If you are reading this, congratulations on making the fantasy football playoffs.
Since almost every league has entered the playoffs, this article will be shorter and more to the point, focusing on players who are most likely to help you win this week.
I will still cover some players in the watch list section for each position, but we are living in the now in the fantasy playoffs.
As a reminder, recommended adds are available in at least 60% of ESPN leagues, and the watch list consists of players worth monitoring.
I will not list recommended FAAB percentages for every player because that decision comes down to too many factors including league size, team weaknesses, and the aggressiveness of the other managers in your league.
That said, I will try to clarify when there is a player I am going big on in FAAB bidding.
Finally, I will not be ranking kickers and defenses because frankly I don’t care about them and want them to disappear from the game.
With those caveats out of the way, let’s get to it.
Best Quarterback Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
- Matthew Stafford
- Jameis Winston
Best Running Back Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
- Patrick Taylor
- Sincere McCormick
- Tank Bigsby
- Jaleel McLaughlin
- Isaiah Davis
- Tyler Allgeier (Handcuffs)
Best Wide Receiver Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
- Elijah Moore
- Xavier Legette
- Alec Pierce
- Jalen McMillan
- Josh Palmer
Best Tight End Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
- Stone Smartt
- Juwan Johnson
- Daniel Bellinger
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Best Quarterback Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
1. Matthew Stafford – Available in 61.9% of leagues
Stafford has now thrown multiple touchdowns in four straight games and six of seven with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp both healthy. He needs those passing touchdowns since he offers nothing as a runner, but the efficiency has been there with his top two receivers on the field. This week, he gets a 49ers defense that has defended the pass well overall this season but is struggling with injuries, specifically to Nick Bosa. Stafford also has a rough history against the 49ers, but pressure has played a big role in that. With his offensive line back healthy, Stafford has been pressured on only 28.6% of his dropbacks the past two weeks.
2. Jameis Winston – Available in 80.1% of leagues
I was wary of Winston last week, not listing him as a streaming option, but I am back in this week. Even though the overall performance was not great against the Steelers, Winston threw 41 more passes and is averaging 43 per game as a starter. The Chiefs have been more vulnerable than expected in the secondary in recent weeks. Justin Herbert did not have a big game, but they gave up 340 yards and 2 touchdowns to Aidan O’Connell in Week 13. They are 26th in yards per attempt allowed over the last five weeks.
Watch List: Playoff teams likely do not have to dig this deep, but there are reasons to like both Bryce Young and Cooper Rush playing against each other this week. That said, Young has looked better from an eye test perspective than a statistical perspective during his mini-breakout over the last three games…I will be playing Drake Maye in 2QB formats this week, and he is good enough and does enough with his legs to get there in any matchup. The Cardinals have not been a great spot for quarterbacks, though. They have allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to the position over the last five weeks.
Best Running Back Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
1. Patrick Taylor – Available in 96% of leagues
While the 49ers have left open the possibility Isaac Guerendo can play on Thursday night, it is very likely they are once again forced to dip into their depth. Next up on the depth chart is Taylor, though this is not an empty the FAAB budget situation like it was last week for Guerendo. First of all, we don’t know how long Guerendo will sit. The way the 49ers have handled the injury suggests he could be back in Week 16. Second, we are even less sure Taylor will be the lead back. The 49ers do have other options, notably Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Israel Abanikanda. That said, Taylor was the clear lead after Guerendo left the game – 20 snaps to 3 for Vaughn – and has actually been active at various points this season. If you need a starter this week, by all means, go and get Taylor, but it might just be a one week rental.
2. Sincere McCormick – Available in 88.8% of leagues
I would guess McCormick has been added in competitive leagues, but if you were not already convinced about his role, the Raiders once again kept Alexander Mattison out despite a week of limited practices and gave McCormick 93.8% of the running back carries. He also ran 10 routes and had 3 targets to 16 routes and 2 targets for Ameer Abdullah. The Falcons have not given up a ton of fantasy points to running backs this season, but they are not a particularly imposing matchup. The concern for McCormick is the attachment to the Raiders offense – especially if Desmond Ridder is starting – and the possibility the coaching staff pulls the rug on us from a usage perspective.
3. Tank Bigsby – Available in 64.4% of leagues
I am not super excited about attachment to the Jaguars offense, but Tank Bigsby earned 81.8% of the running back carries against the Titans, and it is unlikely a struggling Jets offense forces the Jaguars into enough of a negative game script to take Bigsby off the field. That said, this is not a great matchup. The Jets are sixth in yards per carry allowed on running back runs this season. They rank third over their last five games. Still, there is an opportunity here to throw some carries against the wall for a back who has had some explosive plays this season.
4. Jaleel McLaughlin – Available in 84.5% of leagues
We know you cannot trust the Broncos backfield this season. We learned the lesson with Audric Estime just a few weeks ago. A week after closing out a near win against the Chiefs, Estime played 23% of the snaps against the Falcons and has since been fazed out of the offense. McLaughlin had his moment before the bye, but it would not be a shock if the Broncos turn right back to Javonte Williams – who appears to be the most trustworthy in pass protection – this week. If he gets the work, though, McLaughlin is in a good spot against a Colts defense that has given up the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs this season.
5. Isaiah Davis – Available in 96.6% of leagues
I expressed some concern last week about Isaiah Davis’ expanding role should Breece Hall have to sit out a game and Braelon Allen take over as the starter. Well, we saw that play out. Allen played 35 snaps to Davis’ 33. Allen had 15 touches to Davis’ 13. Allen had 5 targets to Davis’ 6. Most importantly, Davis got the touchdown and the one snap in a goal-to-go situation. The Jaguars are a defense we want to attack, and their current offense is unlikely to put the Jets in a negative game script. That could mean both Allen and Davis get there for fantasy should Hall sit out again, but it is a risky situation.
6. Tyler Allgeier (Handcuffs) – Available in 62.3% of leagues
Allgeier has surprisingly fallen enough to be eligible for this column, although it is not that surprising since the Falcons have been giving a larger share of the work to Bijan Robinson as of late including around the goal line (Allgeier’s Week 14 touchdown notwithstanding). Still, Allgeier is a good player who would carry a ton of value if something happened to Robinson, so he is our stand in for all of the high-upside handcuffs this week. As a note, when I say handcuffs, I do not necessarily mean that you need to have the starter for these teams on your roster. You might prioritize your specific handcuffs just to ensure you have a starting option, but all of these guys are high-upside bench stashes.
- Trey Benson
- Blake Corum
- Ray Davis
- Kendre Miller
- Jaylen Wright
- Cam Akers
- Kimani Vidal (more on him below)
There are also lower tier guys in less certain situations or with injury questions like:
- Roschon Johnson
- Emanuel Wilson
- Dameon Pierce
- Tyler Goodson
- Will Shipley
- Jeremy McNichols
Watch List: Because we are focused on this week, I did not list Dynasty legends Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Israel Abanikanda, but with the way the 49ers’ backfield is going and Taylor’s lack of a track record, it would not be wild if one of them got a real shot at some point in the next couple of weeks…Kimani Vidal is not getting enough of the work to be a must add in the week-to-week fantasy playoffs, but he is basically in a timeshare with Gus Edwards at this point and should get a handful of carries each week…You are not interested in playing Jerome Ford right now, but he has forced his way into a timeshare in the Browns backfield…I heavily debated Sean Tucker going into the add list, but ultimately, I am not sure how much trust I can have in him even if Bucky Irving is forced to sit. Tucker was limited to 11 snaps in Week 14 and just 3 touches. His one big game did come when Rachaad White sat out, but he did all of that on just 38% of the snaps. We have no real evidence the Bucs want to give Tucker a big workload, so that makes him a very dangerous play even if Irving is out.
Best Wide Receiver Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
1. Elijah Moore – Available in 76.4% of leagues
Someone on Twitter asked me last week if I would rather Moore or Cedric Tillman the rest of the way. I said Tillman with the expectation he would return, but his concussion continues to (very worryingly) linger — sorry to that person. Moore did not have a big game in Week 14, seeing just 10.8% of the targets, but he has been the target on 20.1% of Jameis Winston‘s throws this season. More importantly, he is averaging 11.3 air yards per target and 11.2 yards per catch on those looks, much better than his usage with Deshaun Watson. Moore has run around 60% of his routes from the slot with Winston. The Chiefs are 29th in the league allowing 8.7 yards per target to slot receivers this season.
2. Xavier Legette – Available in 68.4% of leagues
Legette has 8 targets in each of the last two games. He has only caught 6 of them, which has to be better, but his line would have looked nicer against the Eagles if he hauled in a long catch right at the end of the game. And that was against the best receiver defense in the league. The Cowboys are healthier now, but they have allowed 8.9 yards per target to boundary receivers this season (26th) and were just lit up by Ja’Marr Chase.
3. Alec Pierce – Available in 87.1% of leagues
We will have to see about Josh Downs’ status for this week, but reports before the bye were not promising. Pierce has been targeted on 18.6% of his routes without Downs on the field compared to a 12.7% rate with Downs in the game. Downs has missed three games this season. Pierce has a 21.6% target share in those games with lines of 3-125-1, 5-56-1, and 2-16-1. The Broncos have been a good defense this season, but they were cooked by Raiders and Browns receivers in the two games before the bye.
4. Jalen McMillan – Available in 91.5% of leagues
I still think Sterling Shepard can do a job in PPR leagues, but it was nice to see McMillan’s role expand in Week 14. He had already been running a lot of routes – 80.2% of dropbacks since the bye – but the targets were finally there against the Raiders. He also produced with those targets, scoring twice to go along with 59 yards.
5. Josh Palmer – Available in 87.9% of leagues
This all goes away if Ladd McConkey can play this week, but I had Palmer in the column last week with the expectation he would have a massive role with McConkey out, and that is what happened. Palmer led the team with 9 targets which he turned in 6 catches for 78 yards. This week, the Chargers have a spectacular matchup against the Bucs. Unfortunately for Palmer, I think McConkey returns this week, which is why Palmer is not higher, but I did not want to leave him off the list entirely.
Watch List: With George Pickens almost certainly out this week, the impulse might be to add some Steelers receivers, but I would hope playoff teams have better options. First, Van Jefferson is the only receiver to run more than 51.7% of the routes, and he was targeted 1 time. Perhaps Mike Williams’ role continues to grow, but that takes a leap of faith. Second, the Eagles have allowed 6.7 yards per target to wide receivers this season, easily the best rate in the league…The Patriots are not in a great spot this week, and I just don’t think you can trust any of their receivers to get a consistent target share from game to game…The Broncos are in a similar spot behind Courtland Sutton…It looks like Rashod Bateman will play this week, but I am just not sure the volume will be there in a game the Ravens should win easily…Marquez Valdes–Scantling actually got the targets last week, but the quarterback situation in New Orleans makes him even tougher to trust…Brandin Cooks got a touchdown, but both he and Jalen Tolbert saw fewer targets than KaVontae Turpin…Ray-Ray McCloud’s target rate per route spiked to 33.3% against the Vikings, explaining his 11 targets. I doubt that happens again, but it is worth watching…I just can’t buy into Tim Patrick having a consistent target share given all the weapons the Lions have, but he has been pretty consistently running routes for several weeks.
Best Tight End Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 15
1. Stone Smartt – Available in 100% of leagues
With Will Dissly expected to miss at least this week if not more, Smartt steps into a role that has been productive. On Sunday night, Smartt ran a route on 80% of the dropbacks in the second half and saw 25% of the targets after halftime. He has a mint matchup this week against a Bucs defense that just allowed a combined 10 catches for 117 yards to Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer. The Bucs rank 30th for the year with 9.0 yards per target allowed to tight ends.
2. Juwan Johnson – Available in 86.1% of leagues
Johnson hit for us last week, but the Saints offense is in a tough spot with Derek Carr expected to miss weeks if not the rest of the season. The Saints were second to last in points per drive and 27th in yards per play with Carr out from Week 6 through Week 8. On the bright side, Johnson has run a route on nearly 80% of the dropbacks over the last two weeks, and the Saints do not have many options to target once whoever they end up starting at quarterback is forced to throw.
3. Daniel Bellinger – Available in 99.9% of leagues
We are digging very deep here for those who are in dire straits at the position. With Theo Johnson on injured reserve, Bellinger ran a route on 83.6% of New York’s dropbacks against the Saints and was targeted 7 times. The Ravens will very likely push the Giants into a pass-heavy game script, and Baltimore has struggled to defend tight ends this season. They rank 22nd in yards per target allowed to the position and 22nd in fantasy points allowed.
Watch List: With Rashod Bateman healthy, Isaiah Likely requires a leap of faith, one I am not particularly excited to make in a game the Ravens should easily control. He is very likely to run around half of the routes for Baltimore, and he could find the end zone. That is the bet you are making…You know what you are getting from Noah Gray, who is very likely to run around half the routes and see around 14% of the targets…Grant Calcaterra did run a route on 85.7% of the dropbacks against the Panthers and found the end zone, but his matchup against the Steelers is tough this week…It could have been a matchup thing, but Michael Mayer ran a route on 70.7% of Las Vegas’ dropbacks against the Bucs and saw 9 targets, 4 more than Brock Bowers. The matchup is not as good this week, and there is some quarterback uncertainty with Aidan O’Connell’s injury. Still, his usage is something to watch.
