Fantasy Football: 4 Bold Predictions for Week 15

There's nothing quite like the NFL.

Football is one of the most intense, exciting sports on the planet. The source of the now-ubiquitous saying "Any Given Sunday," the NFL is a place where even struggling teams have a chance to topple the best in the league. Anything can happen when you only play 17 regular season games a year.

That uncertainty is a huge driver behind the excitement the NFL generates each and every season. What's more fun than watching something totally unexpected unfold before your eyes?

That's why, this year, we'll be bringing you four bold predictions to watch for each week of the 2023 NFL season.

NFL Bold Predictions for Week 15

James Cook Will Break 100 Receiving Yards

The Dallas Cowboys' defense has been pretty ferocious this season. On top of conceding the fourth-fewest points and the fifth-fewest yards on the year, they're also giving up the third-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Running backs just aren't getting much done against the Cowboys this season -- but has anyone tried to pass the ball to their backs against Dallas?

This year, backs facing the Cowboys have totaled just 45 catches (second-fewest) for 324 yards and a touchdown. That's obviously not a lot of production, but it's also clear that running backs haven't gotten many chances in that regard.

Among those scarce 45 catches, we've seen backs like Darrell Henderson (3/54), D'Andre Swift (2/31), andZach Charbonnet (1/39) break off chunk yardage gains as receivers. Small sample sizes can always be swingy, but it feels like the right back in the right situation could put up impressive yardage against Dallas.

It sure looks like Buffalo Bills running back James Cook could be that back in Week 15. The former second-round pick has been heavily featured in the passing game since the Bills parted ways with former OC Ken Dorsey, catching 11 of his 12 targets for 140 yards and a score over their last two games. The Bills have seemingly made a focused effort on getting Cook the ball through the air and might be rewarded for that decision against the Cowboys.

With his bumped-up usage, Cook will become just the third player all year to notch 100 or more receiving yards against Dallas.

Joe Flacco Will Be a Top-6 QB

While we're just theorizing that the Cowboys might be more susceptible to running backs in the passing game than they've shown this year, we know for a fact that the Chicago Bears can't guard pass-catching backs at all.

The Bears have given up a league-high 748 receiving yards to running backs -- 98 more yards than the next-closest team -- while coughing up the third-most receptions and second-most touchdowns. It's a weakness we've seen their opponents take advantage of all year and one their Week 15 opponent will happily exploit.

That opponent? None other than PPR-scam-enabler-king Joe Flacco, who is now leading the Cleveland Browns on a surprising playoff push in the AFC North. In his heyday, Flacco notoriously spammed passes to his running backs and tight ends. He's back to his old ways in 2023, attempting a league-leading 89 passes in his two starts with 11 of those attempts targeting backs and another 21 of them going to his tight ends.

It's not a strategy that we see winning week-in and week-out, but against a defense like Chicago's -- which can't stop backs in the passing game -- it sets Flacco up for success in Week 15.

Aiding this ascent to the top of the quarterback leaderboards I'm predicting for Flacco this week is the relative dearth of elite quarterbacks left standing. With all of the injuries to star players at the position this year, you could make an argument for Flacco being a better-than-average starter right now.

Flacco should have a much easier time posting a top-six fantasy finish against competition like Davis Mills, Easton Stick, Jake Browning, etc., than he would against the quarterbacks those players are filling in for.

Jahan Dotson Will Lead the Commanders in Receiving

Washington Commanders wideout Jahan Dotson has not been having a good year, and his already-sparse production has cratered over the Commanders' last four games. Dotson caught just 10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown in those weeks, completely ceding his perceived WR2 spot to teammate Curtis Samuel in the process.

But Dotson could bounce back as Washington emerges from its late Week 14 bye, and he has a great matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on tap.

If we take a closer look at Washington's offense, it's maybe not as surprising that Dotson's production fell off the map in recent weeks. Quarterback Sam Howell was forced to go 13 straight weeks without a break while absorbing a league-high 58 sacks in the process. It makes sense that as time wore on and his ribs wore down, Howell would start to target receivers like Samuel -- who operate closer to the line of the scrimmage -- more often. Samuel's 7.1-yard average depth of target (aDOT) is the lowest of any of the team's top wideouts, while Dotson's hovers around 9.2 yards down the field.

Fortunately for Dotson, he could be queued up to rebound this week. The Rams' foes this year have posted a collective aDOT of 9.3 yards on their pass attempts (third-highest) while their once-mighty pass rush has generated pressure at the ninth-worst rate.

With a full week off to recuperate and prep for a defense that struggles to generate pressure, Howell should be able and (hopefully) willing to push the ball down the field to Dotson more often in Week 15. Dotson will respond by leading his team in receiving for just the second time all season.

The Ravens Will Have Two 100-Yard Receivers

The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the strongest teams this season, but their efforts have somehow produced just a single 100-yard receiving performance through 13 games -- Odell Beckham's 4-grab, 117-yard day against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. That will change this week as they get two of their players past the 100-yard mark against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars' once-solid defense has utterly collapsed in recent weeks. Since their Week 9 bye, they're allowing their foes to average 380.8 total yards of offense per game. By comparison, the Commanders' "league-worst" defense has allowed 379.8 yards per game.

The most shocking part of Jacksonville's collapse isn't even necessarily that they are giving up that much yardage, but rather who they're giving that yardage up to. They've faced bona fide backup quarterbacks in two of those five outings as well as rookie signal caller Will Levis.

Even as their defense crumbles, Jacksonville's offense has still been on point. Excluding their brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers, they've still averaged a top-notch 29 points per game since their bye. That means they should be able to pressure the Ravens on the scoreboard, which should keep the ball in quarterback Lamar Jackson's hands.

Plus, it finally looks like the Ravens' "new" offense -- sans offseason departure Greg Roman -- is gelling together. Beckham has been surging lately after spending most of the early part of the season on the injury report, and breakout rookie Zay Flowers has been developing into a consistent threat both short and deep. Even second-year tight end Isaiah Likely has what it takes to turn just a few catches into explosive yardage gains -- like on his 54-yard touchdown catch in Week 13.

In what could be a high-scoring Week 15 affair, the Ravens may produce their second and third 100-yard receiving games against the Jaguars.

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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.