Fantasy Football Week 15 Sleepers: Rhamondre Stevenson, Rashaad Penny high-value starts; winning DFS lineups
Position by position lineup help plus Week 15 DFS lineups
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2 min read
Week 15 has a lot of moving parts with games being rescheduled as a result of COVID-19 for Monday and Tuesday. We'll have you covered on CBS Sports, CBS Sports HQ and our Fantasy Football Today podcast for all the latest news, so double check everything before setting your lineups.
With all the moving parts, I'll try to suggest sleeper options that appear to be safe as of Friday afternoon. Again, if things change, I'll adjust, but these are the players I like heading into the weekend.
The same goes for the DFS plays on DraftKings and FanDuel. We want to make sure your lineups are right, and we're using the best information that we have for now.
Editor's Note: Projections are provided by CBS Sports and not Jamey Eisenberg. Projected points are for PPR leagues.
- We react to the three postponements, answer questions and more on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Listen below and follow at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:
Week 15 Sleepers
Week 15 Preview
Sleepers
Quarterbacks
Roethlisberger has scored at least 20 Fantasy points in four of his past five games, including two games in a row. We'll see if he can stay hot against the Titans, who have allowed two quarterbacks to score at least 23 Fantasy points in their past four games. I like Roethlisberger as a streaming option in deeper leagues.
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I like that Fields ran for 74 yards at Green Bay in Week 14, and he also added 224 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He has a favorable matchup this week against the Vikings, who have allowed three of their past four opposing quarterbacks to score at least 25 Fantasy points. Fields is a good streaming option in deeper leagues.
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Garoppolo might not have to throw much against the Falcons this week, but he does have a decent floor of 19 Fantasy points. He's scored at least 19 Fantasy points in six of his past seven games, including three games with at least 23 points. He won't hurt you, and occasionally Garoppolo can help you as a starter in deeper leagues. The Falcons also allow an average of 23.7 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this year.
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Running backs
Penny was a star in Week 14 at Houston with 16 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one catch for 1 yard on one target. I thought he had the chance to play well against the Texans, but he far exceeded my expectations. He has a tougher matchup in Week 15 against the Rams, but I still like him as a borderline starter in all leagues. The Rams have allowed a running back to score at least 19 PPR points in two of their past three games, and Penny will hopefully follow suit in a must-win game for Seattle this week. Also, Penny has four games in his career with at least 12 carries, and he scored at least 16 PPR points in each of them.
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Damien Harris (hamstring) is out this week, so Stevenson should be considered a borderline No. 1 Fantasy running back in all leagues. Stevenson started Week 10 against Cleveland with Harris out, and Stevenson had 20 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns, along with four catches for 14 yards. This isn't an easy matchup against the Colts, who are No. 3 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. But the Patriots have had a running back score at least 12 PPR points in seven of their past eight games, and that should be the floor for Stevenson this week.
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Edmonds is expected to play in Week 15 at Detroit after being out for the past four games with an ankle injury, and it could be the perfect setup for him. James Conner (ankle) is hurt, and if he's out then Edmonds could have a big role against the porous Lions run defense. Detroit is No. 4 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and the Lions have allowed 12 running backs to score at least 14 PPR points in their past 10 games. Conner is worth starting in all leagues if he's active, but Edmonds should be at least a flex option as well given the matchup. And Edmonds has top-10 upside if Conner is out.
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Sanders and Jordan Howard (knee) are expected to play this week against Washington, and they could be facing a depleted defense for the Football Team. We'll find out who's healthy by the time the game starts Tuesday, but I like the setup for Sanders in this matchup. The last time we saw him in Week 13 at the Jets, he had 24 carries for 120 yards, along with three catches for 22 yards. I doubt he gets 27 total touches again, but anything above 15 touches should make him a viable No. 2 running back in all leagues. And Howard is worth using as a flex in non-PPR leagues, and he could be the goal-line option for the Eagles as well.
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Wide Receivers
Osborn is a borderline must-start Fantasy receiver in all leagues if Adam Thielen (ankle) remains out, and we'll get a clearer picture of his status by Saturday. Osborn just had three catches for 83 yards and a touchdown on nine targets in Week 14 against Pittsburgh with Thielen sidelined, and Osborn now has at least 14 PPR points in five of six outings when he has at least six targets. He should get at least six targets if Thielen is out again in Week 15 at Chicago.
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The news of DeAndre Hopkins (knee) being shut down for the rest of the season is a huge boost for Kirk and A.J. Green, and both are worth using as at least high-end No. 3 Fantasy receivers this week against the Lions. Kirk has scored at least 11 PPR points in five of his past eight games, and Green just had seven catches for 102 yards on 10 targets in Week 14 against the Rams. The Lions have allowed six receivers to score at least 14 PPR points in their past five games.
