Stars of Week 15

QB:      Cam Newton, CAR: 25-45, 340 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

RB:      David Johnson, ARZ: 29 carries, 187 yards, 3 TDs

WR:     Antonio Brown, PIT: 16 catches, 189 yards, 2 TDs

TE:      Jordan Reed, WAS: 7 catches, 84 yards, 2 TDs

We had superlative fantasy performances from several players during this key fantasy playoff weekend. Cam Newton predictably thrashed the weak Giants’ pass defense, and continues his campaign for the top QB to be drafted in 2016. Key waiver wire pickup David Johnson ran roughshed against an enigmatic Eagles defense, who usually struggle against the pass. Johnson will remain a top 5 RB play heading into this coming week’s matchup with the Packers. Antonio Brown made his case for number one overall pick next year, as he turned in the performance of the season against a tough Broncos secondary. Let Brown’s performance reinforce to you the dangers of overanalyzing a matchup in connection with your cream of the crop players. Brown should never sit if you own him. Rounding up the honor roll is Jordan Reed, who takes this award for the second week in a row. He’s a top 3 TE this season, so those of you who own him, continue to enjoy the ride. 

Week 15 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward. 

- Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB – NYJ: 26-39, 299 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT 

Analysis: Ryan Fitzpatrick has undeniably taken a step forward this season. So the important question – how big of a step are we talking about? Consider that Fitzpatrick has amassed more than 3,400 passing yards to go along with 26 TDs to date. And while Fitz only passed for one TD this past week, he’s had ten games thus far where he’s had two or more TD passes. With Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker as his primary passing weapons, and Chris Ivory carrying the rock, Fitz has made himself into a high end QB2, with starting consideration in favorable matchups. Fitzpatrick faces the Patriots and the Bills to close out to the season, and will remain a high end QB2 for those matchups.

- Christine Michael, RB – SEA: 16 carries, 84 yards, 0 TDs

- Bryce Brown, RB – SEA: 9 carries, 43 yards, 0 TDs                                                                                   

Analysis: Next we look at the current status of the Seahawks’ RB situation. Most fantasy pundits, including myself, felt that Brown would be the RB to own, rather than Michael. This shows how difficult it can be to diagnose a running game situation from the outside. Michael was traded by the Seahawks earlier in the season and had just been signed during the middle of the week, while Brown had been signed this past week as well, albeit a few days earlier than Michael. While Michael had the bulk of the carries, Brown matched Michael’s production on a per-carry basis. Going forward, look for the committee approach to continue, and on this basis, both Michael and Brown should be viewed as lower-end flex plays and nothing more. Committees muddle the water in fantasy football, and this situation is no different.

- Cameron Artis-Payne, RB – CHA: 14 carries, 59 yards, 0 TDs                 

Analysis: Jog your memory back to last week when we got word that Jonathan Stewart would be out, with word that Fozzy Whitaker would be next in line. So it only follows that Cameron Artis-Payne would outcarry Whitaker 14 to 2. Thanks Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Ron Rivera, etc. and everyone else who makes managing a fantasy football team that much tougher! I kid (somewhat), but in any event, Artis-Payne remains the Panthers back to own if Jonathan Stewart remains out this week. The Panthers will face the Falcons this week, so Artis-Payne would have a juicy matchup. But that being said, Artis-Payne was merely average against the Giants, so there’s no guaranty that the distribution of carries in the Falcons game will mirror what we saw this past week. Taking all of this into consideration, Artis-Payne will be more of a flex play than RB2 if Stewart remains out another week. 

- Dorial Green-Beckham, WR - TEN: 6 catches, 113 yards, 0 TDs 

Analysis: The Tennessee Titans have suffered through another miserable season based on wins-losses, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Marcus Mariota has shown signs of being a franchise quarterback. More quietly, Dorial Green-Beckham has shown flashes of his potential as a future number one WR. Green-Beckham has always had top tier talent, with off-field issues being the primary concern. His season-to-date numbers are modest, with 30 catches for 528 yards and 3 TDs. But over the last three weeks, Green-Beckham has combined for 14 catches for 285 yards and 1 TD. How much Green-Beckham can help fantasy owners for this year’s playoffs depends on the size of the league (he’s straddling the WR3/WR4 line), but keep an eye on Green-Beckham for continued positive developments for next season. While Mariota is out for the last two games, Zach Mettenberger will give the young WR opportunities to develop and make plays. 

- Emmanuel Sanders, WR – DEN: 10 catches, 181 yards, 1 TD

Analysis: With Peyton Manning under center, Emmanuel Sanders had been fantasy gold, displaying weekly consistency and finding the end zone often. Then Sanders dealt with a high ankle sprain injury, around the same time as Peyton Manning dealt with injury concerns of his own. Insert Brock Osweiler at QB, and Sanders back into the lineup, and you’ve had the prototype for inconsistency. In four games for Sanders with Osweiler under center, Sanders has posted yardage of 113, 19, 17 and 181 over the last four weeks, with only first TD over those four games coming this past weekend against the Steelers. The inconsistent numbers should be attributed to Osweiler, not Sanders. That being said, you experience the highs and lows of Sanders’ numbers if he’s in your lineup. Expect Sanders’ numbers to normalize a bit, but inconsistency will still reign. Because of this, he should be viewed as a high end WR3, rather than a WR2. 

Rapid Fire Pickups

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.

QB:                  Jameis Winston, TB (nice matchup against Chicago)

RB:                  Karlos Williams, BUF (must add with LeSean McCoy out)

RB:                  Charles Sims, TB

WR:                 Markus Wheaton, PIT

WR:                 DeVante Parker, MIA

TE:                  Zach Miller, CHI 

Week 16 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Cam Newton

2. Ben Roethlisberger

3. Blake Bortles

4. Russell Wilson

5. Tom Brady

6. Carson Palmer

7. Drew Brees

8. Matthew Stafford

9. Aaron Rodgers

10. Kirk Cousins

11. Derek Carr

12. Philip Rivers

13. Tyrod Taylor

14. Eli Manning

15. Ryan Fitzpatrick

16. Jameis Winston

17. Alex Smith

18. Teddy Bridgewater

19. Ryan Tannehill

20. Brian Hoyer

Running Backs

1. Adrian Peterson

2. David Johnson

3. DeAngelo Williams

4. Doug Martin

5. Latavius Murray

6. Charcandrick West

7. Devonta Freeman

8. Tim Hightower

9. Darren McFadden

10. Matt Forte

11. Lamar Miller

12. Todd Gurley

13. Frank Gore

14. Chris Ivory

15. Karlos Williams

16. Danny Woodhead

17. Eddie Lacy

18. Denard Robinson

19. Cameron Artis-Payne

20. Christine Michael

21. Jeremy Hill

22. Ryan Mathews

23. James White

24. Javorius Allen

25. Ameer Abdullah

26. Giovani Bernard

27. Matt Jones

28. C.J. Anderson

29. Rashad Jennings

30. Spencer Ware

31. Alfred Blue

32. Ronnie Hillman

33. Shaun Draughn

34. Bilal Powell

35. Jeremy Langford

Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown

2. Allen Robinson

3. DeAndre Hopkins

4. Julio Jones

5. Doug Baldwin

6. Alshon Jeffery

7. Brandon Marshall

8. Mike Evans

9. Martavis Bryant

10. Sammy Watkins

11. Eric Decker

12. Jeremy Maclin

13. Calvin Johnson

14. Brandin Cooks

15. Demaryius Thomas

16. A.J. Green

17. DeSean Jackson

18. Larry Fitzgerald

19. Kamar Aiken

20. Jarvis Landry

21. Emmanuel Sanders

22. John Brown

23. Randall Cobb

24. Michael Floyd

25. Michael Crabtree

26. Dez Bryant

27. Allen Hurns

28. Ted Ginn, Jr.

29. T.Y. Hilton

30. Amari Cooper

31. Tyler Lockett

32. Donte Moncrief

33. Rueben Randle

34. Willie Snead

35. Stefon Diggs

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski

2. Greg Olsen

3. Jordan Reed

4. Delanie Walker

5. Benjamin Watson

6. Julius Thomas

7. Antonio Gates

8. Zach Ertz

9. Travis Kelce

10. Zach Miller

11. Gary Barnidge

12. Austin Seferian-Jenkins

13. Will Tye

14. Richard Rodgers

15. Jason Witten

Final Note:

As this week serves as the championship matchup for most leagues, this will be my last writeup for the 2015 season. However, we will post rankings for week 17, so for those of you who have your championship round next week, check in for rankings here. Thanks to all of you for reading and for engaging with me on Twitter – it’s been a fun season! And to those of you competing for titles – lock it down!