The fantasy football playoffs are here, so it’s time to think only about what helps your team, and nothing else… well, unless you want to smartly block an opponent from the only healthy quarterback left. With the injuries to Josh Jacobs, Alexander Mattison, Nico Collins and more, we have a few more options in the Week 15 waivers than in previous weeks.
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HEADS UP
- Players must be under 60% rostered on Yahoo
- Listed in order of preference — I’ll often prioritize potential upside over immediate middling production
- No FAB suggestions: It varies wildly by league tendencies and always relative (ex: if you lost your RB1 to injury and there is a clear backup, you’re going to be more aggressive)
- Streaming QB and TE are grouped together — weekly ranking can change once projections/ranks run — DST could shift a bit too
STREAMING QUARTERBACKS
(With Remaining Schedules)
- Matthew Stafford, LAR — WSH, NO, NYG
- Jake Browning, CIN — MIN, PIT, KC
- Joe Flacco, CLE — CHI, HOU, NYJ
- Baker Mayfield, TB — GB, JAX, NO
- Gardner Minshew, IND — PIT, ATL, LV
- Tommy DeVito, NYG — NO, PHI, LAR
- Derek Carr, NO — NYG, LAR, TB
Emojis and Acronyms to Know
- 😤 = I Tried to Tell Ya — players included for several weeks (not much more to add if you don’t want them)
- 🔍 = Check if Dropped — players whose managers might have cut for other need or impatient
- 🫡 = Backup/Next Man Up — players who have almost no value but starter+ upside if injury ahead of them
- RBTouch% — RB touch percentage — percent of team total RB touches that player had
- TmTGT% — Team target percentage — percent of team total targets going to that player
- GTG and GL — Goal-to-Go (inside the 10-yard line) and Goal-Line (inside the 5-yard line)
- TmAirYD% — Team Air Yard percentage — percent of team total air yards going to that player
WAIVER WIRE RUNNING BACK RANKS
NOTE: Given it’s playoff time, these are still on pure short-term upside. I will follow with a separate list of if picking players up for hope of value for Weeks 15-17 — the first list ASSUMES Alexander Mattison, Josh Jacobs, Isiah Pacheco and Brian Robinson are OUT for Week 15.
Ty Chandler, MIN — 🔍 If Alexander Mattison is out, Chandler is at least Top 25 on the volume and his upside, even in a struggling offense.Zamir White, LV — White hasn’t shown much in the NFL, but with Josh Jacobs out, he’s a volume play. I’d caution to remember Joshua Kelley as the Chargers lead to temper excitement.D’Onta Foreman, CHI — 🔍 The Bears did what I talked about on the All in Football pod… stuck with the one who performed the best this year.Antonio Gibson, WSH — If Brian Robinson can’t go (hurt before the bye), Gibson would be in the RB2/3 conversation, as he was already holding an RB3 floor with his receiving work.Jerick McKinnon, KC — I said I would go McKinnon over Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and that sentiment remains given the passing game upside, use in GTG situations, and the fact that he still has some usability if Isiah Pacheco returns.Kareem Hunt, CLE — 🔍 Right at 60%, but Hunt was already worth starting in deeper leagues, and if Jerome Ford (hand) is out, Hunt would be in the RB2 conversation. Tuesday morning update — moved Hunt down to here with news that Ford’s X-rays came back negative.Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC — Only an RB2/3 if Pacheco isn’t back.Keaton Mitchell, BAL — Committee, but the most upside of anyone there (outside Gus Edwards running one in).Rico Dowdle, DAL — Not just next man up; now Dowdle is in a timeshare with the valuable GTG touches.Chris Rodriguez, WSH — If no Brian Robinson, deeper league play for carries and a hopeful GTG touchdown run.Chase Brown, CIN — The Bengals are contenders, so they won’t switch to Brown (evaluate for 2024) completely… yet. But Brown has deep-league value and high potential if Joe Mixon were to get hurt.Pierre Strong, CLE — If Ford is out, deep-league and next man up stash.Ameer Abdullah, LV — Should get an Antonio Gibson-like role (when Robinson is healthy) with no Josh Jacobs, but this offense is woeful.Tyler Allgeier, ATL — 😤Tyjae Spears, TEN — 😤Jamaal Williams, NO — 🫡Jordan Mason, SF — 🫡 Until Elijah Mitchell returns.Roschon Johnson, CHI — Second in snaps and third in RBTouch% (5.6). Foreman is the guy.Miles Sanders, CAR — 🫡Khalil Herbert, CHI — 🫡 If something happened to Foreman, as Herbert was third in snaps.Kenneth Gainwell, PHI — 🫡Latavius Murray, BUF — 🫡D’Ernest Johnson, JAX — 🫡Royce Freeman, LAR — 🫡Samaje Perine, DEN — 🫡Matt Breida, NYG — 🫡Joshua Kelley, LAC — 🫡Michael Carter, ARI — 🫡Waiver Ranks for Weeks 15-17
D’Onta Foreman, CHIKeaton Mitchell, BALRico Dowdle, DALAntonio Gibson, WSHKareem Hunt, CLEJerick McKinnon, KCChase Brown, CINTy Chandler, MINTyler Allgeier, ATLTyjae Spears, TENThen the “Next Man Up” group and other fliers/stashesWAIVER WIRE WIDE RECEIVER RANKS
Noah Brown, HOU — 😤Odell Beckham, BAL — Now has 10.5+ points in four of his past five games, and Week 12 (4.9) came with Beckham getting banged up.Joshua Palmer, LAC — Palmer could return this week, which partly stinks because now it’s Easton Stick at QB. Still, Palmer is the best No. 2 option the Chargers have, which makes him startable in some leagues.Elijah Moore, CLE — 😤Curtis Samuel, WSH — 😤Michael Wilson, ARI — 🔍 Flashed his ability and upside earlier this year. If Wilson finally returns, he’d be in play as a WR4 with the ceiling to become the best Cardinals receiver.Demario Douglas, NE — 🔍 Would be my top Patriots option… if he can ever return from injury.Rashid Shaheed, NO — 🔍 Reports have Shaheed possibly returning against the Giants.Parker Washington, JAX — Filling the Christian Kirk role, which uses Washington’s ability in the short-to-intermediate game and getting separation. While he’s third in routes, the matchup this week leans to Washington having more value than Zay Jones.Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA — 😤DeVante Parker, NE — If Douglas doesn’t play, Parker returning would put him in the WR4 upside/risk conversation. If Douglas is back, Parker is more in the WR4/5 range.Jonathan Mingo, CAR — Good: 38 targets in the past five games. Bad: 16-177-0 in those contests.Zay Jones, JAX — Look for matchups where Trevor Lawrence can air it out more, but 1) that’s not this week and 2) Lawrence’s ankle needs to be closer to 100% to get that deep-ball drive.Wan’Dale Robinson, NYG — Darren Waller’s return hurts the potential volume, but as a half/full-PPR option, Robinson is a deep-league possibility.Quentin Johnston, LAC — No real interest unless Palmer can’t return, and even then, no more than a Hail Mary play.JuJu Smith-Schuster, NE — If — and big if — Douglas and Parker are out, then JJSS is a decent WR4 gamble, but that’s the only scenario.K.J. Osborn, MIN — Only if Justin Jefferson is out, but it sounds like he should play in Week 15.Xavier Hutchinson, HOU — If Nico Collins is out, I lean toward Hutchinson since the Texans need someone to get open quicker as a complement to Noah Brown, and that’s not Robert Woods. And while John Metchie is a great story, he hasn’t been able to get going in the NFL.Xavier Gipson, NYJ — Deep league, desperation option, but Gipson gets some Deebo Samuel-like work for the Jets.MEH 😒
STREAMING TIGHT ENDS
STREAMING DST
Week 15
- IND vs PIT
- ATL at CAR
- LAC at LV
- CIN vs MIN
- LAR vs WSH
- DEN at DET
Week 16
- DEN vs NE
- CIN at PIT
- WSH at NYJ
- LAR vs NO
- SEA at TEN
- IND at ATL
Week 17
- DEN vs LAC
- SEA vs PIT
- LAR at NYG
- TB vs NO
- ATL at CHI

GO DEEPER
Fantasy Football Rankings Week 15: Sleepers, projections, starts, sits | Antonio Gibson, Zay Flowers and more
(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
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