The fantasy football playoffs loom, and your fantasy roster needs a jolt.
Fear not, fantasy managers. This week’s waiver wire offers hidden gems at every position, ready to propel your squad from postseason pretenders to championship contenders.
Dig in, draft deep, and dominate the waiver wire like a true fantasy football champion. For a full list of Week 15 fantasy football waiver wire targets, check out our comprehensive guide.
Jump to a position group:
QB | RB | WR | TE
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (Rostered in 33.5% of leagues on ESPN)
Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the Rams’ overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
- This was his third straight game with three-plus touchdowns despite several injuries to the Rams’ receivers in that time.
- Stafford’s 10 touchdowns in the past three weeks lead the league, and he has also thrown for 802 yards over the span, ranking sixth.
- Stafford plays the Washington Commanders in Week 15. Washington has allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
- Other fantasy free-agent quarterbacks posted big games this week, including Joe Flacco, Zach Wilson and Jake Browning, but Stafford has a much better matchup this week and a higher floor compared to those in that group.
Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders (0.5%)
Josh Jacobs suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter in Week 14 and didn’t return.
- The Raiders played only six offensive snaps after the injury.
- Ameer Abdullah took the snap immediately after the injury because it was a third down. He also took the third snap on the following drive and the two snaps in the last two minutes because they were in clear passing situations.
- White took the other two snaps. White would presumably take Jacobs’ role if the 2019 first-rounder misses time.
- The Raiders play the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football. The short turnaround makes it less likely that Jacobs plays this week.
- Given how well running backs typically perform against the Chargers and the possibility of White playing 15-20 snaps, he is the top waiver-wire option of the week unless Jacobs is good to go.
- The Raiders also play the Colts during the fantasy championship round. Indianapolis has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs.
Noah Brown, Houston Texans (42.6%)
Nico Collins exited in the first quarter in Week 14 due to a calf injury and was ruled out by halftime.
- This comes a week after Houston lost its other young breakout receiver, Tank Dell, to a season-ending injury.
- Houston stayed in 11 personnel on its first five plays. Collins was joined by Brown and Robert Woods for the first three plays before his injury. Xavier Hutchinson was his replacement.
- Houston stuck with the Brown, Woods and Hutchinson trio for nearly every play in 11 personnel in the first half. John Metchie III played in Hutchinson’s place in 11 personnel for the third quarter, and all four played significant 11 personnel snaps in the fourth quarter.
- A combination of the injuries at wide receiver and tight end, the Jets’ secondary and the heavy rain led to a very quiet day for the Texans’ passing game.
- The Texans play the Tennessee Titans next week and in Week 17. Tennessee has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.
- Even though Brown has been shut out the past two weeks, he caught 13 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown in his previous two healthy games. He is a risky waiver wire target, but he could pay off in a big way in both of those games as potentially the Texans’ top wide receiver.
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens (39.8%)
Likely caught five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams.
- He has completely taken over Mark Andrews’ role, consistently playing around 75% of the Ravens’ offensive snaps.
- Likely has been the top waiver option at the position for a few weeks now, but some fantasy managers weren’t biting because the production hadn’t shown up yet.
- That won’t be the case after this week, as he was clearly the most productive tight end among those available.
- The Los Angeles Rams were a good matchup for Likely. He plays the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins over the next three weeks. The 49ers are the only team on that list who have been above average at limiting fantasy points to tight ends.
- Every other tight end on this list is a gamble with a good matchup. Likely is the only one who will probably be ranked as a fantasy starter in some upcoming weeks.
