Fantasy Football Week 15: Working the Waiver Wire to Win Your League's Playoffs

I take it that you have made it this far.

If your fantasy team is out of the playoffs and you're still grinding away, good for you. That's how you gain experience as well as take notice of players with an eye towards next season.

But otherwise, you're reading this because you've still got something to play for.

There is not much time left. I would hope that your league does not play into Week 17. That can get really messy.

Without knowing what teams will clinch playoff berths at what time, it is extremely difficult to plan for Week 17 now. So, we are only going to worry about Weeks 15 and 16 today.

What does not matter right now is how you got here. It doesn't matter if you steamrolled your league all season or if you just limped into the playoffs on the wildest and luckiest of plays.

All that matters is winning the next two weeks. If your margin of victory is due to your kicker scoring 20-plus points in Weeks 15 and 16, so what? It won't say that anywhere on the trophy. Well, unless your league is pretty awesome.

Your objective is also slightly different. During the regular season, your job is to score the most points you can for the entire season. That's how you win. Just keep scoring, and hope that the "luck factor" evens itself out.

But in the playoffs, your job is to defeat your opponent. That is all there is to it.

Now that you know who your playoff opponent is (and you can easily determine who you might face in Week 16), you can try to play a bit of fantasy defense. If your opponent(s) looks like they have a need or are likely to make a waiver claim, you should be attempting to make those moves before they can.

Assume that you are playing against a team that has Greg Jennings. Your team is stacked at WR. You might bench a Top 10 WR this week.

But, Donald Driver and/or James Jones are on the waiver wire. The team that has Jennings doesn't have a clear replacement for him, so you should absolutely try to claim as many of the best WRs as is practical.

Did your opponent start the Denver D/ST against the Bears in Week 14, and the Broncos are the only D/ST on their roster? The Broncos play the Patriots this week, so it's probably not a good idea to start the Broncos D/ST.

Even if you don't need a D/ST, you better be out there on the waiver wire trying to claim any D/STs that your opponent could use against you.

You do want to be practical. Don't cut anybody that your opponent could use against you. But, that's really all you have to worry about (unless it's a keeper league) at this point.

If that means cutting your backup QB, TE or your 5th RB or WR, so what? If Tom Brady goes down, is Andy Dalton really going to make you feel better? Or be that much better than a similar option available on the waiver wire?

Did you get all that? If not, feel free to start back at the beginning. Otherwise, it's onto the pickups for Week 15.

QB

Jake Locker (@ IND, vs. JAC)

It looks like Locker will get the start in Week 15. Is starting a rookie QB in the fantasy playoffs asking for trouble? Absolutely. But, Locker has looked very good in his two stretches of extended playing time.

Blaine Gabbert is the only QB that hasn't found fantasy success vs. the Colts. The Jaguars haven't been much better, except against the Colts and Buccaneers.

Carson Palmer (vs. DET, @ KC)

Most owners are probably bailing out on Palmer right now. But, he has two positive matchups coming up. And Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore seem on track to return in Week 15.

We've seen Palmer have success this season, and adding some speed back into the Raiders offense could help quite a bit.

T.J. Yates (vs. CAR, @ IND)

Yates isn't exactly Cam Newton, but he gets the Panthers and Colts during the fantasy playoffs.

Unless Arian Foster and Ben Tate manage to score every TD on the ground, Yates is going to score some fantasy points with those matchups.

And there's even a chance that Andre Johnson returns in Week 15. 

RB

Felix Jones (@ TB, vs. PHI)

Jones was dropped in many leagues after his injury and the emergence of DeMarco Murray. All of a sudden, Jones is literally the last man standing in the Dallas backfield.

If he's available in your league, he is your No. 1 waiver claim, and he's a viable RB2 during the fantasy playoffs.

Ryan Grant (@ KC, vs. CHI)

Grant is not going to be a very sexy pickup. But, James Starks could miss at least one more week, and Brandon Saine suffered a concussion in Week 14.

That leaves Grant and John Kuhn as the last men standing.

Grant looked as good as he has all season in Week 14 and could be a viable RB2 in Week 15.

WR

Demaryius Thomas (vs. NE, @ BUF)

It's tough to recommend any of Tim Tebow's receivers, but Thomas has had two nice fantasy games in a row. And his upcoming matchups are phenomenal.

There is a fairly large chance that you get burned by Thomas in at least one game, if not both. But, there is tremendous upside here.

And you know if you let your opponent pick him up, he will start him against you. And Thomas will score just under one million fantasy points.

Santana Moss (@ NYG, vs. MIN)

Moss is back, and he has reestablished himself as the No. 1 target in the Redskins' passing game with Fred Davis gone.

The emergence of Roy Helu at RB has opened things up a bit for the Redskins passing game, and Moss has two positive matchups during the fantasy playoffs.

Donald Driver & James Jones  (@ KC, vs. CHI)

With Greg Jennings out, somebody will have to pick up his snaps. Most likely, Driver and Jones will split the work.

Driver is probably your safer bet for a couple of catches and decent yardage.

Jones will be your "boom-or-bust" option capable of scoring long TDs and having a huge day.

Jacoby Ford & Denarius Moore  (vs. DET, @ KC)

Both Ford and Moore returned to practice in varying degrees in Week 14 and could be ready to go in Week 15.

Both WRs have had success with Carson Palmer, albeit in limited doses. Both also possess game-changing speed and are capable of huge fantasy days.

There's a ton of risk here, but at this point in the season, you're not going to find many higher-upside guys than these on the waiver wire.

TE

Jake Ballard (vs. WAS, @ NYJ)

Ballard scored for the first time in over a month in Week 14. While he hasn't had huge stats, he's seen a steady diet of targets from Eli Manning and could score at any given time.

Given the dearth of production at the TE position right now, Ballard offers some decent upside.

Anthony Fasano (@ BUF, @ NE)

Fasano has probably been Matt Moore's No. 2 target in the passing game. He has seen the second-most red-zone targets since Moore has been under center.

No team has given up more fantasy points to the TE position than the Buffalo Bills.

D/ST

WEEK 15

ATL (vs JAC), CIN (@ STL), TEN (@ IND), ARI (vs. CLE)

WEEK 16

OAK (@ KC), TEN (vs. JAC), DEN (@ BUF)

Thanks for reading. Have anything to add to the discussion? Please use the comments feature below. Questions are welcome, but please be as specific and detailed as possible. Good luck to all of your teams this week.

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