the 13th-most fantasy points to QBs this year. Not great, but not terrible either.

Week 15 figures to be an emotional game for the Chargers, as it could be the franchise's last game in the city. This might inspire Rivers to a brilliant performance, but betting on cosmic significance to carry a fantasy player is a silly thing to do.

The Bolts' season has long been over, Miami fans tend to travel pretty well and Rivers just doesn't have the weapons around him. It could be another long day at Qualcomm for the Alabama-born slinger.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Adrian Peterson, Minnesota	17.14
2	Devonta Freeman, Atlanta	16.68
3	LeSean McCoy, Buffalo	15.04
4	DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh	14.27
5	Doug Martin, Tampa Bay	13.49
6	David Johnson, Arizona	13.4
7	Todd Gurley, St. Louis	12.93
8	Frank Gore, Indianapolis	12.32
9	Jonathan Stewart, Carolina	12.28
10	Tim Hightower, New Orleans	12.22
11	Lamar Miller, Miami	12.10
12	Latavius Murray, Oakland	11.73
13	Matt Forte, Chicago	11.66
14	T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville	11.46
15	Darren McFadden, Dallas	11.44
16	LeGarrette Blount, New England	11.27
17	Javorius Allen, Baltimore	11.07
18	Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati	10.92
19	Charcandrick West, Kansas City	10.67
20	Chris Ivory, New York Jets	10.17
21	Shaun Draughn, San Francisco	10.04
22	Eddie Lacy, Green Bay	10
23	Darren Sproles, Philadelphia	9.33
24	Danny Woodhead, San Diego	9.26
25	C.J. Anderson, Denver	9.13

Boom: Todd Gurley, St. Louis

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

Hopefully, you didn't give up on Todd Gurley after a couple of poor showings in Weeks 12 and 13. The rookie sensation was one of the top fantasy plays of the day on Sunday, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns against the Detroit Lions.

Rams offensive coordinator Rob Boras said earlier this week that he wants to make sure the team commits to getting their newest star the ball.

“Todd’s a special player. We have a number of special players on offense,” Boras said, via Myles Simmons of StLouisRams.com. “Between Todd and ‘Tav’ [Tavon Austin], we’ve got special guys. For that to happen, obviously, it’s got to be the type of game where we can keep handing him the ball. He’s too good a player.”

Considering the overall talent on the offense, there's no reason Gurley should be getting any less than 20 touches a game as St. Louis tries to finish strong and build toward next season.

Tampa Bay has been fairly tough on fantasy running backs this year, but Gurley is always worth a play if he's on your roster, and he's a fine option in daily fantasy sports leagues as well. 

Bust: Devonta Freeman, Atlanta

Atlanta has lost six games in a row, Matt Ryan is a complete mess and Devonta Freeman's scoring binge is long over.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Freeman hasn't had a big fantasy day since Nov. 8 against San Francisco. He's rushed for fewer than 50 yards in each of his past four outings and is hit-or-miss in the passing game, mainly because Ryan himself keeps missing on his throws. Freeman's fantasy saving grace is that Tevin Coleman isn't really eating into his touches, with just three carries in each of the past two weeks. However, that's only a small consolation.

It could be tough for plenty of fantasy owners to bench him in Week 15 in a fairly decent matchup against Jacksonville, but if you have a more reliable option as a replacement, I say give it a shot. DFS players should also be wary of Freeman moving forward.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projection
1	DeAndre Hopkins, Houston	14.53
2	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh	14.21
3	Julio Jones, Atlanta	13.98
4	Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona	13.48
5	Calvin Johnson, Detroit	13.31
6	Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants	13.24
7	A.J. Green, Cincinnati	11.7
8	Alshon Jeffery, Chicago	11.67
9	Allen Robinson, Jacksonville	11.53
10	Michael Crabtree, Oakland	11.29
11	Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh	10.47
12	Amari Cooper, Oakland	10.46
13	Dez Bryant, Dallas	9.97
14	Brandon Marshall, New York Jets	9.93
15	Jarvis Landry, Miami	9.74
16	Danny Amendola, New England	9.74
17	Golden Tate, Detroit	9.73
18	Brandin Cooks, New Orleans	9.60
19	Eric Decker, New York Jets	9.47
20	John Brown, Arizona	9.43
21	Michael Floyd, Arizona	9.43
22	Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City	9.35
23	Mike Evans, Tampa Bay	9.26
24	Randall Cobb, Green Bay	9.23
25	Sammy Watkins, Buffalo	9.17

Boom: Golden Tate, Detroit

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

New Orleans seemingly rectified its awful pass defense in Week 15, limiting Tampa Bay's Jameis Winston to just 182 passing yards and one touchdown. However, I'm going to chalk that one up to rookie inexperience and say that New Orleans might still serve up a fantasy feast in Week 15.

