It’s finally here- Week 15 of the 2023 season, and another DraftKings main slate. We are back offering you DFS advice to try and help you navigate your way to victories throughout the season. The players selected here are based on their price, their ability to hit value and likely ownership. The selections are leaning more towards GPP slates, rather than cash (50/50) slates. But let’s get into it
Brock Purdy @AZ ($6,800)
“MVP! MVP! MVP!” Brock Purdy may have fallen behind Dak Prescott in the race for Most Valuable Player, but there is no doubting the excellent season the former Mr. Irrelevant has had through 14 weeks. Purdy once again put on a clinical display in the 49ers 28-16 victory over divisional rivals Seattle, completing 19 of his 27 passing attempts for 368 yards and 2 touchdowns. Unbelievably 351 of those passing yards went to just 3 players, with Deebo Samuel (7/149/1), Brandon Aiyuk (6/126/0) and George Kittle (3/76/1) feasting on a Seattle secondary allowing an average of 262 passing yards per game – the 8th worst in the league. Purdy has completed at least 70% of his passes every week since the 49ers week 6 defeat in Cleveland, and he’ll be a cert to extend that to 8 straight games as San Fran heads to the desert to face a Cardinals defense ranked 23rd against the pass. Purdy is a lock every week for 250 yards and 2 TDs, but his upside, as we saw against the Eagles a fortnight ago, is limitless – start him with confidence and save over $1000 compared to Dak, Tua, Allen and Mahomes.
Matt Stafford v WAS ($6,000)
We go from the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, to the 1st pick way back in 2009. Whilst Purdy is my QB1 on the week…no, not the slate, the week – Matt Stafford is not far behind him at No.3 , primarily as he is the lucky signal caller who gets to take on the Washington Commanders and their 32nd ranked defense. Stafford has been on fire since the return of Kyren Williams in week 12 – in the 3 games Williams has been back on the field following his ankle injury, Stafford has thrown for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns – ranking him at QB2 behind only Dak Prescott. With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua both fit, along with the emergence of Demarcus Robinson, the Super Bowl 56 winning QB has been unstoppable. The Rams now welcome the Washington Commanders and their league worst pass defense to SoFi Stadium – I want as many Rams offensive players as I can afford this week, starting with their quarterback.
Also consider Sam Howell @LAR ($6,300) & Jordan Love v TB ($6,200)
Kyren Williams v WAS ($7,500)
When I said I want as many Rams offensive players as I can afford this week, I meant it – and in both the passing and running game. Williams is the RB1 in the 3-game span since his return from injury in week 12 – granted a 41.1 point outing against the Cardinals has somewhat padded those numbers, but subsequent fantasy outputs of 20.2 and 17.3 points against stout Browns and Ravens defenses are further proof that Williams is the real deal. Kyren has carried the ball 63 times since recovering from the ankle injury that kept him out for 4 games, totalling 345 yards and a score with the opportunities. Williams is no one-trick pony, with a further 85 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 receptions since week 12. I don’t need to go on, do I? The Commanders rank 24th against the run and 32nd against the pass – expect Williams to be used in both facets of the Rams offense on Sunday and the bumper fantasy day that comes with it. He’s $1800 cheaper than CMC, save yourself nearly $2k and plug Williams into your lineups.
Derrick Henry v HOU ($6,900)
Long live the King! Derrick Henry made it back-to-back-to-back games with multiple touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans pulled off the most unlikely of wins over Miami in South Florida on Monday Night Football. It wasn’t a vintage performance from Henry, rushing for only 34 yards on 17 carries – his second lowest yards per carry on the season…but by adding another 2 TDs, fantasy managers (me included) can overlook the less than stellar output on the ground. King Henry saw 71% of the rushing opportunities against the Dolphins and should continue to see the vast majority of the workload at home this Sunday against his favourite opponents – the Houston Texans. In his career, Henry has faced off against the Texans 12 times, in those dozen encounters he has rushed 225 times for 1380 yards and 12 TDs…that’s an average of 115 yards and a score every game. Start him with confidence this week.
