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IDP Fantasy Rankings For Week 15

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Hopefully you have made it to this part of the season for fantasy football. This is about my ninth straight week doing a positional rankings. Hopefully it has been helpful for you. Here is my Week  15 edition.

I apologize for my late entry on my rankings, it’s been a busy week and I have new work hours. Due to my late entry I will exclude anybody from the Thursday night game. Sorry again but there is still plenty of excellent players left to look at.

Linebacker

Rankings

  1. Darious Leonard- 135 Tackles (90 solo), 11 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 interception, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries. Matchup: Dallas Cowboys (Give up the 11th most points to LB’s)
  2. Bobby Wagner– 108 Tackles (63 solo), 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 11 passes defensed, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked kick, 1 Touchdown. Matchup: San Francisco 49ers (Give up the 8th most points to LB’s)
  3. Lavonte David– 93 Tackles (74 solo), 10 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Baltimore Ravens (Give up the 2nd most points to LB’s)
  4. Cory Littleton– 101 Tackles (74 solo), 9 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 10 passes defensed, 1 interception, 1 safety, 2 blocked kicks. Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles (Give up the 13th most points to LB’s)
  5. Telvin Smith– 111 Tackles (80 solo), 4 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Washington Redskins (Give up the 19th most points to LB’s)
  6. Tremaine Edmunds– 90 Tackles (61 solo), 4 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 10 passes defensed, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles. Matchup: Detroit Lions (Give up the 12th most points to LB’s)
  7. Todd Davis– 100 Tackles (72 solo), 5 tackles for  a loss, 0.5 sacks, 7 passes defensed, 1 interception, 1 Touchdown. Matchup: Cleveland Browns (Give up the 14th most points to LB’s)
  8. C.J. Mosley– 83 Tackles (57 solo), 5 tackles for a loss, 3 passes defensed. Matchup: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Give up the 7th most points to LB’s)
  9. Myles Jack– 83 Tackles (57 solo), 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 Touchdown. Matchup: Washington Redskins (Give up the 19th most points to LB’s)
  10. Jarrad Davis– 79 Tackles (59 solo), 7 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Buffalo Bills (Give up the most points to LB’s)

 

Leonard…Again

Sorry but I am not going to ramble on about how much of an amazing season he is having this year. I do it every week. He put up another stellar week last week and going up a team that runs the strong and gives up the most sacks in the league, Leonard should again be very productive. By the way, he’s the DPOY, on pace to lead the league in tackles and also have double digit sacks, dude is a beast. Who says Leonard cannot cover, he had Hopkins in the slot:

 

Running Quarterbacks Make Tasty Matchups

With Lamar Jackson behind center for the Ravens we have seen LB’s thrive against them. Deion Jones had 14 total tackles two weeks ago and a slew of Chiefs misfit LB’s had solid production. Enter Lavonte David of the Buccaneers. He is one of the best weak side linebackers in football and is missing his tackle stealing buddy Kwon Alexander. This should end up being a very solid day for David.

The Redskins are also employing a QB who excels in running the football in Josh Jackson. Because of this I have the two talented LB’s from the Jaguars on the top 10 list. Telvin Smith is the more talented and is an obvious play here. Myles Jack on the other hand has been a spotty start all season. His last 2 games though have been solid, producing 23 tackles (15 solo) and 1 sack. Double digit tackles is always solid and with the Redskins offense almost being all run, they should both be able to produce.

 

Repeat?

Bobby Wagner single handidly destroyed the 49ers two weeks ago. He had 12 tackles (8 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception which he returned for a Touchdown. Without much changing on the offense side of the ball for the 49ers and the Seahwaks defense playing much better, I could see a possible repeat performance. Look at this beautiful play by Wagner:

 

Defensive Backs

Rankings

  1. Jamal Adams– 89 Tackles (67 solo), 8 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 12 passes defensed, 1 interception, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Houston Texans (Give up the 13th most points to DB’s)
  2. John Johnson III- 91 Tackles (63 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 9 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumble. Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles (Give up the 15th most points to DB’s)
  3. Justin Simmons– 84 Tackles (65 solo), 4 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 2 blocked kicks. Matchup: Cleveland Browns (Give up the most points to DB’s)
  4. Damarious Randall– 74 Tackles (67 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 9 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Denver Broncos (Give up the 4th most points to DB’s)
  5. Bradley McDougald– 68 tackles (58 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 9 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: San Francisco 49ers (Give up the 6th most points to DB’s)
  6. Antoine Bethea– 105 Tackles (85 solo), 4 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble. Mathcup: Atlanta Falcons (Give up the 18th most points to LB’s and 11th most points to DB’s)
  7. Kyle Fuller– 48 Tackles (39 solo), 19 passes defensed, 7 interceptions. Matchup: Green Bay Packers (Give up the 16th most points to DB’s)
  8. Malcolm Jenkins– 76 Tackles (62 solo), 4 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 7 passes defensed, 1 interception, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Los Angeles Rams (Give up the 10th most points to DB’s)
  9. Jaire Alexander– 59 Tackles (55 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 0.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed, 1 interception. Matchup: Chicago Bears (Give up the 7th most points to DB’s)
  10. Prince Amukamara– 57 Tackles (50 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 10 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 Touchdown. Matchup: Green Bay Packers (Give up the 16th most points to DB’s)

