Waiver Wire Week 15: Top Pickups, Drops and Expert Analysis
When you hit the waiver wire this late in the season, it’s likely to grab a streaming quarterback or whatever scraps may be left of backup running backs and/or wide receivers getting more chances down the stretch. It’s optimistic to think these players will provide a big lift, but that’s exactly what happened in Week 14.
New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN and Yahoo leagues, but he continued his strong play and remains a viable pickup heading into Week 15 because he’s still available in more than 50 percent of those leagues.
At the running back position, James White of the New England Patriots, Darren Sproles of the Philadelphia Eagles and Bilal Powell of the New York Jets were all viable pickups last week, and they all found the end zone en route to productive fantasy performances.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett might be the hottest pickup heading into Week 15, but that’s only if you didn’t grab him already. Lockett posted solid fantasy numbers in two of his last three games coming into Week 14, so he was worth adding heading into a favorable matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. He crushed them and finds himself playing a big role on a streaking team.
My expectations won’t be as high for the majority of options in this week’s look at the waiver wire. Too many players feel like Band-Aids for situations that have gotten ugly in a hurry, like New Orleans Saints running back Tim Hightower or Seattle Seahawks running back Bryce Brown.
Because Week 14 was yet another brutal injury week, some of these players may have to go into your starting lineup, but for those who avoided the injury bug in Week 14, make sure to look at the available options at each position, just in case you lose a key contributor and need help for Week 16.
Quarterbacks
1 of 6
Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ
Percent Owned: ESPN – 45.2, Yahoo – 47
With all the injuries and major disappointments at the quarterback position, I can’t figure out why more people haven’t flocked to Fitzpatrick as not only a legit option, but a strong option in the fantasy playoffs. Any preconceived notions of Fitzpatrick need to be discarded, because he’s been great.
In a Week 14 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Fitzpatrick threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Over his last three games, he has nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s also run for at least 21 yards in those three games. Not only has Fitzpatrick been a strong passer, but he’s given you the bonus of rushing yards.
The Jets face the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas on Saturday night, so Fitzpatrick will get a national audience to prove he can stay hot against a solid but beatable defense. If you’re lucky enough to grab Fitzpatrick off the waiver wire, feel confident in starting him this week.
Week 15 Projection: 260-270 passing yards, two touchdowns, 19 rushing yards
Jay Cutler, Chi
Percent Owned: ESPN – 27.5, Yahoo – 41
Cutler’s been far from dominant this season, but quietly, he’s been very good. That’s translated better in reality compared to fantasy, so even though he’s played a more disciplined style, it’s also hurt him to an extent as a fantasy option because the lack of risk-taking has limited Cutler’s upside. That said, he did have one of his better fantasy performances of the season against the Washington Redskins.
Cutler threw just 31 passes and connected 19 times for 315 yards with two touchdowns and a lost fumble in the loss. The Bears have recently lost tight end Martellus Bennett and wide receiver Marquess Wilson to the injured reserve, Wide receiver Eddie Royal (knee) returned, although he’s not fully healthy. Luckily, the Bears have a game-changer at wide receiver in Alshon Jeffery, and tight end Zach Miller has stepped up in a big way.
Cutler is worth looking at for a streaming option this week with the Bears heading to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. Injuries have really hurt the Vikings defense in recent weeks, and there’s no guarantee they get healthy enough by Sunday. Cutler can take advantage of those vulnerabilities.
Week 15 Projection: 255-265 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Droppable Players: Matt Hasselbeck, Philip Rivers, Brian Hoyer
Running Backs
2 of 6
Note: They are likely not available in a majority of leagues, but if you can grab Philadelphia Eagles running back Ryan Mathews or New England Patriots running back James White, do so immediately. Both of those players had fairly high ownership rates and value before Week 14 and only look better heading into Week 15.
Tim Hightower, NO
Percent Owned: ESPN – 40.6, Yahoo – 42
Because we’re into the fantasy playoffs, I had a very hard time endorsing any part of the New Orleans Saints backfield following the loss of Mark Ingram to a shoulder injury. Picking up Hightower was a decent enough move last week, but you were very savvy (and desperate) if you also started him.
