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Pick a matchup from each positional grouping you are targeting in Week 15:
Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield vs. Arizona
Gardner Minshew vs. Oakland
Eli Manning (or Daniel Jones) vs. Miami
Ryan Tannehill vs. Houston
Running Backs
Chris Carson vs. Carolina
Josh Jacobs (or DeAndre Washington) vs. Jacksonville
Philip Lindsay vs. Kansas City
Ronald Jones II (or Peyton Barber) vs. Detroit
Sony Michel (or James White) vs. Cincinnati
Wide Receivers
Kenny Golladay vs. Tampa Bay
Golden Tate (or Sterling Shepard) vs. Miami
Chris Godwin vs. Detroit
Keenan Allen (or Mike Williams) vs. Minnesota
Tight Ends
David Njoku vs. Arizona
Greg Olsen (or Ian Thomas) vs. Seattle
Nick O'Leary vs. Oakland
Logan Thomas vs. Tampa Bay
Tyler Higbee (or Gerald Everett) vs. Dallas
JASON WOOD
QB
Baker Mayfield vs. Arizona -- The Cardinals are awful defensively, so Mayfield is a possibility. But he's been awful, too. It's hard to get excited about Mayfield but Jarvis Landry is one of the best receivers on the slate.
Eli Manning (or Daniel Jones) vs. Miami -- Manning started off hot against the Eagles but was shut down in the second half. His full-game performance was middling, even at a discounted price. I don't see Manning as an interesting play.
Ryan Tannehill vs. Houston -- Giddy up! Tannehill is playing career-best football and the Titans are making a strong push for the postseason. In a key divisional game, Tannehill will have plenty of opportunities to throw as the Texans aim to shut down Derrick Henry.
RB
Chris Carson vs. Carolina -- This is a no-brainer. Rashaad Penny had played his way into a true time share with Carson (even though Carson continued playing well) but now Penny is done for the season. The Seahawks will ride Carson as the offensive centerpiece down the stretch.
Josh Jacobs (or DeAndre Washington) vs. Jacksonville -- Josh Jacobs is playing with a broken shoulder. Let that sink in for a minute. The biggest fear for Jacobs was Jon Gruden's propensity to overwork his backs. Cadillac Williams was a workhorse until he wasn't, and then was washed up. Jacobs may be on the same trajectory. I'm steering clear.
WR
Chris Godwin vs. Detroit -- Godwin may be the highest-owned receiver now that Mike Evans is done for the season and Jameis Winston appears okay after hurting his thumb. His ownership makes him unattractive in GPP builds but he's one of the best cash options on the slate.
Keenan Allen (or Mike Williams) vs. Minnesota -- Allen is always a strong play on paper, but it's been a maddeningly inconsistent season for the star veteran. He is worth being overweight slightly if you build a lot of different lineups, but he's not a priority if you're only playing one or two cash lineups.
TE -- None of these plays are particularly exciting. This isn't a week to go cheap at the tight end position.
PHIL ALEXANDER
QB
Baker Mayfield vs. Arizona
Arizona has allowed at least 28 points in five of their last six games. The one time they held their opponent "in check" over that sample, Devlin Hodges led the Steelers to 23 points. Unless his hand injury is worse than the team is letting on, Mayfield is set up nicely to hit the 300-yard bonus and throw for multiple touchdowns against the league's worst pass defense.
RB
Chris Carson vs. Carolina
Carson should be the mega-chalk on both major sites this week. Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending knee injury just in time for Carson to face off with the Panthers, who have allowed over 60% more fantasy points to opposing running backs than league average over the last three weeks.
WR
Kenny Golladay vs. Tampa Bay
It's tough to pick one out of Golladay and Chris Godwin, but with Marvin Jones and T.J. Hockenson now on injured reserve, about one-third of Detroit's season-to-date targets have been vacated. Amazingly, Golladay has not been hampered by David Blough at quarterback and he's entering the best possible matchup against Tampa Bay. It's a shame DraftKings priced Golladay up for the matchup, but he produced a 4x return on his current salary as recently as two weeks ago when Blough made his first NFL start.
TE
Tyler Higbee vs. Dallas
DraftKings has been laughably slow to raise Higbee's salary following back-to-back monster games. If Gerald Everett misses again, you could argue Higbee should be priced closer to Zach Ertz at $6K than Kyle Rudolph at $3.8K.
JAMES BRIMACOMBE
QB
Baker Mayfield vs. Arizona - With the Cardinals playing at the fastest pace in the NFL you have to love Mayfield this week. The game is one of the higher totals on the board and also now that we are in December we don't want to be worried about weather so getting a quarterback playing in Arizona makes a lot of sense.
RB
Chris Carson vs. Carolina - Carson feels like the best play on the entire slate this week with the Seahawks still battling hard for playoff positioning along with Penny going down with injury last week. Carson has a floor of 20 touches in this game with a ceiling of near 30. The volume is there for him and there is potential for at least a touchdown and maybe two.
WR
Kenny Golladay vs. Tampa Bay - Now with Marvin Jones on IR, Golladay feels like a smash play against a Tampa Bay offense that allows the most points to opposing wide receivers.
TE
Tyler Higbee (or Gerald Everett) vs. Dallas - I am not crazy about the low end tight end options this but if I had to choose I would look to Higbee assuming that Everett misses again this week.
JUSTIN HOWE
QB – Ryan Tannehill vs. Houston. Gotta ride the lightning on this one. Tannehill is on an absolute tear – by his Miami standards, he’s 2000 Kurt Warner right now – and he could hardly ask for a tastier matchup. The Texans have allowed 7 opponents to top 300 yards through the air, and it’s not a very impressive list, including names like Jacoby Brissett, Drew Lock, and Gardner Minshew.
RB – Chris Carson vs. Carolina. This will be the chalk play throughout the industry, and with good cause. When Rashaad Penny was semi-benched from Weeks 3-10, Carson was fed relentlessly, averaging 22 touches and 109 scrimmage yards. The Panthers have looked hopeless of late in run defense, giving up big totals to names like Devonta Freeman, Derrius Guice, and Tevin Coleman.
WR – Chris Godwin vs. Detroit. All-day and all night; he’ll be the mega-chalk at wide receiver. Not only is Godwin a fantastic young receiver in his own right, he’s also started to draw Jameis Winston’s attention even when well-covered. Winston has shown, at times, a willingness to force the ball to Godwin on intermediate and out routes. He’s producing a studly 2.27 PPR points per target, and with Mike Evans hurt, Godwin is poised to draw double digits.
TE – Tyler Higbee (or Gerald Everett) vs. Dallas. As Phil pointed out, the DFS industry has been extremely slow to raise the salaries of the Rams’ tight ends. All they’ve done is post easy TE1 finishes in 3 straight games. Higbee has benefited of late from Everett’s injury (he looks worse than questionable for Week 15) and the Rams’ spread-it-around attack. Over the past 2 weeks, he’s turned 19 targets into 14 catches, 223 yards, and a score. His floor is scary, but his ceiling easily outpaces his DFS salary.
