Week 15 Fantasy Football Rankings: Breaking Down Each Position

The New England Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens 30-23 on Monday night, putting an official seal on the end of Week 14.

If you've managed to survive this far into the fantasy season, you're probably either in your championship matchup or close to being in it. Either way, this is likely to be one of the most important weeks of your fantasy season. Every roster decision and waiver-wire add will be magnified.

We're here to help you make the right decisions with our Week 15 positional rankings. We'll be running down the top players at each position and ranking them based on our Week 15 projections. We will also take a closer look at some risers and fallers at each of the skill positions.

All of our decisions are based on factors like past performances, matchups, player health and projected role. All rankings are based on points-per-reception scoring.

Good luck!

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Matt Ryan, ATL	SF
2	Kirk Cousins, WAS	CAR
3	Aaron Rodgers, GB	@ CHI
4	Carson Palmer, ARI	NO
5	Philip Rivers, SD	OAK
6	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	@ CIN
7	Russell Wilson, SEA	LA
8	Andrew Luck, IND	@ MIN
9	Eli Manning, NYG	DET
10	Matthew Stafford, DET	@ NYG

Up: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons went into Los Angeles last week to face the Rams without star receiver Julio Jones. All Ryan ended up doing was battering the Rams defense for 237 yards and three touchdowns.

The fact that Ryan is finding targets other than Jones only adds to his fantasy value.

"I thought those guys did a great job, and we have a lot of belief and confidence in everybody in our building," Ryan said after the game, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

While the Rams haven't been especially competitive as of late, their defense is still rated eighth overall by Pro Football Focus. The San Francisco 49ers are rated just 28th in overall defense by Pro Football Focus, and they happen to be the team coming into Atlanta this week.

Expect Ryan to have another strong day.

Down: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

As strange as it is to actually type it out, we're not so sure you should expect even a decent day from New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. He's facing an Arizona Cardinals defense that is rated fourth overall by Pro Football Focus and allows just 201.8 passing yards per game.

The Cardinals have allowed just 13 passing touchdowns this season, tied for second-fewest in the NFL.

Besides, it's not like Brees has been lighting it up over the past couple of weeks. He has just under 600 yards with zero touchdowns and six interceptions over the past two weeks.

We do expect Brees to bounce back some this week, especially since consecutive bad games aren't usually part of his profile.

However, we don't think Brees is suddenly going to pull out another four-touchdown performance.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	@ CIN
2	David Johnson, ARI	NO
3	LeSean McCoy, BUF	CLE
4	Devonta Freeman, ATL	SF
5	Ezekiel Elliott, DAL	TB
6	DeMarco Murray, TEN	@ KC
7	Bilal Powell, NYJ	MIA
8	LeGarrette Blount, NE	@ DEN
9	Lamar Miller, HOU	JAX
10	Latavius Murray, OAK	@ SD
11	Thomas Rawls, SEA	LA
12	Isaiah Crowell, CLE	@ BUF
13	Carlos Hyde, SF	2 ATL
14	Jeremy Hill, CIN	PIT
15	Frank Gore, IND	@ MIN
16	Robert Kelley, WAS	CAR
17	Spencer Ware, KC	TEN
18	Doug Martin, TB	@ DAL
19	Kenneth Farrow, SD	OAK
20	Jordan Howard, CHI	GB

Up: LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots

The Patriots leaned heavily on running back LeGarrette Blount and the power-running game while quarterback Tom Brady was suspended. Yet Blount still maintained a significant role even after Brady returned.

Blount has already rushed for 14 touchdowns this season, and he just went over the 1,000-yard mark on Monday night against the Ravens.

Now, you may be thinking that it isn't smart to rely on Blount against that mighty Denver Broncos defense, but we're guessing that's exactly what the Patriots intend to do. While the Broncos are rated first in overall defense by Pro Football Focus, they have been susceptible to the run this season.

In fact, Denver is ranked just 29th in run defense with an average of 127.2 yards per game allowed. Expect the Patriots to run Blount early and often in order to protect Brady and move the chains.

Down: Terrance West, Baltimore Ravens

Running back Terrance West was the top guy for the Ravens earlier this season, but he has recently seen his role reduced. The reason for this is the emergence of rookie running back Kenneth Dixon.

Against the Patriots on Monday, West saw just two carries for two yards. He did get some receiving work—four receptions for 24 yards—but his overall value appears to be on a clear decline. Dixon saw 11 carries for 39 yards and caught eight passes for 42 more and a touchdown.

