Throughout the fantasy playoffs, Jake Ciely (*@allinkid**) will give you the expert takes on New Orleans Saints players while letting you know which performers will help you take home a championship. The Saints are coming off a road win to host the Detroit Lions on Monday night. *
You can expect another good showing for Drew Brees after throwing for 312 yards and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers in Week 14. You'll see the Saints offense in its glory on "Monday Night Football" with the Detroit Lions in town. They allow the 10th most fantasy points to quarterbacks and have only one game where they didn't allow a passing touchdown. Brees is a guaranteed QB1 yet again, as Aaron Rodgers had 30.4 fantasy points against the Lions just two weeks ago. You can ride Brees to the next round of the playoffs.
Carson Palmer (Cardinals) is another must-start quarterback that likely carried you all season and will keep you winning this week. The Eagles allow the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks and Palmer is the third best quarterback on the year. Alex Smith (Chiefs) is one of the safest options out there for those that might need a quarterback or have one in a tough matchup (Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger). Smith has just one game with a single-digit score and has a great matchup against the Ravens. You can't sit Roethlisberger for lesser options, but Smith, Philip Rivers (Chargers) and Matt Ryan (Falcons) have rather nice matchups. Just be careful since it's a road game for Ryan, so there is added risk.
If you didn't already do so, you can add Tim Hightower to the list of Saints weapons at your fantasy disposal. In his first start, Hightower saw the vast majority of backfield snaps. He finished with 95 yards – 85 rushing – and a touchdown on 28 carries and one reception. Hightower is a no-doubt RB2 for Week 15, as the Lions just let Todd Gurley rush for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
The Bengals should run plenty this week, and the 49ers allow the most FPPG to running backs, which means you can start both Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard. If Denard Robinson starts for the Jaguars, he is an immediate Top 20 option and Top 15 play in PPR leagues, as he faces the Falcons. Needy PPR teams can use Bilal Powell of the Jets. Not only did he have 19.2 points in PPR last week, the Cowboys present a favorable matchup, allowing both him and Chris Ivory to have value. The Panthers and Seahawks backfields are risky situations. Fozzy Whittaker (CAR) and Bryce Brown (SEA) are the lead options, but should only be used if desperate. The same goes for Isaiah Crowell (Browns) even though he just had a huge game. He faces the Seahawks, a team allowing the least amount of FPPG to running backs at 11.74.
It was great to see Willie Snead back and showing Saints fans and fantasy owners what they've been missing. He put up 122 yards on seven catches against the Bucs. Any doubts of him being Brees' second favorite receiver were put to rest. Ben Watson had another nice game with seven catches for 70 yards on a team-high 11 targets. The Lions struggle with quick receivers, which makes Brandin Cooks a high-upside play. Add him to Snead and Watson with the Lions being one of the weakest teams against tight ends, and you have three great receiving weapons for Week 15.
As mentioned with Alex Smith, the Chiefs have a terrific matchup with the Ravens, which makes Jeremy Maclin a must-start in all leagues, especially with how good he's been of late. The Cardinals trio is risky because sometimes one will get left out, but against the Eagles, all three are worth starting based on the upside alone. Kamar Aiken led the Ravens in receiving again, and in PPR leagues is still a solid WR3/4 for those needing the sure-thing play. DeAndre Hopkins (Texans) had a quiet game in Week 14, but you can never bench him and the matchup with the Colts will give him plenty of chances to come up big when you need it. Outside of Antonio Brown, the Steelers receivers are risky and should only be in your lineup if looking for that boom/bust play. Allen Robinson (Jaguars) is a must start, but Allen Hurns is big play and touchdown reliant, so it may be best to sit him against the Falcons secondary if you have similarly valued options. The same goes for Travis Benjamin of the Browns. He needs a big play for a big day, and the Seahawks secondary is tough to do that against.
Richard Rodgers (Packers) is touchdown reliant, but with a Raiders matchup this week, he's worth the gamble. No team has allowed more tight end touchdowns. Jacob Tamme (Falcons) is a nice fill-in for tight end needy teams, as the Jaguars allow the fourth most FPPG to tight ends. Travis Kelce (Chiefs) is the one player in the passing game who could find Week 15 challenging. The Ravens are actually the fourth stingiest team against the tight end, allowing just 5.28 FPPG. Jason Witten is having a quiet year for the Cowboys, and the Jets allow just 5.60 FPPG to tight ends, so look elsewhere for your starter.
The Jets' defense is a strong play this week, as Matt Cassel is at quarterback for the Cowboys and his team allows the second most FPPG to opposing defenses (10.46). The Titans rank third in FPPG allowed to DSTs, which makes the Patriots a good play this week as well. The Colts haven't been the same this year, but there are games where they still put up points, which makes the Texans DST a high upside/high risk option in Week 15. While the Eagles DST has nice point totals thanks to turnovers and special teams, you don't want to start them against the Cardinals.
For more in-depth Fantasy Football postseason coverage, visit Jake Ciely and the team over at RotoExperts.com. Saints fans get a special discounted rate on the RotoExperts Xclusive Edge premium package by **clicking here*.*
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