It is so exciting to have real, live NFL football back in our lives. One of my favorite parts is fantasy football. One of my favorite aspects of fantasy football has become playing on DraftKings every week. Every week is like a new puzzle to figure out. Whether you are more of a cash game player or a tournament player, each presents a unique challenge. Let’s take a look at my favorite Week 15 DraftKings plays.
READ MORE: Week 15 Streamers
Week 15 DraftKings Plays
Week 14 Recap
It’s always good to be completely transparent and demonstrate accountability. That’s what I like to do with everything I do and that goes for fantasy football as well. Whether it’s bold takes or DraftKings recommendations, I always like to keep track of wins and losses. It’s good for the readers and helps me learn from mistakes moving forward.
🚨RECAP THREAD🚨
For full transparency each week I'll recap my #DraftKings plays to see if they hit the 2.5x we generally shoot for each week in cash builds!https://t.co/oIdHl3Q0Br#FantasyFootball#NFL #NFLTwitter#DFS@BlazedRTs@MyFantasyLeague— ✴️Rob Norton✴️ (@norton0723) December 13, 2023
Looking back at Week 14, it was better than Week 13 from a recommendations standpoint. This week only 64% of my recommendations hit the 2.5x value we look for in cash game lineups. This time the quarterback group led the way tied at a 100% success rate. Meanwhile, the running back group brought up the rear at a 42.9% success rate. Personally, it was not a profitable week this week. We’ll look to get it going even better with the picks and get back into the profits in the Week 15 DraftKings plays.
- Week 14 – $511 → $1,047 ($536 PROFIT)
- Year Total – $5,919 → $5,511 ($408 LOSS)
Quarterbacks
Brock Purdy (SF) – $6,800 @ ARI
Heading into the season, there were plenty of reasons to be skeptical of Brock Purdy even keeping the starting quarterback job all year. He was the last pick in the NFL draft so the draft capital suggested he wasn’t a starting-caliber player. Purdy had such a small sample size and was also coming off an elbow injury. Trey Lance was supposed to be their franchise quarterback and had been plagued with injuries so far in his career so it was thought he’d get a chance. None of that ultimately mattered and Purdy has been incredible this year, even putting himself into the MVP conversation. He currently has 3,553 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. Purdy has also chipped in 138 rushing yards and two more rushing scores. He’s averaging 21.1 DraftKings points per game this year. This week he gets a juicy matchup against a bad Arizona Cardinals defense. This game has a nice 47.5-point combined total and the San Francisco 49ers have the highest implied team total on the entire slate at 30 points. Purdy should have another nice game in this one.
Put some respect on Brock Purdy's name 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Zuk7NFIvsV
— PFF (@PFF) December 13, 2023
Matthew Stafford (LAR) – $6,000 v WAS
Matthew Stafford has been pretty solid this year when healthy. He did miss two games with an injury but in his healthy games, he’s averaging 17.4 DraftKings points per game. Stafford has been even better lately as he’s scored at least 23 DraftKings points in three straight games now with a couple of those matchups being tough matchups. This week he gets an easy matchup when the Los Angeles Rams take on the Washington Commanders. The Commanders’ secondary has been getting shredded every week this season and this week should be no different, especially with Stafford’s recent form. They have allowed the second-most DraftKings points per game to quarterbacks this year. This game also surprisingly has the highest projected combined total on the entire slate at 50.5 points. The Rams’ 28.5-point implied total is the second-highest on the slate. All of this combined makes Stafford one of the best Week 15 DraftKings plays among all quarterbacks.
