This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
The Sunday-only NFL main slate for Week 15 features 12 games, excluding the Chargers-Chiefs (Thursday Night Football), Texans-Jets (Saturday early), Browns-Broncos (Saturday late) and Saints-Panthers (Monday Night Football). That's a lot of fantasy star power being taken off the table, but there are still plenty of options ready to pop in Sunday's games, including a quarterback coming off his worst game of the season and a tight end who made highlight reels for all the wrong reasons last week.
TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)
QB: Derek Carr, OAK at CIN ($25): Carr's been quietly effective over the past two games, throwing for 607 yards and five touchdowns without an interception while only losing to the Chiefs by a touchdown before upsetting the Steelers. His late-season success should continue against a Bengals defense that gives up the fourth-most passing yards (273.8) and most points (30.5) per game in the league this year. Owners looking to spend big at other positions shouldn't hesitate to turn to Carr at $25.
RB: Adrian Peterson, WAS at JAX ($21): In a week that saw a number of the league's worst teams display plenty of heart and effort en route to upset victories, the Jaguars looked like they just didn't care anymore, allowing Derrick Henry to run for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Peterson will be the focal point of Washington's offense as the team turns to fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson, and the veteran running back has shown that he still has something left in the tank with six performances with 96-plus rushing yards this season. If Jacksonville continues mailing in its season, Peterson could well give you half of what Henry did last week, which would still be an excellent performance.
WR: T.Y. Hilton, IND vs. DAL ($23): Conventional wisdom says to stay away from the red-hot Dallas defense, but the Andrew Luck-Hilton deep connection has been so potent in recent weeks that it's worth ignoring that convention. Over the past four games, Hilton has totaled 33 receptions for 556 yards and two touchdowns, and any worries about his shoulder injury negatively affecting the speedster's performance were put to bed by Hilton's 199-yard outburst last week. He'd cost much more than $23 against almost any other opponent, so lock Hilton in at this price and reap the benefits come Sunday.
Other Against-the-Grainers
QB: Josh Allen (BUF, $26); Aaron Rodgers (GB, $29)
RB: Derrick Henry (TEN, $21); Chris Carson (SEA, $18); Marcus Murphy (BUF, $10)
WR: Mike Evans (TB, $21); Josh Reynolds (LAR, $15); Julio Jones (ATL, $29)
TE: C.J. Uzomah (CIN, $13); Evan Engram (NYG, $11)
DST: Buffalo Bills ($13); Atlanta Falcons ($12)
CASH GAMES (H2H, 50/50s and DOUBLE UPS)
Quarterback
Jared Goff, LAR vs. PHI ($34)
Goff was putrid in last week's loss to the Bears, but he's primed to bounce back here at home. Throwing the football effectively is easier in the warm Southern California weather, especially for a guy who was born in California, played his college football at California and is now the quarterback for a team that's based in... California. Goff's home/road splits confirm his affinity for his home field -- he's 6-0 with an average of 366.5 passing yards per game and an 18:2 TD:INT at home compared to 5-2 with 247.9 average yards and a 9:9 ratio on the road. Just living up to his averages in LA Memorial Coliseum would make Goff a strong play, and he could easily surpass them against a beat-up Eagles secondary that just let Dak Prescott throw for 455 yards.
Running Back
Joe Mixon, CIN vs. OAK ($23)
Not much has gone right for the Bengals this season after a promising start, but one of the few silver linings for the team is Mixon's development as a sophomore. The 2017 second-rounder has scored at least 9.2 fantasy points in all but one game played in 2018, racking up 1,147 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns in just 11 appearances. Another strong performance is likely on its way against a Raiders team that's giving up 144.5 rushing yards per game -- only the Bengals themselves allow more.
Jaylen Samuels, PIT vs. NE ($16)
This advice goes out the window if James Conner suits up, but if not, Samuels is primed for a big day. The Patriots will focus on eliminating Pittsburgh's strengths in the passing game, daring the Steelers to run with their unheralded running backs. Even if Samuels can't get going on the ground, he displayed excellent receiving chops with seven catches for 64 yards last week. Ex-Patriot Stevan Ridley will see some involvement and could even vulture a goal-line touchdown again, but Samuels' involvement as both a runner and pass-catcher should allow him to thrive regardless of game flow if Conner sits out.
Wide Receiver
Amari Cooper, DAL at IND ($23)
Cooper's back in this column for a second consecutive week, but it's hard not to recommend him again considering the talented receiver's price actually dropped by $5 after he exploded for 10 catches, 217 yards and three touchdowns in last week's win over the Eagles. In fact, Cooper's 642 receiving yards since he joined the Cowboys in Week 9 are good for the league lead over that span, and he's already chipped in six touchdowns in a Dallas uniform as well.
Brandin Cooks, LAR vs. PHI ($28)
While fellow Rams wideout Robert Woods has nearly symmetrical home/road splits, Cooks' are much more similar to those of his quarterback. The yards-after-catch specialist has hauled in 42 passes for 646 yards at home compared to 24 catches for 402 yards on the road despite suiting up for one more away game. Philadelphia's 277.4 passing yards allowed per game are third most in the league and the most of any team on the Sunday-only slate, so Cooks should be worth paying up for here.
Odell Beckham, NYG vs. TEN ($28)
Beckham's available at a discount due to the uncertainty over his quadriceps injury, but he was reportedly feeling much better Monday and should be productive against the Titans if he's able to suit up. In his past six appearances, the star wide receiver has produced at least 11.0 fantasy points every time, totaling 546 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver, along with a passing touchdown. The Titans don't boast an elite No. 1 cornerback capable of keeping up with Beckham, and he'll be highly motivated to keep New York's slim playoff hopes alive.
Tight End
Rob Gronkowski, NE at PIT ($18)
Gronkowski's defensive flub on the final play of last week's loss to Miami garnered most of the media attention, but he quietly put together his best effort of the season with 20.7 fantasy points thanks to eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. If he's finally getting healthy at just the right time for fantasy owners, there's little reason Gronk won't be able to match that performance against a Steelers defense that just surrendered 116 yards to Raiders tight end Jared Cook last week.
Defense/Special Teams
Detroit Lions, DET at BUF ($13)
The Lions just proved capable of excelling on the road against a bad offense headed by a rookie QB, racking up 18.0 fantasy points in Arizona last week. Look for Detroit to replicate those results against a Bills team that may as well be starting you and me at the wide receiver position, has the inaccurate Josh Allen under center and is dealing with injuries to its top two running backs.
Honorable Mentions
QB: Dak Prescott (DAL, $29); Tom Brady (NE, $30)
RB: David Johnson (ARI, $25); Saquon Barkley (NYG, $33); Leonard Fournette (JAX, $25)
WR: Tyler Boyd (CIN, $20); John Brown (BAL, $17); Tyler Lockett (SEA, $24)
TE: Jared Cook (OAK, $22); Zach Ertz (PHI, $23)
DST: Chicago Bears ($19); Washington Redskins ($18)
