Week 16 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football's Top Pickups and Breakout Candidates

It’s only appropriate that playoff time for the 2015 fantasy football season would be decided by impressive performances from players such as Kirk Cousins, Danny Woodhead, Jerick McKinnon, Bilal Powell, Mike Gillislee and Ted Ginn Jr.

Good thing you put in all that time studying and preparing for your fantasy draft.

The season has been filled with inconsistent performances, injuries and a seemingly random list of running backs who break out any given week. It has been an unpredictable journey, and the best fantasy football players who paid attention to the waiver wire and made the necessary roster adjustments are standing on top.

It’s championship time for plenty of leagues, and there are a handful of sleeper candidates available on the waiver wire. Here is a look at some of them.

*Players were considered waiver-wire targets if they were owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN.com leagues as of Sunday.

Quarterback

Player	Week 16 Opponent	Percent Owned
Kirk Cousins, Washington	Philadelphia Eagles	25
Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings	New York Giants	15.7

It’s time to start paying attention to Cousins.

He threw for 319 yards and four scores and added a touchdown on the ground Sunday during his team’s 35-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills and has Washington in position for the postseason atop the NFC East. It was also the third time in four games Cousins reached the 300-yard mark and the fifth time in his last eight outings.

He has demonstrated poise in the pocket, the ability to find the receivers underneath and deep and a handful of clutch drives that kept Washington afloat in the division race. His fantasy owners have been the beneficiaries, and there should be more relying on him in the immediate future if they go to the waiver wire. 

Albert Breer of the NFL Network weighed in on Cousins’ recent success:

Next up for Cousins is a date with the Philadelphia Eagles and a defense that was an abysmal 21st in the league in points allowed per game coming into Sunday’s action. Jump on Cousins while you still can.

Running Back

Player	Week 16 Opponent	Percent Owned
Bilal Powell, New York Jets	New England Patriots	31
Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota Vikings	New York Giants	4.4
James White, New England Patriots	New York Jets	51.4

Star Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson stands in the way of McKinnon being a reliable every-down back, but the superstar left Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears with an ankle injury. While he did return, his status will likely be monitored throughout the week.

That could open the door for McKinnon to see more time, especially after he posted 76 receiving yards and a touchdown catch against Chicago.

McKinnon ran for a solid 538 yards last season in place of Peterson and would be comfortable carrying more of the load. What’s more, the Vikings finish with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers down the stretch. 

The Giants were a middling 16th in the league against the run coming into Sunday’s games, while Green Bay was 22nd, which means McKinnon could have opportunities to rack up fantasy points alongside (or in place of) Peterson. Make sure he does so for your team.

Wide Receiver

Player	Week 16 Opponent	Percent Owned
Ted Ginn Jr., Carolina Panthers	Atlanta Falcons	57.4
Tavon Austin, St. Louis Rams	Seattle Seahawks	55.5
Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings	New York Giants	55.4

Ginn Jr. has made a living in the NFL frustrating fantasy owners and fans of his teams with dropped touchdown catches, but he has turned into the Panthers’ most reliable receiver this season. 

He added 85 receiving yards and two touchdowns Sunday against the Giants and made some franchise history in the process, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

The NFL on ESPN added even more perspective to the former Ohio State star’s accomplishments:

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is putting on a show this season and making receivers who would largely be seen as an afterthought on other teams into stars. Ginn is the best example of that, and those who took a chance on him on the waiver wire weeks ago are seeing the rewards in playoff time.

Ginn himself recognized the importance of Newton in a recent interview, per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer: “I give all my success to Cam Newton. Without him, there is no Ted Ginn. I can’t say that vice versa. But we really, really have a nice thing going right now.” 

It is easy to live with the frustrating drops when Ginn scores multiple touchdowns every single time he takes the field. There is no reason to expect the production to slow down in the final two games as long as he continues to burn defenders with his speed and Newton continues to find him in stride.

Tight End

Player	Week 16 Opponent	Percent Owned
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Chicago Bears	36.3
Will Tye, New York Giants	Minnesota Vikings	13.6

Giants tight end Larry Donnell is out for the season with an injury, which means Will Tye has a golden opportunity to rack up fantasy points down the stretch run of the season.

Tye caught a touchdown pass Sunday against Carolina, and he has now scored in each of the last two weeks. He also tallied a combined 200 receiving yards the prior three games against Washington, the New York Jets and the New England Patriots and has been a steady option for Eli Manning in the passing attack. 

Tye’s ceiling is nowhere near as high as that of a Rob Gronkowski or a healthy Tyler Eifert, but he has been solid for the Giants in pursuit of a postseason spot. That makes him a worthwhile waiver-wire target.