NFL DFS Week 15 Example Lineups: Top Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel

Published: Dec 18, 2022
Everyone ready for the NFL Week 15 DFS main slate today? Nothing better than Sunday football. Everyone got a nice, little taste of some GPP tournament fun with the three-game Saturday slate, but it's now time to get down to business with the NFL Sunday main slate of 10 games. This one is going to be interesting because of the way the slate is split up. If you recall from the NFL Week 15 DFS Playbook introduction, the late part of the slate is packed with fantastic possibilities, especially from the Tennessee Titans/Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals/Tampa Bay Buccaneers games, so we want to make sure we have the right amount of “late-game hammer,” but we also want to make sure we don't over-invest in the early games and get caught too far behind. That means we need the right components from the early part of the day, whether it's investing in Patrick Mahomes and/or Jalen Hurts or maybe we look at some wide receivers like CeeDee Lamb and/or Christian Kirk from the Jacksonville Jaguars/Dallas Cowboys game. However you do it, make sure there is enough of a balance. Too much in the late window could force you into a midday pivot onto a lesser player with lower ownership (check in with our NFL Week 15 DFS Ownership Projections) just to try and catch up.
Once you've gotten everything pretty close to settled, then you come here at noon (eastern) and check out what you have and compare it to what's here. Maybe you see something you weren't thinking about earlier and it gives you a different idea. Maybe you see what's here and just feel good about your roster construction and you leave it alone. Whichever the case may be, it's just good practice to look at alternatives whether you make an adjustment or not.
Just a few notes here about the lineups below...
The cash lineups were built solely off the players I put in the Playbook. These are the guys who, unless I have indicated otherwise, offer up the higher floor and will help you cash in your Double-Ups and 50/50s. For GPP tournaments, particularly the large-field ones, you need to find alternative routes to the cash line. I will utilize players from the Playbook and the DFS Dart Board to fill in the gaps, but what I am looking for are some lower-owned stacks that make sense based on expected game flow and other news. You may also see in the GPP lineups, there may be some names I haven't discussed this week on the site, but have talked about during the week on the Fantasy Alarm Show or even on the Fantasy Alarm Sunday Gameday Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. You will also notice, though, that others on the site have mentioned some of these players in places such as the position coaches, so it's not like we're trying to hide anything from you. The only time, and I mean the only time you will see a player in a GPP lineup who hasn't been discussed is if we are using a stack and need a player from the other team coming back. But it's rare when that happens.
Again, these lineups are meant to serve as examples for you; a sounding board, as I said. They are not meant for you to plug in as your own. That's the lazy way and we don't condone it. We are trying to teach you how to be a better DFS player; we aren't lineup-sellers. You should be creating your own lineups using all the information we provide you throughout the week and then coming here to see if there is anything you may have missed or simply for an alternative perspective.
Best of luck to you this week and let's make some money!
SUNDAY MORNING NOTES:
According to Adam Schefter:
Broncos ruled out Russell Wilson for Sunday’s game
Texans ruled out RB Dameon Pierce, WR Brandin Cooks, WR Nico Collins and CB Derek Stingley Jr. for Sunday’s game vs. the Chiefs
Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring) is expected to be active for Sunday's game against the Texans.
Bears ruled out wide receiver Chase Claypool for Sunday’s game against the Eagles.
Cardinals’ WR Marquise Brown, listed as questionable for Sunday due to an illness, is expected to play vs. the Broncos
Jets’ DT Quinnen Williams, listed as questionable for Sunday vs. the Lions due to a calf injury, is “truly a 50-50 call” and the team doesn’t plan to decide until pre-game warmups whether to play him
Players out Sunday include Mike White, Corey Davis, Brandin Cooks, Dameon Pierce, Derek Stingley, Trey Hendrickson, Hayden Hurst, Vita Vea, Carl Nassib, Jamel Dean, Russell Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Kendall Hinton, Zach Allen, Jalen Mills, DeVante Parker and Adoree Jackson.
Other News:
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) will not play in Week 15 vs the Panthers.
Patriots RB Damien Harris (thigh) will not play in Week 15 vs the Raiders.