It took 28 carries, but Hightower managed to run for 85 yards and a rushing touchdown in addition to securing his one and only target for 10 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the same game, C.J. Spiller had just three carries for two yards and three receptions for seven yards. Hightower dominated the snap percentage, 71-19.
Asking for Hightower to get that much volume on the ground is too much, especially if he needs that much just to have merely decent fantasy numbers. He’ll face the Detroit Lions on Monday night, and other than getting run over by St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley in Week 14, the Lions have been great against running backs in the last month. Don’t get too excited about Hightower.
Week 15 Projection: 17 carries, 63 rushing yards
Denard Robinson, Jac
Percent Owned: ESPN – 2.9, Yahoo – 7
It looked like the Jacksonville Jaguars turned a corner with running back T.J. Yeldon in recent weeks, but his status is up in the air after spraining his knee in Week 14. With Toby Gerhart on the injured reserve, the Jaguars didn’t have much choice but to turn to Robinson.
To Robinson’s credit, he was able to rack up 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and added a reception for 12 yards in the blowout victory over the Indianapolis Colts. According to John Oehser of jaguars.com, the team didn’t have an update on Yeldon and that wouldn’t be coming until Wednesday.
Even if the Jaguars add someone via free agency, I’d expect Robinson to lead the way in this backfield if Yeldon can’t go in a pretty favorable matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.
Week 15 Projection: 15 carries, 62 rushing yards, two receptions, 14 receiving yards
Brandon Bolden, NE
Percent Owned: ESPN – 9.6, Yahoo – 11
According to Mike Petraglia of WEEI and confirmed by Adam Schefter of ESPN, New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount is done for the season thanks to a hip injury suffered in Week 14. While James White still has the most value in New England's backfield, Bolden gets a slight boost, especially after his performance following Blount's injury.
In the Week 14 win over the Houston Texans, Bolden carried a season-high 16 times for 51 yards. He had just 19 total carries on the season coming into that game. White's only carry was a two-yard touchdown run, but he added four receptions for 38 yards on six targets.
Before the Blount news came out, Schefter reported that running back Montee Ball was signed to the Patriots' practice squad, although that could quickly turn into a promotion to the 53-man roster since the Patriots don't have anyone else besides White and Bolden. The Patriots have a favorable matchup against the Tennessee Titans in Week 15.
Week 15 Projection: 14 carries, 52 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, two receptions, 11 receiving yards
Bryce Brown, Sea
Percent Owned: ESPN – .1, Yahoo – 2
The Seattle Seahawks re-signed Brown on Monday after they lost Thomas Rawls to a broken ankle in Week 14. In a bit of a surprise move, they released DuJuan Harris after he led the team in carries following the injury to Rawls, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Fred Jackson may have led the backfield with 44 percent of the snaps, but Harris wasn’t far behind with 38 percent. Harris wound up with a team-high 18 carries for 42 yards, while Jackson had seven carries for 15 yards and caught one of his four targets. With neither player putting up solid numbers, you can see how big of drop-off the team is dealing with from Rawls.
On Monday, head coach Pete Carroll said Harris would battle Brown for starting reps with Jackson playing a third-down role, per Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio KJR. Obviously, those plans were discarded in a hurry with the release of Harris. Brown opened the season with the Buffalo Bills, but was cut loose in September and has been with the Seahawks on and off throughout the year. He hasn't had a touch since last season.
Week 15 Projection: 13 carries, 47 rushing yards
Droppable Players: LeGarrette Blount, David Cobb, Matt Jones, C.J. Spiller, Andre Ellington, DuJuan Harris
Wide Receivers
3 of 6
Tyler Lockett, Sea
Percent Owned: ESPN – 21.5, Yahoo – 30
The Seattle Seahawks have been on a tear in recent weeks, and wide receiver Doug Baldwin has gotten plenty of attention for what’s been a top-five fantasy performance at the wide receiver position. However, Lockett has been stepping up as well and just turned in the best performance of his young career.
With the luxury of facing a vulnerable Baltimore Ravens defense, Seattle was able to exploit that juicy matchup all day long. Thanks to six receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns on seven targets, Lockett turned in his third fantasy-relevant performance in the last four games. He’s now scored four times over that span.
