We've been watching the Saints injury report all week, and Friday brought a mixed bag of news. Chris Olave (ankle) didn't practice for the third day in a row, and he's considered a game-time decision for Week 15 against the Giants. But Taysom Hill (foot) and Rashid Shaheed (thigh) are cleared to play, which gives us some sleepers in this matchup.
Let's start with Hill, who should return to his gadget role for the Saints as a quarterback/running back/tight end. Maybe he'll see an uptick in targets if Olave can't play, but Hill should be considered a No. 1 Fantasy tight end no matter what.
Before missing Week 14, Hill had scored at least 12.3 PPR points in five of his past seven games. During that span, he's caught a touchdown, thrown a touchdown and rushed for four scores, and he has three games with at least 10 total touches in his past five outings.
The Giants are tied for fourth with 12 rushing touchdowns allowed to running backs, so Hill has a good chance to score in Week 15 if the Saints are near the goal line. I'm excited that Hill is back in action for this matchup at home.
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Shaheed has missed the past two games, but he could be the No. 1 target for Derek Carr if Olave is out. Before getting hurt, Shaheed had 14 targets in two games against the Vikings and Falcons, and he left the Week 12 game at Atlanta with his thigh injury.
The Giants are No. 4 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers, so Shaheed should be considered a high-end No. 3 Fantasy receiver if Olave is out. And even if Olave plays, I still like Shaheed as a sleeper given the matchup.
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Now, let's look at some other sleepers I like for Week 15. Hopefully these players will deliver in a big way to help your lineups. And if you're looking for my Week 15 DFS plays, you can find my million-dollar contest tournament lineups for both DraftKings and FanDuel over at SportsLine.
Week 15 Sleepers
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Week 14 Preview
Sleepers
Sleeper QBs
Three quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 20.2 Fantasy points against the Rams, including Kyler Murray, Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson. Howell should follow suit, and he has top-10 upside in all leagues for Week 15. He's scored fewer than 20 Fantasy points in three games in a row against the Giants, Cowboys and Dolphins, but this game has shootout potential with Matthew Stafford. And I like that Howell has four rushing touchdowns in his past three games.
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Wilson has scored fewer than 20 Fantasy points in four games a row, but hopefully this matchup against the Lions will help him get back on track. Four of the past five opposing quarterbacks against Detroit have scored at least 23.2 Fantasy points, and the Lions allow 21.8 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this year. Detroit has also allowed the third-most rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks, and Wilson has seven games this season with at least 30 yards on the ground.
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We still don't know for sure if Smith will play Monday night against Philadelphia after missing Week 14 at San Francisco with a groin injury. If Smith is out then I would put Drew Lock in this spot as a sleeper also given the matchup with the Eagles, who are No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. I have more faith in Smith, who had 35.9 Fantasy points in his last game at Dallas in Week 13. But Lock just scored 19.3 Fantasy points against the 49ers, and he could be useful against Philadelphia as well. There have been 10 quarterbacks this season to score at least 20.9 Fantasy points against the Eagles, including six in a row.
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Sleeper RBs
Alexander Mattison (ankle) is out for Week 15 at Cincinnati, which means Chandler should be considered a No. 2 running back in all leagues. The Bengals have allowed a running back to score at least 15.9 PPR points in four of their past five games, and Chandler should be in line for 20-plus touches as the starter. Mattison left Week 14 at Las Vegas, and Chandler finished with 12 carries for 35 yards and three catches for 7 yards on three targets. New Minnesota starter Nick Mullens will likely rely on Chandler out of the backfield, and he has two games in his past three outings with at least three receptions.
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Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) is out for Week 15 at the Rams, meaning Gibson will start, and he should be considered a No. 2 running back in all leagues given his expected workload. He had 14 total touches against the Dolphins in Week 13 when Robinson got hurt, and I would expect Gibson to get close to 20 total touches, even if he might share with Chris Rodriguez Jr. (another sleeper in deeper leagues). Gibson has scored at least 11.2 PPR points in three of his past four games, and he has at least four catches in four of his past five outings, with 25 targets over that span.
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The Falcons are the only team in the NFL yet to allow a running back to score a touchdown on the ground. We'll see if Hubbard can crack the code, and Hubbard should be considered a borderline starter in all leagues. He's scored at least 11.6 PPR points in three games in a row, including two outings with at least 20.2 PPR points. In his past two games against Tampa Bay and New Orleans, Hubbard has 48 carries for 191 yards and two touchdowns and two catches for 9 yards on two targets. With Thomas Brown calling plays for the Panthers, Hubbard has excelled, and that should continue in Week 15 against the Falcons.
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It's tough to fully trust Mitchell since the Ravens haven't turned the backfield over to him yet, but you can see the upside every time he touches the ball. He had 10 total touches in Week 14 against the Rams and averaged 6.0 yards per carry. He was at 7.1 yards per carry in Week 12 at the Chargers, and he's shown the ability to score from anywhere on the field. This could be a great week to get Mitchell involved in the passing game since the Jaguars are No. 1 in most receptions allowed to running backs. And eight running backs have scored at least 13.2 PPR points against Jacksonville this season. I like Mitchell as a flex in all leagues.
