Fantasy football week 15 studs, duds, and sleepers

Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) runs with the ball against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) runs with the ball against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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If you missed any of fantasy football week 15, catch up on the best, worst, and most surprising performances with my full recap of a great week of NFL action.

Dec 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) runs for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) runs for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports /

With most fantasy football leagues in playoff action, fantasy football week 15 was an important one for fantasy football owners. While injuries continued to take their toll, there were some players who came through at just the right time for their fantasy football owners while others couldn’t have picked a worst time to put up an empty week.

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In Week 15, the injured fantasy contributors were Adrian Peterson (who returned), Marcus Mariota, T.J. Yates, Alshon Jeffery, Danny Amendola, Cecil Shorts, LeSean McCoy.  Hopefully, none of those losses cost you your fantasy season, and hopefully some of the studs and sleepers were able to carry you to the next round of the playoffs.

To highlight the most important fantasy outcomes both positive and negative, each week I collect the studs, duds, and sleepers here on FanSided. You can find my full recap of the week each Monday morning.  Each week, I separate the recap into slides with  the biggest studs, the biggest duds, and the biggest sleepers at each of the main fantasy football positions–quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end.

Before we get to my weekly breakdown, here are some quick reminders of what you can expect to find in each category. “Studs” are players who came into the week with high expectations and came through for their fantasy owners.  On the other hand, the “duds” are players who were expected to perform this week but failed to deliver due to injury or just overall ineffectiveness.  Finally at each position, I’ve listed “sleepers” who are some of the players who weren’t expected to make big fantasy contributions but who had solid fantasy football week 14 performances and may have some sleeper value for your fantasy team moving forward.

As we head into NFL week 16, make sure to check back tomorrow morning for my top 10 waiver wire pickups.  In order to stay up to date on all of FanSided’s fantasy football coverage, drop a bookmark over on our fantasy football hub and follow us on Twitter @FansidedFantasy where you’ll find coverage of fantasy golf, fantasy basketball, fantasy baseball, and fantasy football.

There are teams and players surging for the playoffs and falling apart at just the wrong time as we head into the last two weeks of the season. Let’s get started with a rundown of the the best, worst, and most surprising from around the NFL in fantasy football week 15.

Next: QB Studs