Fantasy Football Week 15: Quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues

Starting two quarterbacks is once again a necessity, so who can you trust in the fantasy playoffs? These are your ultimate QB rankings for Fantasy Football Week 15.

The bar is rising ever higher as we enter Fantasy Football Week 15. The threshold to qualify as a top-24 fantasy football quarterback each week used to be around eight points. In other words, the worst of the usable quarterbacks in SuperFLEX leagues would be equal to a rotation running back or wide receiver. There was a chance that a waiver RB/WR would outperform the quarterback.

That chance has dissipated with bye weeks in our rear-view mirror. In the past couple of weeks, it has taken a dozen points to rank in the top 24. Some starting RBs or WRs in standard leagues won’t even reach that mark on a weekly basis. SuperFLEX leagues are back to needing two quarterbacks.

In Week 14, Aaron Rodgers finished 24th in scoring, with just a shade under 12 points. Of course, some guys who were started in every league finished below that. Namely, Josh Allen, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and perhaps Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield as well. That means a few surprises snuck onto the scoring leader board.

Most prominent was Drew Lock. In two career starts, Lock has gone from okay to great. His third outing will come against the Kansas City Chiefs and their underrated pass defense. It will be hard to trust the rookie in this spot, but he is certainly on the two-QB radar for the rest of the season, as brief as it is. Another good outing in this one, Lock would become a must-start Week 16 against Detroit.

Who’s the best quarterback play in Fantasy Football Week 15? We’ve got your exclusive rankings right here.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate Fantasy Football Week 15 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Fantasy Football Week 15 – The Top 12

Lamar Jackson (Dan’s Ranking: 2, Todd’s Ranking: 2), Drew Brees (TIE – Dan: 3, Todd: 4), Jameis Winston (TIE – Dan: 4, Todd: 3), Deshaun Watson (TIE – Dan: 6, Todd: 1), Russell Wilson (Dan: 1, Todd: 7), Patrick Mahomes (Dan: 5, Todd: 5), Dak Prescott (Dan: 10, Todd: 6), Jimmy Garoppolo (TIE – Dan: 8, Todd: 12), Ryan Tannehill (TIE – Dan: 11, Todd: 9), Kirk Cousins (TIE – Dan: 7, Todd: 14), Carson Wentz (TIE – Dan: 13, Todd: 8), Jared Goff (TIE – Dan: 9, Todd: 13), Kyler Murray (TIE – Dan: 12, Todd: 10)

Dan Salem on Carson Wentz at 13: The Eagles have been outright terrible the last two weeks, so consider me cautiously optimistic when it comes to Wentz. Washington presents a good matchup at least.
Todd Salem on Jared Goff at 13: Goff and the Rams have turned things around these past two weeks. He gets the overrated Dallas defense this week, who Mitch Trubisky just torched.
Todd Salem on Kirk Cousins at 14: Solid and steady Cousins had his worst fantasy game since Week 8. It is weird that his two duds recently came against Detroit and Washington. He likely gets more involved this week.

14. Philip Rivers (Dan: 14, Todd: 11)

Dan Salem: Rivers had an excellent game last week, but he’s been unable to string two together all season. It’s tough to say how much we get from him against the Vikings.
Todd Salem: He dominated last week and belongs in the Top 12.

15. Ryan Fitzpatrick (Dan: 15, Todd: 15)

Dan Salem: Talk about consistency. Fitzpatrick will be able to shred the Giants defense, but may not find the end zone. He still plays for the Dolphins, remember.
Todd Salem: The Giants stink. Perhaps more importantly, Fitzy has been a safe bet nearly every week since being reinserted into the starting lineup. He’s been a far safer play than many bigger names around the league.

16. TIE – Tom Brady (Dan: 16, Todd: 19)

Dan Salem: If Brady bounces back then it will be this week against Cincinnati. But the Bengals have been known to drive teams crazy, especially one-dimensional offenses like New England.
Todd Salem: We expected Brady to come back to Earth going from facing the Houston pass defense to the Chiefs’. His production should go back up traveling to Cincinnati this week.

16. TIE – Mitchell Trubisky (Dan: 18, Todd: 17)

Dan Salem: I don’t trust Green Bay’s defense, so Trubisky becomes the beneficiary.
Todd Salem: The Green Bay defense has been steadily coming down after a hot start. The unit reminds me of Dallas’, in that we think of them as a good defense from the first half of the season, but that is really no longer true. With the way Trubisky is playing, I like him in this spot.

16. TIE – Aaron Rodgers (Dan: 19, Todd: 16)

Dan Salem: I don’t trust Green Bay’s offense, so Rodgers falls way down the rankings this week.
Todd Salem: Rodgers continues his up-and-down play against a good Chicago defense. If you can’t trust Rodgers against Washington a week ago, he cannot be trusted completely against anyone. It is wild to say, but he should not even be in consideration for standard leagues at this point.

19. Matt Ryan (Dan: 17, Todd: 23)

Dan Salem: After the 49ers shootout last week, I’m thinking Ryan can get things going against San Francisco. It’s a risky play, but I don’t love the rest of our list.
Todd Salem: Obviously a tough matchup for Ryan and the Falcons in this one. Does Drew Brees dicing up the San Francisco defense offer a blueprint for Ryan? Probably not, but he’s at least been getting his production back up after an injury and midseason lull.

20. Josh Allen (Dan: 20, Todd: 22)

Dan Salem: Pittsburgh presents a tough matchup, but Allen still has upside with his legs.
Todd Salem: As one expected, Allen really struggled against the Baltimore defense last week. Unfortunately, things don’t get any easier this time out against Pittsburgh. And with New England set to follow, Allen’s days as a top-12 consideration are over for this season.

21. TIE – Gardner Minshew (Dan: 22, Todd: 21)

Dan Salem: I’m smelling a bounce back against the weak Raiders defense for Minshew.
Todd Salem: I didn’t like what Minshew offered in his first start since before the team’s bye. But there are few preferable spots than facing Oakland these days. Hopefully he got the jitters out from returning to the lineup and will be on-point in this one.

21. TIE – Eli Manning (Dan: N/A, Todd: 18)

Todd Salem: The Dolphins, even through their “turnaround”, remain the worst defense in the league. Manning had a stellar first half against Philly in his return to the lineup and should do something similar in at least one half against Miami. If he puts an entire game together, he could be a top 15 play with the skill players around him on offense.

23. Derek Carr (Dan: N/A, Todd: 20)

Todd Salem: Carr rebounded nicely last week even as his team got blown out. There may be a mini shootout this week between he and the Jacksonville offense as neither team has been able to stop anyone recently.

24. Baker Mayfield (Dan: 21, Todd: N/A)

Dan Salem: Call me crazy, but Mayfield has at least one more very good game left in him this season. Arizona is vulnerable, so I like the matchup.

25. TIE – Drew Lock (Dan: 23, Todd: N/A)

Dan Salem: Its hard to know if his dominance was a fluke, or something Lock can sustain. I’m willing to take a flyer on him because of his performances in the last two weeks.

25. TIE – Kyle Allen (Dan: 24, Todd: 24)

Dan Salem: We can’t ignore Allen’s consistently high fantasy production over the last few weeks. Go with a known producer, since its the playoffs.
Todd Salem: Three straight 18-point fantasy days puts Allen in rarefied air. Drew Brees has not done that this season; Russell Wilson hasn’t either. It’s admittedly an arbitrary breaking point. but Allen is peaking at the perfect time.