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Sleeper WRs
Beckham could have the chance for a big game if he continues to get targets, and he just had 10 targets for four catches, 97 yards and a touchdown in Week 14 against the Rams. He now has three games with at least seven targets in his past five outings, and he scored at least 14.6 PPR points in all of them. Lamar Jackson should continue to lean on Beckham in Week 15 against the Jaguars, who are No. 8 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers. I like Beckham as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues.
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Douglas finally cleared the concussion protocol, and he's ready to play in Week 15 against the Chiefs after missing the past two games. Prior to getting hurt, Douglas had consecutive games with nine targets and six catches, and hopefully he continues to get that kind of volume in this struggling offense. Bailey Zappe should lean on Douglas, and he's worth trusting as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in PPR. While Kansas City is No. 10 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, there have been 15 receivers to score at least 12 PPR points against the Chiefs this year. I'm hopeful Douglas can reach that threshold this week now that he's back in action.
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Christian Watson (hamstring) is not expected to play in Week 15 against Tampa Bay. That's good news for Reed and Romeo Doubs, and both should be considered sleepers against the Buccaneers. Reed has the higher ceiling, and he should be considered a high-end No. 3 receiver in all leagues. He's been awesome of late with at least 12.3 PPR points in five of his past seven games, and he just got 12 total touches (eight catches and four carries) against the Giants. As for Doubs, he's scored at least 11.2 PPR points in three of his past five outings. The Buccaneers are No. 5 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, and Jordan Love should lean on Reed and Doubs in this matchup.
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DK Metcalf, Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are all in play in Week 15 as potential starters to varying degrees given the matchup with the Eagles. I like Metcalf as a must-start option in all leagues, Lockett as a borderline starter and Smith-Njigba as a No. 3 Fantasy option. For Lockett, he just had six catches for 89 yards on six targets in Week 14 at San Francisco, and he has at least six targets in six of his past seven games. He has three games with at least 14.9 PPR points over that span, and hopefully Geno Smith (groin) is healthy for this matchup. Philadelphia allows the most Fantasy points to opposing receivers, so look for the Seattle passing game to thrive this week.
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McLaurin will hopefully get a squeaky wheel game in Week 15 at the Rams after what happened to him in Week 13 against Miami. Against the Dolphins, McLaurin had three targets and no catches, and following the game he said, "I ran a lot of cardio." He's also scored fewer than 10 PPR points in four games in a row, and he hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 8. I would only start McLaurin in three-receiver leagues, along with Curtis Samuel, who has 13 catches for 165 yards on 17 targets in his past two games. But this is a good matchup since the Rams have allowed six receivers to score at least 11.7 PPR points in their past four games.
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In two games since Christian Kirk (groin) got hurt, Jones has 22 targets. While he only has 10 catches for 107 yards and no touchdowns to show for it against Cincinnati and Cleveland, the potential for a big game is there, and it could happen in Week 15 against the Ravens. Jones faced the Ravens last year in Week 12 and had 11 catches for 145 yards on 14 targets, so hopefully history can repeat itself. And in deeper leagues, you can also look at Parker Washington since he has two touchdowns in the past two games with Kirk hurt, including eight catches for 88 yards on nine targets.
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It's risky to trust Robinson after one good game, but he looked great in Week 14 against Green Bay with six catches for 79 yards on seven targets. Hopefully, that's a sign of things to come, and the Saints have allowed at least one receiver to score at least 12 PPR points in all but two games this season. We'll see if Robinson can be that guy for the Giants again, and I hope Tommy DeVito continues to lean on him in this matchup. Robinson is worth using as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in deeper formats.
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Sleeper TEs
Likely is coming off a big game against the Rams in Week 14 with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. He scored on a 54-yard touchdown against the Rams on busted coverage, but he's getting chances from Lamar Jackson in place of Andrews, which is all you can ask for. In two games without Mark Andrews (ankle), Likely has nine catches for 123 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets. And he has a great matchup in Week 15 at the Jaguars, who just allowed 27.1 PPR points to David Njoku in Week 14.
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Thomas has not been a good Fantasy tight end of late with a combined 5.7 PPR points in his past two games against Dallas and Miami, and he only has two catches for 15 yards on five targets over that span. But I'm going to use Thomas as a streamer in Week 15 at the Rams since he has a great matchup. Three tight ends in a row -- Trey McBride in Week 12, David Njoku in Week 13 and Isaiah Likely in Week 14 -- have scored at least 13 PPR points against the Rams, and hopefully Thomas can follow suit.
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Christian Watson (hamstring) is not expected to play in Week 15 against Tampa Bay. Even though Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs should get plenty of targets from Jordan Love, there's room for Kraft to also take part in this great matchup against the Buccaneers. Kraft just had four catches for 64 yards on four targets against the Giants in Week 14, and the Buccaneers are No. 7 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends. Additionally, two tight ends have scored against Tampa Bay in the past four games, which also bodes well for Kraft.
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Defense/Special Teams
- Rams (vs. WAS)
- Falcons (at CAR)
- Bears (at CLE)
Kickers
- Matt Gay (vs. PIT)
- Wil Lutz (at DET)
- Dustin Hopkins (vs. CHI)