Fantasy Football Week 15 WR rankings: Stefon Diggs continues to struggle as Deebo Samuel keeps rolling

Wide receivers will be more important in fantasy football for Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season than they have been all year. They are always among the most popular fantasy players due to the elite depth of the position. With most leagues' 2023 fantasy football playoffs commencing this week, selecting the correct starters from a huge list of alternatives will be important.

Weekly rankings are one of the most useful ways to sort through wide receivers when finalizing fantasy lineups. All players in this position can be analyzed each week based on a large number of factors, such as recent individual performances and direct matchups. Where a player ranks in a given week can be drastically different from their season-long ranking.

The best strategy for approaching lineup decisions is to find the most favorable situations rather than simply the "best" players. Wide receivers with nearly identical season-long values can be far apart in weekly fantasy football rankings. The direction they have been heading in, as well as the defense they are playing in a given week, have a significant impact on weekly fantasy rankings.

Stefon Diggs and Deebo Samuel are excellent examples of this concept. Diggs was selected in the first round of just about every fantasy football draft this year and is one of the most elite players to own. Samuel has profiled as much more of a WR2 on most fantasy rosters, but for Week 15, he can be found ranked higher than Diggs.

While Diggs has struggled a bit in recent weeks, totaling just 17 receptions in his past four games, Samuel has finished as the WR1 in standard scoring for each of the past two weeks. Samuel also gets a favorable matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, while Diggs faces off against the Dallas Cowboys' elite defense. Diggs may be "better" than Samuel overall, but not in the Week 15 fantasy rankings.

This represents just one example of many that can impact weekly rankings. Here's how the top 50 wide receivers stack up for the first round of the 2023 fantasy football playoffs.

Week 15 Fantasy Football WR Rankings

Week 15 WR rankings

1. CeeDee Lamb
2. Tyreek Hill
3. Deebo Samuel
4. Michael Pittman
5. Cooper Kupp
6. DK Metcalf
7. Amon-Ra St. Brown
8. AJ Brown
9. Stefon Diggs
10. Mike Evans
11. Ja'Marr Chase
12. Keenan Allen
13. Puka Nacua
14. Davante Adams
15. Chris Olave
16. Justin Jefferson
17. Brandon Aiyuk
18. Courtland Sutton
19. DeAndre Hopkins
20. DJ Moore
21. Garrett Wilson
22. Jaylen Waddle
23. Zay Flowers
24. Nico Collins
25. DeVonta Smith
26. Amari Cooper
27. Jayden Reed
28. Curtis Samuel
29. Calvin Ridley
30. Tyler Lockett
31. Noah Brown
32. Terry McLaurin
33. Rashee Rice
34. Drake London
35. Tee Higgins
36. Brandin Cooks
37. Odell Beckham Jr.
38. Diontae Johnson
39. Jakobi Meyers
40. Jordan Addison
41. Romeo Doubs
42. Jerry Jeudy
43. Marquise Brown
44. Elijah Moore
45. Adam Thielen
46. Gabe Davis
47. George Pickens
48. Chris Godwin
49. Demario Douglas
50. Khalil Shakir