Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: Top Players and Matchups for All Positions

Week 15 of the NFL season might go down as the weekend of fireworks.

Seriously. Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks get Cleveland. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots get Tennessee. A.J. Green and the Cincinnati Bengals get San Francisco. Blake Bortles and the, well, Jacksonville Jaguars get Atlanta.

Yes, it's been one of those seasons.

The schedule couldn't look more explosive for fantasy football owners with everything on the line. Here's a position-by-position breakdown with a focus on some of the top matchups.

Week 15 Schedule

Thursday, Dec. 17	Time (ET)
Saturday, Dec. 19	Time (ET)
Sunday, Dec. 20	Time (ET)
Monday, Dec. 21	Time (ET)
Tampa Bay at St. Louis	8:25 pm
N.Y. Jets at Dallas	8:25 pm
Carolina at N.Y. Giants	1:00 pm
Tennessee at New England	1:00 pm
Kansas City at Baltimore	1:00 pm
Atlanta at Jacksonville	1:00 pm
Chicago at Minnesota	1:00 pm
Houston at Indianapolis	1:00 pm
Buffalo at Washington	1:00 pm
Cleveland at Seattle	4:05 pm
Green Bay at Oakland	4:05 pm
Cincinnati at San Francisco	4:25 pm
Denver at Pittsburgh	4:25 pm
Miami at San Diego	4:25 pm
Arizona at Philadelphia	8:30 pm
Detroit at New Orleans	8:30 pm

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player
1	Cam Newton
2	Russell Wilson
3	Tom Brady
4	Matthew Stafford
5	Carson Palmer
6	Derek Carr
7	Drew Brees
8	Aaron Rodgers
9	Philip Rivers
10	Blake Bortles
11	Ben Roethlisberger
12	Eli Manning
13	Tyrod Taylor
14	AJ McCarron
15	Ryan Fitzpatrick

Other than Wilson going off alongside some of the usual suspects, don't sleep on Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions.

Stafford has 20 or more points in two of his last four outings, and he hasn't had any issues hitting double digits since the team's Week 9 bye, regardless of matchup.

This week, though, Stafford gets the best of the best against a New Orleans Saints defense allowing the most points to quarterbacks on average. It's a road contest, but it doesn't seem to matter much against a unit that has allowed 28 or more points in four of its last six outings.

More stable and trustworthy would be Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals, who sits in a situation worthy of the intro, too.

Palmer and Co. get to deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, a team allowing the fifth-most points to quarterbacks. Since their Week 9 bye, the Eagles have somehow managed to allow 19 passing touchdowns over six games.

For fantasy's third-highest scoring quarterback, it's a dream.

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Adrian Peterson
2	Doug Martin
3	DeAngelo Williams
4	Todd Gurley
5	Devonta Freeman
6	LeSean McCoy
7	Brandon Bolden
8	Tim Hightower
9	Latavius Murray
10	Charcandrick West
11	Jonathan Stewart*
12	Lamar Miller
13	Denard Robinson
14	Frank Gore
15	David Johnson
16	Jeremy Hill
17	Chris Ivory
18	Eddie Lacy
19	Matt Forte
20	Javorius Allen
21	DuJuan Harris
22	Giovani Bernard
23	Darren McFadden
24	Danny Woodhead
25	C.J. Anderson
26	Matt Jones
27	Darren Sproles
28	Melvin Gordon
29	Spencer Ware*
30	Shaun Draughn

It's an odd week for running back matchups with committees such as those belonging to Cincinnati, Detroit, Jacksonville and San Diego lining the list when it comes to top matchups.

Doug Martin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers isn't too far down the list, though.

Martin is the third-ranked scorer at the position, believe it or not. He's on fire as of late, too, having scored a touchdown in each of his last two outings with 13 or more points in each, giving him seven double-digits outings on the year.

Now Martin gets to line up against the St. Louis Rams. It sounds tough on paper until one realizes the Rams allow the ninth-most points to the position. On the road, look for the Buccaneers to lean on their reliable producer.

Ditto for the Buffalo Bills and LeSean McCoy, who get a middling Washington defense.