Bijan Robinson @CAR ($6,8000
Another back who amassed only 34 yards on the ground in week 14 was the Falcons rookie Bijan Robinson. Bijan gets a pass for his somewhat mediocre rushing output against the Bucs due to how bad Tampa are at defending the pass. With the Bucs ranked 30th in the NFL against the throw, it was no surprise to see Desmond Ridder connect again and again…and again with Drake London and Kyle Pitts – the former corralling a career high 10 receptions for 172 yards. Bijan’s talents on the ground weren’t necessary due to the fragility of the Tampa D, but the talented rookie out of Texas still got it done through the air – adding 54 receiving yards on 5 grabs to boost his fantasy numbers. This weeks’ opponents couldn’t be more opposite than the Falcons’ week 14 conquerors, with the Carolina Panthers offering one of the best passing defenses in the NFL…but also one of the worst against the rush. The Panthers are giving up on average over 17 fantasy points to opposition rushers – Bijan is a steal at only $6800 this Sunday in Carolina.
Also consider Rachaad White @GB ($7,000) & Tony Pollard @BUF @CIN ($6,700)
Cooper Kupp ($7,800) / Puka Nacua ($7,300) v WAS
I will repeat again…I want as many Rams offensive players as I can afford this week. If you’ve already rostered Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams, maybe it’s time to calm it down with the Rams on the roster right? Wrong! I can’t emphasise on paper just how monumentally bad this Washington Commanders defense is. This is a team who have already conceded over 5,000 total yards on defense…in only 13 games – that’s an average of 392 yards per game, and without Montez Sweat and Chase Young, it’s only going to get worse. The Commanders are on pace to allow a colossal 40 passing touchdowns this season and were smoked by Tyreek Hill before their bye to the tune of 157 yards and 2 scores. With Washington allowing almost 200 yards per game to opposing wideouts and a league worst 14 fantasy points…there will be plenty to go around for both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. If you can afford them both and want to have a Rams super-stack, I don’t hate it. I lean Puka over Kupp due to pricing, but in reality both could be top-5 WRs on the week.
Jaylen Waddle v NYJ ($7,400)
I’m very confident in Jaylen Waddle whether Tyreek Hill plays or not, possibly even more so if Hill does suit up. Entering the season, Waddle was the 1B to Hill’s 1A, but with 34 fewer receptions, 720 fewer yards and 9 less touchdowns, the 3rd year back out of Alabama has become the clear number 2 behind his MVP candidate teammate. Comparing his number to Hill however does Waddle a dis-service, his 822 receiving yards are good enough to see him sit 22nd on the year, not a complete disaster by all means. With Hill legitimately questionable to go this Sunday against the Jets, Waddle looks set to lead the line in the divisional clash that could see Miami clinch the AFC East with 2 games to spare. If Hill does shake off his ankle injury enough to start at Hard Rock, I can’t see him being used as anything more than a very effective decoy. The Dolphins have too much at stake to risk re-injury to their star wideout, and should have more than enough to see off Zach Wilson and co when they come to town. Waddle could see a lot of Sauce Gardner, but he should also see more than enough volume for a bumper fantasy day.
Rashee Rice @NE ($6,100)
What has Taylor Swift done to our precious Mahomes/Kelce connection? It would be easy to place the blame of the Chiefs’ short-comings entirely at the feet of TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year…but in reality there is another far more dangerous threat to QB/TE tandem fantasy managers have relied on for the last 5 or so years; and his name is Rashee Rice. The rookie receiver out of SMU has firmly established himself as the number 1 target on this Chiefs offense, dominating the passing game in recent weeks and showing just why KC spent a 2nd round pick on the 23-year old. Since week 12 Rice has seen 29 targets from Mahomes, bringing in 23 of those for 243 yards and 2 scores – his nearest challenger…Travis Kelce with 16 grabs on just 22 looks for 255 scoreless yards. The matchup in New England isn’t the best, but the Chiefs need to bounce back after back-to-back defeats to stay ahead of the Broncos in the AFC West title race. At $1500 cheaper than Kelce, Rice is the pass catcher I want in this offense heading to Foxborough.
