Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 15: Wide Receivers in standard and PPR leagues
The playoffs are here, and WHO should you be starting at wide receiver??
Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
No position in fantasy football is more frustrating than wide receiver. Consider Cincinnati Bengal wide out A J Green. In his last eleven games he’s given you a touchdown or 100 yards receiving in ten of them! And, what does he gives you in Week 14, when you really need him? 44 yards on three catches. Ugh. Who can you trust? Let’s try to not “chase stats” and instead consider the match-up information, along with target data, below. Both are becoming more and more important as we evaluate which wide receivers are the favorites for their respective quarterbacks. And of course, a general notes section will highlight some important points for the week. Let’s start right there:
NOTES:
- Welcome back to fantasy relivance, Mike Wallace. His 23.2 points (non-PPR) in Week 14 were more than his previous four week, combined (4.4, 0.9, 2.4 & 7.4). Will he keep rolling in Week 15??
- Ditto the above note for Brandon Lloyd who had a nice touchdown catch in the Patriots' dismantling of the Texans. The problem is, Lloyd has been so bad (1 target last week), that he was probably on the bench in most leagues.
- I need to once again talk about Danario Alexander. This kid is special and his chemistry with Philip Rivers seems to be growing. Consider his last five games....9.4 targets per game, 15.9 fantasy points per game (non-PPR) and five touchdowns. A must start.
- These guys had a disappointing Week 14 and we have to wonder what the future brings: Larry Fitzgerald 2 yards, Golden Tate 6 yards, Torrey Smith 21 yards, Chris Givens 25 yards, Lance Moore 26 yards and A J Green 44 yards.
- Keep an eye on these wide receivers that are battling through injury: Demaryius Thomas, Roddy White, Hakeem Nicks, Danny Amendola, Pierre Garcon, Sidney Rice, Jordy Nelson, Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Cecil Shorts and Jeremy Kerley.
- The bye weeks are over, so feel free to start everyone.
TARGETS:
Just as I mentioned, fantasy wide receiver scoring can be fluky. But, one thing that you can’t argue with is targets. See the chart below showing the Year-To-Date and Week 14 target leaders:
Year-To-Date | Week 14 |
Reggie Wayne (162) | Brandon Marshall 19 |
Calvin Johnson (157) | Calvin Johnson 13 |
Brandon Marshall (157) | Jeremy Maclin 13 |
Wes Welker (142) | Steve Smith (CAR) 12 |
A J Green (134) | Jason Avant 12 |
Larry Fitzgerald (131) | Justin Blackmon 12 |
Victor Cruz (127) | Josh Gordon 12 |
Andre Johnson (124) | Michael Crabtree 11 |
Roddy White (118) | Roddy White 11 |
Steve Johnson (116) | Larry Fitzgerald 11 |
Dwayne Bowe (114) | Julio Jones 11 |
FANTASY POINTS ALLOWED (FPA):
FPA is a great judge of the strength of a future match-up. The number next to the teams’ name represents how many fantasy points that team is giving up to the entire receiving corps on an average weekly basis. Obviously, you want your guy to play against a team that is allowing a LOT of points to WR’s:
Best Defense Against Opposing WR's | Worst Defense Against Opposing WR's |
SF 49ers (16.44 pts allowed) | TB Bucs (29.04 pts allowed) |
SEA Seahawks (16.92 pts allowed) | NO Saints (27.33 pts allowed) |
PIT Steelers (17.49 pts allowed) | WAS Redskins (27.18 pts allowed) |
NY Jets (17.66 pts allowed) | NY Giants (25.65 pts allowed) |
CIN Bengals (18.18 pts allowed) | IND Colts (25.51 pts allowed) |
WEEK 15 RANKINGS:
Player (TEAM) | Standard Scoring | PPR Scoring |
Calvin Johnson (DET) | 1 | 1 |
A J Green (CIN) | 2 | 2 |
Brandon Marshall (CHI) | 3 | 3 |
Vincent Jackson (TB) | 4 | 4 |
Demaryius Thomas (DEN) | 5 | 6 |
Roddy White (ATL) | 6 | 5 |
Andre Johnson (HOU) | 7 | 7 |
Victor Cruz (NYG) | 8 | 8 |
Marques Colston (NO) | 9 | 9 |
Julio Jones (ATL) | 10 | 13 |
Danario Alexander (SD) | 11 | 10 |
Wes Welker (NE) | 12 | 12 |
Reggie Wayne (IND) | 13 | 11 |
Steve Smith (CAR) | 14 | 14 |
Josh Gordon (CLE) | 15 | 15 |
Mike Wallace (PIT) | 16 | 16 |
Pierre Garcon (WAS) | 17 | 17 |
Michael Crabtree (SF) | 18 | 18 |
Cecil Shorts (JAC) | 19 | 19 |
Randall Cobb (GB) | 20 | 20 |
Miles Austin (DAL) | 21 | 22 |
Eric Decker (DEN) | 22 | 21 |
Sidney Rice (SEA) | 23 | 23 |
Lance Moore (NO) | 24 | 25 |
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) | 25 | 24 |
Greg Jennings (GB) | 26 | 26 |
Mike Williams (TB) | 27 | 28 |
T Y Hilton (IND) | 28 | 29 |
Antonio Brown (PIT) | 29 | 27 |
Kenny Britt (TEN) | 30 | 31 |
Chris Givens (STL) | 31 | 30 |
Torrey Smith (BAL) | 32 | 32 |
Anquan Boldin (BAL) | 33 | 33 |
Malcom Floyd (SD) | 34 | 34 |
Denarius Moore (OAK) | 35 | 35 |
Steve Johnson (BUF) | 36 | 36 |
Brian Hartline (MIA) | 37 | 37 |
Brandon Lloyd (NE) | 38 | 38 |
Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) | 39 | 39 |
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) | 40 | 40 |
Nate Washington (TEN) | 41 | 41 |
Andrew Hawkins (CIN) | 42 | 43 |
Davone Bess (MIA) | 43 | 42 |
Alshon Jeffery (CHI) | 44 | 44 |
Rod Streater (OAK) | 45 | 45 |
Justin Blackmon (JAC) | 46 | 46 |
Kendall Wright (TEN) | 47 | 47 |
Donnie Avery (IND) | 48 | 48 |
Jason Avant (PHI) | 49 | 49 |
Dwayne Harris (DAL) | 50 | 50 |
See More:
