NFL

5 NFL FanDuel Value Plays to Target in Week 15

Josh Shepardson  —  @BChad50 Dec 16th, 2021

Studs with sizable salaries are frequently an integral part of winning money in daily fantasy football at FanDuel. However, to fit them under the salary cap, it's imperative to locate underpriced players who over-deliver.

A good place to start when attempting to unearth undervalued players is our projections tool. The tool offers a value option for sorting, showcasing who offers the most bang for your buck. In addition to matchups impacting projections, injuries do as well. On that note, players replacing injured starters are often among the top values. So, staying abreast of injury news and inactives until the start of games is a must with that in mind.

With the tone set for this piece, let's move on. The following quintet of players is among my favorite cap-friendly options in Week 15.

(UPDATE: Since the publication of this piece, Sunday's games between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Football Team have been postponed. Those players will no longer be included on the main slate.)

Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Football Team ($6,900)

Unfortunately, Antonio Gibson had a disappointing effort in Week 14. Further, J.D. McKissic is probably returning this week, despite not practicing on Wednesday.


Regardless, Gibson is an intriguing bounce-back candidate in Week 15. Unfortunately, the game script turned negative early for the Washington Football Team quickly last week, hurting Gibson's output. However, Gibson toted the rock 95 times for 358 yards and 2 touchdowns during a four-game winning streak before last week's loss. Moreover, he was adding value through the air, hauling in 14 receptions on 15 targets for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Thankfully, the Philadelphia Eagles are a bit uneven. So, I'm not as concerned about the game's 7.0-point spread favoring Philadephia and think the Football Team can keep it close enough to keep Gibson involved from start to finish. Finally, if the game script is bad early this week, Gibson isn't a lock to cede all of the receiving work to McKissic. According to Pro Football Focus, from Week 10 through Week 12, McKissic ran 47 routes versus 40 for Gibson. Thus, Gibson closed the passing game gap before McKissic suffered a concussion. However, Gibson is still a better option in GPPs than cash games because of his passing-role uncertainty and possible dependence on a good game script for value.

Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks ($6,100)

I'm not crazy about this week's running back position at any salary level. So, let's look at the merit of using Rashaad Penny at a borderline punt salary on the heels of last week's blow-up game. The fourth-year pro teased fantasy relevance in Week 13, amassing 62 scrimmage yards on 11 touches (10 rush attempts and one reception). However, he exploded last week for 137 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 reception for 1 yard.

Penny has played the highest percentage of snaps among running backs for the Seattle Seahawks in back-to-back games, according to our snap counts. Sadly, Penny's playing time percentages have only been 41.43 percent and 43.21 percent. So, there is a risk he'll bust on a low volume. However, according to Pro Football Reference, he's had a knack for efficiency in his career, averaging 5.1 yards per rush attempt.

In addition, according to Pro Football Focus, out of 29 running backs with at least 10 rush attempts last week, Penny was tied for fourth in missed tackles forced rushing (5), tied for third in 10-plus yard rushes (3), and first in yards after contact per rush attempt (7.06 YCO/A). Yes, obviously, it's only a one-game sample. Still, the explosiveness and tackle-breaking ability provide me with optimism that Penny is still an electrifying player, despite multiple injuries and setbacks throughout his career. Frankly, that's good enough for me to roll the dice on him as a value selection in GPPs.

A.J. Green, WR, Arizona Cardinals ($5,700)

Sadly, DeAndre Hopkins' forgettable regular season is reportedly coming to a close with hopes he'll be back for the postseason.


The show must go on for the Arizona Cardinals, though. They're fortunate to have depth in their pass-catching corps, and the resurgent A.J. Green is my favorite option in the group.

According to Pro Football Focus, out of 72 receivers targeted at least 10 times in Green's last four games with Kyler Murray playing quarterback (Week 7, 8, 13, and 14), he has been tied with Mike Evans for 28th in yards per route run (1.87 Y/RR). I wouldn't have expected Green to be in the same sentence with Evans in any context before the season. Yet, here we are.

Green has a good draw in fantasy this week. According to our power rankings, the Detroit Lions are the third-worst pass defense. Green is also attached to the highest implied total (29.75 points) on FanDuel's main slate for Week 15, providing him touchdown potential. As a result, I love Green in all game types this week.

Gabriel Davis, WR, Buffalo Bills ($4,900)

Emmanuel Sanders is tending to a knee injury and didn't practice on Wednesday.


Second-year wideout Gabriel Davis is the next person up in the Buffalo Bills pass-heavy attack. According to Sharp Football Stats, since Week 6, when the offensive scoring margin is between trailing by seven points and leading by seven points, Buffalo passes at the highest rate (69 percent, three percent higher than the second-highest rate, and 12 percent above the league average). Additionally, according to Football Outsiders, the Bills play at the 10th-fastest situation neutral pace. The pass-heavy and up-tempo combo are dreamy for the fantasy outlook of members of Buffalo's passing attack.

Also, even though Davis is an ancillary option between the 20s, Davis is a favorite of Josh Allen near the end zone. Allen has attempted 37 passes from 10 yards or closer to scoring, directing 6 passes Davis' way, good for third on the team. He's parlayed his usage into three receiving touchdowns in that area of the field. Davis also has big-play potential as a vertical weapon, sporting an average depth of target of 11.9 yards downfield, per Sports Info Solutions.

Finally, Davis checks out well in our projections. Davis is tied for the 19th-highest value score among receives on FanDuel's main slate. As a result, he's one of my favorite punts with upside that belies his salary.

Bengals, D/ST, Cincinnati Bengals ($3,400)

I love saving money on defense, and the Cincinnati Bengals are a steal at only $3,400. Honestly, I'm shocked the Bengals are 2.5-point underdogs on the road against the Denver Broncos. I think the visitors should be in a pick 'em at worst and favored at best. Regardless, Denver's implied total of 23.25 points is non-threatening.

More importantly, Cincinnati blends sacks and turnovers with aplomb. According to Pro Football Reference, the Bengals are tied for 15th in turnovers forced (17) but tied for second in sacks (37). Meanwhile, Teddy Bridgewater has been average or worse at avoiding sacks and putting the ball in harm's way. The veteran signal-caller has had the 11th-highest sack rate (6.7 percent) out of 32 qualified quarterbacks. Further, according to Pro Football Focus, out of 32 quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks, Teddy Two Gloves has the 14th-highest turnover-worthy-play rate (3.2 percent).

As a result, I can't imagine the Bengals completely busting on defense. Furthermore, they might pile up points in bunches if the offense stakes them to a lead, allowing them to pin their ears back and fluster Bridgewater. As a result, I'm going to be grossly overweight on Cincinnati's defense in all game types.

Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.