Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Fantasy Football Playoffs! Congratulations to everyone who is still alive in their quest to capture a fantasy championship and all of the glory that comes with it. It has been a grind in many ways this season, and that will not change moving forward. However, some of the strategies will in terms of how to best utilize roster spots. The playoffs open the door to tactics such as blocking your opponent, prioritizing RB handcuffs and much more when it comes to making the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups. Playing the matchups week-to-week is crucial too. Sometimes, it may not be best to “dance with the ones who brought you”.
While the playoffs bring about a unique set of strategies to deploy when warranted, managers are still advised to prioritize situations, snap counts, workload and target shares over a one-week scoring output when putting in waiver claims. Keep in mind that these stats and trends will better predict sustainable success. Without further ado, here are our top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 15.
Note: Players must be owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Ownership percentages will reflect their status on Tuesday mornings ahead of standard waiver processing.
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Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (19.7%)
The Cleveland Browns may not be any good, but Jameis Winston has to be on the radar when it comes to fantasy football waiver wire pickups ahead of the playoffs. Yes, every play is an adventure with Winston, much like every interview he gives. That said, the Browns rank 30th in the NFL in team rushing yards oper game this season. The byproduct. ofthis is Winston attempting 41+ passes in five of his six starts to date. Attempts lead to opportunity, and Winston certainly can light up the stat sheet. You may have to eat a few horrendous interceptions in the process, but he does have upside. He will face Kansas City and Cincinnati defenses in the next two weeks that are allowing the tenth and third most fantasy points, respectively, to opposing QBs.
MORE: NFL Power Rankings Week 15 – Many Starting Vacation Plans
As we enter the final month of the season, many teams are already resigned to the fact that they won’t be making the NFL Playoffs. How will this impact our power rankings? Click through the latest edition of the FlurrySports NFL Power Rankings to see where your team stands heading into Week 15!
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Braelon Allen, New York Jets (48.3%)
With the New York Jets now officially eliminated from playoff contention, it will be interesting to see how they handle the Breece Hall injury situation. Hall missed the team’s Week 14 contest with a knee issue. On the surface, there really doesn’t seem to be any point in rushing him back to play out the string in a lost season. Given this, Braelon Allen could prove to be one of the more impactful fantasy football waiver wire pickups down the stretch. He led the Jets’ backfield last Sunday and was involved both as a runner and pass-catcher.
Speaking of being involved in both phases of the game, the same can be said of Isaiah Davis (3.4%). He played an identical 53% of the offensive snaps and actually outscored Allen in fantasy by virtue of finding the end zone. Allen remains the preferred option, but Davis should also be considered when making waiver pickups this week, especially in deeper leagues.
Sincere McCormick, Las Vegas Raiders (11.3%)
The Las Vegas Raiders backfield is in a similar situation to that of the Jets. Sure, the team may get Alexander Mattison and Zamir White back from injury this coming week. However, why would a tanking team want to burn RB touches at this point in the season on players who aren’t any good? This is especially true for Mattison given that he is on an expiring contract. The Raiders might opt to continue riding with Sincere McCormick, who has played quite well the last few weeks. Las Vegas hasn’t been able to run the ball all year, but McCormick somehow has averaged over five yards per carry in each of the last two weeks while earning double-digit touches.
Patrick Taylor Jr., San Francisco 49ers (4.1%)
The war of attrition continues in the San Francisco 49ers backfield. Isaac Guerendo was the star of last week’s fantasy football waiver wire pickups column and he did not disappoint. Unfortunately, now he too has an injury designation and is facing a short turnaround with the Niners playing on Thursday night in Week 15. As a result, Patrick Taylor Jr. becomes a commodity worth adding as an insurance policy if nothing else. He played well enough after Guerendo exited this past Sunday and even found the end zone for a rushing score. Given how Kyle Shanahan deploys RBs, Taylor will perceivable have start-worthy value should Guerendo miss time.
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WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers (38.7%)
Rare is the opportunity that a team’s WR1 is available in over 60% of leagues the same week that the Fantasy Football Playoffs commence. Yet, that is exactly the scenario we have with Adam Thielen and the Carolina Panthers. Of course, Xavier Legette (31.5%) is the young gun that the Panthers hope will lead their receiving corps for years to come. At present, however, it is Thielen who is the most reliable target and thus the security blanket for an improved Bryce Young.
Best of all, two of Carolina’s next three games come against teams ranked in the bottom ten as far as PPR points allowed to opposing receivers. Thielen should be the top priority on your fantasy football waiver wire pickups shopping list this week if he is available in your league.
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8.5%)
With Chris Godwin lost for the season, it was only a matter of time before another Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver stepped up alongside Mike Evans. In Week 14, rookie Jalen McMillan finally emerged as many fantasy managers hoped he would. He saw seven targets in the Bucs’ win, tying the second-most he has seen in a game all season. The difference this time is that he finally did damage with those targets, catching four of them for 59 yards and two touchdowns. While we aren’t expecting that kind of scoring production to continue, McMillan is widely available and could be added to strengthen WR depth ahead of the fantasy playoffs.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers (48.2%)
After largely wallowing in the fantasy football doldrums for the past couple of seasons thanks to poor QB play, Pat Freiermuth has been resurrected by one Russell Wilson. After finding the end zone for the third time in the last five games and once again posting a double-digit PPR point total, Freiermuth is the best option amongst TE fantasy football waiver wire pickups ahead of the playoffs. Adding to his value is the fact that George Pickens appears likely to miss his second straight game due to injury. This will once again open up more targets for all other pass-catchers.
Along with Freiermuth, managers might wish to consider adding wideout Van Jefferson (0.5%) given his high percentage of snaps played in Pickens’ absence last week.
Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs (12.2%)
Noah Gray presents a more widely available option at TE for fantasy football waiver wire pickups ahead of Week 15. Travis Kelce may still be TE1 for the Kansas City Chiefs, but Gray’s involvement in the offense is undeniable at this point. He has seen at least five targets in three of the last four games and now has four consecutive outings with exactly four receptions. The fact that he also found the end zone twice in back-to-back games last month shows that he can exceed expectations sometimes as well. If nothing else, Gray makes for an appealing TE insurance policy in deeper leagues where quality pickups may be hard to come by at fantasy’s shallowest position.
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