Others to Consider: Sam Howell (WAS) – $6,300 @ LAR, Justin Fields (CHI) – $7,000 @ CLE, Jordan Love (GB) – $6,200 v TB
Running Backs
Kyren Williams (LAR) – $7,500 v WAS
Stafford’s backfield mate, Kyren Williams, is enjoying a massive breakout season. He missed five games in the middle of the season due to injury but when he’s been healthy, he’s been incredible. Williams is averaging 21.8 DraftKings points per game this season. He’s only scored single digits twice in nine games. The usage has been maybe the most pleasant surprise. In his nine healthy games, Williams has averaged 17.7 carries and 4.3 targets per game. There are very few running backs in the NFL that see 20+ opportunities per game and are involved in the passing game. Williams’ role is simply too good to ignore. He’s been great since returning from injury as well and he’s scored 41.4, 20.2, and 17.3 DraftKings points in the three games since returning and has seen at least 22 opportunities in all three games. As previously mentioned, this is a great game environment with massive combined and implied team totals. The Commanders have also allowed the ninth-most DraftKings points to running backs this season. Williams should have a nice day here.
Most rushing yards the last three weeks:
🥇 Christian McCaffrey – 352
🥈 Kyren Williams – 345 pic.twitter.com/QLt4kKT19s— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 14, 2023
Ezekiel Elliott (NE) – $5,800 v KC
Ezekiel Elliott still has a little left in the tank. Filling in for an injured Rhamondre Stevenson last week he put up 27.0 DraftKings points in a throwback performance on his way to finishing as THE RB1 overall on the week. It wasn’t necessarily pretty but Elliott saw a massive workload with 22 carries and eight targets. He caught seven of those and produced 140 total yards and a score. The New England Patriots were missing Demario Douglas and DeVante Parker and Stevenson, which could have contributed some to the massive workload. Even still, it’s a great performance for Elliott. It’s clear that he was Bailey Zappe’s safety blanket and that could be the case this week against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots currently sit as 8.5-point home underdogs so they should be throwing early and often. Elliott could see plenty of check-down targets once again this week. Given the massive usage, Elliott is one of the best Week 15 DraftKings plays among running backs.
Others to Consider: Antonio Gibson (WAS) – $5,200 @ LAR, Christian McCaffrey (SF) – $9,300 @ ARI, Tony Pollard (DAL) – $6,700 @ BUF, Breece Hall (NYJ) – $6,400 @ MIA, Bijan Robinson (ATL) – $6,800 @ CAR
Wide Receivers
Garrett Wilson (NYJ) – $5,800 @ MIA
Who would have thought that fantasy managers would have been begging for the New York Jets to start Zach Wilson? That’s how it went during the Tim Boyle experience a few weeks ago. Garrett Wilson had two of the worst games of his season in the three games in which Boyle played. The Jets put Zach Wilson back in last week and he threw Garrett Wilson the ball 14 times and he caught nine of them for 108 yards on his way to 23.1 DraftKings points. His salary went up but only slightly. This week, the Jets should need to throw early and often against the Miami Dolphins. The Jets currently sit as 9.5-point underdogs so the projected game script should be in Wilson’s favor. He also already scored 17.4 DraftKings points against the Dolphins just a few weeks ago and that was with Boyle under center. Wilson caught seven of his ten targets for 44 yards and a touchdown in that one. I think he can do even better this time around. On the season Wilson is averaging 14.2 DraftKings points per game. Wilson has the talent, the volume, and the projected game script in his favor to make him one of the best Week 15 DraftKings plays at wide receiver.
Zach Wilson, who I do not support, targeted Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall – who I do support – on 72 percent of his passes in Week 14.
— Denny Carter (@CDCarter13) December 11, 2023
Jayden Reed (GB) – $4,900 v TB
Jayden Reed has been coming on strong with a big finish to his rookie season. He’s now scored double-digit DraftKings points in four of the last five games. All of those games have been at least 15 DraftKings points as well. Reed has hit the double-digit threshold in eight of his 13 games in his rookie campaign. He’s currently averaging 12.1 DraftKings points per game this season. The Green Bay Packers want to get the ball in his hands because they’ve given him nine carries over the past four games. Reed has rewarded them by producing 100 yards and two touchdowns on those nine carries. He’s an explosive playmaker for the Packers and there’s no reason to expect that to change this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers’ secondary has been porous this season. They have allowed the fifth-most DraftKings points to wide receivers this season. Jordan Love has been playing better lately as well. The Packers currently have a nice 23-point implied total. If Christian Watson is out as expected, Reed should be able to continue his recent production.
Others to Consider: Amari Cooper (CLE) – $6,000 v CHI, Demarcus Robinson (LAR) – $3,600 v WAS, Demario Douglas (NE) – $3,900 v KC, CeeDee Lamb (DAL) – $9,200 @ BUF, Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG) – $3,700 @ NO, Rashee Rice (KC) – $6,100 @ NE
Tight Ends
David Njoku (CLE) – $4,700 v CHI
For whatever reason, DraftKings seems very reluctant to increase David Njoku’s salary to where it should be. I’m not sure what he has to do to break the $5,000 threshold but it’s something for us to take advantage of. Njoku had his best game of the season this past week as he caught six of his eight targets for 91 yards and two touchdowns on his way to 27.1 DraftKings points. Njoku has now scored double-digit DraftKings points in seven of his last eight games. He’s caught at least four passes in all seven of those games. He’s now seen at least six targets in eight straight games. Njoku is a massive piece of this Cleveland Browns offense and the price hasn’t caught up. This week he gets a solid matchup against the Chicago Bears. The Bears are not a strong defense and have allowed the 11th-most DraftKings points to tight ends this season. The Browns currently sit with a nice 20.75-point implied total and have been throwing more often with Joe Flacco at quarterback. Njoku has been on a great run for months now and is still a good price so that makes him one of the best Week 15 DraftKings plays among tight ends.
David Njoku is averaging 7.2 YAC/rec–second only to George Kittle amongst TEs. Very underrated player. pic.twitter.com/7eNahdJy5R
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 11, 2023
Chigoziem Okonkwo (TEN) – $2,900 v HOU
The breakout season that many (myself included) predicted for Chigoziem Okonkwo hasn’t happened. He hasn’t scored double-digit DraftKings points even once this year. Okonkwo has been solid lately though as he’s scored at least 8.5 DraftKings points for three straight weeks now. He’s seen at least five targets in each game and 17 targets total in that span. He’s also produced at least 45 yards in each of those three games as well. His problem is that he’s just missed on a few big plays and hasn’t scored a single touchdown all season. This week that could change as he gets a juicy matchup against the Houston Texans. The Texans have been a team to pick on this year with opposing tight ends and have allowed the sixth-most DraftKings points to the position. The Tennessee Titans have a solid 20.25-point implied team total as well. Okonkwo has big play potential and has been showing a solid floor lately too. That’s tough to find for any player with this cheap price tag.
Others to Consider: Tucker Kraft (GB) – $3,000 v TB, Jake Ferguson (DAL) – $4,800 @ BUF, Trey McBride (ARI) – $5,200 v SF
Defense/Special Teams
In terms of choosing a defense/special teams, it’s the last spot I fill in every week. It’s pretty random but there are a few areas to gain an advantage. I aim to target the heavily favored teams as they usually play with a lead. This forces their opponent to throw it more often, which can help lead to extra sacks, turnovers, and hopefully a touchdown. Another aspect to target is turnover and sack-prone quarterbacks. I advise filling out the rest of your lineup first and then picking your favorite D/ST out of the remaining money.
My Tentative Cash Game Lineup
- QB – Matthew Stafford
- RB – Ezekiel Elliott
- RB – Kyren Williams
- WR – Garrett Wilson
- WR – Wan’Dale Robinson
- WR – Jayden Reed
- TE – Chigoziem Okonkwo
- Flex – Christian McCaffrey
- DST – Miami Dolphins
Make sure to tune in next week to see the results from my Week 15 DraftKings plays and the best picks for Week 16. Best of luck to everyone and let’s enjoy some football and win some money!
Main Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
