FanDuel Picks Week 15: Best NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football tournaments

Jovan Alford

FanDuel Picks Week 15: Best NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football tournaments image

Miss the playoffs in your season-long fantasy football league? No problem! Week 15 is a great time to get involved in some NFL DFS contests. Thanks to three Saturday games, there are just 10 games on Sunday's daily fantasy main slate, but there are still plenty of interesting matchups and potential studs and sleepers. Our FanDuel lineup features a high-ceiling Chargers' QB-WR stack, a rookie running back with a favorable matchup, and a surging NFC South D/ST.

Before we break down our picks and strategy, here are the most notable scoring rules for FanDuel contests: four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR.

WEEK 15 DFS: Best values | Best stacks

FanDuel Picks Week 15: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments

Sunday main slate, $60,000 budget

QB Justin Herbert, Chargers vs. Titans ($8,300). Last week, we did not strike gold with Geno Smith, who struggled against a resilient Panthers' defense. However, we hope for better luck with Herbert this week, who has averaged 21.6 FanDuel points per game over his past four contests and has a favorable matchup against the Titans. Tennessee is giving up the second-most FanDuel points per game to QBs (22.1) this season. With Mike Williams back in the fold, the sky is the limit for Herbert.

RB Miles Sanders, Eagles @ Bears ($7,800). The Miles Sanders' renaissance has been fun to watch this season, as he's been playing like a top-10 running back most of the year. Sanders is coming off an outstanding performance last week against the Giants when he had 144 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He's scored five TDs in the Eagles' past three games, and now he has a great matchup against a woeful Bears' run defense. Chicago has allowed the most rushing TDs in the league (21) and the fourth-most FanDuel points per game to RBs (24.6) this season.

WEEK 15 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings

RB Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs @ Texans ($7,600). The Texans have struggled against the run, allowing a league-high 165.8 rushing yards per game this season. Last week against the Cowboys, they gave up three total touchdowns to Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard Jr. Meanwhile, Pacheco has played well over the past four games, averaging 12.9 FanDuel points and scoring two rushing TDs. With the Texans paying so much attention to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' passing attack, Pacheco should have a lot of success on the ground.

WEEK 15 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

WR Mike Williams, Chargers vs. Titans ($7,900). Our QB-WR stack will feature Williams, who did not look rusty in his first game back from an ankle injury last week. The veteran wide receiver went off against Miami, catching all six of his targets for 116 yards and a touchdown (20.6 FanDuel points). It was Williams' fourth game with 100-plus receiving yards and his second game with 20 or more FanDuel points this season. He will look for his third 20-point outing against a Titans' defense that has allowed the most FanDuel points per game to WRs (34.7) this season. 

WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles @ Bears ($7,200). Smith had another solid performance against the Giants last week, recording five receptions (eight targets) for 64 yards and a touchdown. He's scored in back-to-back games, and last week marked the fourth time in the past five games that Smith has posted 10-plus FanDuel points. Chicago has allowed the 11th-fewest FanDuel points to WRs this year, but it's been much worse recently, giving up six WR touchdowns in its past three outings. Smith remains a solid, high-floor option.

WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

WR DJ Chark, Lions @ Jets ($6,100). Chark has started to play better over the past few weeks, making him a viable WR3/flex option across all fantasy platforms. Last week against the Vikings, he had his best performance of the season with six receptions (seven targets) for 94 yards and a touchdown. Chark has a tough matchup on Sunday afternoon against a Jets' defense that allows the third-fewest FanDuel points to WRs, but we know he does not need a ton of volume to make a big play and score a touchdown in the Lions' suddenly high-powered offense. We're going contrarian with Chark, hoping the matchup scares away other DFS players.

TE Hunter Henry, Patriots @ Raiders ($5,200). The veteran tight took advantage of a favorable matchup on Monday night against the Cardinals, posting three receptions (three targets) for 70 yards. Henry has another good matchup on deck against a Raiders' defense that allows the seventh-most FanDuel points to TEs this season. With Jakobi Meyers (concussion), DeVante Parker (concussion), and Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) all dinged up, Henry could see a ton of targets coming his way on Sunday.

WEEK 15 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

FLEX Zay Jones, Jaguars vs. Cowboys ($6,300). Jones had a nice bounce-back performance last week against the Titans, scoring 17.7 FanDuel points (eight receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown) in a 14-point win. He has emerged as the Jaguars' No. 2 wide receiver and has seen 43 targets over the past three weeks. Jones will look to carry that momentum into this week's game against the Cowboys, who have the second-ranked pass defense. It's not an ideal matchup for him, but you can't ignore double-digit targets in three out of the past four games. As with Chark, we're hoping Jones is lower owned and can help differentiate our lineup.

DEF Panthers vs. Steelers ($4,200). Carolina's defense is coming off a solid performance last week against Seattle, scoring seven FanDuel points thanks to three sacks and two interceptions. Since Week 10 against the Falcons, the Panthers' D/ST has recorded 14 sacks, and four interceptions, while averaging 9.3 FanDuel points per game. Carolina could be in store for another strong outing this week against a banged-up Kenny Pickett (concussion) or Mitchell Trubisky, who threw three INTs last week against Baltimore.

Jovan Alford

Jovan Alford Photo

Jovan Alford is a content producer for The Sporting News. He joined TSN in 2022 after working at DraftKings Nation as a staff writer. Jovan is an avid Philadelphia sports fan, which comes with its own set of joys but heartbreak at the same time. Jovan is also Philadelphia born and raised and went to school at La Salle University, where he graduated in 2014.