Week 15 marks the start of fantasy football playoffs in most season-long leagues. There are no more bye weeks, and there will be 12 games during the Sunday day slate. A Monday Night Football doubleheader will cap off the week. Lineup management and decision-making matter more than ever as you attempt to give your team the best chance to win.
In DFS contests this week, there are plenty of options due to the loaded slate of games. The biggest DFS contest is the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. For this post, I’ll keep my fantasy football sleepers to the player pool in the Sunday day slate of games and include players salaries in that contest.
Here are my three favorite wide receiver sleepers expected to outperform their DFS price point and give you the edge for winning your week.
Tim Patrick, Detroit Lions ($4,300)
Tim Patrick announced his presence on the national stage with six catches for 43 yards and two touchdowns last week in a victory over the Packers. It has been a long path for the 31-year-old who missed the 2022 season with a torn ACL and the 2023 season with a torn Achilles.
The former undrafted wide receiver spent the start of his career with the Broncos but has found his footing with the Detroit Lions this year. He’s tallied 27 receptions for 349 yards and two touchdowns this season. He has seen his role grow within the offense throughout the season logging 50 percent of offensive snaps or greater in in seven of the past eight weeks. Patrick is rostered in just 1.9 percent of fantasy leagues although this has improved by 1.4 percent from last week.
Patrick is coming off a season-high 18 percent target share in which he saw more targets than Amon-Ra St. Brown. Kalif Raymond will miss the next few weeks as he battles his foot injury which has paved the way for Patrick’s larger role.
Detroit will face off with the Bills this week in what is likely the most highly anticipated game on the slate. The Lions are the top-scoring offense in the NFL while the Bills are second in scoring on the season. Expect this to be a matchup with plenty of offense and for both coaches to dive deep into their playbooks. Patrick has gained the trust of Jared Goff and will continue to have opportunities for a larger offensive role. While he may not replicate his two-touchdown performance, keep Patrick in mind in deep leagues and expect him to outperform his $4,300 DraftKings DFS price point.
Mack Hollins, Buffalo Bills ($3,800)
On the other side of the matchup with the Lions, Mack Hollins has some intriguing fantasy football value. The former fourth-round pick has bounced around the NFL since being drafted in 2017 but has found his footing with the Bills.
So far this season, Hollins has tallied 23 receptions for 288 yards and five touchdowns. His massive 6-foot-4 frame is a constant threat in the red zone and the five touchdowns he has tallied mark a career-high. Hollins has recorded at least one catch in 10 of the 13 games. He has tallied as many as 86 receiving yards in a game and has scored touchdowns in back-to-back weeks leading into this matchup. Last week, he tallied four receptions on six targets for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Hollins is rostered in just 0.6 percent of fantasy leagues and is especially coming on strong toward the end of the season. After recording just seven catches across the first eight weeks, Hollins has recorded 16 catches in the past five games. There will be plenty of offensive opportunities this week, and Detroit’s defense is more vulnerable than it has been all season as injuries have ravaged that side of the ball. He is a risky play, but I am buying the recent trend of success, and there will be plenty of available offensive production in this matchup.
Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers ($3,700)
Injuries have clouded an otherwise solid season for Panthers’ rookie wide receiver Jalen Coker. The undrafted wideout missed the first three games of the season, returned for seven games and then missed the previous three matchups with a quad injury. Across the seven games he has played, Coker has recorded 17 receptions for 263 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Coker is off of the injury report and set to return to the field this week. The Panthers will be facing the Dallas Cowboys who have struggled defensively. Overall, Dallas ranks 31st in points allowed and 26th in yards given up. Looking at their pass defense, the Cowboys rank 23rd in passing yards allowed, 20th in passing touchdowns conceded and 30th in net yards per pass attempt.
While it has been a rocky season for the Panthers, Bryce Young is playing the best football of his young NFL career as of late. The main priority is to continue to build up the franchise quarterback and they will continue putting him in positions to succeed. Expect Coker to play a part in this and see some action on Sunday. Across the seven games he played, he tallied over 30 yards in five games and three or more receptions in four. Don’t be surprised if he ends up the top-performing Panthers’ wide receiver this week and for him to be a sneaky fantasy play.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
