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Daily fantasy football expert picks for Week 15

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With Week 15 NFL daily fantasy contests starting to fill up, our experts have scouted out the players they're locking into their DFS lineups first. From the star performers to the top values, here are a few expert picks to help you build your own lineup for this week's DFS football contests.


Star performers

Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears

Howard rebounded with a huge game against the Cincinnati Bengals' defense in Week 14, scoring 31.5 DraftKings points, and he gets another extremely favorable matchup in Week 15 against the Detroit Lions, who have surrendered a rushing touchdown to a running back in each of their past eight games. By the way, when these teams met back in Week 11, Howard scored 21.5 points. -- Tristan H. Cockcroft

Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

So you may be aware that Allen is rolling right now, but do you realize just how good he has been? During the Chargers' four-game win streak, Allen has averaged a cool 137 receiving yards, posting at least 105 receiving yards in each of those games, and he has managed four touchdowns. There have been only two instances in the past decade when a player had a longer such streak (Calvin Johnson in 2012 and Demaryius Thomas in 2014). Expect Allen to keep the good times rolling Saturday night, given that Kansas City has allowed the fifth-most passing yards this season. -- Stephania Bell

Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings

He's a top-five receiver in season scoring and always worth it, and for those concerned about the matchup against the generally stingy Bengals, check out what happened to them in Week 13. This isn't the Bengals defense that was somewhat formidable against the pass this season, as injuries and complacency have taken their toll. Thielen is heavily targeted, makes big plays, and the Vikings will bounce back. -- Eric Karabell

Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers

In his past three games, Rivers has thrown for 1,097 yards and six touchdowns, while completing 71 percent of his passes. The guy is really dialed in, too, registering a total QBR of 83.9 during that stretch in an aggressive Chargers route tree. That has allowed Rivers to feed the ball to red-hot wide receiver Allen, find the matchups with tight end Hunter Henry and take calculated shots down the field. And given his recent run of production, I see Rivers as a smart play in the Week 15 matchup versus the Chiefs' secondary. -- Matt Bowen

Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Only teammate Le'Veon Bell carries a steeper price in Week 15, as the Steelers have been red-hot of late on offense. Brown is just a marvelous talent who is the best bet of any player in the league to trigger the 100-yard three-point bonus on DraftKings, something he has done in five straight games. There truly is no antidote to slow down Brown, who has at least 10 targets in all but two games this season, surpassing 100 yards on eight of 13 occasions and further establishing himself as the top receiver in football. -- Field Yates

Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots

The loss of Ryan Shazier has badly hurt the Steelers' rushing defense -- during their past two games, Pittsburgh's defense has allowed an insanely high 70.8 percent mark in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures how often an offense gives its ball carriers quality run blocking. That pace is nearly double the 35.5 percent GBR the Steelers had in the games prior to Burkhead's absence. The Patriots' 52.1 percent GBR over the past six weeks ranks second best in the league for that time frame, so Burkhead should get elite blocking that results in a fantasy performance that justifies the large salary. -- KC Joyner

Top values

Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

DeMarco Murray's production has been in decline in recent weeks, as he has averaged 3.1 yards per carry to Henry's 6.5 the past three weeks on what was only two more carries (34) than Henry (32). The Titans aren't going to be able to ignore this for much longer, and in a favorable matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Henry could put forth a lot of points for a dirt-cheap price, even if he gets only another 10 attempts. But what if this is the week it's more? Considering the recent trends, it's a chance on upside I'm willing to take. -- Tristan H. Cockcroft

Dede Westbrook, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Joke all you want about Blake Bortles, but he's completing 64 percent of his passes with a 5.0 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the past four weeks (58.6 percent and a 1.6 TD-INT ratio during the first 10 weeks this season) since Westbrook debuted, and that may not be a coincidence. Here's the list of receivers with at least five catches and 75 receiving yards in each of the past two weeks: Brown, Allen, DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Goodwin (the Jimmy Garoppolo effect) and Westbrook. That's it. The Texans are yielding the sixth-most WR points since returning from their Week 8 bye, so I'll take my chances on a secondary trending downward while the Jags' passing game is looking up. -- Stephania Bell

Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Carson Wentz is done, and this is the next man up. While the two quarterbacks aren't exactly similar in terms of skills, Foles gets the same depth of options to throw to, the game-calling, the running game and, perhaps most important, the awful Giants to face. I'm simply not convinced the Eagles will suddenly run the ball two of every three plays and alter everything. I think Foles gets a similar game plan and should be able to accrue 250 passing yards and two touchdowns. There are other starting quarterbacks who cost less, of course, but this a good price and this matchup is pretty sweet. -- Tristan H. Cockcroft

Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears

Give me the electric ability of Cohen in a solid matchup against a Detroit defense ranked 28th in fantasy scoring versus opposing running backs. Yes, Cohen's usage has been up and down this season in Chicago. But after watching Cohen log 14 touches for 82 total yards in the Week 14 win over the Bengals, I'm banking on a Bears game plan that highlights Cohen's versatility. Look for Chicago to flex Cohen outside as a receiver, use the screen game and test the edge on stretch runs. That means high-percentage throws for rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and run schemes that cater to Cohen's rare combination of lateral quickness and acceleration. -- Matt Bowen

Wayne Gallman, RB, New York Giants

Let's chase volume for our value play, something that Gallman provided in Week 14. And it wasn't an accident, as colleague Dan Graziano reported on Sunday morning on Fantasy Football Now that the team intended to utilize the rookie more. He's an adept pass-catcher, boosting his value in points-per-reception scoring. The Giants don't figure to hold a significant lead against the Eagles this Sunday, which helps Gallman stay involved as a pass-catcher. While the Eagles are a brick wall to run against, the impact in the passing game makes Gallman a savvy play. -- Field Yates

LeGarrette Blount, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles will aim to lean on their ground game as much as possible now that Wentz has been lost for the season with a knee injury. They certainly have the run blocking to go this route, as the Eagles' 50.0 percent GBR over the past six weeks ranks fourth best in the league. The Giants' rush defense hasn't exactly been stellar at stopping opponents' rushing attack, as New York ranks 17th in GBR and 25th in good blocking yards per attempt (GBYPA) over the past six weeks. Blount will be one of a trio of Philadelphia running backs to get the ball, but being the goal-line back, he should have the best chance of hitting pay dirt and thus provide upside value for his salary. -- KC Joyner

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