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Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: Updated Positional Breakdown for Flex and PPR
December 15, 2018
It's that time in the NFL season when fantasy matchups are winner takes all. If you are in you the fantasy postseason, it means you've made mostly the right lineup decisions up to this point. It's as important as ever to keep that trend rolling because the alternative is a quick trip to the consolation bracket.
Picking out the right stars at the top of your roster is obviously important, as is filling out your lineup with quality sleepers and injury replacements—and most injured players aren't going to apologize to fantasy owners the way Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon did.
We're here to help with your Week 15 lineup decisions. We're going to run down our top plays for each flex position—running back, wide receiver and tight end—along with stat projections for each player. We'll also take an in-depth look at some flex sleepers.
Obviously, all of today's rankings are based on PPR scoring formats.
Week 15 Flex Rankings
Running Back
1. Christian McCaffrey vs. New Orleans Saints: 90 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 80 receiving yards, 2 TDs
2. Todd Gurley vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 140 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards, 1 TD
3. Joe Mixon vs. Oakland Raiders: 120 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 45 receiving yards, 1 TD
4. David Johnson at Atlanta Falcons: 110 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards, 1 TD
5. Ezekiel Elliott at Indianapolis Colts: 110 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards, 1 TD
6. Phillip Lindsay vs. Cleveland Browns: 110 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 35 receiving yards, 1 TD
7. Saquon Barkley vs. Tennessee Titans: 105 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 35 receiving yards, 1 TD
8. Alvin Kamara at Carolina Panthers: 70 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 50 receiving yards, 1 TD
9. Nick Chubb at Denver Broncos: 85 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 20 receiving yards, 1 TD
10. Gus Edwards vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 125 rushing yards, 1 TD
11. Leonard Fournette vs. Washington Redskins: 120 rushing yards, 1 TD
12. Lamar Miller at New York Jets: 95 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 40 receiving yards
13. Tarik Cohen vs. Green Bay Packers: 40 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 60 receiving yards
14. Dalvin Cook vs. Miami Dolphins: 60 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 50 receiving yards
15. Tevin Coleman vs. Arizona Cardinals: 60 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards
16. Sony Michel at Pittsburgh Steelers: 110 rushing yards, 1 reception, 10 receiving yards
17. Chris Carson at San Francisco 49ers: 90 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 20 receiving yards
18. Aaron Jones at Chicago Bears: 80 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 25 receiving yards
19. Doug Martin at Cincinnati Bengals: 75 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 20 receiving yards
20. James White at Pittsburgh Steelers: 20 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 55 receiving yards
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Wide Receivers
1. Michael Thomas at Carolina Panthers: 8 receptions, 150 receiving yards, 2 TDs
2. DeAndre Hopkins at New York Jets: 8 receptions, 170 receiving yards, 1 TD
3. Antonio Brown vs. New England Patriots: 8 receptions, 160 receiving yards, 1 TD
4. Julio Jones vs. Arizona Cardinals: 7 receptions, 150 receiving yards, 1 TD
5. Adam Thielen vs. Miami Dolphins: 7 receptions, 145 receiving yards, 1 TD
6. Amari Cooper at Indianapolis Colts: 6 receptions, 150 receiving yards, 1 TD
7. Brandin Cooks vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 6 receptions, 140 receiving yards, 1 TD
8. Jarvis Landry at Denver Broncos: 6 receptions, 120 receiving yards, 1 TD
9. Tyler Boyd vs. Oakland Raiders: 6 receptions, 110 receiving yards, 1 TD
10. Josh Gordon at Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 receptions, 120 receiving yards, 1 TD
11. JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. New England Patriots: 7 receptions, 140 receiving yards
12. Julian Edelman at Pittsburgh Steelers: 7 receptions, 120 receiving yards
13. Mike Evans vs. Baltimore Ravens: 7 receptions, 115 receiving yards
14. D.J. Moore vs. New Orleans Saints: 6 receptions, 115 receiving yards
15. Stefon Diggs vs. Miami Dolphins: 6 receptions, 105 receiving yards
16. Corey Davis at New York Giants: 6 receptions, 100 receiving yards
17. Courtland Sutton vs. Cleveland Browns: 6 receptions, 100 receiving yards
18. Tyler Lockett at San Francisco 49ers: 5 receptions, 90 receiving yards
19. Curtis Samuel vs. New Orleans Saints: 5 receptions, 85 receiving yards
20. Antonio Callaway at Denver Broncos: 5 receptions, 80 receiving yards
Tight Ends
1. Rob Gronkowski at Pittsburgh Steelers: 6 receptions, 125 receiving yards, 1 TD
2. Zach Ertz at Los Angeles Rams: 7 receptions, 110 receiving yards, 1 TD
3. George Kittle vs. Seattle Seahawks: 7 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 1 TD
4. Ian Thomas vs. New Orleans Saints: 6 receptions, 85 receiving yards, 1 TD
5. Jared Cook at Cincinnati Bengals: 7 receptions, 100 receiving yards
6. Eric Ebron vs. Dallas Cowboys: 6 receptions, 90 receiving yards
7. David Njoku at Denver Broncos: 5 receptions, 75 receiving yards
8. Benjamin Watson at Carolina Panthers: 5 receptions 75 receiving yards
9. Gerald Everett vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 5 receptions, 60 receiving yards
10. Cameron Brate at Baltimore Ravens: 5 receptions, 55 receiving yards
Week 15 Sleepers
RB Kenneth Dixon vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gus Edwards remains the top Baltimore Ravens running back to own, but third-year man Kenneth Dixon has worked his way into the offense since being activated off injured reserve. He's found the end zone in two of his three games and is coming off a strong performance against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dixon ran eight times for 59 yards and a touchdown in Arrowhead Stadium last week and caught one pass for 21 yards.
This week, Baltimore hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, per FantasyPros. Given the run-heavy offense employed by the Ravens with Lamar Jackson at quarterback, there should be plenty of carries and fantasy points for both Edwards and Dixon this week.
View Edwards as a flex option with a floor in the 10-point range and plenty of upside.
RB Mike Davis at San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks running back Mike Davis is in a situation similar to Dixon's. Chris Carson is the lead back in Seattle, but Davis should have enough opportunities to be a viable flex option against the San Francisco 49ers.
This is primarily because rookie first-round pick Rashaad Penny has been ruled out for the week with a knee injury.
"He came out of the game last week with a sore knee and it didn't respond quickly enough to get back for this week," head coach Pete Carroll explained in his Friday press conference.
Davis had just three carries and one reception last week for 27 total yards. However, Penny got eight carries, and those will likely now go to Davis. Factoring in Davis' PPR potential—he has 24 receptions on the season—he too should be viewed as a potential 10-point flex play with upside.
WR Robert Foster vs. Detroit Lions
It's difficult to count on any Buffalo Bills receiver in 2018 because of Josh Allen's erratic passing. There's no doubt that the rookie quarterback is a skilled runner with a cannon arm—which is why he's become a viable fantasy quarterback—but he isn't especially consistent yet.
This means there's a lot of boom-or-bust potential with wideout Robert Foster. He isn't regularly going to have the kind of volume performance he had last week against the New York Jets (seven receptions, 104 yards, one touchdown). However, Allen's deep-ball ability and Foster's elite speed mean that a couple of receptions can be enough to make him fantasy viable.
In Week 12, for example, Foster caught just two passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.
If you're willing to take a risk, Foster's ceiling against the Detroit Lions is extremely appealing. Just keep in mind that the floor is underwhelming.