Because Lockett’s been putting up such good numbers over a month, there should be a lot of confidence in him heading into another great matchup in Week 15. The Seahawks host the Cleveland Browns and should be able to keep up their dominant, winning ways. Grab Lockett and insert him directly into your lineup. It’s not often you find such a difference-maker this late in the season.
Week 15 Projection: Seven receptions, 88 yards, one touchdown
Ted Ginn Jr., Car
Percent Owned: ESPN – 41.9, Yahoo – 40
Dealing with Ginn can be pretty nerve-racking. He doesn’t have very good hands and tends to make the easy look difficult and the difficult look amazing. Ginn’s bound to disappoint since he’s never been a consistent offensive weapon, but he’s been good in recent weeks on arguably the best team in football, so of course he’s on the fantasy radar.
In the Week 14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Ginn saw three targets, but he turned that into touchdowns of 74 and 46 yards on his only catches of the day. In the week before, Ginn posted five receptions for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints. The bust part of Ginn? He went catch-less against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
Expecting Ginn to keep up this ridiculous production is being unrealistic. However, opportunities should continue to present themselves to Ginn because the team is so thin in their receiving corps. Also, if Ginn has a chance to keep up this touchdown streak, he’ll have a great matchup to do so since the New York Giants have a beatable secondary.
Week 15 Projection: Three receptions, 85 yards, one touchdown
Droppable Players: Vincent Jackson
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Tight Ends
4 of 6
Zach Miller, Chi
Percent Owned: ESPN – 19.4, Yahoo – 20
Unless you own one of the few reliable tight ends, the waiver wire could be your friend even this late in the season. That’s especially true if you can nab Miller following yet another good fantasy performance in Week 14.
The Bears have turned to Miller more with Martellus Bennett banged up and now on the injured reserve—and to Miller’s credit, he’s taken advantage of the opportunities. The Washington Redskins defeated the Bears last Sunday, but Miller still ended up with five receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown on six targets. He’s scored five times in six games dating back to Week 9.
Quarterback Jay Cutler has favored pass-catching tight ends throughout his career, at least when he’s had them, so now that he’s connected with Miller, this should keep up over the final weeks of the season. Chicago heads to Minnesota to take on a banged-up Vikings defense in Week 15. Miller has top-10 potential once again.
Week 15 Projection: Five receptions, 72 yards, one touchdown
Droppable Players: Charles Clay, Crockett Gillmore
Defenses
5 of 6
Houston Texans
Percent Owned: ESPN – 53.3, Yahoo – 61
After perusing the matchups for Week 15, I came to the conclusion that some of the better defenses have some of the best matchups, like the Seattle Seahawks hosting the Cleveland Browns. Some of the defenses with good matchups, like the Miami Dolphins against the San Diego Chargers, couldn’t be trusted with the fantasy playoffs underway.
That’s why I turned to a solid option that might be on the waiver wire or hitting it this week because of their performance in Week 14. The Houston Texans may not have slowed down the New England Patriots, but you should feel great about their chances against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. The Colts are tied for fifth-most fantasy points allowed in the last month and may have to turn to quarterback Charlie Whitehurst if Matt Hasselbeck (arm, rib) and Andrew Luck (kidney) can’t play.
Week 15 Projection: 17-20 points allowed, four sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery
Kickers
6 of 6
Matt Prater, Det
Percent Owned: ESPN – 29.9, Yahoo – 38
Typically, I wouldn’t suggest adding a kicker coming off a performance that included zero field goals and two extra points, but with many of the best options unavailable, Prater gets some attention because of his accuracy and a nice matchup in favorable conditions in Week 15.
Prater has connected on all 17 of his field-goal attempts this season. The accuracy is unparalleled, so even though the attempts are low, Prater has been automatic when asked to convert. On Monday night, he’ll kick indoors against the Saints in New Orleans. The Saints have a terrible defense, so expect an abundance of opportunities for the veteran.
Fantasy leaders provided by NFL.com. Targets provided by ESPN.com. Snap counts provided by ProFootballFocus.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")