X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Red-Zone Risers and Fallers - Setting Your Playoff Lineups

Potential Week 15 fantasy football sleepers and busts. RotoBaller's red zone tool identifies player TD scoring potential based on touches and opportunity.

Playoff time is finally here and finding players with scoring potential is more crucial than ever. Let's evaluate the all-important red zone stats to find great values at the skill positions. Just like targets are the lifeblood of a receiver's value in PPR leagues, red zone touches are the most relevant factor to consider for standard leagues.

In this article each week, we'll identify red zone risers and fallers who could see their fantasy value impacted by usage in the most critical area of the field. RotoBaller's Red Zone Sleepers tool is a great way to get an edge on the competition by identifying players with greater scoring opportunities.

Let's take a look at which players could be touchdown risers or fallers in fantasy football for Week 15 of the 2017 NFL season, based on red zone opportunities.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Red Zone Risers

 

RUNNING BACK

Jonathan Stewart (RB, CAR) - 25.2% Red-zone touch%

Lets talk about Jonathan Stewart here for a moment, because this is important. Stewart has been better than a solid choice the past four weeks. He has scored five touchdowns in that span and has averaged 16 fantasy football points as well. He is climbing up the red-zone touch chart and is clearly the number one running back over fellow rookie teammate Christian McCaffrey. Stewart gets most of the hand-offs and dominates McCaffrey in red-zone touches, specifically inside the five-yard line. If you have Stewart on your team, you would be a fool not to at least put him in your flex spot against a not-so-great Green Bay defense in Week 15 in a semi-final matchup.

WIDE RECEIVER

Marquise Goodwin (WR, SF) - 14.5% Red-zone touch%

Marquise Goodwin has been rising up the red-zone touch chart and is one of the most picked-up WR on the waiver wire the past few weeks. Goodwin, who is a fifth-year player in the NFL, is on pace to finish with more receptions this year than his previous four seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He has averaged almost 13 fantasy football points in the past five weeks in half-PPR formats and is noticeably becoming new coming quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's favorite target. The only issue is he has no red-zone touchdowns as of yet. He is long overdue and should be started in your flex in Week 15 at home against the Tennessee Titans.

TIGHT END

Julius Thomas (TE, MIA) - 14.7% Red-zone touch%

Yes, this is the same Julius Thomas who lit it up in Denver a few years back with Peyton Manning. No, he isn't quite doing the "light-up" thing with the Dolphins, but his red-zone numbers lately have been way better. He is currently fourth among all tight ends in red-zone percentage and has three red-zone touchdowns. If you are looking for a tight end to pick up and play, he would probably be a good candidate. He can maybe grab you that red-zone touchdown and put you over the top in your matchup. DISCLAIMER: If no touchdown occurs, numbers will be less than stellar.

 

Red Zone Fallers

RUNNING BACK

Dion Lewis  (RB, NE) - 12.5% Red-zone touch%

There are a lot of mouths to feed up in New England as far as running backs are concerned. Dion Lewis is one of them. It's really hard to trust any of the running backs (Rex Burkhead, James White) on this team as they all have a very similar red-zone touch percentage. The saving grace for Lewis is his ability to catch passes. He has been sharing the running back load with Burkhead as of late and will still probably serve as a decent flex position in a pivotal matchup this week against the Steelers.

WIDE RECEIVER

Stefon Diggs (WR, MIN) - 7.3% Red-zone touch%

Where have you gone Stefon Diggs? What looked to be a very promising fantasy football season in the first bunch of weeks actually has scaled the opposite way, and he has clearly relinquished the number one WR slot to teammate Adam Thielen. Diggs, over the past four weeks has totaled only 7.4 fantasy football points and has scored zero touchdowns. His red-zone touch percentage is clearly declining. This is enough information to keep him on your bench and look for greener pastures, brighter lights, or any other cliche metaphor you can fit in here.

TIGHT END

Zach Ertz (TE, PHI) - 8.7% Red-zone touch%

Zach Ertz?! What? How? When? C'mon! I said the same thing before even writing up this blurb here. Ertz has been a top-three fantasy football tight end all season. A must start. Interestingly enough, he only has 12 red-zone touches out of the Eagles 138 plays. He makes the most out of these touches with seven touchdowns. However, MVP candidate and trusted dominating quarterback Carson Wentz is out for the year with an ACL tear and Nick Foles will be at the helm. It's actually a tougher decision than I thought it would be, but if you have a decent option as a backup, it might not be terrible idea to take a look a little more closely at who you are starting this week in a vital playoff matchup.

