Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire: Jake Browning, More Free-Agent Playoff Pickups
The 2023 fantasy football playoffs are here. If you are one of the fortune managers who still has a chance to compete for a championship, you'll want to use the critical few days leading up to Week 15 to get your roster in tip-top shape.
Rather than rest on your laurels and admire your regular season accomplishments, it's time to make some tough cuts and turn over the bottom of your roster. Using the waiver wire to load up on depth and snag some potential spot starters off the free-agent pile now could end up saving your hide later if the injury bug bites or another unforeseen circumstance arises.
With that in mind, here are the top five players you should target on waivers before the postseason begins this week. All suggested pickups are rostered in 50 percent or fewer of Yahoo! leagues.
Fantasy points and rankings are based on FantasyPros.com PPR data.
Jake Browning, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (27 Percent Rostered)
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Jake Browning's emergence as a viable starting NFL quarterback has been one of the great surprises late in the 2023 NFL season. He not only had a scintillating, record-setting first career start against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13—a game he led his Cincinnati Bengals to an improbable victory in by completing 32-of-37 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown—but he also showed that performance was no fluke with yet another sterling showing this past weekend.
While Browning wasn't as prolific passing the ball in Week 14, he still completed 18 of his 24 throws for 275 yards and a pair of scores to secure a resounding win over the Indianapolis Colts. He also scored a rushing touchdown and finished as fantasy's No. 4 QB for the second successive week.
It's clear that the Bengals are now in good hands with Browning while starter Joe Burrow rehabilitates a season-ending wrist injury. The rookie has improbably kept Cincinnati in the playoff hunt and could even guide fantasy managers on an equally unlikely championship run. Fire him up with confidence against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15 if you aren't happy with your current starter at the QB position.
If Browning isn't available, Matthew Stafford would also be a great pickup for managers desperate for quarterback help. He's only rostered in 56 percent of Yahoo formats despite having three straight games with three or more touchdowns and only a single interception in that span.
Given Stafford has posted a top-eight finish in each of those games and has a great matchup against a paper-soft Washington Commanders defense this coming week, there's a good chance he'll continue faring better than many of the current starting QBs on fantasy playoff rosters.
Ty Chandler, RB, Minnesota Vikings (22 Percent Rostered)
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Ty Chandler has arguably been the most talented running back in the Minnesota Vikings' platoon this year, but he hasn't gotten enough opportunity to consistently show that and hasn't moved the fantasy needle. With starter Alexander Mattison exiting the team's ugly 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders with an ankle injury, it may finally be Chandler's time to break out.
According to injury analyst Edwin Porras, it appears Mattison may have suffered a right high ankle sprain this past weekend. Mattison missed the final three games of his rookie campaign in 2019 with a similar injury and could be sidelined for a stretch again in 2023. Chandler would be in line for the lion's share of backfield work in any game Mattison were to miss, starting with a Week 15 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals
Chandler has yet to earn a starting nod since entering the league last year despite some impressive flashes. His best performance to date came in Week 11 when he went off for 73 yards on 10 totes and added 37 yards on four receptions, posting a No. 15 RB finish. While he's been relatively quiet in the two games since—accumulating just 43 yards on 16 carries and 10 yards on four catches—Chandler could explode as one of Minnesota's primary offensive options if both Mattison and star wideout Justin Jefferson, who was hurt again on Sunday after finally returning from an extended absence, are sidelined.
Given the Bengals rank a paltry No. 31 in total defense and have allowed opposing rushers to average 127.2 yards per game against them, it's an ideal matchup for Chandler to capitalize on an increase of volume. Managers will want to add Chandler to their rosters as soon as possible and then keep an ear out for Mattison updates in the coming days. Chandler will be firmly on the RB2 radar if Mattison isn't able to suit up, but he can still be considered a desperation low-end flex play if the starter is active.
Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Baltimore Ravens (41 Percent Rostered)
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The Baltimore Ravens' patience with Odell Beckham Jr. is finally starting to pay off. The veteran wideout seems to be returning to the elite pass-catcher he was in previous seasons, evidenced by the trio of top-20 fantasy finishes he's posted during the past five games.
Beckham is coming off his best game as a Raven, tallying up four catches on 10 targets for 97 yards and a touchdown. He added another highlight-reel play to his resume during the win over his former Los Angeles Rams team, springing free of the defense to snag a 46-yard Lamar Jackson bomb while falling backwards into the endzone for six. His 15.7 fantasy points were good for a No. 7 finish at the WR position, his best placement since Week 4 of the 2020 campaign.
While his catch rate wasn't ideal, Beckham is still getting the type of volume needed to put up consistent fantasy numbers. He's earned at least five targets in four of the past five games and has had seven or more passes come his way in four of the past seven contests. With three scores in his past five outings, OBJ looks like a viable fantasy starter again.
Beckham will have a chance to build on this latest performance when the Ravens visit the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15. The Jags have been getting shredded by opposing passing offenses this year, allowing the second-most yards per game while giving up 22 total touchdowns through the air. Jackson should be able to feast against a secondary that just let Jake Browning and Joe Flacco go off for 300-plus yards apiece, and Beckham figures to be prominently involved as one of the star QB's top targets.
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Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (38 Percent Rostered)
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The tight end position remains the toughest in fantasy for managers to nail down a consistent starter, especially if they didn't land a matchup-proof star like Travis Kelce or T.J. Hockenson during the draft. That could change during the playoffs for those willing to roll the dice on Cade Otton.
While Otton hasn't been consistent by any means so far in 2023, he has started to string together some decent performances. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end ranked No. 17 at his position in Week 14 after securing two of five targets for 16 yards and a touchdown. While it was only the third game he's scored in this season and the first since a two-touchdown explosion in Week 9, it was the fifth time he's posted a top-17 finish in the past seven weeks.
The best could be yet to come for Otton, who has some premium matchups to close out the fantasy year. He'll face a Green Bay Packers foe in Week 15 that gives up the second-most yards per reception to tight ends. He'll then square off with the Jacksonville Jaguars the following week, a squad that allows the third-most yards per reception to the position. With a championship-round matchup versus the Saints and their defense that allows the most touchdowns per reception to tight ends (and the eighth-most yards per reception), Otton has plenty of upside down the stretch.
If Otton continues to get a decent number of looks—he's drawn five or more targets in five of the past eight games—he should be able to capitalize against these soft tight end defenses. Given the severe dearth of free-agent options out there right now, it's unlikely there's anyone with more upside available in your league.
Atlanta Falcons, Defense (32 Percent Rostered)
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While defenses can be largely afterthoughts during fantasy football's regular season, managers will want to be sure they aren't fielding any subpar options at the most critical time of year. Having a defense with a safe floor will ensure that position isn't the culprit behind an early playoff exit, while fielding one with a high ceiling could even be the reason you advance to the next round.
The Atlanta Falcons offer both a strong floor and immense upside over the next two weeks with the potential to be started in all three playoff rounds. They are only rostered in approximately one-third of leagues right now, but that number is certain to climb significantly as managers seek out every competitive edge on waivers this week.
No widely available defense has the same quality of impending matchups that this unit will face during the fantasy playoffs. The Falcons not only get the anemic Indianapolis Colts in Week 15—a team that scored just one offensive touchdown this past week against a poor Cincinnati Bengals defense—but also see the Carolina Panthers the following week. Carolina is averaging just 15.2 points per game this year (the third-worst mark in football) and mustered a mere six points against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
While Atlanta's defense disappointed against the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14 (putting up zero fantasy points), the unit had back-to-back top-10 showings prior to that letdown. Expect the Falcons to surge back to the upper echelon in the coming weeks, and they could even be an option for managers in the championship round when they battle the Chicago Bears, a team that has looked better in recent weeks but still only averages a shade over 20 points per game in 2023.
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