Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups
With week one of the fantasy football playoffs over with, those lucky teams who remain alive in their hunt for a championship may be forced to turn to the waiver wire this week following the injuries suffered by weekly starters like Matt Stafford, Deebo Samuel, and Devante Parker. As I mentioned in last week’s article, there are still league-winners to be found on the waiver wire if you look in the right spots. Exploiting good matchups and focusing on target/touch shares is always the best strategy when building a playoff lineup, so be sure to pay attention to this week’s list.
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Quarterbacks
Mitchell Trubisky
Chicago Bears | Rostered in 19.2% of ESPN leagues
I couldn’t bring myself to suggest picking up and starting Trubisky last week despite his incredible matchup with the Texans’ secondary. My bias towards Trubisky and the Bears got in the way of my capacity to think rationally and he made me look like a fool for picking Sam Darnold over him as a streaming option. Trubisky has 13 touchdown passes in six starts this season and he faces the weak defenses of Minnesota (25th ranked pass defense in the league) and Jacksonville (28th) in the next two games. Hate him or mildly dislike him, Trubisky is the best streaming option there is for the remainder of the fantasy football playoffs. While he’s been touchdown-dependent for fantasy purposes with a top-10 touchdown rate among qualified passers (6.0%) and only 108.7 air yards-per-game, Trubisky’s matchup is far too enticing to pass up.
Running Backs
Cam Akers
Los Angeles Rams | Rostered in 55% of ESPN leagues
Akers was on this list last week, but his performance on Thursday night was simply extraordinary, making him a massive priority target in the 45% of leagues in which he remains available. Seeing 31 total touches for 194 total yards against a Patriots defense with a reputation for being stout, Akers looked like the second coming of Dalvin Cook while his backfield mate Darrell Henderson saw only two carries all night. Akers has the potential to be a legitimate league winner, with matchups against the Jets and Seahawks on the docket. The Rams have loved to use their backs in a traditional manner, as evidenced by the fact that Akers (98.8%) and Henderson (95.1%) are the league leaders in usage under-center. Akers has adapted to the downhill running style that the Rams like, as evidenced by his performance of late. Expect more of the same for the remainder of the season, as Akers’ breakout is reminiscent of Raheem Mostert’s in 2019.
Lynn Bowden Jr.
Miami Dolphins | Rostered in 0.6% of ESPN leagues
It’s been a strange season for Bowden, who was a third-round pick by the Raiders in this year’s NFL Draft. Traded to Miami before the season, Bowden’s role in this offense was unclear — until this week, that is. With Devante Parker and Jakeem Grant leaving Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, the converted QB finally saw some extended action, running 23 routes and catching seven of his nine targets for 82 yards. The rookie also threw and pass and ran the ball for two yards. As an RB/WR eligible player, Bowden could be a useful plug-and-play for this week’s game against the Patriots. If his target share holds steady, the former Kentucky Wildcat could be a top-20 performer at the running back spot without registering a carry.
Wide Receivers
Chad Hansen
Houston Texans | Rostered in 2.8% of ESPN leagues
Hansen led the Texans in routes run once again on Sunday despite having been on their practice squad just a week earlier. With 12 catches for 157 yards in the last two weeks, Hansen is a decent streamer against the Colts this week, even if Brandin Cooks returns. If you squint hard enough you might be able to trick yourself into thinking he’s Chris Hogan too. That’s unrelated to Hansen’s fantasy upside, but it’s fun nonetheless.
Russell Gage
Atlanta Falcons | Rostered in 12.1% of ESPN leagues
Well, if it isn’t our old friend Russell Gage. With Julio Jones sidelined this week, Gage caught five passes for 82 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley. Let me just say that Lynn Bowden could learn a thing or two from Gage’s tape against the Chargers. Since Atlanta’s bye week Gage has been a steady contributor in PPR leagues, with 19 catches for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns during that stretch. With 14 red-zone targets, this season — four more than Julio Jones — Gage has also been presented with a decent amount of opportunities to score. He’s not a very sexy flex play, but if you need a quick 10 points this week, start Gage against the Buccaneers.
Gabriel Davis
Buffalo Bills | Rostered in 4.7% of ESPN leagues
Davis has a touchdown catch in four of his last five games. While he’s only caught three passes in each of his last three outings, the touchdown upside is clear with Davis, who at 6’2, 220 lbs is a favorite target of Josh Allen down in the redzone due to his larger stature. Chasing touchdowns in almost never a good idea, but if the Bills want to conserve Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley for the playoffs they could lean more on Davis in these final weeks of the regular season. The advanced metrics support Davis’s impact when he’s on the field, as the rookie ranks 9th among qualified receivers with an average target distance of 14.3 yards, 12th in endzone targets (8), third in fantasy points per-target (2.49), 7th in yards per-target, 5th in yards per-reception, and first in target separation (2.55 yards). Quite simply, Davis has been the best small sample size receiver in the league this season and he’s a threat to score double-digit fantasy points even with a low target volume.
K.J Hamler
Denver Broncos | Rostered in 6.5% of ESPN leagues
It’s hard to describe Hamler’s performance on Sunday without using the words efficient and explosive. The rookie out of Penn State has emerged as a big play threat for the Broncos offense. While you can’t count on him to catch a pair of 30+ yard touchdowns every week, Hamler could be an interesting contrarian play in tiered PPR formats this week against the Bills.
Mack Hollins
Miami Dolphins | Rostered in 0.0% of ESPN leagues
Looking for a Devante Parker replacement? Hollins appears to be the guy. The former Eagle caught five of his nine targets on Sunday for 66 yards and should be the de-facto No. 1 wideout this week for Miami. While he will be facing a really tough matchup against the Patriots this week, Hollins’ target volume following Parker’s injury suggests that he could be a great play against the Raiders in Week 16.
Tight Ends
Irv Smith Jr.
Minnesota Vikings | Rostered in 3.8% of ESPN leagues
What a day it was for Irv Smith. The 2019 second-rounder played easily the best game of his career on Sunday, hauling in all four of his targets for 63 yards and a touchdown. With Kyle Rudolph injured, Smith is a fantastic streamer against the Bears this week, as Chicago’s defense has been very tight end friendly all season long.
Dan Arnold
Arizona Cardinals | Rostered in 0.5% of ESPN leagues
Arnold has four touchdown grabs in his last four games. If you’re desperate for a tight end, he’s not a bad flyer.