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Gage only scored 10 PPR points in Week 14 at Carolina, but he has at least six targets in four games in a row. He's still worth trusting as a high-end No. 3 PPR receiver heading into Week 15 at San Francisco. The 49ers have allowed six receivers to score at least 12 PPR points against them in their past three games.
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Davis has a big opportunity in front of him in Week 15 against Carolina with Emmanuel Sanders (knee) out. Davis could see an uptick in targets, and he just had a season-high eight targets in Week 14 at Tampa Bay when Sanders went down. Davis finished with five catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, and he scored in Week 14 against New England also with two catches for 30 yards on four targets. He should be considered a high-end No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues in Week 15 with Sanders out.
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Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are both worth using as No. 3 Fantasy receivers this week against the Ravens. Lazard, in the first game without Randall Cobb (groin) in Week 14 against Chicago, had six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown on seven targets, and he now has consecutive games with at least six targets. Valdes-Scantling had at least nine targets in two of his past three games. The Ravens secondary is vulnerable to big plays, so Valdes-Scantling likely has more upside. But I like what Lazard did in the first game without Cobb against the Bears, and Cobb is still out in Week 15 at Baltimore.
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Tight ends
Seals-Jones struggled as a Fantasy tight end in Week 14 against Dallas with one catch for 8 yards on four targets, but I'm going to attribute that to rust after being out for the previous three games with a hip injury. He's facing the Eagles in Week 15, and Philadelphia allows the most Fantasy points to opposing tight ends. I'll use Seals-Jones as a streamer for that matchup.
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Jordan scored in Week 14 against Seattle with four catches for 26 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. He now has a touchdown in two of his past three games, and he scored in each of the past two starts for Davis Mills when Jordan had three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown on four targets in Week 8 against the Rams. I like Jordan as a streaming option for Week 15 at Jacksonville.
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Njoku might be the only healthy tight end for the Browns if Austin Hooper (illness) remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list, as well as Harrison Bryant (ankle) being out. Njoku had three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown on five targets in his last game in Week 12, and this a great matchup against the Raiders. Las Vegas has allowed four touchdowns to tight ends in the past four games, and Njoku should be considered a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Week 15 Preview
DFS LINEUPS
DraftKings
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo (vs. ATL) $5,800
RB: James Robinson (vs. HOU) $5,400
RB: D'Onta Foreman (at PIT) $5,200
WR: Brandin Cooks (at JAC) $5,800
WR: Christian Kirk (at DET) $5,300
WR: DeVante Parker (vs. NYJ) $4,300
TE: George Kittle (vs. ATL) $7,500
FLEX: CeeDee Lamb (at NYG) $7,400
DST: Bills (vs. CAR) $3,100
I'll stack the 49ers here with Garoppolo and Kittle, and I love the matchup for both against the Falcons. This could be a fun revenge-game narrative for Kyle Shanahan, who used to be the offensive coordinator in Atlanta.
Robinson and Foreman are two of my favorite running backs this week, and Robinson is my Start of the Week against the Texans. Both have top-15 upside on DraftKings this week.
My receivers also should do well with Cooks against the Jaguars, Kirk against the Lions with Hopkins hurt and Parker against the Jets with Jaylen Waddle (illness) on the reserve/COVID-19 list. I also love the ability to play Lamb in the flex.
FanDuel
QB: Aaron Rodgers (at BAL) $7,600
RB: James Robinson (vs. HOU) $6,300
RB: Myles Gaskin (vs. NYJ) $6,600
WR: Davante Adams (at BAL) $8,500
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown (vs. ARI) $5,900
WR: A.J. Green (at DET) $5,700 v TE: Mark Andrews (vs. GB) $7,400
FLEX: Deebo Samuel (vs. ATL) $8,200
DEF: Jaguars (vs. HOU) $3,600
Let's stack the Packers here with Rodgers and Adams, and both should be awesome -- as usual -- against the Ravens' depleted secondary. They are worth the money this week, and you can play Andrews at tight end to have someone on the other side of this matchup.
I'll play Robinson again in this lineup, and I'll pair him with Gaskin now that he's off the reserve/COVID-19 list. Gaskin is facing a Jets defense that allows the most Fantasy points to opposing running backs, so it's great that Gaskin is healthy and ready to go.
At receiver, let's go with Green as a Hopkins replacement, and he should do well against the Lions. I also like St. Brown in the same game, and he should benefit with T.J. Hockenson (hand) out. I also like Samuel, who should excel in his usual dual-threat role at receiver and running back against the Falcons.
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