Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: WR

Who do you think the league's best fantasy receiver has been over the last three weeks? It's not Andre Johnson, who caught two TDs on Monday night and now has back-to-back 140-yard games to his credit. Nor is it Wes Welker, who's caught seven or more balls in each of his last three games while hauling in three TD passes.

It's Welker's co-Patriot, Deion Branch.

Branch had an inauspicious start to the season while with the Seahawks, totaling 112 yards in four games while scoring just once. The Patriots acquired him via trade to fill the hole left by the departure of Randy Moss. Not only has he been better that Moss, but it's not even close.

Branch got off to a quick start, catching nine balls for 98 yards and a TD in his first game back with New England. After being limited by a hamstring injury for two weeks, he caught seven balls for 70 and 71 yards in his next two games, then caught fire with 328 yards and four TDs over the last three weeks.

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You have to start him at this point, even against a good Packers secondary. Tom Brady is at the top of his game right now, and it's elevating the stock of both Branch and Welker, making them great plays regardless of their opponent.

1. Roddy White, ATL at SEA
2. Reggie Wayne, IND vs. JAC
3. Marques Colston, NO at BAL
4. Calvin Johnson, DET at TB
5. Greg Jennings, GB at NE
6. Andre Johnson, HOU at TEN
7. Hakeem Nicks, NYG vs. PHI
8. Kenny Britt, TEN vs. HOU
9. Miles Austin, DAL vs. WAS
10. Pierre Garcon, IND vs. JAC
11. DeSean Jackson, PHI at NYG
12. Deion Branch, NE vs. GB
13. Brandon Lloyd, DEN at OAK
14. Dwayne Bowe, KC at STL
15. Wes Welker, NE vs. GB
16. Mike Wallace, PIT vs. NYJ
17. Vincent Jackson, SD vs. SF
18. Mike Williams, TB vs. DET
19. Steve Johnson, BUF at MIA
20. Brandon Marshall, MIA vs. BUF
21. Chad Ochocinco, CIN vs. CLE
22. Santana Moss, WAS at DAL
23. Lance Moore, NO at BAL
24. Jeremy Maclin, PHI at NYG
25. Mike Williams, SEA vs. ATL
26. Santonio Holmes, NYJ at PIT
27. Terrell Owens, CIN vs. CLE
28. Anthony Armstrong, WAS at DAL
29. Sidney Rice, MIN vs. CHI
30. Malcom Floyd, SD vs. SF
31. Nate Washington, TEN vs. HOU
32. Mohamed Massaquoi, CLE at CIN
33. Johnny Knox, CHI at MIN
34. Brandon Gibson, STL vs. KC
35. Austin Collie, IND vs. JAC
36. Arrelious Benn, TB vs. DET
37. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI at CAR
38. Davone Bess, MIA vs. BUF
39. Louis Murphy, OAK vs. DEN
40. Roy Williams, DAL vs. WAS
41. Hines Ward, PIT vs. NYJ
42. Jacoby Ford, OAK vs. DEN
43. Laurent Robinson, STL vs. KC
44. Michael Jenkins, ATL at SEA
45. Derrick Mason, BAL vs. NO
46. Ruvell Martin, SEA vs. ATL
47. Randy Moss, TEN vs. HOU
48. Mike Sims-Walker, JAC at IND
49. Robert Meachem, NO at BAL
50. Sam Hurd, DAL vs. WAS
51. Brian Robiskie, CLE at CIN
52. Earl Bennett, CHI at MIN
53. Danny Amendola, STL vs. KC
54. James Jones, GB at NE
55. Anquan Boldin, BAL vs. NO
56. Jacoby Jones, HOU at TEN
57. Eddie Royal, DEN at OAK
58. Nate Burleson, DET at TB
59. Steve Smith, CAR vs. ARI
60. Mario Manningham, NYG vs. PHI
61. Donald Driver, GB at NE
62. Michael Crabtree, SF at SD
63. Devery Henderson, NO at BAL
64. Danario Alexander, STL vs. KC
65. Jordy Nelson, GB at NE
66. Ben Obomanu, SEA vs. ATL
67. Joshua Cribbs, CLE at CIN
68. Blair White, IND vs. JAC
69. Braylon Edwards, NYJ at PIT
70. David Nelson, BUF at MIA
71. Dexter McCluster, KC at STL
72. Jason Avant, PHI at NYG
73. Jordan Shipley, CIN vs. CLE
74. David Gettis, CAR vs. ARI
75. Derek Hagan, NYG vs. PHI
76. Jabar Gaffney, DEN at OAK
77. Devin Hester, CHI at MIN
78. Mike Thomas, JAC at IND
79. Percy Harvin, MIN vs. CHI
80. Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ at PIT
81. Emmanuel Sanders, PIT vs. NYJ
82. Brandon LaFell, CAR vs. ARI
83. Josh Morgan, SF at SD
84. Kevin Walter, HOU at TEN
85. Early Doucet, ARI at CAR
86. Donald Jones, BUF at MIA
87. Steve Breaston, ARI at CAR
88. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, BAL vs. NO

• Hakeem Nicks made his well-anticipated return to the Giants lineup on Monday, catching seven balls for 96 yards and a TD. With Steve Smith going down for the count, Nicks should see a large number of targets in each game for the rest of the season, starting with Week 15 against the Eagles. It feels like a game that might take 35-40 points to win, so the Giants likely won't have the luxury of relying on the running game as they have in recent weeks. Expect top ten numbers from Nicks as he receives double-digit targets from Eli Manning.

• Kenny Britt got back int he swing of things with a four-catch, 39-yard performance in Week 14. Kerry Collins targeted tight ends in the red zone in that game, but with an extended week to prepare for the Week 15 game against the Texans, Britt should be close to 100 percent, leading me to believe he'll return to catching TDs. Remember, he had scores in four straight games before his huge outburst against the Eagles. The next game, he suffered his injury. I expect him back on a scoring binge against the league's worst secondary, and it's enough to declare him a top ten option this week.

• Sidney Rice is another guy that has recently returned from injury, and after two mediocre outings to start his season, he's posted five catches in each of his last two games, scoring twice in Week 13 while topping 100 yards. He had just 60 yards against the Giants, and now he faces the prospect of having Joe Webb at quarterback with both Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson hurt. Things could get ugly for the Viking offense, but when forced to throw, Webb is likely to chuck it in Rice's direction and pray for the best. Expect a lot of targets for Rice, who should be able to turn them into a solid WR3 performance.

• Derrick Mason and Anquan Boldin have traded fantasy value of late, and it was Mason's turn to shine on Monday with two TDs. However, the team moves from facing fantasy's worst pass defense to fantasy's best. The Saints are second in the league at limiting yards to receivers and tops in the league at keeping them out of the end zone. Without a clear No. 1 guy in Baltimore, can you start either? I don't think so, and no Ravens receivers crack the top 40 this week. They're just too unpredictable, something that could be a death knoll to fantasy teams in the playoffs.