NFL

The Perfect Lineup: Week 15's FantasyScore Team

JJ Zachariason  —  @LateRoundQB Dec 10th, 2014
Matt Forte should have no trouble against the league's worst rush defense this week. Who else makes the Perfect Lineup?

Thanks to Shaun Hill's low cost, last week's Perfect Lineup supported players like Le'Veon Bell, Arian Foster, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Julio Jones. Boom.

Who do the algorithms love this week over at FantasyScore.com? Let's take a look.

Quarterback

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons host the Steelers in what will surely be one of the highest-scoring games of the week, and that's great news for Ryan, who's coming off a monster game against Green Bay. After playing relatively well versus fantasy quarterbacks to start the year, the Steelers have now given up top-nine fantasy performances in each of their last six games, including to players like Michael Vick and Zach Mettenberger. Ryan should have no trouble at all against numberFire's 26th-ranked secondary.

Running Back

Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
The first of two stud running backs in this week's lineup is Forte, who will face the league's worst rush defense on Monday night. In PPR formats, the Saints have allowed a top-20 running back performance in all but three weeks, meaning Forte, one of the best options in fantasy regardless of matchup, should be able to take advantage.

Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
Over the last three weeks, Bell has 117.1 PPR fantasy points. Only 25 running backs have scored that many points all season long. Add in the fact that Bell will face a Falcons' defense this season that's allowed the most fantasy points to running backs, and you have yourself the perfect Week 15 player.

Wide Receiver

Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
It's still reasonable to think that Matt Ryan will perform well even if Julio Jones doesn't suit up, but be aware that Jones may not play this weekend. If he does, however, he's going to feast on the Steelers and cornerback Ike Taylor. Jones has nearly 80 PPR points over the last two weeks, and has seen 29 targets during this time. He hasn't seen fewer than 11 looks from his quarterback since Week 8. Play him if he's on the field.

Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears
Without Brandon Marshall, Jeffery should see tougher coverage in the Bears offense. However, the Bears face the Saints this week, and while New Orleans can be run on, their pass defense ranks 31st in the league according to numberFire analytics. Jeffery should see double-digit targets against this porous secondary, making him a strong play.

Tight End

Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders
With all the aforementioned studs in this week's lineup, it takes a slight hit with Mychal Rivera at tight end. Rivera, though, is one of the cheapest options on FantasyScore this week, and has a solid 15 targets over his last two games. The Chiefs rank sixth against tight ends in terms of fantasy points against, but at an inherently inconsistent position, Rivera should have a nice floor due to his potential volume.

Flex

Steve Smith, Baltimore Ravens
Smith bounced back in Week 14 after a poor outing the week prior, and now has two top-20 wide receiver performances over his last three games. He's priced reasonably on FantasyScore this week and faces a middle-of-the-road Jacksonville secondary. Though you shouldn't expect the world from him, he's a good value.

Kicker

Josh Brown, New York Giants
Brown's a cheap kicker, and we love cheap kickers. There's never a reason to spend on the position unless you're overly confident about the rest of your lineup, and this week is no different.

Defense

New York Jets' Defense
The Jets are only $100 away from being the cheapest defense this week, and they're facing a depleted Titans' offense that has allowed team defenses to rank in the top 10 against them in each of the last five weeks. The Jets are on the road, but still make for a good play.