With most leagues in the middle of the playoffs, now is not the time to get inattentive with your fantasy football team.
Fantasy football can be a fickle beast. The select few who started Bilal Powell cashed in on Sunday, while those who counted on Drew Brees or Melvin Gordon to carry their teams may have seen their championship hopes go up in smoke.
Below is a list of the top 50 players in point-per-reception leagues heading into Week 15, followed by three players specifically who could follow in Powell’s footsteps and deliver more than is expected of them this weekend.
Top 50 PPR Rankings
Players to Watch
Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams have finally rid themselves of Jeff Fisher. The team confirmed his firing Monday afternoon.
Following the Rams’ 42-14 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons, Todd Gurley described his team as having a “middle school offense,” per the Los Angeles Times‘ Lindsey Thiry. With Fisher gone, Gurley should be much better positioned for success.
Circumstances almost essentially demand the Rams rely heavily on their Pro Bowl running back. Los Angeles confirmed special teams coordinator John Fassel will serve as interim head coach. Fassel will have three days before the Rams face off with the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday.
While Fassel isn’t starting from scratch, that’s not a lot of time to introduce any new wrinkles into the playbook. And despite the absence of Earl Thomas, the Rams won’t want to put too much pressure on Jared Goff up against the Seahawks secondary.
As a result, Gurley should see plenty of touches.
Seattle ranks second in yards allowed per carry (3.5) but have allowed 11 touchdowns, which ties for 19th.
It’s doubtful Gurley will be one of Week 15’s highest-scoring players, but a repeat of his Week 14 numbers (16 carries, 61 rushing yards, one touchdown) may be within reach, which would be a positive development in his underwhelming sophomore campaign.
Kenneth Farrow, RB, San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers fans likely thought the worst when they saw Gordon carted off the field during the team’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.
However, Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said Monday that Gordon may return before the end of the regular season, per the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Michael Gehlken:
He’ll be day to day, and we’ll take it from there. I talked to him this morning. He’s going to work hard to get back out there as soon as he can. As an organization, we’re going to do what’s best for the player. We’ve been talking about this forever. We always will: The health of the players is No. 1.
It’s not just this year. It’s the future. It’s everything for the player. We’re not going to throw him out here to get a couple more yards to say, “I got 1,000 yards.” And he doesn’t want that either. I’m going to make sure that he’s ready to go and be Melvin when he gets back out on the field.
Fantasy owners should plan for Gordon missing Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders, which would put Kenneth Farrow in line to make his first NFL start.
Farrow has 125 rushing yards on 36 carries in 2016. An undrafted free agent out of Houston, the 23-year-old ran for 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns in his final two years with the Cougars.
Gehlken provided a brief scouting report on Farrow:
Farrow should benefit from a favorable matchup in Week 15. Entering Week 14, the Raiders’ defensive line was 29th in adjusted line yards (4.35) and 31st in stuffed rank (14 percent), which measures the percentage of carries when a runner was stopped at or before the line of scrimmage, according to Football Outsiders. Opposing running backs are also averaging 4.7 yards a carry, third-worst in the league.
As good as the Raiders have been this year, their run defense remains an issue, and Farrow should exploit that Sunday.
Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills
The 27-20 final score doesn’t properly illustrate how bad the Buffalo Bills were in Week 14, but at least Sammy Watkins got his first receiving touchdown of the season. That’s progress.
Week 15 provides the Bills with the perfect tonic to halt their two-game losing skid: the 0-13 Cleveland Browns.
DraftKings’ Adam Levitan noted how Watkins’ playing time has steadily increased since his first game back from injury in November:
Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn confirmed Watkins is playing with a broken bone in his left foot, but the 23-year-old wideout said that injury won’t stop him from suiting up the rest of the year.
“I’m going to play, there’s no doubt in that,” Watkins said, per the Buffalo News‘ Nick Veronica. “I’m a competitor. I love to go out there and play with the team. I’m going to be out there on the field.”
He caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers, and that should be the minimum expectation Sunday.
The Browns are allowing an average of 23.3 points to opposing wide receivers in ESPN.com’s standard leagues, which is ninth-highest in the NFL. Quarterbacks also have a league-high 104.2 passer rating against the Browns.
Although Tyrod Taylor is only averaging 193.8 yards a game, he has a slightly more respectable 85.6 quarterback rating. He has also played most of the season without Watkins, Buffalo’s best receiver.
Against a dreadful Browns defense, Taylor is poised for a big game, and Watkins would be one of the biggest benefactors. At the very least, he’s worth starting as a flex this week.
Note: Stats are courtesy of ESPN.com, unless otherwise noted.
Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com
