Week 15 Fantasy Football Rankings: Christian McCaffrey is Back on Top

Well, we’ve made it. At least some of us, but if you’re reading this I assume you’ve made your fantasy playoffs (or at least play in a league where your playoff hopes are still alive). We’ve reached the point of the season where there is less competition for waivers, but it is imperative to hit on them. John Daigle’s Waiver Wire Watch will be vital reading this week to get the leg up on your opponent. As always, the rankings and projections are provided by 4for4’s half-PPR Scoring.

What Stands Out: Elite matchups for the elite quarterbacks.

Analysis: While Patrick Mahomes is the one elite quarterback with a tough matchup, he’s proven - even just last week - that he’s matchup-proof. Jalen Hurts gets a matchup against a Chicago defense that has gotten crushed on the ground and isn’t much better through the air. Hurts could have a field day against the defense. Josh Allen has struggled by his standards for weeks and that is reflected in the projections this week, even against a very beatable Miami defense. Joe Burrow didn’t have three of his top receiving options last week but still had Ja'Marr Chase and that was enough for a decent day against the Browns. Now he may get Tee Higgins back (although can you trust the Bengals?) and an easier matchup against the Bucs. Tennessee is a pass funnel and Justin Herbert has a rocket arm with a bunch of healthy receivers now. That’s a recipe for a big fantasy day and he’s one of the guys that join that elite group this week.

Justin Fields is back from his bye and gets a difficult matchup against the Eagles. Not ideal, but he’s proven he’s capable of putting up huge fantasy days. Trevor Lawrence has been on absolute fire the last five weeks, but he gets a buzzsaw in the Dallas defense. On the other side, Dak Prescott is coming off a disappointing day against the Texans, but now gets a Jaguars defense that ranks as the best matchup in the league. It could be an entertaining duel in Jacksonville. Aaron Rodgers rounds out the top 10, but the guy outside the top 10 that has caught my eye is Mike White. Yes, Mike White. Sure, it helps he gets a matchup against the Lions, but he has a bunch of talented receivers even against a somewhat improved Lions defense.

*Full QB Rankings Here

What Stands Out: Christian McCaffrey is back where he belongs.

Analysis: With Elijah Mitchell and Jimmy Garoppolo out, it is the Christian McCaffrey show in San Francisco. Now he gets a Seahawks defense that gave up two 70+ yard rushers against Carolina. Derrick Henry looked like he was on his way to a monster day with 96 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter against Jacksonville, but it was a bit of a disaster after that. Josh Jacobs gets a tough matchup against New England, but as James Conner proved on Monday night they aren’t an impossible matchup. Austin Ekeler gets a rough matchup on the ground against Tennessee, but he can still get there through the air. Minnesota seems easier to attack through the air, but Jonathan Taylor should still get the volume on the ground to get there. If this was 2020 Alvin Kamara against the Falcons, we’d be joking about how low this ranking is but is he even getting enough volume to get this projection? We’ll see. Tony Pollard is on fire, even splitting carries and ceding some goal-line work to Zeke. Dalvin Cook and Joe Mixon are a bit worrying in their own right. Cook isn’t getting targets and Mixon didn’t get the workload coming off a concussion. Mixon seems more likely to get back to expectations this week. Miles Sanders is in an amazing matchup coming off his best game of the season. Outside of the top 10, I think I like Ezekiel Elliott again. Both backs in Dallas have proven they can outperform projections in good matchups, and this is another great one.

*Full RB Rankings Here

What Stands Out: With no byes, all the elite names are back in the top 10 with a few new faces.

Analysis: Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, and Tyreek Hill all continue to dominate the targets on their teams and are dominating in the fantasy space. All three stand out above the rest of the elite receivers. Ja'Marr Chase could be poised to join them at the top if all of his teammates are out again this week. Stefon Diggs has been going as Josh Allen goes, and while he can still have a solid day if Allen doesn’t it would certainly help if he did. A matchup against Miami isn’t daunting, just look at what Justin Herbert did against that defense on Sunday night. CeeDee Lamb is in an eruption spot assuming Dallas doesn’t just keep it on the ground all game. The same could be said for A.J. Brown as well this week. The Jets are a really good defense, but someone has to do something offensively for the Lions and it should (hopefully) be Amon-Ra St. Brown although after last week’s touchdown roulette he could be one to underperform this week. Keenan Allen gets another amazing matchup and he should keep racking up the catches. Outside of the top 10, Mike Williams was amazing in his return and now he gets Tennessee. I love it.

*Full WR Rankings Here

What Stands Out: Travis Kelce nearly doubles up every other projection.

Analysis: Travis Kelce is so clearly the best tight end option that it’s not even fun writing about it anymore. T.J. Hockenson has a terrible matchup, but he’s been great since coming over to Minnesota. Mark Andrews depends on who his quarterback is, unfortunately. You can’t bench him if Anthony Brown is starting, but it is far from ideal. George Kittle and Greg Dulcich get amazing matchups, but backup quarterbacks and potentially heavy running games could lower their ceiling. Dalton Schultz is in the same boat. Cole Kmet is basically the top option in the Bears passing game now so even an average matchup against the Eagles isn’t one to worry about. Pat Friermuth has seen his snaps drop from above 70% to around 55% in the last two weeks. Evan Engram had a career game last week, but a difficult matchup against Dallas will make it tough to repeat that. Outside of the top 10, Chigoziem Okonkwo could be in line for another big day (by tight end standards) if Treylon Burks is out again.

*Full TE Rankings Here