 

Red Zone Sleepers Tool

RotoBaller's Premium tools offer more detailed insight to player values and help you identify which players to target on the waiver wire and/or trade market. Start with a free one-week trial, including NFL Optimizer and DFS Premium and get an advantage on the competition!

 

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Ben Griffin

a Strong Value Play at East Lake
Bubba Chandler

to Join Pirates on Friday
Rory McIlroy

Chasing Another Win at East Lake
Patrick Cantlay

Finishes Tied for 30th at BMW Championship
Ludvig Aberg

Finishes Tied For Seventh at BMW Championship
Collin Morikawa

Finishes Tied for 33rd at BMW Championship
Keegan Bradley

Finishes Tied for 17th at BMW Championship
Robert MacIntyre

Finishes Second at BMW Championship
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Tied for 23rd at BMW Championship
Scottie Scheffler

Wins BMW Championship
Brian Robinson Jr.

Not Expected to Play for Commanders This Year
Kenley Jansen

Considered Day-to-Day With a "Physical" Injury
Rashee Rice

Could be Facing 4-6 Game Suspension?
Harry Hall

Hot at the Right Time for Tour Championship
PGA

Sungjae Im Wants to Rebound at Tour Championship
Jacob Bridgeman

has One Weakness Heading to Atlanta
Nikola Vučević

Nikola Vucevic Not Expecting to Be Moved Before the Season
Nick Taylor

a Long Shot to Win Tour Championship
Josh Giddey

Bulls Not Interested in Sign-and-Trade Deal Involving Josh Giddey
Brian Harman

Trying to Crack Top 20 at Tour Championship
Andrew Novak

Attempts to Bounce Back in Atlanta
Oscar Tshiebwe

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Jazz
Justin Rose

Seeks Even More Success at Tour Championship
Washington Wizards

Alondes Williams Joins Wizards for Training Camp
Washington Wizards

Wizards Add Skal Labissiere for Training Camp
Francisco Alvarez

Needs Thumb Surgery, May Play Through Injury
Willy Adames

Out With Side Soreness on Tuesday
A.J. Brown

on Track to Play in Week 1
Jacob deGrom

Being Skipped in Rotation Due to Shoulder Fatigue
Adley Rutschman

Scratched on Tuesday With Abdominal Discomfort
CBJ

Brendan Smith Joins Blue Jackets on Tryout Deal
STL

Milan Lucic Joins Blues for Tryout
DET

Red Wings Pick Up Travis Hamonic
Austin Riley

Doesn't Appear Ready to Return Any Time Soon
Aaron Judge

Unikely to Throw Normally Again This Year
Jalen McMillan

Could be Out Through Week 9 Bye
Indiana Pacers

Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle Agrees to a Multiyear Contract Extension on Tuesday
Washington Wizards

John Wall Retires After 11 NBA Seasons
Daniel Jones

Named as Colts Starting Quarterback
Jalen McMillan

Will Not Be Ready for Season Opener
Collin Sexton

Hornets Have High Hopes for Collin Sexton
Rui Hachimura

Likely to Start Season Without Contract Extension
Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Hopes to Bounce Back in 2025-26
Stephen Curry

Ready to Go for New Season
Orlando Magic

Lester Quinones Agrees to Deal With Magic
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Cleared to Play on Tuesday Night
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Pulled With Hamstring Tightness
MLB

Game 2 of Brewers-Cubs on Monday Postponed
Bryce Miller

to be Activated on Tuesday
Kyle Tucker

to Get Multiple Days Off
Shane Bieber

to Make Season Debut on Friday
Joe Mixon

Could Start Season on NFI List
Zack Wheeler

has Surgery to Remove Blood Clot
De'Von Achane

Unlikely to Practice This Week
Justin Jefferson

Returning to Practice
Chris Godwin

Bucs Chris Godwin Likely to Start Season on PUP List
Joe Flacco

Browns Name Joe Flacco as Their Week 1 Starter
Jalen McDaniels

Inks Deal With New Orleans
N'Faly Dante

Signs Deal With Hawks
Matthew Stafford

Practicing on Monday
Dru Smith

Agrees to Deal With Heat
Austin Dillon

Scores an Upset Victory at Richmond
William Byron

Clinches the Regular Season Championship Title at Richmond
Denny Hamlin

Pit-Road Struggles Impede Denny Hamlin's Chances of a Top Finish at Richmond
Joey Logano

