Week 15 Early Fantasy Football Rankings: Jahmyr Gibbs, Emeka Egbuka and More
Ian Hartitz delivers Week 15 early rankings heading into the first round of the fantasy football playoffs, highlighting Jahmyr Gibbs, Emeka Egbuka and more.
Months of blood, sweat and tears have led up to this moment: The fantasy football playoffs are here! The decisions you make between now and Thursday will inevitably play a large part in determining your overall emotional well-being for the next calendar year. What could go wrong?
What follows are my abbreviated early PPR ranks along with some key questions and answers ahead of this week's slate of action. Check out our Fantasy Life Rankings for full ranks from our squad of alleged expert rankers (code "Ian" for 20% off!).
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Week 15 Early Fantasy Football Rankings
Quarterback
What are the Colts going to do without Daniel Jones?
Daniel Jones will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his torn Achilles. The injury comes with the former Giant playing easily the best football of his career: Jones finishes the year ranked fifth in EPA per dropback, and he managed to account for 24 TDs in just 12 full games of action—not a bad improvement after scoring just 13 times during his final 16 games in New York.
You don't need me to tell you this is bad news for the Colts, but hey, you are reading this, so: This is bad news for the Colts. Anthony Richardson (eye, IR) won't be back this week, meaning rookie Riley Leonard (strained knee) should be the next-man-up, although he's now suddenly considered week-to-week. Journeyman/potential last-man-standing Brett Rypien would seemingly be the next-man-up if Leonard is unable to go.
Or not? The team is apparently bringing in (brace yourself) Philip Rivers for a workout on Tuesday. The 44-year-old Grandpa (literally, not trying to be a dick) was last seen leading the Colts to a Wild Card loss against the Bills during the fever dream that was the 2020 COVID season. You would think this is a longshot—and both sides have to figure some things out—but the fact Rivers is making the trip at all seems to add some level of possibility here.
Whoever "wins" gets to face the Seahawks' third-ranked defense in EPA allowed per dropback. Houston deserves to be considered the best defense in the league (the Colts face them in Week 18, lol), but Seattle has a solid case for silver.
Vegas is NOT expecting much here, as evidenced by the Colts possessing an implied team total of just 15 points—tied for the second-lowest mark of the week.
Maybe Leonard finds a way to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge his way to a decent fantasy finish—former Fantasy Lifer Thor Nystrom comped him to "righty Tim Tebow" last spring—but having a bad knee is a quite horrible start, and I certainly don't plan on f*cking around and finding out with the fantasy season on the line. It's also pretty tough to imagine Rivers being in condition to play this week (if at all)—I mean, look at him, he's old. My gut says 50/45/5 Leonard/Rypien/Rivers for the Week 15 starter.
We'll digest new data as it presents itself; just realize for now this Colts offense deserves to be treated in the same vein as teams like the Jets and Raiders. Jonathan Taylor is the only must-start option inside the league's fifth-ranked offense, and even then the prospect of him carrying fantasy squads to the promised land feels bleaker than ever.
But hey, this Rivers thing has the potential to be entertaining as hell for better or worse! Can the government release a full list of the other retired QBs the Colts called? They won't, but you could imagine what it'd be like if they did!
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Quick hits
QB1 Josh Allen: Fantasy's overall QB1 has posted top-2 per-game numbers at the position in six consecutive seasons. Pretty, pretty, pretty good—and if there was ever a time to make sure the Superman cape is freshly ironed, it's probably ahead of Sunday's rather massive AFC East battle against the Patriots.
QB7 Lamar Jackson: Welcome back! Action Jackson racked up 21.1 fantasy points in the Ravens' (kinda BS) Week 14 loss to the Steelers, quite the improvement considering Lamar totaled just 18.5 fantasy points in Weeks 11-13. Perhaps more importantly: Jackson looked healthy, evading pressure and racking up more rushing production (7-43-1) than we've seen in quite some time. I'm bullish on Jackson putting up better numbers against the Bengals' league-worst defense in EPA allowed per play than we saw two weeks ago—there was some wonkiness going on in that dud.
QB15 Trevor Lawrence: What a performance from T-Law! The Jar Jar Binks doppelganger easily posted his most-efficient performance of the season (+0.41 EPA per dropback) during the Jaguars' rainy Week 14 win over the Colts. Hell, that was Lawrence's fifth-best performance of his career! He now has back-to-back games with a passer rating of 100, seemingly doing his best Carmen Berzatto impression by simply letting it rip in recent weeks. Matchups against the Titans and Sauce Gardner-less Colts have certainly helped matters, although as Socrates once famously said: Film don't lie.
QB19 Jacoby Brissett: All Brissett has done since taking over under center in Week 6 is average 20.5 fantasy points per game—good for the fifth-best mark at the position! Of course, his 1-7 record as a starter reflects the reality that plenty of this production came when the game wasn't exactly competitive, but hey, style points don't count for extra in fantasy land anyway. That said: I'm expecting the clock to strike midnight on Brissett's fairy tale fantasy season this week against the Texans' absolutely ferocious defense. Seriously: Has anybody drug tested those guys for rabies? Nobody has allowed fewer fantasy points per game to opposing QBs; we haven't seen an opposing passing game reach even 200 yards against this group since September!
QB22 Tyler Shough: We saw Shough flash as a passer before Sunday, but it was the rookie's work with his legs that proved to be extra impressive during the Saints' upset win over the Bucs. Overall, Shough racked up 17.5 fantasy points from strictly rushing—that's the third-highest mark of the season behind only Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen! I'm cool riding with Shough down the stretch in closer QB2/superflex start/sit decisions—his schedule lends itself nicely to New Orleans finishing the season strong.
- Week 15 (Panthers): 23rd in EPA allowed per dropback
- Week 16 (Jets): 28th
- Week 17 (Titans): 29th
QB27 Shedeur Sanders: Hell yeah, Shedeur! The rookie QB threw for 364 yards and a trio of scores and added a fourth trip to the end zone … in a loss against the lowly Titans … but still! While Sanders' playmaking mindset occasionally writes checks that his athleticism can't cash, he deserves credit for taking just six sacks across his last 12 quarters of football while continuing to push the ball downfield. I'm hesitant in assuming another Sunday full of fireworks is on the way inside an offense that shouldn't exactly be confused as one of the league's better environments, but at a minimum give Sanders credit for leading the Browns offense to a season-high 412 yards last week—their previous single-game high was just 327!
Running Back
What FLEX-level RBs are boosted by great matchups this week?
My top 24 RBs are largely all clear lead backs with the potential to see 20-plus combined carries and targets in Week 15, although not all of us are so lucky to have cut-and-dry start/sit decisions at the position.
Good news: There are a handful of RB3 types in good enough matchups to believe quality FLEX-worthy performances could be on the way!
- RB29 Tyrone Tracy, RB39 Devin Singletary: Tracy is believed to be fine after suffering a stinger prior to the Giants' Week 14 bye. He was working as the backfield's 1.A option prior to the injury, racking up 46 touches and 269 total yards across the Giants' back-to-back losses against the Packers and Lions—although Singletary wasn't an afterthought with 31 touches, 94 yards and two trips to the end zone in those same games. Both are in the RB3 conversation against a Commanders defense that has allowed at least 25 points in six of their last seven games.
- RB32 Rhamondre Stevenson: Took a clear backseat to TreVeyon Henderson in his first game back from injury … before starting and racking up 15 touches against the Giants in Week 13. We shouldn't assume high-end efficiency here, but as we saw back in Week 5 (7-14-2 rushing): Mondre is capable of supplying fantasy goodness simply from being the lead goal-line back inside the Patriots' seventh-ranked scoring offense.
- RB33 Chris Rodriguez: The clear lead back in Washington for the better part of the last month and a half, C-Rod won't catch passes or push for 25 touches, but we are looking at 12-15 opportunities from a fairly efficient option set up well against the Giants' 31st-ranked defense in PPR points per game allowed to the position.
Who was *this* close to having a much bigger Week 14?
The following players were tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a TD on the same drive last week:
Tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a TD on the same drive:
- Bears RB D'Andre Swift (x2)
- Steelers RB Kenneth Gainwell
- Lions WR Jameson Williams
- Browns WR Malachi Corley
- Colts TE Tyler Warren
Unfortunate afternoon at the office for Swift indeed, although the 26-year-old veteran has still been a quality fantasy option more weeks than not despite the emergence of Kyle Monangai. Both RBs should be expected to push for 15 touches this week against a Browns defense that has spent most of the season shutting down opposing rushing attacks … but, then again, we did just see Tony Pollard (25-161-2!) run all over them. Gotta love fantasy football!
Bears RBs since Week 6:
Quick hits
RB2 Jahmyr Gibbs: Averaging 32.4 PPR points per game since Dan Campbell took over as the play caller in Week 10. The NFL record for PPR points per game in a season is held by 2000 Marshall Faulk … at 32.9. Not too shabby—Gibbs looks a lot like the early-frontrunner for 2026 1.01 treatment.
RB3 De'Von Achane: Was his usual awesome self in Week 14 … before unfortunately suffering a rib injury. Achane has an extra day to get right before the Dolphins take on the Steelers next Monday night—it sounds like he should be good to go. If the Injury gods do indeed decide to be sick bastards, Jaylen Wright would get the nod as the preferred start/waiver wire pickup ahead of Ollie Gordon based on their Week 14 utilization.
Now, things could certainly change now that head coach Mike McDaniel has a whole week to game plan, but I'd tentatively rank Wright around the RB30 line next to guys like Tyrone Tracy and Chuba Hubbard, while Gordon would be on the RB3 borderline with fellow TD-dependent grinders like Kyle Monangai, David Montgomery and Jordan Mason.
RB13 Javonte Williams: It makes sense to give fantasy MVP honors to someone like Christian McCaffrey or Gibbs simply thanks to their raw point totals, but Williams deserves a seat at the table if considering production at cost. 2025 really has been a nice year for boring veteran starters who were expected to have their job yanked away by a Day 3 rookie:
- Williams: RB9 in PPR points per game, RB43 ADP
- Travis Etienne: RB12, RB37 ADP
- D'Andre Swift: RB15, RB25 ADP
RB21 Devin Neal: The rookie has turned 37 touches into 153 yards and a TD in two games as the Saints' starting RB. It remains to be seen if/when Alvin Kamara (knee) will return to action, but Neal is deserving of low-end RB2 treatment in his absence. After all, he's demanded elite 74%, 82% and 71% snap rates during the last three weeks and is set up well against a Panthers defense that ranks 25th in EPA allowed per rush. Neal is essentially my lowest ranked featured RB; we start seeing more messy two-plus back committees after this point in the ranks.
RB23 Rico Dowdle, RB30 Chuba Hubbard: Dowdle was given the starting job in Week 9 even with Hubbard healthy. He's seen 27, 21, 24 … 10 and 20 touches in five games since. Hubbard earned 5, 4, 5 … 7 and 19 touches in those contests. Noticing a trend?
Before you start screaming curse words at Dave Canales, note that Chuba (4.7 yards per carry) has actually been more efficient on the ground than Dowdle (3.8) during this span; it's possible the Panthers' Week 1 starter is finally fully healthy after missing early-season time with a calf injury. Either way, this projects as far more of a 1-2 punch as opposed to the Dowdle RB1 show—neither RB is a MUST start option with this sort of usage split.
RB25 Jaylen Warren, RB31 Kenneth Gainwell: Another backfield that is unfortunately too split to feel overly good about one individual party: We've actually seen Gainwell earn a higher Utilization Score than Warren during the last three weeks of action, largely thanks to his work in the passing game.
Now, Warren is still the starter and projected touch leader, but this is effectively a 1.A/1.B situation at this point. Warren maintains the higher rank against a Dolphins defense that has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards to opposing RBs this season, but I would still call you Superman if you felt crazy enough to rank/start Gainwell ahead of him this week.
RB35 Tony Pollard: Where the hell has that been, Tony! The Titans' starting RB racked up 28.1 PPR points against Myles Garrett and company last Sunday–Pollard had 26.8 PPR points combined in his previous four games! While the good times could keep on rolling against the 49ers' ever-banged-up front-seven, Pollard's 25 touches in Week 14 marked the first time he had more than 15 in a game since Week 5, and this remains one of the worst offensive environments in the league.
RB41 Blake Corum: Has posted 7-81-1 and 12-128-2 rushing lines over the last two weeks despite continuing to work as the Robin to Kyren Williams' Batman. Still, the potential for double-digit touches can't be discounted inside an offense that ranks first in success rate for both passing and rushing. Corum remains THE No. 1 handcuff in all of fantasy football, and he's made enough out of his opportunities to warrant FLEX appeal ahead of guys like Kimani Vidal, Michael Carter and Isiah Pacheco, among others.
Wide Receiver
What is going on with Emeka Egbuka?
Unfortunately, nothing good recently!
Emeka Egbuka PPR points per game:
- Weeks 1-5: 20.5 PPR points per game (WR3)
- Week 6-14: 8.9 (WR47)
Week 14's 2-15-0 dud was unfortunately "highlighted" by a dropped 23-yard TD, something that has become a problem in recent weeks. Overall, Egbuka has dropped 8 passes this season—tied for the highest mark in the NFL.
And yet, I'm not so willing to completely chalk up the lackluster boxscores to the Buccaneers' first-round rookie. After all, drop leaderboards tend to consist of WRs who earn a lot of targets—nobody is complaining about Davante Adams also having 8 drops this season–and Baker Mayfield hasn't exactly held up his end of the bargain on a consistent basis.
Overall, Egbuka has a rough 49% catchable target rate since Week 6—a far cry from teammates Chris Godwin (75%), Tez Johnson (70%) and Sterling Shepard (79%). Part of this can be attributed to Egbuka not posting great separation numbers, although part of that can also be attributed to the Ohio State product generally being asked to work more downfield.
Now faced with the potential return of Mike Evans: What the hell do we do with Egbuka this week? Ultimately, I'm starting Emeka as my WR28 this week ahead of guys like Brian Thomas Jr., Justin Jefferson and Courtland Sutton, although fellow good WRs with bankable volume like Wan'Dale Robinson, Terry McLaurin, Jakobi Meyers and Jauan Jennings get the nod from me thanks in large part to superior matchups.
Still, even this ranking might turn out to be low–seven consecutive games with 8+ targets reflects the reality that Egbuka remains a very big part of a Bucs offense that is quite lethal at its best. We should generally try to follow talented players earning big-time volume in fantasy football land, and Egbuka still checks those two boxes … even if the last *checks notes* two months of action have been rough.
Who left some serious meat on the bone in Week 14?
"Unrealized air yards" measure the total amount of air yards on incomplete targets. This helps identify players who had all sorts of fantasy-friendly downfield opportunities, but they simply couldn't come up with completions for one reason or another.
Anyway, 10 players had at least 65 unrealized air yards in Week 14:
- Eagles WR AJ Brown (136)
- Chargers WR Ladd McConkey (127)
- Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka (122)
- Bengals WR Tee Higgins (88)
- Cowboys WR George Pickens (85)
- Cardinals WR Michael Wilson (84)
- Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. (77)
- Saints WR Chris Olave (77)
- Cowboys WR Ryan Flournoy (76)
- Packers WR Romeo Doubs (65)
Just three WRs have racked up north of 800 unrealized air yards on the season: Troy Franklin, Rome Odunze and Egbuka. Not great!
Quick hits
WR1 Ja'Marr Chase, WR10 Tee Higgins: Since Week 6 when Joe Flacco breathed life into this Bengals passing attack …
- Chase: 19.4 PPR points per game (WR5)
- Higgins: 18.3 (WR7)
Unfortunately, Higgins re-entered the concussion protocol after (somehow) clearing it twice during the game, making his status for Sunday—and potentially the rest of the season—iffy at best. Andrei Iosivas and Mitchell Tinsley will be in the WR5 conversation if Higgins is ultimately inactive, although the real beneficiary might just be TE Mike Gesicki.
WR6 CeeDee Lamb, WR11 George Pickens, WR62 Ryan Flournoy: Hopefully the extra few days of preparation is all the time Lamb (concussion) needs to get healthy. If not, Pickens (24.2 PPR points per game without Lamb in Weeks 3-6) will replace his teammate as fantasy's WR6, and Flournoy would rise into WR4 territory alongside guys like Ricky Pearsall and Jayden Reed. Give the Cowboys' No. 3 WR credit for largely making the most out of his opportunities this season.
Ryan Flournoy in four games with a 50%+ snap rate:
- Week 5: 6 receptions-114 yards-0 TD (9 targets), PPR WR13
- Week 6: 3-30-0 (6), WR52
- Week 9: 2-12-1 (2), WR42
- Week 14: 9-115-1 (13), WR5
WR16 Jameson Williams: Kyren's cousin has been one of fantasy's better WRs since Week 6 despite two goose eggs. Williams' average of 15.4 PPR points per game in his last eight contests is good for the 15th-highest mark at the position, even ahead of teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown! That stat is, of course, flawed after the Sun God getting injured after just four snaps on Thanksgiving, but yeah: Shoutout to Jamo for playing some good ball!
WR20 DK Metcalf: Aaron Rodgers completed 4 passes thrown 20-plus air yards in Week 14. He had just seven in Weeks 1-13 combined, and none since Week 8! Kudos to Arthur Smith and company for finally getting the ball to Metcalf downfield; here's to hoping his breakout 7-148-0 performance is just the start of a big final stretch—up next is a Dolphins secondary that ranks just 25th in EPA allowed per dropback this season.
WR22 Zay Flowers: Kudos to Flowers for surpassing the 100-yard mark for the first time since Week 1. Unfortunately, he still hasn't managed to find the end zone since his 2025 debut—the man has gone 89 consecutive targets without a score! Maybe Flowers bucks the trend against a Bengals secondary that he did manage to find the end zone against, but unfortunately the zebras decided to call a ticky tack OPI (in my biased opinion).
WR24 Wan'Dale Robinson: Set up quite well this week against a Commanders defense that has allowed the second-most PPR points per game to slot WRs this season. Credit to Robinson for working as the WR20 on the season—the 24-year-old slot maven has largely fended off "Scam'Dale" slander and emerged as one of fantasy's better late-round WRs this year.
WR25 Jakobi Meyers: Has scored in three straight games and suddenly looks a lot like Trevor Lawrence's new No. 1 WR. The results have been splendid in fantasy land—fire up Meyers with confidence ahead of Week 15's smashable matchup against the Jets.
WR27 Jauan Jennings: Has out-targeted Ricky Pearsall 19-to-9 in their last three games together. Early-season injuries sucked, but Jennings has scored four times in his last five games and could be poised for a strong stretch run thanks to a pretty, pretty, pretty great upcoming schedule.
- Week 15 (Titans): 23rd in PPR points per game allowed to WRs
- Week 16 (Colts, no Sauce Gardner): 29th
- Week 17 (Bears): 26th
WR29 Justin Jefferson: I truly hope this ranking looks ridiculously stupid by this time next week. After all, Jefferson is playing the Cowboys this Sunday night, but then again, he was playing the Commanders last Sunday, J.J. McCarthy turned in arguably his best game as a pro … and we got a PPR WR72 finish out of it. Overall, Jefferson has worked as the WR55 in fantasy land since McCarthy returned under center in Week 9, getting outscored by guys like Jalen Coker and Chimere Dike. Jefferson has 15 f*cking yards in his last two games, and he hasn't cleared 61 since Week 8. Can you tell I'm annoyed? Hopefully he turns back the clock and makes the most out of this week's smashable matchup for loyal fantasy managers attempting to win their consolation bracket.
WR32 Christian Watson: Has five scores in his last four games and legit looks better than ever despite, you know, tearing his ACL earlier this year. In fact, Watson's top ballcarrier speed of 21.6 MPH on Sunday is faster than any time he put forward in 2024! This week's tough test against Pat Surtain II and company is the only reason why Watson isn't cracking the position's top 24.
WR38 Luther Burden, WR50 DJ Moore: It was Burden (6 targets) who led the way with Rome Odunze (foot) sidelined last week. Congrats to YOU for gaining four more yards than Moore during the Bears' loss to the Packers. Ultimately, this is a run-first offense content to spread things around in the passing game, making it tough to be overly enthused about any individual party. That said: Burden has flashed some VERY solid per-route numbers—the rookie has a bright future ahead, particularly if/when the Bears part ways with Moore this offseason.
WR47 Chimere Dike: Faces a 49ers defense that ranks as the league's worst unit in PPR points per game surrendered to slot WRs. Absolutely nothing is guaranteed in this Titans offense, but Dike is a weekly candidate to find the end zone as a returner and has ultimately turned in four top-18 finishes in his last seven games.
WR61 Troy Franklin: Has lost his job to Pat Bryant since the team returned from its Week 12 bye. Courtland Sutton is the only Broncos pass catcher worthy of starting the rest of the way.
Tight End
What is our TE circle of trust in the fantasy playoffs?
It's probably four dudes:
- TE1 Trey McBride: Duh. Get your popcorn ready for the Week 17 Bengals matchup.
- TE2 George Kittle: Worked as the TE3 in PPR points per game (15.6!) following his unfortunate Week 7 goose egg.
- TE3 Brock Bowers: Inexplicably has just 9 total targets in his last eight quarters of action, but has 3 TDs during the same span thanks to being incredible at football.
- TE4 Travis Kelce: Got his lunch stolen against the Texans, but still rests as the TE6 in PPR points per game on the season.
And then there's Harold Fannin. Yes, there's a tier drop from TE4 to TE5 in the fantasy ranks. Also yes, I'm willing to again ride with the rookie as the best option among the rest thanks in large part to Fannin being an absolute DAWG. Essentially the No. 1 pass-game option in a Browns passing game that has NOT sucked in recent weeks, Fannin is a candidate to win some leagues down the stretch.
Quick hits
TE6 Jake Ferguson: All that said from above, Ferguson will be firmly in the circle of trust and likely my TE4 overall should CeeDee Lamb (concussion) wind up missing Sunday night's matchup with the Vikings. After all, A$AP Ferg put up some NUMBERs with Lamb sidelined earlier this season.
- Week 3: 13 receptions-82 yards-0 TD (14 targets), PPR TE3
- Week 4: 7-40-1 (7), TE5
- Week 5: 7-49-2 (9), TE2
- Week 6: 3-33-1 (3), TE11
TE8 Tyler Warren: Has still enjoyed a pretty great rookie season overall, although Warren has finished inside the position's top-10 scorers just once in his last six games. Don't expect the times to get any better with Riley Leonard under center, although the Seahawks have allowed the third-most PPR points per game to opposing TEs this season.
TE11 Kyle Pitts: Credit to the much-maligned former fourth overall pick for largely putting his best foot forward this season:
- Second-most PPR points per game of his career
- Career-best 87.9 passer rating when targeted—good things are happening!
- TE15 on the season, so nothing crazy, but also not too bad!
This ranking is assuming Drake London (knee) WILL return to the lineup this week. If not, Pitts will jump up to TE8 status ahead of Warren.
TE14 Mark Andrews, TE19 Isaiah Likely: The gap in PPR points per game allowed to opposing tight ends between the Bengals and the next-worst defense (Jaguars) is the same as the Jaguars and the third *best* defense (Raiders).
TE21 Colby Parkinson: If you are forced to dumpster dive at the position this week, Parkinson might just be your guy. Tyler Higbee (ankle, IR) is out for at least another week, meaning Parkinson should again lead the way for TEs inside an offense that can't stop, won't stop throwing TDs. The man has scored the fifth-most PPR points at the position since Week 10 for crying out loud!
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