You did it. You made it to Week 15 and the fantasy football playoffs. If you’re reading a waiver wire article heading into the postseason then chances are you made it – or, you’re trying to avoid a last place punishment in your league. If you’re 3-11 with nothing to play for, maybe let the teams with a shot at the title have the RB this time? Grab some hot chocolate and watch the best Christmas movie there is – Die Hard.
It’s a Christmas movie and that’s that. I will die on this hill the same I will die on the hill that Matt Ryan is the best QB the Falcons have ever, and probably will ever have. Vick could run the ball and was fun to watch but his Falcons legacy fails in comparison to Ryan’s. Also Ryan > Flacco. Flacco was never elite. He is a blown coverage against the Broncos away from never winning the Super Bowl. I’m just like any other Falcons Fan; a little dead inside and ready to get hurt again.
With that said let’s get into the waivers adds from me and Mike, for Week 15 of the fantasy football season.
Quarterback
Taysom Hill, NO 57.4% Rostered – In just his second start this season Taysom Hill produced a top-5 fantasy football day. In just one week he has gone up 20% in roster percentage, and this may be your last chance to get this potential league winner on your bench. Unless you have Tom Brady on your team, go hard after Hill.
Carson Wentz, IND 43.7% Rostered – The Colts have the best running back in the game right now. Bill Bellicheck is coming to town, and I imagine him foaming at the mouth thinking of all the ways he plans on limiting JT. I like Carson to ball out in this game.
Tua Tagovailoa, MIA 38.1% Rostered – Tua has quietly played very good football of late. Unfortunately, he has only topped 300 yards passing once this year. However if a safe floor is what you need, Tua is coming off the bye against the Jets this week and seems like a lock for at least 200 yards and a pair of TDs.
Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 18.4% Rostered – Ben’s done it again. If you started him and watched the Steelers play this week, you are pretty unhappy for most of the game. So, this week if you start him again, don’t watch the game. Enjoy the seemingly improbable points that come your way.
Justin Fields CHI 15.8% Rostered – Justin Fields scored 15.8 points this week against the Green Bay Packers, but most of that came in the first half. Of all the potential roster additions here, Justin is the riskiest, but his ability to break off big plays might just pay off next week against the Vikings.
Running Back
Rashaad Penny, SEA 8.6% Rostered – He did it. He finally did it. Penny got the majority of the backfield work and made it through a full NFL game without an injury designation. Alex Collins was ineffective yet again and Penny balled out of control. 16 carries for 127 yards and 2 TDs to go along with 1 catch for 1 yard for 1 TD. The perfect receiving stat line. He gets the Rams, Bears, and Lions in the fantasy football playoffs. If you need a high upside running back you can’t do much better than Penny. Use that waiver priority or blow the rest of you FAAB.
Royce Freeman, HOU 0.7% Rostered – Boy that escalated quickly. Going from a former first round pick to the running back that was supposed to lead the backfield in Denver for years. The Texans have been a dumpster fire for most of the season and that doesn’t look to change with Burkhead potentially hurt and David Johnson still on the Covid-19 list. If you need a flyer then Freeman is worth a look as the only healthy RB currently on the Texans roster.
Ty Johnson, NYJ 26% Rostered – The Jets backfield is the definition of attrition with Carter and Coleman currently injured. The Jets also just lost Corey Davis and Elijah Moore to IR. The Jets gotta give their RB touches to somebody right? Maybe put him in your lineup if you’re desperate and just hope for the best. It’s the Holidays, anything can happen! (Disclaimer I am not responsible for you starting Jets players – and Michael Carter is potentially available to play this week, so be wary).
Wide Receiver
DeVante Parker, MIA 50.2% Rostered – DeVante made the most of his five targets, catching all five for 62 yards. Another week removed from his time on the IR, I like the chances that Miami works him in even more.
Russell Gage, ATL 45.2% Rostered – Over the last four weeks Gage is the target leader in Atlanta. Ryan will continue to throw him the ball, and he has shown enough play-making ability to be trusted with it. I consider him a low-end WR2/high-end Flex in fantasy football going forward.
K.J. Osborn, MIN 26.5% Rostered – Adam Thielen will most likely be out again versus the Bears. Osborn more than made up for the missing vet in his last game, catching three for 81 and a touchdown on eight targets. Start him with confidence.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET 10.9% Rostered – Amon-Ra has 12 targets in two straight games. This week they play the Arizona Cardinals who might jump out to a big lead. As Goffs’ favorite target, I like Amon-Ra to keep busy.
Tight End
Tyler Conklin, MIN 46.2% Rostered – Conklin only saw two targets this week. However, with Thielen still out there are still some targets to be spread around. I believe Cousins will find a way to get targets against the Bears this week.
Cole Kmet, CHI 23.7% Rostered – Kmet hasn’t had the best season, but the Bears are actively targetting him in the end zone. If he can clean up his drop issue a little bit he should be an every-week TD threat. He’ll have a chance to score this week if he can hold on.
Gerald Everett, SEA 13.8% Rostered – Russ loves getting the ball into Everett’s hands. There has been only one game since Week 10 that you have been mad starting Everett, and he still got 6 targets in that game. His roster percentage is way too low right now in fantasy football.
D/ST
Kansas City Chiefs 24.7% Rostered – The Chiefs defense has been on fire since Week 9, with their lowest scoring output being 9 points. Maybe stash them as they play the Chargers in Week 15, but they get the Steelers in Week 16. Big Ben isn’t what he used to be, and the Chiefs defense is way better than the Vikings. I mean, the Vikings just lost to the Lions, so it isn’t hard to do.
Los Angeles Chargers 49.8% Rostered – The Chargers defense looked great until about five minutes left in the 4th quarter against the Giants. They were up 37-7 and pulled all their starters. Two garbage time TDs really hurt the scoring for the Chargers defense. Stash them for Week 16 against the Texans. Houston makes everyone look like the Legion of Boom in their prime.
Kickers
Greg Zuerlein 40.7% Rostered – Zuerlein has been great the last two weeks and gets to play at home in a dome in Weeks 16 and 17. He scored 14 fantasy football points the last time he played against the Giants this year.
Dustin Hopkins 7.4% Rostered – Chargers have been putting up fantasy football points in bunches, and so has Hopkins. He gets the Chiefs, Texans, and the Broncos to finish out the fantasy season. Dome, Dome, and more Dome. No wind for this Chargers kicker the rest of the way.
Brett Maher 0.2% Rostered – The Saints got Kamara back this past week and the offense started rolling again. Granted, it was the Jets so that’s not really a challenge; but Kamara and Taysom Hill have the Saints ready to make some noise down the stretch. Weeks 16 and 17 are at home in the Dome. I like my kickers in domes and with the position so hard to predict, why not hedge your bets and take weather out of the equation. Imagine having to rely on Nick Folk and Tyler Bass last Monday in the 30-50 MPH winds. No thanks.
