It’s officially the first week of the fantasy playoffs! If you’re reading this, congratulations on making the playoffs. There have been plenty of injuries throughout the season, leaving your Sunday mornings with nothing but stress. This is why you will need to work the fantasy football waiver wire to grab high-upside players to help fill these empty spots and reduce the Sunday (and Saturday) morning pre-kickoff panic.
It is time to drop those guys you’ve been stashing for weeks that won’t make an impact and start considering other options that have upside to help your team advance to the next round of the playoffs. Here are some Week 15 fantasy football waiver wire pickups that could help secure the win.
Players must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the Week 15 fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Monday evening.
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (57.4%)
Taysom Hill certainly hasn’t made an impact throwing the ball at all through two games, totaling two touchdowns and four interceptions, but his upside as a running quarterback is very high. At this point in the season, you want quarterbacks with high upside to potentially win your playoff matchup. Hill could very easily be that guy. The Saints face TB, MIA and CAR, which are all solid matchups for him to get into a groove early and hopefully score points by passing the ball as well.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears (15.9%)
The rookie quarterback has not been great in his first season, but he has seemed to figure it out somewhat the last few starts. Justin Fields has scored more than 18 fantasy points in three of his last four starts and also offers rushing upside, much like Taysom Hill. The Bears offense has been a disaster all year long, but they face teams like MIN and SEA in the next two matchups, who have both been very bad about opposing quarterbacks this season. Fields should be able to capitalize on that.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks (8.9%)
Despite Alex Collins normally being the go-to option in the backfield, Rashaad Penny certainly made a case to be considered. He carried the ball 16 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns last week against the miserable Texans while Collins only accumulated 16 yards on seven carries. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll hasn’t committed to naming Penny the starter despite his performance, but he should be a top fantasy football waiver wire pickup this week nonetheless. Collins will likely operate as the goal-line back moving forward, but Penny offers much more as an all-around back.
Jeff Wilson Jr., San Francisco 49ers (44.3%)
Jeff Wilson Jr. disappointed his fantasy managers last week, scoring only 5.6 fantasy points but the 49ers’ only rushing touchdown of the day was scored by wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Wilson’s value heavily depends on Elijah Mitchell’s health for this week, but the 49ers are very banged up right now and we’ve seen Wilson Jr. operate as the lead back many times before and post good fantasy numbers. San Francisco faces miserable defenses in ATL, TEN and HOU through their next three games, so Wilson will have prime playoff matchups if he starts.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (24.1%)
After his zero-point dud on only one target two weeks ago, Rashod Bateman made up for it with his best game of the season last week. He caught seven of eight targets for 103 yards, totaling 17.3 fantasy points. If Lamar Jackson isn’t able to suit up next week, Bateman could be utilized more, because it seems that Tyler Huntley throws the ball more often and has more options outside of the top two. Baltimore faces GB, CIN and LAR, which won’t be friendly matchups by any means, but if they’re playing from behind, Bateman will see targets.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (10.9%)
I banged the Amon-Ra St. Brown gavel early in the season, and it seems he’s finally being utilized consistently in the underwhelming Detroit offense. He’s been targeted 12 times in back-to-back games and has surpassed 15 fantasy points in each. Detroit has nothing to play for at this point, so they may just try to get their young guys more comfortable and have Jared Goff keep on throwing to St. Brown. He’s seen pretty consistent targets all season long, but he just recently found the end zone and double-digit targets, so the upside and volume is there.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns (38.1%)
With both David Njoku and Harrison Bryant sidelined, Austin Hooper could be a solid fantasy tight end for the playoffs. He isn’t splashy by any means and won’t give you insane numbers, but he’s somewhat consistent. He caught five of seven targets for 30 yards and a touchdown last week and gets to face LV and GB in the next two weeks. Baker Mayfield hasn’t looked good for the majority of the season, which could limit the value for Hooper, but he’s caught three touchdowns on the year and is definitely their go-to red zone option outside of the running game.
Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington Football Team (15.6%)
Ricky Seals-Jones dropped the ball last week for his fantasy managers, scoring 1.8 points, catching only one of four targets. Washington struggled mightily last week against Dallas and, with Logan Thomas out, you’d think Seals-Jones would’ve scored more. The offense runs through Terry McLaurin and the tight end position, and they get to face PHI and DAL in the next two. Philadelphia allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. We’ve seen how Dallas limited him last week but, in the first round of the playoffs, this could be a solid play against a very bad Philadelphia defense.
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