Also consider DeAndre Hopkins v HOU ($6,200) & Garrett Wilson @MIA ($5,800)
Jake Ferguson @BUF ($4,800)
In the last fortnight only the Jaguars Evan Engram has more targets at the tight end position than Dallas’ Jake Ferguson. The sophomore out of Wisconsin has firmly established himself as one of Dak Prescott’s favourite (and most reliable) targets since the Cowboy’s came out of their week 7 bye, and entering week 15 trails only superstar wideout CeeDee Lamb on the team in total targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns…Ferg is the No.2 read on this offense. Ferguson is coming off of back-to-back 70+ yard games, adding his 5th touchdown of the season in the week 13 shootout victory over Seattle. The matchup against the Bills in Buffalo isn’t one I would want to be chasing, but with this Dallas offense averaging over 40 points per game in the last 5 weeks and an O/U of 50.5, Ferguson is an excellent pick to get in on what it sure to be an electric contest in Upstate New York.
David Njoku v CHI ($4,700)
Somewhere in Northern Ohio, in a plush penthouse apartment overlooking Lake Erie, Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku wakes up each morning and looks across to his signed picture of Joe Flacco with an inscription that reads “To my best friend David, thank you for always being open, your pal, Joe”. Ok, maybe that’s a bit far fetched, but clearly there is a great chemistry between the veteran quarterback and the 7th year tight end – with this bond clearly on show last weeknd, as the pair effectively killed off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ challenge less than 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter. By the time half the stadium had finished their first beer, Flacco had connected with Njoku in the endzone twice to give Cleveland a 14-0 that they never looked in danger of surrendering. Njoku leads the league in targets at the position since week 10 with 47 – he’ll look to keep his excellent 2nd half to the season going at home to the Bears this Sunday. Da Bears have held tight ends in check in recent weeks – limiting T.J. Hockenson to 50 yards and the Lions Sam LaPorta to under 25 (twice) – but don’t be put off, Njoku is an essential part of this offense and will see plenty of work in this one.
Also consider Trey McBride v SF ($5,200) & Logan Thomas @LAR ($3,700)
Kansas City Chiefs @NE ($3,900)
On paper, this is a no brainer – outside of their 21-18 victory over Pittburgh on TNF in week 14, the New England offense had failed to score double digit points for 3 straight weeks against the Colts, Giants and a goose egg at home to the Chargers (yes, that’s the same Chargers who just allowed Aiden O’Connell and the Raiders to put up 63 points on Thursday night). The Patriots enter the week with a wide receiver corps decimated by injury, with Demario Douglas (who has missed their last 2 contests due to concussion) the only starting wideout not carrying a designation. Rhamondre Stevenson has again been ruled out, leaving 28-year old Ezekiel Elliot, rushing at 3.1 yards per carry, to lead the rushing attack. We’ve seen this KC defense deliver some big performances already this season – the trip to Foxborough could see them put up another.
Atlanta Falcons @CAR ($3,600)
In what could be classified as the very definition of “low hanging fruit” – the Atlanta Falcons, facing off against the 1-12 Carolina Panthers are my pick of the week at the DST position. Only the New York Football Giants have less total yards on offense this season than the men from Charlotte…but at least Tommy DeVito is winning games for the G-Men. The Bryce Young experiment has not exactly gone to plan, and with HC Frank Reich being shown the door back in week 13, the Panthers are on auto-pilot until this dismal season ends. Rookie QB Young has thrown for only 9 touchdowns on the season, and hasn’t connected with a receiver in the endzone since the 33-10 loss to the Cowboys in week 10. Time appears to have finally caught up with Adam Thielen and only the Jets have scored less times on the ground. The Falcons have held their opposition to 15 points or less on 4 occasions this season…I’d put the mortgage on them making it 5 on the road this weekend – roster them with confidence.
Also consider New Orleans Saints v NYG ($3,800) & Tennessee Titans v HOU ($3,700)
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Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports
