Daily Fantasy Football Picks and Helper: Week 15 Saturday Slate

The NFL regular season is starting to wind down, and with Week 15 comes our first batch of Saturday games. Six teams will compete on the eve of the Sunday slate, and some of our favorite fantasy players will be featured.

Let's take a look at some of the best daily fantasy football plays at each position -- accounting for salary -- on the Week 15 FanDuel Saturday slate.

Slate Overview

Here is a snapshot of each team's outlook, including opponent, over/under, and spread based on FanDuel Sportsbook odds, and opponent defensive ranks for overall defense, pass defense, and rush defense, based on numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP) model.

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff ($7,900) is off the heels of a dud fantasy performance (6.44 FanDuel points) and will now face a Denver Broncos defense that gives up the 10th-fewest FanDuel points to QBs. And while he is neither a salary-saving nor unique play, the Lions have a slate-high 26.5-point implied team total, and Goff has the highest ceiling on the slate (season-best of 27.44 FanDuel points).

The Lions give up more FanDuel points to the QB position than any other team in the league, making Russell Wilson ($7,800) a quality signal-caller option for Saturday. Wilson could shine in this matchup -- he put up a season-high 26.92 FanDuel points in Week 2 against a then-last-ranked Washington Commanders pass defense. He has a pair of clear-cut stacking options with receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, and his floor is quite encouraging. He has netted fewer than 13.86 FanDuel points just once this season -- for a small slate that doesn't feature much star power among QBs, a safe floor matters.

Jake Browning ($7,600) is an intriguing play, but I'll proceed with caution. He's put 26.16 and 24.7 FanDuel points across his last two games, albeit against poor defenses, and these are numbers that Goff and Wilson haven't seen since the aughts of this season. Browning will go up against a Minnesota Vikings defense that forced the Las Vegas Raiders into a goose-egg performance last week. But while the matchup isn't blindingly appealing, the Vikings are still sacrificing the 14th-most FanDuel points to QBs. Browning's misleading average of 9.3 FanDuel points per game and the "not Joe Burrow" of it all could deter the public and lead to a lower-than-it-should-be roster rate, which is a great thing to target on a small slate.

Running Backs

Joe Mixon ($8,200) has turned into a shining star at the RB position since Burrow's season-ending injury. Mixon has totaled 46.7 FanDuel points across his last two games and has averaged 20.0 carries per game over that span. But while his workload couldn't be more appealing, he will be in for a tough matchup against the Vikings. Minnesota allows the eighth-fewest FanDuel points to the RB position.

The Broncos give up the seventh-most FanDuel points to running backs, meaning David Montgomery ($7,600) and Jahmyr Gibbs ($7,500) are enticing. Montgomery is a weekly touchdown threat and touts a 60.0% red zone rush share, but Gibbs plays a loftier role in the passing game against a Broncos team that is vulnerable in this split. If I had to choose one, I'd lean towards Gibbs, but Detroit's one-two punch could be used in tandem -- especially given the Lions' slate-high implied team total.

Zack Moss ($6,600) was a disappointing play last week, but Jonathan Taylor (thumb) is still out. With a low salary and a matchup against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that gives up the fifth-most FanDuel points to RBs, Moss is worth another shot.

Wide Receivers

Justin Jefferson ($8,800) is the highest-salaried receiver on the slate and comes into Saturday with a questionable designation. While he's trending toward a typical workload, this matchup against the Bengals and the quarterback situation in Minnesota is unattractive. So even though he is Justin Jefferson, I don't know that I'd carve out that much salary to get to him.

Ja'Marr Chase ($8,000) has a better signal-caller and a better matchup to work with than Jefferson does. As the top-end receivers go, he may be the best play on the board.

If you're siding with Goff at QB, Amon-Ra St. Brown ($8,100) is the clear stacking option. However, ARSB's output over his last three games has been meh (average of 9.8 FanDuel points), and he will go up against the Broncos, who allow the third-fewest FanDuel points to wide receivers. I see too much value in the Detroit RBs to prefer St. Brown this weekend, but a Goff-ARSB stack can't be looked at as a bad move, either.

Michael Pittman Jr. ($7,900) is a good receiver to target. He's generated consistently good output over his last three games (average of 17.7 FanDuel points) and has a decent matchup against the Steelers, a team allowing the 10th-most FanDuel points to WRs.

It's hard not to be low on Jerry Jeudy ($5,600) at the moment. He's gone five straight games without exceeding 8.3 FanDuel points. But he still has a 19.7% target share and 20.8% red zone share (second-best on Denver), and his low production has been a result of somewhat inexcusable incompletions on his part. His poor play may result in fewer targets this week, but he's playing a Lions team that gives up the second-most FanDuel points to wide receivers.

Given the risk that Jeudy may impose, Courtland Sutton ($7,300) is the best stacking option to pair with Russell Wilson. Sutton leads all Denver receivers in target share, end zone share, and red zone share, and this matchup makes him one of the best receiving options on the board.

Tight Ends

The Vikings have a slate-low 18.5-point implied team total this Saturday and will put Nick Mullens under center, meaning T.J. Hockenson ($7,000) might not be worth the high salary this week.

Sam LaPorta ($6,800) has an appealing role on the Lions and has become one of the best options at TE this year. His 20.8% target share and 21.3% red zone share are second behind only ARSB. The Broncos give up the 14th-most FanDuel points to tight ends, and although LaPorta will likely be the chalk play here, he'll be chalk for a reason.

Tanner Hudson ($5,000) and Adam Trautman ($4,800) are low-salary darts with good matchups, but it's probably worth forking up the salary to get to LaPorta.

Defenses

The Bengals' D/ST ($4,700) could be worth the high salary, and this slate provides enough salary-saving options to reach Cincy. The Vikings were already giving up the 10th-most FanDuel points to opposing D/STs, but now with Nick Mullens set to start, things could get even worse. Mullens has thrown almost as many interceptions (23) as he has touchdown passes (27) in his career.

The Colts' D/ST ($4,400) is averaging a slate-high 9.15 FanDuel points and will get a chance to take on Mitchell Trubisky, who is a weekly interception candidate. Indy's D is averaging a whopping 15.6 FanDuel points across their last five games, making them a great option.

Be sure to check out all of the Week 15 daily fantasy football contests on FanDuel.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.