Daily Fantasy Football Week 15: DraftKings, FanDuel Top Picks, Best Value Plays

It wouldn't be much of a surprise if Week 15 of the NFL season features some of the highest-scoring individual fantasy performances of the year.

In particular, the New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers matchup looks like it could be a shootout. Per OddsShark, Vegas sportsbooks list the over/under total at a whopping 53.5 points.

It will be hard for any player to crack this top-10 list, but you never know.

Here's a look at the top picks and best value plays on DraftKings and FanDuel for the main four offensive positions (in addition to write-ups on four players).

First, each top pick is predicted to be the No. 1 raw fantasy point-scorer on the gameweek for his position, not point-per-dollar scorer.

Second, each value play had to be at or near the bottom end of the salary pool. This eliminates players like Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake, who has a manageable $6,500 salary on FanDuel and $5,800 on DraftKings given his recent usage and production but is mid-tier. We are trying to go deep to find super value here.

Third, the players below are considered the top picks and value plays on both FanDuel and DraftKings. The salaries for both sites will be listed alongside each player.

Top Picks

Quarterback: Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (vs. the New England Patriots): $6,700 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel

Running Back: Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell (vs. the New England Patriots): $9,300 DraftKings, $9,400 FanDuel

Wide Receiver: Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown (vs. the New England Patriots): $9,100 DraftKings, $9,300 FanDuel

Tight End: New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (at the Pittsburgh Steelers): $7,300 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel

Value Plays

Quarterback: Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco (at the Cleveland Browns): $5,100 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel

Running Back: Arizona Cardinals RB Kerwynn Williams (at the Washington Redskins): $4,000 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel

Wide Receiver: Carolina Panthers WR Damiere Byrd (vs. the Green Bay Packers): $3,000 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel

Tight End: Cleveland Browns TE David Njoku (vs. the Baltimore Ravens): $2,700 DraftKings, $4,800 FanDuel

Top Pick (QB): Ben Roethlisberger ($6,700 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is one of the best signal-callers in the NFL when he is playing at home.

Per Pro Football Reference, Big Ben has completed 65.6 percent of his passes at Heinz Field while tossing 14 touchdowns and throwing for 322.5 yards per game. He will be at home Sunday against the New England Patriots in what looks like a shootout on paper.

Furthermore, Roethlisberger has been on fire as of late, throwing for an average of 362 yards per game in his past four contests to go along with 12 touchdowns and a 102.6 quarterback rating. 

The Patriots defense looked stout in October and November after struggling in September, but the Miami Dolphins surprisingly put up 27 points on them Monday thanks to big days from running back Kenyan Drake and wideout Jarvis Landry.

Whether that's a blip on the radar or a sign of things to come remains to be seen, but if it's the latter, this game sets up as a monster spot for Big Ben, who could easily end up as the highest-scoring fantasy quarterback for Week 15.

Best Value Play (QB): Joe Flacco ($5,100 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel)

This one is a bit of a stretch, but it's not as risible as you might think.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a rough first half of the year, but he's turned it around in his past two games, throwing for 538 yards and four touchdowns.

Sunday, he gets to face a Cleveland Browns defense that has given up big performances to wideouts this season, including 10 catches, 84 yards and two touchdowns from Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams in Week 14. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton went for seven catches for 153 yards and a touchdown against Cleveland earlier this year

For the season, the Browns rank 28th against the pass, per Football Outsiders. They also allow the second-highest quarterback rating in the NFL (103.9). For context, only two teams allow a 100 rating or higher (the other team is the Oakland Raiders).

Flacco should be taking a few deep shots against a vulnerable Browns defense, which makes Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace an interesting play as well.

Top Pick (RB): Le'Veon Bell ($9,300 DraftKings, $9,400 FanDuel)

You've probably noticed the running Steelers theme in the top-pick section of this article. That's in part because the Steelers have a Vegas-implied team total of 28 points, per OddsShark. If that call comes to fruition, then Pittsburgh is scoring four touchdowns in this game.

Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell could touch the ball 30-plus times and will have ample opportunities to score. Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Stats explained why the Steelers should give Bell the ball early and often:

If that game plan works out, Bell may produce one of the best fantasy performances of the year. The only thing that could inhibit Bell is if wideout Antonio Brown has a dominant day and scores two or three touchdowns, which could leave the Steelers running back out of the end zone.

That being said, Bell's usage is too hard to ignore, and he should do well.

Best Value Play (WR): Damiere Byrd ($3,000 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel)

Evan Silva of Rotoworld praised Carolina Panthers wide receiver Damiere Byrd in a recent matchups column:

"Byrd has taken over as Carolina’s No. 2 wideout and warrants long-shot dart-throw discussion in a plus draw with shootout potential. Byrd led the Panthers in Week 14 receptions (5) and has flashed playmaking ability in past preseasons. Smallish at 5'9", 172 [pounds] but extremely athletic, Byrd blazed [a] 4.27 [40-yard dash] with a 42-inch vertical at South Carolina’s 2015 pro day."

The receiver has a minimum salary on both sites and could be worth consideration. The Panthers need a No. 2 wideout to step up in the absence of Kelvin Benjamin (traded to the Buffalo Bills) and Curtis Samuel (on injured reserve), and the speedster could be that guy.

Per Pro Football Reference, he played 58 percent of the snaps against the Minnesota Vikings last time out, so he's seeing the field and should receive opportunities against a Green Bay Packers defense that is ranked just 20th in the NFL against the pass.

Per OddsShark, the over/under total for this game is set at 47 points, which is one of Week 15's higher marks. With Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning to the mix, this game could be a shootout, as Silva mentioned. If that's the case, then perhaps we will see a breakout game from Byrd.