Fantasy Football Week 15 Streaming Options
Trey Burton was my star streamer in Week 14, catching five balls for 71 yards and two touchdowns, making him the highest-scoring tight end for the week. With most fantasy leagues in playoff mode, it’s win-or-go-home time, so the stream is alive and kicking for Week 15.
For streaming purposes, 4for4’s Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) is a metric we rely on heavily to determine weekly matchup strength. As the season progresses and more data is available, aFPA becomes more and more reliable, using rolling 10-week data. Targets and efficiency metrics are also considered when coming up with weekly streamers.
To provide advice that you can actually use, candidates for streaming must be available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy leagues.
Quarterbacks
Blake Bortles, Jaguars vs. Texans (43% owned)
Bortles has averaged 288.5 yards in his last two games, throwing a pair of touchdowns in both contests without an interception. He seems to have turned some sort of corner this season, ranking 15th in fantasy points among quarterbacks, and he has a highly favorable schedule the next two weeks.
This week he gets the Texans at home, a team ranked 30th in quarterback aFPA, and 16th in running back aFPA. That sort of funnel could lead to him getting more work than usual on Sunday. The Jaguars in Week 16 play the 49ers, a defense ranked 27th in quarterback aFPA. If you stream Bortles this week and win, you may want to keep him around for your championship game.
Joe Flacco, Ravens at Browns (16% owned)
More efficient as the season has progressed, Flacco has thrown for 269 yards and two touchdowns in his last two outings, netting 18.66 and 16.76 fantasy points, respectively.
Flacco and the Ravens head to Cleveland this week to face a Browns’ defense ranked 23rd in quarterback aFPA. The Browns have surrendered 26 touchdowns through the air, tied for most in the league, and rank last in interceptions with six. Flacco may not wow you, but this should be a safe week to use him if you need help at quarterback.
Fantasy Football Week 15 Injury Report
Nick Foles, Eagles at Giants (13% owned)
With Carson Wentz done for the season after tearing his ACL, Foles gets the honor of jumping behind the wheel of one of the league’s most luxurious rides. He inherits a ton of surrounding talent with Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz and Jay Ajayi leading the way.
In Week 15, Foles also gets a Giants defense ranked 26th in quarterback aFPA that, like the Browns, has allowed 26 passing touchdowns this season. Foles may not be the most exciting quarterback, but he has the weapons and the matchup to turn in a good performance on Sunday.
Tight Ends
Charles Clay, Bills vs. Dolphins (33% owned)
Clay is averaging 4.7 targets and 8.5 fantasy points per game this season. With Tyrod Taylor most likely back under center, Clay should be a good bet to approach or surpass those averages. It also helps that he’s facing a Miami defense ranked 28th in aFPA. The Dolphins will also head to cold, snowy Buffalo on a short week after an emotional win over the Patriots. That all puts Clay in a great position. With Kelvin Benjamin banged up, the veteran tight end may be in for a heavier workload than usual.
Eric Ebron, Lions vs. Bears (31% owned)
Ebron has quietly turned it on of late, totaling the fourth-most targets and seventh-most PPR points among tight ends over the last three weeks. He posted season highs in both catches and yards in Week 14, reeling in 10 of 11 targets for 94 yards against the Buccaneers.
The Lions host the Bears this week, a team that has been thinned out by injury on the defensive side of the ball. They have an implied total of 25 points, too, giving them one of the freindliest fantasy projections of the week.. As a bonus, Ebron’s Week 16 game is against a Bengals defense ranked dead last in tight end aFPA, so he could stick around for your championship game, should you make it there.
Fantasy Football Rankings Week 15
Adam Shaheen, Bears at Lions (1% owned)
Shaheen’s snap rate increased dramatically last week, jumping to 42% from 24% the prior week. He caught four balls for 44 yards and a score against the Bengals in Week 14, and, as possibly a big part of the Bears future, should be in for more work over the final three games of the season.
Shaheen has a favorable matchup Saturday in Detroit with a Lions defense ranked 31st in tight end aFPA. They have allowed double-digit fantasy points to the position in their last five contests, including 22.3 from Kyle Rudolph in Week 12. Shaheen dropped 14.1 PPR points on the Lions in Week 11.
Defense
Buffalo Bills, vs. Dolphins (36% owned)
Miami’s offense showed up in Week 14 against the Patriots, but it was a primetime home game in cozy, tropical South Florida. With snow showers and cold predicted in Buffalo again this weekend, the Bills defense could wreak havoc on turnover-prone Jay Cutler, and put up a nice fantasy point total in the process.
Washington Redskins, vs. Cardinals (16% owned)
Arizona is down two starting offensive linemen, with tackle Jared Veldheer and guard Earl Watford out with ankle injuries. The Cardinals have allowed a whopping 15 sacks in their last two contests, and should continue to have problems this week in Washington. Also working in the Redskins favor is that they’re favored by 4.5 points and playing at home.
Miami Dolphins, at Bills (8% owned)
Buffalo’s offense has struggled this season, and the Dolphins showed us on Monday night against Tom Brady and the Patriots that they can still slow down an offense with pressure on the quraterback. The Dolphins have the posted the most defensive fantasy points over the past two weeks, with five sacks, five interceptions and 23 points allowed (the other six came on a defensive touchdown by the Broncos in Week 13). They’ve earned a seat at the streaming table for Week 15.