Bengals WRs Tyler Boyd (finger) and Tee Higgins (hamstring) are expected to play against Tampa Bay. Both were full participants at Friday’s practice.
Panthers' WR D.J. Moore (questionable, ankle) is expected to play Sunday vs. Pittsburgh
The Raiders have now activated TE Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow to the 53-man roster and both are eligible to play Sunday
The Eagles did not activate Dallas Goedert (shoulder) from injured reserve for Week 15.
POTENTIAL WEATHER CONCERNS:
none – sorry, folks, cold temperatures or 10mph winds don't have any real impact here
GPP STACKS:
As a reminder, when you're stacking in GPP, you always want to run someone back from the opposing team. One-sided games often turn to a running back seeing higher-than-usual volume or the back-ups start to play. For a stack to really pop, the other team needs to keep things competitive.
Chalk Stacks (Expect High Ownership):
*Eagles: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith or Miles Sanders (Kmet coming back)
Cowboys: Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Dalton Schultz or Tony Pollard (Etienne or Kirk coming back)
*Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, JuJu Smith-Schuster or Isiah Pacheco (Ogunbowale coming back)
*Bengals: Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Joe Mixon or Tee Higgins (Godwin or Evans coming back)
*Chargers: Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams or Austin Ekeler (Henry coming back)
Possible Lower-Owned Stacks:
*Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones or Travis Etienne or Evan Engram (Lamb or Pollard coming back)
Raiders: Derek Carr, Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs or Mack Hollins (Agholor or Meyers/Bourne coming back
Lions: Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, D'Andre Swift or Jameson Williams (G Wilson or Conklin coming back)
Jets: Zach Wilson, Garrett Wilson, Tyler Conklin or Zonovan Knight (J Williams or Swift or St. Brown coming back)
*Buccaneers: Tom Brady, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans or Leonard Fournette or Rachaad White (Chase or Mixon coming back)
Bears: Justin Fields, Cole Kmet, David Montgomery or Equanimeous St. Brown (Brown or Sanders coming back)
Saints: Andy Dalton, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave (London or Patterson coming back)
Panthers: Sam Darnold, DJ Moore, Chuba Hubbard (D Johnson or Freiermuth or Pickens coming back)
Dart Throw Stacks:
Patriots: Mac Jones, Jakobi Meyers/Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor or Rhamondre Stevenson (Adams or Jacobs coming back)
Falcons: Desmond Ridder, Drake London, Cordarrelle Patterson (Kamara coming back)
Steelers: Mitch Trubisky, Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth or Najee Harris (DJ Moore or Foreman or Hubbard coming back)
Cardinals: Colt McCoy, DeAndre Hopkins, James Conner or Marquise Brown (Jeudy or Dulcich or Murray coming back)
Broncos: Brett Rypien, Jerry Jeudy, Latavius Murray or Greg Dulcich (Hopkins or Conner coming back)
*denotes favorite
Pos | Player | Team | Opponent | Salary | Proj. Draft% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
QB | Jalen Hurts | PHI | CHI | $8,200 | 14.6% |
RB | Miles Sanders | DAL | JAC | $6,500 | 16.4% |
RB | Isiah Pacheco | KC | HOU | $5,900 | 11.8% |
WR | Ja'Marr Chase | CIN | TB | $8,300 | 13.2% |
WR | Garrett Wilson | NYJ | DET | $6,000 | 17.2% |
WR | Jameson Williams | DET | NYJ | $4,100 | 0.7% |
TE | Cade Otton | TB | CIN | $2,900 | 2.9% |
FLEX | Zonovan Knight | NYJ | DET | $5,300 | 15.2% |
DST | Denver Broncos | DEN | ARI | $2,700 | 18.3% |
$49,900 |
Player News
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Dolphins released LS Blake Ferguson.
The team also waived CB Ryan Cooper Jr., DT Neil Farrell and OL Chasen Hines. Ferguson has been the team’s long snapper for five seasons and earned a three-year contract extension just before the 2023 season. He should be able to find work snapping footballs farther than the average snap elsewhere in the league.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.