Fantasy Football: Winners and Losers Column for Week 15 is here!
Week 15 has concluded except for MNF - most weeks this article is written on Monday and will not include MNF, just as a heads-up reminder. For 16 week leagues the Fantasy Football finals have started; congratulations if you are lucky enough to be in them.
The Fantasy Football Winner’s and Loser’s column provides users with the recent weeks winners and losers, while also including analysis of the previous weeks Fantasy performances.
- Disclaimer – All Fantasy Football articles are written with the information given by ESPN Standard PPR scoring.
The Winners
Blake Bortles, QB
25 Fantasy Points
Blake Bortles is a QB that has been known for his mistake ridden football, but lately that hasn’t been the case. Bortles - who threw 21/29 for 326 yards and 3 TD’s in a 45-7 blowout against the injury riddled Houston Texans - has been a fantasy relevant starting QB for the past 4 weeks. Matchups against the 49ers and Titans make him a good streaming QB down the stretch. Bortles is currently available in 60% of ESPN leagues.
Keelan Cole, WR
31.6 Fantasy Points
Keelan Cole is the definition of a fantasy dark horse. Bortles had an amazing week and somebody must catch those passes, this weekend it just so happened to be Cole who was started in just 0.33% of leagues. Additionally, Cole brought in 7 receptions for 186 yards and a TD.
Sterling Shepard, WR
30.9 Fantasy Points
Sterling Shepard has been forced into an increased role with injuries to Odell Beckham Jr and Brandon Marshall and in Week 15 he finally capitalized with a season high 30.9 fantasy points. Shepard, who battled a hamstring injury last week, showed no signs of it this week as he brought in 11 receptions for 139 yards and a TD. Shephard will most likely have Patrick Peterson on him next week against Arizona.
Greg Olsen, TE
26.6 Fantasy Points
Last weeks loser, Greg Olsen put on a performance Sunday that people who drafted him at the beginning of the year or picked him up off the waiver wire during his time on the IR have been waiting for. Olsen brought in 9 passes for 116 yards and TD on Sunday, and will look toward a favorable matchup next week against a terrible Tampa Bay defense. Olsen is still available in 20 percent of ESPN leagues and should be owned.
Cam Newton, QB
31.5 Fantasy Points
It wasn’t all fun and games for Cam Newton who, during the game against the Packers had a funny altercation with Clay Matthews, pointing out that Matthews watched film on the Panthers and told him to “watch this” as he threw a TD pass to Christian McCaffrey. Newton who comes into most weeks with a high ceiling due to his rushing, ran the ball 14 times for 58 yards while also completing 20 of his 31 passes for 242 yards and 4 TD’s. He has a divisional matchup next week against a weak Tampa Bay defense.
The Losers
Jimmy Graham, TE
0.9 Fantasy Points
Back to back weeks now Jimmy Graham has been practically invisible on the field. As a Seahawks fan it’s coming at the worst time, as we’re pushing for a wildcard spot. Started in 84.8 percent of ESPN leagues, Graham is letting down fantasy owners in the playoffs. Graham will look to bounce back next week against the Cowboys. It will be a must win game for both teams, so expect a shootout.
Jordy Nelson, WR
5.8 Fantasy Points
Owners who stuck with Jordy Nelson throughout the Hundley era were excited to have Aaron Rodgers back under center for the Packers, hoping that it would bring Nelson back to his elite level. Those owners were sadly left disappointed as Nelson brought in only 3 catches for 28 yards. It won’t get any easier next week against a tough Vikings defense, and it might be a good idea to leave Nelson on the bench again if you have better options.
A.J Green, WR
5.0 Fantasy Points
Green was started in 93.7 percent of ESPN leagues, despite having a terrible matchup against Xavier Rhodes. He managed to only bring in two passes for 30 yards, and he’ll have a terrible matchup next week as well against a Lions defense anchored by Glover Quin and Darius Slay. Green’s fantasy outlook every week is always at a risk due to the inconsistency of Andy Dalton.
Deshone Kizer, QB
3.3 Fantasy Points
I’m always reluctant to put Browns players in the loser’s column because their team is a perennial loser to begin with, but Deshone Kizer has performed very well 4 of the last 5 weeks, and only managed 146 yards for 2 TD’s and an INT against Baltimore. He finished with 3.3 fantasy points, his lowest as a starter since week 7. You probably aren’t starting or even rostering Kizer to begin with, but he’s always an interesting streaming option.
Doug Baldwin, WR
1.6 Fantasy Points
It feels hard to knock Doug Baldwin for his poor performance on Sunday when the Seahawks got dominated. Baldwin, who was targeted 4 times on Sunday, managed to bring in just one catch for 6 yards. It seems likely this performance is just a one off. He’ll have an easy matchup in Week 16 against a mediocre Cowboys defense, so look for Baldwin to bounce back. Baldwin has only had a performance like this 3 times in his career.
Make sure to check back every Monday for the Fantasy Football season for the winners and loser’s column.
If you missed last week’s iteration of the Winners and Losers column you can check it out HERE
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