Fantasy Football: Week 15 Waiver Wire Targets
By Pat Pitts
We are officially on the road to the semifinals of the fantasy playoffs. While some teams were sent packing, others managed to stay on the path to glory. I got to sit back and relax on my first ever playoff bye week and now I’m ready to drop knowledge on a few guys that caught my eye over the weekend. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the blog!
Quarterbacks
Mitch Trubisky (Rostered in 19% of ESPN leagues and 11% of Yahoo leagues)
Trubisky threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. The fantasy playoffs are a place where matchups play a huge factor in who’s in your lineup for the week. Trubisky faces two bad defenses, Minnesota and Jacksonville, in the next two weeks making him a quality stash on your roster.
Jalen Hurts (Rostered in 14% of ESPN leagues and 18% of Yahoo leagues)
Hurts sparked the Eagles offense so much, the Birds upset the Saints. Hurts tallied 273 total yards and a passing TD in Week 14. Doug Pederson named him the starter for Week 15 and as long as he’s starting, he should be on your roster.
Baker Mayfield (Rostered in 29% of ESPN leagues and 42% of Yahoo leagues)
Baker Mayfield has played out of his mind over the last two weeks and went down to the wire with a Ravens team on Monday Night Football that he has historically struggled against. Mayfield might end up being a league-winning QB this season as his final two fantasy matchups come against the Giants and Jets. He NEEDS to be rostered and started down the stretch.
Running Backs
Lynn Bowden, Jr. (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues and 3% of Yahoo leagues)
Bowden Jr. led all Miami WRs in routes and targets in Week 14 due to the injury departures of DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant. In both ESPN and Yahoo leagues, Bowden Jr. is eligible as a WR and as a RB. With Myles Gaskin and Matt Breida both on the COVID-19/Reserve list, he’s a MUST grab in all PPR leagues if he continues to maintain dual-position eligibility.
Gus Edwards (Rostered in 24% of ESPN leagues and 33% of Yahoo leagues)
The Gus Bus continued to roll on Monday night, scoring two TDs and averaging 7.0 YPC. Although the yardage isn’t where you would want it to be for Edwards as an RB2, he’s a quality FLEX option for the rest of the season.
Jeff Wilson Jr. (Rostered in 8% of ESPN leagues and 19% of Yahoo leagues)
Jeff Wilson Jr. is the clear-cut #2 RB in the 49ers backfield and continues to put up solid FLEX numbers with the opportunities he’s getting behind Raheem Mostert. His PPR upside is too valuable to not be rostered at this point of the season.
Wide Receivers
KJ Hamler (Rostered in 7% of ESPN leagues and 4% of Yahoo leagues)
KJ Hamler gave football fans a show this week catching two touchdown passes with a total of 86 yards. He’s becoming the deep threat that fantasy managers had hoped for all season and for it to start clicking during the fantasy playoffs is a dream scenario. Hamler should be picked up and treated as a high-upside FLEX for the rest of the season.
Nelson Agholor (Rostered in 28% of ESPN leagues and 36% of Yahoo leagues)
Agholor has been a touchdown machine for the Raiders this season, making seven trips to the end zone on just 38 catches. He’s been the deep threat in the Las Vegas offense that Derek Carr has craved for years and seems to find him where it matters most. If he’s not on your roster by now, you’re probably on the couch watching your league’s playoffs from afar.
Rashard Higgings (Rostered in 9% of ESPN leagues and 13% of Yahoo leagues)
Baker Mayfield’s been balling which has led to high-quality production for Higgins. Higgins now has back-to-back games with six receptions, at least 68 yards, and a trip to the end zone. He’s another league-winner with his next two matchups and rostered in less than 15% of leagues across the board.
Tight Ends
Irv Smith Jr. (Rostered in 4% of ESPN leagues and 7% of Yahoo leagues)
It looks like (Kyle) Rudolph has taken the next few weeks off to help Santa and his sleigh. Irv Smith Jr. looked great on Sunday finishing with four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown against Tampa Bay’s top tier pass defense.
The Vikings have had more success this year passing the ball thanks to their rookies and production from Dalvin Cook. Smith has a lot of red zone upside making him a pick up for me this week.
Cole Kmet (Rostered in % of ESPN leagues and 6% of Yahoo leagues)
Jimmy Graham found the end zone, but Kmet is the TE that’s seeing the targets and has FAR better upside in this Chicago offense. Don’t chase touchdowns, chase overall production.
Dan Arnold (Rostered in <1% of ESPN leagues and 1% of Yahoo leagues)
Arnold found the end zone again in Week 14 in a win against the New York Giants. While he may have only had 27 yards on four catches, he still showed fantasy managers he can provide production in small doses. He’s the perfect bench TE option in case of emergency.
Best of luck in your semifinal matchups and hopefully the Waiver Wire is in your favor this week!