Earns A Fourth-Place Finish at Richmond
Kyle Larson

Rallies to A Top-10 Finish at Richmond
Malik Nabers

Dealing With Back Injury
Khamzat Chimaev

Is The New UFC Middleweight Champion
Dricus Du Plessis

Gets Dominated At UFC 319
Aaron Pico

Suffers Knockout Loss In His UFC Debut
Lerone Murphy

Scores Stunning First-Round Knockout
Leodalis De Vries

Earns Promotion to Double-A
Nathaniel Lowe

Finalizing Deal with Boston
Geoff Neal

Suffers First-Round Knockout Loss
Ketel Marte

Arizona Could Trade Ketel Marte in the Offseason
Carlos Prates

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Page

Dominates At UFC 319
Jared Cannonier

Gets Outclassed
Tim Elliott

Gets Submission Win
Kai Asakura

Still Winless In The UFC
Austin Cindric

has Arguably his Best Run of the Season at Richmond
Ryan Blaney

Contends for First Richmond Win but Comes Up Short
Alex Bowman

Finishes Second but Loses Ground in Playoffs
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Sets Personal Laps-Led Record at Richmond
Chris Buescher

Falls Out of Playoffs After Miserable Richmond Run
Coby White

Bulls Not Interested in Trading Coby White
Dereck Lively II

Expected to be Ready for Camp
Brian Robinson Jr.

Commanders "Shopping" Brian Robinson Jr.
John Metchie III

Texans Trade John Metchie III to Eagles
Victor Scott II

Placed on 10-Day Injured List
Trey Hendrickson

Bengals Listening to Trade Offers for Trey Hendrickson
Marcelo Mayer

to Have Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
Samuel Basallo

Called Up From Triple-A Norfolk
J.K. Dobbins

Expected to Win Starting RB Job?
Quentin Johnston

Suffers Concussion in Preseason Loss
Jaxson Dart

Plays Well on Saturday Night
Marcus Semien

Avoids Serious Injury
Terry McLaurin

Commanders Optimistic Terry McLaurin Deal Can Get Done Soon
De'Von Achane

De’Von Achane Dealing With Lower-Body Injury
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Likely Avoids Serious Injury
Denny Hamlin

the Heavy Favorite to Win at Richmond
Christopher Bell

Has Been Great at Richmond
Tyrese Haliburton

No Longer Using a Scooter, Crutches
Ryan Blaney

Can Ryan Blaney Finally Break Through at Richmond?
Joey Logano

Will Start Last at Richmond After Practice Trouble
Chase Elliott

Lack of Top-Line Speed Hurts his DFS Potential
Kyle Larson

Recent String of Crashes Make Him a Big Risk at Richmond
William Byron

Probably Slightly Too Inconsistent at Richmond to Start for DFS
Ryan Preece

on Pole at Richmond as Playoff Deadline Looms Closer
Brad Keselowski

Probably the Best RFK Racing DFS Option at Richmond
Chase Briscoe

Still Figuring Out Richmond
Chris Buescher

a Solid Choice for DFS Play, but Teammates Look Faster
Haywood Highsmith

Dealt to Brooklyn on Friday
Khamzat Chimaev

A Favorite At UFC 319
Dricus Du Plessis

Set For His Third Title Defense
Aaron Pico

Set For UFC Debut
Lerone Murphy

Looks To Remain Undefeated
Geoff Neal

Looks For His Second Win In A Row
Michael Page

Set For His Second Middleweight Bout
Jared Cannonier

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Kai Asakura

Looks For His First UFC Win
Tim Elliott

Set To Open Up UFC 309 Main Card
CBJ

Mikael Pyyhtia Re-Signs With Blue Jackets for One Year
UTA

Caleb Desnoyers Expected to Miss 12 Weeks After Wrist Procedure
Tyson Foerster

on Track to Be Healthy for Season Opener
NHL

Olivier Rodrigue Signs KHL Deal
NHL

Emil Bemstrom to Join Swiss Team

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP