13 December 2023 • by Bryan Oldham
Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’re likely competing for a Fantasy Football championship. Otherwise, if you’re out of the playoffs, congratulations on gaining the edge to be an agent of chaos in your league.
Some moves this week are lottery tickets, some are injury replacements, and others are important bench pieces. Whether you’re in the hunt or playing spoilers, here are our favorite waiver pickups for Week 15
We should caveat here: while these guys are often listed as viable pickups for multiple weeks, you can also view our QB recommendations as synonymous with streaming recommendations.
He’s obviously not Joe Burrow, but Browning is keeping the Bengals competitive. 5 TDs in 2 games is impressive, and he’s eclipsed 275 yards in his last two contests. With Minnesota on the docket this week, plus a full stable of weapons at his disposal, Browning has QB1 upside.
Bro Flacco. The everlasting QB. Ole reliable. 2012 Super Bowl MVP. Flacco has looked surprisingly awesome with the Browns, especially for a guy the team plucked off the streets 3 weeks ago. Because he’s a veteran, it seems like the Browns are more than comfortable letting him sling the rock, and he’s without a doubt the best option Cleveland has. The tune of 311 yards and 3 TDs last week is plenty to inspire confidence. He’s a solid replacement for Herbert if you just lost him to the finger injury
Maybe, just maybe, there’s something brewing in New York? Wilson looked like a man unleashed in Week 14. 301 yards and 2 TDs against the Texans gave us a brief glimpse into the player Wilson might be. He’s an emergency type of play, but sometimes it’s fun to roll the dice when you’re in a dire situation
Though McKinnon took a backseat in volume to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, McKinnon has the passing down work. In the Kansas City offense, that’s always going to be more valuable. McKinnon will still be a fine depth piece, even if Pacheco returns this week
Alexander Mattison is injured, and Ty Chandler is the next man up. Chandler already had a share of the workload, with 15 opportunities in Week 14. A lot of that came following Mattison’s exit, but Chandler is going to be leaned on heavily. Now that Nick Mullens is the starter in Minnesota, expect Chandler to see a healthy dose of carries and targets.
Now a few weeks removed from his injury, Foreman has regained clear control of the Chicago backfield. 77 scoreless yards, done with 2 catches and 11 carries, saw Foreman show a little bit of everything. He runs angry, and he’s a lead back on a team that doesn’t have another good option in the backfield. Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert have both been lackluster, so Foreman should carry the lion’s share and more..
Here we go again! Unfortunately, Tank Dell is done for the year and now Nico Collins is banged up, which leaves Noah Brown as the de facto WR1. Though C.J. Stroud did enter protocol, I’ll take the shot on Brown, even if it’s for Week 16. Monitor Stroud’s status and if he is full go for Sunday, feel comfortable firing up Noah Brown.
Week 14 bye weeks should be outlawed, yet here we are. With the bye immediately ahead of fantasy playoffs, players may have parted ways with Samuel to make room for a win-and-in scenario. Samuel has had 13 catches over the last two weeks, and Sam Howell is a gunslinger in the truest sense. He’s the definition of a boom/bust candidate, but sometimes you have to take a risk to get the win. .
Even though he missed 4 weeks with an injury, Zay Jones is now the benefactor of Christian Kirk’s absense. He saw 14 targets in Week 14. Though it didn’t amount to much, that volume at this point in the season is hard to find. He might be more of a stash for Week 16, given Baltimore is on tap this week, but are followed up by the soft Tampa Bay secondary
Kraft is the TE1 for Jordan Love. He’s had one TE1 finish in a couple of starts in wake of Luke Musgrave hitting IR, and he caught all of his targets on Monday night. His volume is nice for the position, and he’s got TD upside.
Baker Mayfield’s safety blanket, Otton seems to be getting a lot of red zone targets. That, combined with his extremely generous fantasy playoff schedule in terms of TE defenses, Otton is a fine play if you’re streaming.
2 tuddys saw Henry have another pop game on Thursday Night Football. In a surprisingly competitive game, Bailey Zappe is a huge fan. Henry had a vintage performance, and if Demario Douglas stays banged up, Henry is the top option.
Anyone you think we missed? Who are you spending your top waiver priority on this week? Sound off on social media and let us know!
Want more fantasy football advice from Rival Fantasy Sports? Subscribe to our YouTube for new content + live shows, including our weekly start/sit advice show, live streaming every Sunday at 11:30am est. Prefer audio only? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Follow us on social for all the latest app updates, promos and up to the minute news in sports! Twitter – Instagram – TikTok