Matthew Stafford has the cannon arm and veteran know-how to hit the open seams in the Saints secondary. Golden Tate popped up for nine catches, 60 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams on Sunday. He could be in for another very big week, and he might even see more looks than Calvin Johnson, who has just four receptions in his past two games. 

Tate's an obvious play in most traditional fantasy leagues, but he could make your week in DFS.

Bust: Emmanuel Sanders, Denver

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Emmanuel Sanders was one of the better fantasy players for at least the first half of the season, but he hasn't done much to make fantasy owners happy over the last month or so, though it's not necessarily his fault. 

Sanders' injuries coincided with Peyton Manning's demise, leading to a goose-egg fantasy day against Kansas City on November 15 and then him missing the Chicago game.

After a 113-yard game in Brock Osweiler's second start against New England in Week 12, Sanders has just five catches for 36 yards in the last two games combined. Sanders also lost a fumble on Sunday in Denver's surprising loss to Oakland. He's nowhere near the top of the Week 15 fantasy projections, and for good reason.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Greg Olsen, Carolina	11.01
2	Rob Gronkowski, New England	10.66
3	Jordan Reed, Washington	8.14
4	Antonio Gates, San Diego	7.98
5	Delanie Walker, Tennessee	7.87
6	Julius Thomas, Jacksonville	7.78
7	Jacob Tamme, Atlanta	7.64
8	Travis Kelce, Kansas City	7.50
9	Zach Ertz, Philadelphia	7.35
10	Heath Miller, Pittsburgh	7.34
11	Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati	7.29
12	Richard Rodgers, Green Bay	7.08
13	Benjamin Watson, New Orleans	7.02
14	Gary Barnidge, Cleveland	7.02
15	Coby Fleener, Indianapolis	6.60

Boom: Zach Miller, Chicago

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Replacement tight end Zach Miller has come through brilliantly for Chicago this season, and he looks to be a solid fantasy option moving forward with the starting job all his own as a result of Martellus Bennett's season-ending injury.

Miller caught five of his six targets in Chicago's loss to Washington on Sunday, romping for 85 yards and a touchdown for a nice day of work. He's scored in four of his past six games, and proved with a monster day against St. Louis in Week 10 that he can take over a game if need be. Go ahead and start him if you've got him in Week 15 against Minnesota.

Bust: ?

There isn't really a tight end that looks like an out-and-out bust for Week 15. The projections all seem pretty fair, and by this point in the season you either have one of the must-play guys or are looking for scrap points.

Just keep in mind players that have tough matchups in Week 15, like Tennessee's Delanie Walker against New England. Marcus Mariota and Walker could have a tough time against New England's formidable, tight end-unfriendly defense.

Also, be wary of Green Bay's Richard Rodgers. Yes, he's scored in each of the past two weeks, but Sunday's touchdown against Dallas was his only catch of the game, and last week's came at the end of the game on one of the greatest plays in recent memory. I think you know the one.

He's a boom-or-bust guy, especially with Aaron Rodgers' numbers looking relatively mundane as of late. 

Top Waiver-Wire Adds 

Gail Burton/Associated Press

If he's still available, don't be afraid to plug-and-play Seattle wide receiver Tyler Lockett. Russell Wilson is playing at an amazing level right now, and Seattle gets Cleveland in Week 15. The rookie wideout has two two-touchdown games in the last month and has seen seven targets in each of the past two weeks.

Lockett does carry some bust potential, as Doug Baldwin is the receiver du jour in Seattle, but he's not a bad option with Seattle baring down on the postseason. 

Miller was mentioned above as a booming tight end, and he also qualifies as a top waiver-wire add. He's owned in just 19 percent of Yahoo Sports leagues. Miller can expect to be the No. 2 option in Chicago behind Alshon Jeffery moving forward.

Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski explains why you can probably trust New Orleans back Tim Hightower going forward: 

"

The Tim Hightower story was all about volume: he needed 29 touches en route to 95 yards at Tampa Bay. Alas, Hightower had a 3-yard touchdown plunge in the third period, and apparently the New Orleans coaches trust him considerably more than C.J. Spiller (six touches, nine yards). On some days, just showing up is enough. 

The Saints don’t have an easy rushing schedule to come — they draw Detroit and Jacksonville the next two weeks. But if Hightower is going to dominate the touches to this extent, maybe he can hold some Hail Mary fantasy value down the stretch. 

"

Be wary of Seattle backs DuJuan Harris and Fred Jackson. Both saw significant action after Rawls went down with injury, but these two could very well cut into each other's fantasy value going forward. If you really need to pick up a back and you don't trust Isaiah Crowell in Cleveland—who could blame you?—Harris is the better choice, as he got 11 more carries than Jackson on Sunday.

Still, Seattle seems totally capable of just airing it out with Wilson the rest of the way, so don't get too excited with either guy.