If you're reading this, we'll assume you made your fantasy football playoffs. Congratulations. Now, it's time to win, and that starts with parsing through the top Week 15 waiver wire pickups and finding the right guys for your team. Because all that matters at this point is surviving and advancing, you can almost throw out the projected FAAB bids below. If you need an RB, then bid what you have to in order to get Rashaad Penny or Justin Jackson or Joshua Kelley. You don't want to spend as much on a WR like K.J. Osborn or Gabriel Davis, but you can certainly splurge on them, too. The same goes for a QB like Tua Tagovailoa or Jimmy Garoppolo. Sure, you'll want some of your budget or a high waiver claim if you advance to the next round, but you have to get there first.
As we'll do every week this season with the help of our friends at Fantasy Alarm, let's break down the top pickups and project how much of your FAAB budget you should bid on them.
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Week 15 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire QB pickups, streamers
Tua Tagovailoa (MIA). Tua won’t break the slate by any means, but he provides a decent floor most weeks. The Dolphins host the Jets after their bye, so they’ll be well rested. Around 250 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns are easily within reach for Tagovailoa, especially when you take into account the amount of running backs that are on the reserve/COVID list for Miami. It’s hard to imagine him coming up short in this matchup, so he’s likely the best streamer if you’re trying to make a backup plan in the event Lamar Jackson (ankle) or another QB doesn’t play this week. Projected FAAB Bid: 6-8% of total FAAB budget
Jimmy Garoppolo (SF). If you aren’t sold on Tagovailoa, then definitely roll with Jimmy G this week. Garoppolo has multiple touchdown passes in five of his past six games, and he’s flirted with 300 passing yards in each of his past two. He provides a similar safety net to Tua, and the 49ers will have a favorable matchup against the Falcons. Atlanta's defense is nothing worth writing home about, and given the weapons at Jimmy G’s disposal, he can most certainly carve them up and help you get to the semifinals in your league(s). Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-6%
Justin Fields (CHI). I have to say, I had no interest in streaming this guy last week, but if you were smarter and played him, then kudos to you. The passing numbers are still concerning, as his accuracy has not been great, but he runs enough to potentially offset the passing deficiencies. He threw multiple touchdowns against Green Bay for the first time in his career and added 74 rushing yards. I don’t trust him as much as Tagovailoa or Garoppolo, but a matchup against Minnesota is on tap. The Vikings have a decent pass rush, but they’re also prone to bleeding yards and points. Proj. FAAB Bid: 4%
WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide Receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 15 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire RB pickups, streamers
Rashaad Penny (SEA). Penny is likely the most sought after player on waivers this week. In Week 13 against the 49ers, he became more involved late in the game. That carried over to Week 14. He was only on the field for 35 snaps, but that was more than Alex Collins (14) and DeeJay Dallas (11). Penny rushed for over 130 yards and found the end zone twice. Seattle gets a tough matchup in Week 15 against the Rams, but if you can survive that matchup, Penny’s schedule wraps up nicely in Weeks 16 and 17 against the Bears and Lions. Projected FAAB Bid: 40% of total FAAB budget
Malcolm Brown (MIA). As it stands on Tuesday morning, Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed, and Phillip Lindsay are all on the reserve/COVID list. Lindsay landed there Monday afternoon while Gaskin and Ahmed tested positive last week. Brown (quad) returned to practice this week and is a player worth stashing, but don’t spend a ton of FAAB on him because it’s entirely possible the Dolphins get Gaskin back this week. On the off chance that none of the aforementioned running backs are available, then Brown could be in line for a nice workload if he were to return. Duke Johnson Jr. was called up to the active roster and he is also an option in deeper formats. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-8%
D’Ernest Johnson (CLE). Kareem Hunt (knee) is unlikely to play next week against the Raiders, so it will be the Nick Chubb show against Las Vegas. The Raiders allow over 120 rushing yards to running backs, and they gave up three rushing touchdowns on Sunday against the Chiefs. If Cleveland can comfortably put this game away then Johnson might see more touches in the second half. We know Cleveland likes to give Chubb a breather after longer runs, and we’ve seen touchdowns vultured from Chubb plenty of times. Johnson is not a player you should be locking into your lineup unless you’re desperate or play in a deeper league. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-7%
Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley (LAC). If you’re an Ekeler owner, you probably should look to grab one of these guys. We don’t have a lot of information regarding Ekeler’s ankle injury, but we do know the Bolts play Thursday against the Chiefs. I wouldn’t expect either of these guys to sniff the kind of workload or production Ekeler usually provides. Not to mention, the Chiefs defense has been playing much better over the past month or so.. However, if they still have potential value and should be stashed Proj. FAAB Bid: 5%
Craig Reynolds (DET). We all had a collective blanket pulled over our eyes on Sunday when Detroit didn’t lean on Jermar Jefferson (three snaps) or Godwin Igwebuike (28). We knew this wasn’t a desirable backfield, especially with D’Andre Swift (shoulder) and Jamaal Williams (reserve/COVID) inactive, but Reynolds came out of nowhere and played 29 snaps, running for 83 yards on 11 carries. I don’t love the matchup in the coming week against Arizona, but if Detroit is once again without an abundance of weapons, then Reynolds could be in line for 10-to-12 touches. Proj. FAAB Bid: 3-4%
WEEK 15 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide Receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 15 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire WR pickups, streamers
Russell Gage (ATL). Gage has emerged as the WR1 in this offense as Calvin Ridley has missed time to address his mental health issues and Kyle Pitts apparently only goes off in London. Gage is a fine flex option in PPR formats even though he's not the best candidate to find the end zone. He has 33 targets over his past four games, so there's a decent floor here. Projected FAAB Bid: 7-9% of total FAAB budget
K.J. Osborn (MIN). With Adam Thielen (ankle) out, Osborn found the end zone for the second straight game, and in that span he now has 16 targets. He's only caught seven, but the important thing is he’s scored in back-to-back games. If Thielen misses this week’s game against Chicago, Osborn warrants flex consideration, especially if he can take advantage of the volume and catch maybe 70 percent of his targets. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-9%
Gabriel Davis (BUF). Davis was a player I had on my radar to start the year, and it took until December for him to finally stop making me look like an idiot. He had a great camp and showcased chemistry with Josh Allen, and he’s now scored in each of his past two games. If Emmanuel Sanders misses time due to his knee injury, then Davis is in line for more snaps. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-8%
Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET). With the absences of T.J. Hockenson (hand), D’Andre Swift (shoulder), and Jamaal Williams (reserve/COVID), ARSB has quickly become one of Jared Goff’s most reliable targets the past couple weeks. The Lions will likely always be playing from behind against Arizona, so passing volume is there for the receivers. Josh Reynolds may see five-to-six targets each game, but St. Brown is getting many more looks. Proj. FAAB Bid: 7-8%
Donovan Peoples-Jones (CLE). In the absence of Odell Beckham Jr. we’ve seen DPJ take on more routes, but the production had not been there until Sunday. Against the Ravens, DPJ caught five-of-seven targets for 90 yards, running a route on over 95 percent of Baker Mayfield’s dropbacks. Say what you will about Mayfield’s talent, but if a wide receiver is going to run that many routes in an offense without too many reliable pass-catching options, then maybe he catches fire and becomes a WR2/WR3 option down the stretch. Proj. FAAB Bid: 5-6%
MORE WEEK 15: Top waiver pickups
Week 15 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire TE pickups, streamers
Austin Hooper (CLE). Hooper came through last week, catching five-of-seven targets for 30 yards and finding the end zone. While Travis Kelce may have had a quiet game against the Raiders last week, Las Vegas has still allowed nine touchdowns to tight ends, so don’t be surprised if Hooper finds the end zone again this week. Projected FAAB Bid: 5-6% of total FAAB budget
Brevin Jordan (HOU). It’s not great when you have to look to the Texans in Week 15, but Jordan did get seven targets last week despite splitting snaps with Jordan Akins. Jordan also scored. The Texans will face the Jaguars in Week 15, and while the game could be very ugly, there are decent streaming options in this matchup, especially Jordan at the tight end position. Proj. FAAB Bid: 3-4%
James O’Shaughnessy (JAC). O’Shaughnessy has 17 targets over his past three games, but he’s failed to find the end zone, turning those targets into just nine catches for 63 yards. But as mentioned in the Jordan section, this game features two terrible defenses, so there could be some fantasy production here. Proj. FAAB Bid: 3%
Week 15 Fantasy Football FAAB Advice: Waiver wire Defense pickups, streamers
As we always caution, you shouldn't spend more than one percent of your FAAB budget on a D/ST. Here are this week's potential streaming pickups:
- Miami Dolphins (vs. Jets)
- Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Washington)
- San Francisco 49ers (vs. Falcons)
- Minnesota Vikings (@ Bears)
- Cincinnati Bengals (@ Broncos)
- Houston Texans (@ Jaguars)