Johnson Is Elite

John Johnson III had a productive 2017 season but has already exceeded those numbers this year. Johnson is probably the 3rd best player on one of the best defenses in the league (only behind Aaron Donald and Cory Littleton). His past three games have been amazing. In those games he accumulated 29 tackles (24 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed, and 1 interception. Anybody who thinks Johnson is not elite, double check your numbers, this man is a boss. Here he showcases his coverage ability covering step for step on Jared Cooks:

https://twitter.com/BarstoolBC/status/1039357397561696256

 

Cornerbacks Are Making a Comeback

Most of my colleagues here at IDPGuys despise cornerbacks…sorry Gary. But I think that there are a few who in the right matchup can still outperform a lot of safeties if they have poor matchups. This week there are not many safeties who have poor matchups. I think that there are these three corners who will be able to put up rock solid numbers this week.

First off you have the most productive corner in the NFL, Kyle Fuller. He has 19 passes defensed and 7 interceptions. Recently he has been impossible to throw at. Then you have his running mate on the other side of the field Prince Amukamara. He as well has been solid all year with almost 60 tackles and 10 passesd defensed of his own. To his benefit as well her plays with Fuller, this gets him thrown at a lot. Here is clips of the two corners great defense both with interceptions last week:

 

The Packers will probably be down to the strong Bears defense and will have to throw a lot. Both corners are sure tacklers and I can see them produce strong numbers in this matchup. The Packers themselves have a very productive corner of there own in Jaire Alexander. Alexander had 10  solo tackles last week and has a great matchup against the Bears. He should produce great numbers again. This clip shows how great of a tackler he is:

 

Defensive Line

Rankings

  1. Aaron Donald-46 Tackles (31 solo), 20 tackles for a loss, 16.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries. Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles (Give up the 16th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  2. J.J. Watt– 48 Tackles (37 solo), 15 tackles for a loss, 12.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 5 forced fumbles. Matchup: New York Jets (Give up the 9th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  3. Khalil Mack– 36 Tackles (29 solo), 7 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 interception, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 Touchdown. Matchup: Green Bay Packers (Give up the 5th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  4. Danielle Hunter– 61 Tackles (43 solo), 17 takcles for a loss, 12.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 Touchdown. Matchup: Miami Dolphins (Give up the 20th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  5. Chandler Jones– 40 Tackles (32 solo), 11 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 3 fumbles forced, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Atlanta Falcons (Give up the 18th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  6. Calais Campbell– 55 Tackles (39 solo), 15 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, 2 passes defensed. Matchup: Washington Redskins (Give up the 17th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  7. Carlos Dunlap– 42 Tackles (29 solo), 8 tackles for a loss, 8  sacks, 7 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles. Matchup: Oakland Raiders (Give up the 2nd most points to Defensive Lineman)
  8. Frank Clark– 31 Tackles (23 solo), 9 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, 2 passes defensed, 1 interception, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: San Francisco 49ers (Give up the 6th most points t Defensive Lineman)
  9. Olivier Vernon– 20 Tackles (17 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. Matchup: Tennessee Titans (Give up the 8th most points to Defensive Lineman)
  10. Akiem Hicks– 48 Tackles (37 solo), 11 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 3 forced fumbles. Matchups: Green Bay Packers (Give up the 5th most points to Defensive Lineman)

 

Donald Destroys the Ducks…or Eagles

Aaron Donald is possibly the MVP of the NFL this year. Since he had his first sack this year in week 3 he accrued 16.5. Just an absolute beast and he gets Nick Foles this week. The Eagles have given up 36 sacks in 13 games and I definitely see him coming up with another. He had a tough Week 14 but that will just be fuel to be on the right track again.

 

The Bad News Bears

The Bears defense has played at an amazing level. Vic Fangio is, to me, an defensive genius. He brought the 49ers to the Super Bowl and has a chance to do the same with the Bears. Two big reasons, outside of the LB’s and DB’s, is the defensive line. Most notably Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks, who have combined for 16 sacks this year. This week they get the Packers who give up the 5th most points to defensive lineman and it is a pivotal division game.

Fangio has these guys completely bought into his system. Hicks is his Justin Smith, Mack is his Aldon Smith, and Trevathan and Roquan Smith are his Patrick Willis and Navarrow Bowman. These guys are playing together and have been giving opposing teams fits. Look at Mack, this is the second time he has tossed a offensive lineman this year:

And here is Hicks putting on a beautiful move to get to Goff:

 

There is my late edition Week 15 Rankings list. Hopefully it is still in time to help guide you this week. Watch out for the Bears as I see them having multiple players atop the fantasy rankings this week.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @josephhaggan and @IDPGuys. Also tune into our weekly podcast for the most up to date info to help you win your league. Remember, Joey the Tooth has the taste for IDP.

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