My new motto: "Why play Christian McCaffrey when you can just run Derek Henry every week?" Yes I bailed on the auto-lock CMC strategy to board a new gravy train, and that was quite prosperous for last week's DraftKings cash lineup. In Week 15, Henry's hamstring injury has us a bit worried, so we'll center our NFL DFS picks around another automatic RB.
After all, Dalvin Cook's chest seems way less worrisome after his big Week 14, so I'll take that path to this week's McCaffrey fade.
WEEK 15 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
DraftKings Week 15 Picks: NFL DFS cash lineup
QB Jared Goff, Rams @ Cowboys ($6,100). Goff in cash is now OK again. He's notoriously the most pressure-sensitive of all quarterbacks with above-averages stretches in play, but Dallas has no edge rushers in the top 25 and no interior rushers in the top 70 of PFF pass-rush productivity.
WEEK 15 DFS LINEUPS:
FD Cash | FD GPP | DK GPP | Y! Cash | Y! GPP
RB Chris Carson, Seahawks @ Panthers ($7,500). Rashaad Penny sprained his knee on Sunday, so Chris Carson reassumes his workhorse share, putting him firmly back in play above $7K. No team allows more DK points to running backs than the Panthers.
WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
RB Patrick Laird, Dolphins @ Giants ($4,500). Laird ranks sixth among backs in receiving yards and ninth in targets since Week 13, ahd he's hit double-digit carries each time out. We'll run Dalvin Cook in the FLEX since he plays later, but Laird nearly hits free-square FLEX status for cash.
UPDATED: WR Jarvis Landry, Browns @ Cardinals ($6,700). We'll swap out our WR3 and pick up cap at WR1 to do so. Landry ranks fifth among receivers in targets over the past three weeks, while the Cardinals allow the most yards per pass at home.
INITIAL: WR Chris Godwin, Buccaneers @ Lions ($7,700). Mike Evans' injury vacates 23 percent of the Bucs' target share, and Chris Godwin could realistically go from 22 percent closer to 30 percent, which would make for a top-three total in the league. Detroit allows the second-most yards per pass in home games, and I don't mind dome games in December.
MORE WEEK 15:
Waiver pickups | FAAB planner | Stock watch | Snap counts | Fantasy playoff tips
WR Robert Woods, Rams @ Cowboys ($6,200). Woods leads the league in targets and receiving yards over the past three weeks yet can't even sniff $7K. Much like when he was even more underpriced two weeks ago, I'm happy to run Woods on the main slate.
UPDATED: Darius Slayton, Giants vs. Dolphins ($4,700). Slayton ranks third in target share over the past four games, as noted by 4for4's TJ Hernandez. Eli indicated this trend will continue after targeting him eight times on Monday night as Slayton hit 35 DK in the rain.
INITIAL: WR Isaiah Ford, Dolphins @ Giants ($3,700). Monitor to see if DeVante Parker (concussion) remains out, as Ford joined Allen Hurns ($4,700) as the only Dolphins receivers to see more than 50 snaps on Sunday. Big Blue allows the second-most DK points to receivers.
MORE WEEK 15 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder
TE Ian Thomas, Panthers vs. Seahawks ($3,100). Thomas saw 10 targets on Sunday, so with this price DraftKings is throwing care to the wind as to Greg Olsen's status for Week 14. If Olsen (concussion) is out, I love Thomas at basement cost in a favorable matchup..
FLEX Dalvin Cook, Vikings @ Chargers ($8,200). Cooks gets a $600 deduction while he faces a bottom-10 defense in DraftKings points allowed to running backs. Take advantage of another favorable matchup following some health confirmation after Cook saw 20 touches during a rout on Sunday.
DST Lions vs. Bucs ($2,300). Jameis Winston leads the league in turnovers, so I'll keep hitting when it lets me take advantage of that for under $3K. Detroit's defense could get shredded like the Colts did last week and still come through for fantasy purposes.