Expect West to have minimal value this week against the Philadelphia Eagles, who allow an average of 101.4 rushing yards per game.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Mike Evans, TB	@ DAL
2	Julio Jones, ATL	SF
3	Antonio Brown, PIT	@ CIN
4	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	NO
5	Jordy Nelson, GB	@ CHI
6	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	DET
7	T.Y. Hilton, IND	@ MIN
8	Dez Bryant, DAL	TB
9	Michael Crabtree, OAK	@ SD
10	A.J. Green, CIN	PIT
11	Julian Edelman, NE	@ DEN
12	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	NE
13	Tyrell Williams, SD	OAK
14	Golden Tate, DET	@ NYG
15	Taylor Gabriel, ATL	SF
16	Amari Cooper, OAK	@ SD
17	Terrelle Pryor, CLE	@ BUF
18	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	NE
19	Jamison Crowder, WAS	CAR
20	Doug Baldwin, SEA	LA

Up: A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

We haven't seen Cincinnati Bengals star receiver A.J. Green recently because he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills. Hopefully, you decided to keep him on your roster because it appears he could be back this week.

Nothing is definitive, of course, but Green is expected to return to practice. From there, the Bengals will determine if it's worth playing him against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

"We’ll see how he practices and see what he can do," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis explained, per Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "When he goes out and proves he can do it on the practice field, then obviously he’ll be back ready to go."

If Green can go, he'll be worth starting against the Steelers, who allow an average of 252.6 passing yards per game (21st in the NFL).

Down: DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans

If you haven't been paying close attention to the Houston Texans this season, you might not have noticed the drastic fantasy decline of wideout DeAndre Hopkins. He has 60 receptions so far but just 701 yards and four touchdowns to show for them.

Part of the problem is the inconsistent play of quarterback Brock Osweiler, who is rated 63rd overall among quarterbacks by Pro Football Focus this season. In fact, that may be Hopkins' only real issue right now.

"What I'm seeing from him is he's still adjusting to and getting on the same page with a new quarterback because that's the only thing that's really changed," an unnamed NFL personnel executive explained, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

"

DeAndre Hopkins 'Statistically, it's been challenging, but I'm not about statistics'

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 7, 2016"

We wouldn't expect Osweiler and Hopkins to suddenly get on the same page this week, even against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars allow a mere 203.2 passing yards per game, fourth-fewest in the NFL.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Jordan Reed, WAS	CAR
2	Antonio Gates, SD	OAK
3	Kyle Rudolph, MIN	IND
4	Greg Olsen, CAR	@ WAS
5	Travis Kelce, KC	TEN
6	Jimmy Graham, SEA	LA
7	Cameron Brate, TB	@ DAL
8	Tyler Eifert, CIN	PIT
9	Delanie Walker, TEN	@ KC
10	Ladarius Green, PIT	@ CIN

Up: Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed returned to the field this past week to face the Eagles. While he was forced to play through shoulder pain and finished with only one reception for 10 yards, we believe this is a sign that the fantasy stud is on his way back.

We expect a much better game from Reed in Week 15. He and the Redskins host the Carolina Panthers.

Only the Falcons and Tennessee Titans allow more passing yards than the 272.4 allowed per game by the Panthers.

Down: Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints

Coby Fleener has had some strong fantasy outings in his first season with the Saints, but he has also had some stinkers. Last week, for example, he caught just one pass for six yards. This week is shaping up to be another one of those down weeks.

As we mentioned above, the Cardinals have been pretty adept at limiting passing attacks this season. They've also been strong against tight ends this year. In fact, Yahoo Fantasy credits Arizona with allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

Fleener simply doesn't appear likely to buck that trend.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Matt Bryant, ATL	SF
2	Dustin Hopkins, WAS	CAR
3	Justin Tucker, BAL	PHI
4	Adam Vinatieri, IND	@ MIN
5	Chris Boswell, PIT	@ CIN
6	Matt Prater, DET	@ NYG
7	Brandon McManus, DEN	NE
8	Steven Gostkowski, NE	@ DEN
9	Cairo Santos, KC	TEN
10	Sebastian Janikowski, OAK	@ SD

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Opponent
1	Seattle Seahawks	LA
2	Baltimore Ravens	PHI
3	Buffalo Bills	CLE
4	Houston Texans	JAX
5	Green Bay Packers	@ CHI
6	Pittsburgh Steelers	@ CIN
7	Atlanta Falcons	SF
8	New York Giants	DET
9	Oakland Raiders	@ SD
10	Miami Dolphins	@ NYJ