Shady has 10 or more points in every game since his Week 8 bye, when he got healthy and the coaching staff further committed to getting him the ball. This makes him look extra attractive against a Washington defense that has allowed a score to backs two weeks and running.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	Larry Fitzgerald
2	Calvin Johnson
3	Antonio Brown
4	A.J. Green
5	Julio Jones
6	Brandon Marshall
7	Jarvis Landry
8	Doug Baldwin
9	Allen Robinson
10	Alshon Jeffery
11	Odell Beckham Jr.
12	Michael Crabtree
13	Mike Evans
14	DeAndre Hopkins
15	Alshon Jeffery
16	Amari Cooper
17	Kamar Aiken
18	Stevie Johnson*
19	Martavis Bryant
20	Eric Decker
21	Golden Tate
22	Sammy Watkins
23	Danny Amendola
24	John Brown
25	Michael Floyd
26	Brandin Cooks
27	Demaryius Thomas
28	Brandon LaFell
29	DeSean Jackson*
30	Emmanuel Sanders
31	T.Y. Hilton
32	Allen Hurns
33	Dez Bryant
34	Anquan Boldin
35	Travis Benjamin

Other than the usual faces, it would be best for owners to pay close attention to Seattle's Doug Baldwin.

There must be something in the water in Seattle. Despite an injury to tight end Jimmy Graham, the Seahawks are now a pass-first team. Baldwin has benefited the most, scoring 21 or more points in each of his last three games with a whopping eight touchdowns.

Baldwin has gone from a touchdown-reliant producer to a WR1 overnight, just in time for a matchup with the aforementioned Cleveland Browns, too.

Those Browns allow the sixth-most points to the position with seven touchdowns permitted over their last four games. Five sets of opposing wideouts have now scored multiple touchdowns against the unit.

The way Baldwin's going, he might just do it on his own.

Remember Jeremy Maclin? He has a top-flight matchup as well. Maclin has 19 or more points in two of his last three outings with three touchdowns, though many owners will shy away due to his eight single-digit showings.

Maclin's explosive, to be sure. He's also an obvious matchup-based play in Andy Reid's offense. This means big things against the woeful Baltimore Ravens, the team allowing the most points to quarterbacks.

Remember, last week Baltimore let up five touchdowns to Seattle wideouts. It has given up two or more scores to eight sets of opposing wideouts. Maclin's good for at least one.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Rob Gronkowski
2	Greg Olsen*
3	Julius Thomas
4	Richard Rodgers
5	Tyler Eifert*
6	Benjamin Watson
7	Delanie Walker
8	Jordan Reed
9	Antonio Gates
10	Zach Ertz
11	Gary Barnidge
12	Jason Witten

Old and new peppers tight end this week.

Old as in, Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who has gone from an injury scare last week to likely suiting up this weekend.

USA Today's Tom Pelissero provided an update:

Olsen has five double-digit outbursts this year in a high-flying attack and is sure to make it a sixth against a New York Giants team coughing up the third-most points to the position.

The new would be Green Bay Packers tight end Richard Rodgers.

While he's been erratic at best for owners this year on his way to four double-digit outings, Rodgers has a touchdown in each of his past two outings and now gets to encounter the Oakland Raiders—otherwise known as the joke of the league when it came to defending tight ends earlier this year.

The Raiders still allow the second-most points and have allowed 11 or more in two of their last three, so expect Rodgers to exploit the unit with Aaron Rodgers directing the attack.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	Seahawks
2	Panthers
3	Jets
4	Steelers
5	Jaguars
6	Broncos
7	Eagles
8	Rams
9	Cardinals
10	Bengals

The Legion of Boom would be the way to go this week, folks.

The Seahawks aren't just the fourth-highest scoring unit this year. They haven't just totaled nine or more points in each of their last two outings and five trips to double digits.

No, the Seahawks also get to sit back at home and welcome the Johnny Manziel-led Browns to town.

In other words, the Browns, the team allowing the most points to opposing defenses on average. Three of the last four defenses to play against the Browns have tallied 15 or more points.

Seattle will merely be the latest, especially with this one coming at home.

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Stephen Gostkowski
2	Graham Gano
3	Connor Barth
4	Shayne Graham
5	Nick Novak
6	Kai Forbath
7	Brandon McManus
8	Mike Nugent
9	Caleb Sturgis
10	Dan Carpenter

It's another Graham Gano week.

Folks who have owned Gano all season know what this means. Gano ranks second only to Stephen Gostkowski in scoring this year thanks to seven double-digit outings, five of which came in a row.

Gano looks ready to start another streak, especially with his next matchup coming against New York. The Giants allow the third-most points to kickers, with 10 opposing players at the position attempting at least two kicks against the unit.

Look for Gano to hit that mark and then some against a defense that cannot help but leak points against the position.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of December 16.