Week 15 FanDuel NFL Tournament Pivots

Wide Receiver

Chalk

For those playing the full slate, it will be hard to forget Julio Jones' 44.8-point effort three weeks ago against this week's opponent. He eviscerated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' league-worst wide receiver defense, boostin FanDuel tournament scores into the 200-plus range. The matchup is still the best of the week on paper, and Matt Ryan will no doubt be looking to his star receiver repeatedly. While mimicking that performance is nearly impossible, that won't stop people from wishful thinking, leading to high levels of ownership.

Antonio Brown is always in position for high ownership because he's simply the best receiver in the game. It doesn't hurt that the game against New England has a total of 53.5 points (watch it be a down-in-the-trenches defensive battle).

The Rodgers-is-back narrative should be enough to drive Jordy Nelson to relatively high ownership percentages, though his ownership should still be noticeably lower than Jones' and Brown's. Devin Funchess should prove popular in that same game as the Packers have been a bottom-five defense against receivers over the past five weeks. This is despite them shutting down the Bucs' receivers in Week 13.

At a slightly cheaper price, Marquise Goodwin's recent performances should propel him into a good share of lineups.

Pivots

Michael Thomas, $8,100 (vs. New York Jets)

Thomas has been targeted on 31.9% of the Saints' passes over the past five weeks, and with New Orleans favored by 16 points on the Jets, he'll likely be overlooked for his teammates in the backfield, let alone other wide receivers in his price range who have good matchups. Eye are on the Steelers and Patriots, but it's the Saints who have the highest implied team total of the week at 31.75 points.

Brandin Cooks, $7,400 (at Pittsburgh Steelers)

Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski are back in the fold for New England this week, and that could scare people off of Cooks, who has totaled 3 catches on 10 targets for just 55 yards over his past two games. Joe Haden could return this week but was able to practice only in limited fashion this week so far. Cooks could be the forgotten man in this game for all those reasons.

Mike Wallace, $5,700 (at Cleveland Browns)

Wallace has missed the past couple of days of practice with an ankle injury. Keep an eye on this going into the weekend, but he should be a go. If he does suit up, then the matchup against the Browns should prove favorable.

Cleveland have been a respectable 14th against wide receivers for the season, but that ranking masks recent struggles, especially those by cornerback Jason McCourty. McCourty has given up the most receptions and touchdowns of any defensive back over the past two weeks, according to Pro Football Focus. In their past six games, the Browns have allowed at least 18 points to four different receivers, including a 25.4 spot to Davante Adams in a heroic collapse. Nobody loses like the Browns!

Wallace had his worst game of the season against the Browns in Week 2, but that was on only three targets, and Joe Flacco was playing like he was aspiring to be a clipboard holder. Flacco, however, has turned it around in the past couple of weeks, and the team still has a solid chance at making the postseason.

Wallace's teammate -- Jeremy Maclin -- is probably the safer play this week as Cleveland tends to give up more consistent points to slot receivers, but given the Browns' downward trend (can one say that about a winless team?) and Wallace' big-play ability, it is he who is the higher-upside play in tournaments. Just make sure he's playing before rostering him.