Fantasy Football Week 15: Waiver wire priorities for the fantasy playoffs

We made it, everyone. In many leagues (but not yet all), the fantasy football playoffs are upon us. Also, we are finally finished with the byes — and good riddance to those.

Unfortunately, things do not actually become easier in mid-December, because we happen to have entered the can’t-lose portion of the schedule. From this point forward, the opponents just get tougher each week.

Let’s review the top potential pickups who remain available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues, for those in need of a roster boost. Add these guys either to fill glaring holes in your own lineups, or to keep them away from rivals. It’s winning time, people.

Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (34% rostered)

Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): $7

Winston’s extreme pass volume and recklessly aggressive nature makes him a viable fantasy starter pretty much every week, almost without regard to the opponent. He was in a tough spot at Pittsburgh on Sunday and managed to deliver 212 passing yards, two scores and two picks. His upcoming matchup with Kansas City carries a high degree of difficulty, but we’re scooping him up with an eye toward Week 16, when the Winston fantasy carnival rolls into Cincinnati. That’s a game with almost unlimited fantasy potential.

At this point in the season, you shouldn’t need us to tell you that the Bengals defense has displayed a few vulnerabilities. Cincy has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, with eight multi-touchdown games included. They are just one week removed from giving up a 414-yard, 3-TD performance to Russell Wilson. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if Winston delivers a top-five positional finish in the fantasy semi-finals. Add him this week, ahead of the rush.

Additional QB options:

• Drake Maye returns from the bye to a date with an inconsistent Arizona defense that just allowed 30 points to Seattle in a home loss. Every week, Maye gives us some wild, scrambly highlight that hints at his eventual fantasy ceiling. Let’s get this man a serious No. 1 receiver in the offseason, please.

• Aaron Rodgers will presumably remain the Jets starting quarterback for the team’s upcoming trip to Jacksonville, so we can pencil in his usual 185 yards and two touchdowns, along with countless in-game close-ups of his sullen, pouty expression.

Running backs

Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars (46%)

FAB: $21

Bigsby reestablished himself as Jacksonville’s preferred early-down rushing option in Sunday’s win, gaining 62 tough yards on a team-high 19 touches, scoring the only touchdown in a dreadful game.

He entered the week averaging 5.4 YPC and ranked at the top of the league in yards after contact per attempt (4.10), so it’s not as if he and Travis Etienne Jr. have offered similar per-touch effectiveness. Bigsby requires neutral or positive game-script to hold his value, which of course is never guaranteed with the Mac Jones-led Jaguars. But this team’s remaining matchups aren’t too intimidating (NYJ, at LV, Ten). In all likelihood, Bigsby has two or three additional high-usage games ahead of him.

Sincere McCormick, Las Vegas Raiders (15%)

FAB: $21

After solid performances in back-to-back weeks, McCormick served as the unrivaled lead runner for the Raiders on Sunday at Tampa, carrying 15 times for 78 yards, adding two receptions on three targets. McCormick’s afternoon was certainly not without highlights:

Head coach Antonio Pierce promised we’d see plenty of McCormick this week and he did not let us down. McCormick has now delivered 187 total yards on 36 touches over his last three games. He looks like he’s ready to deliver the same sort of useful multi-week surge that Zamir White produced in the closing month last season.

McCormick was a two-time Conference USA offensive player of the year at the collegiate level and he rushed for nearly 4,000 yards over three seasons at UTSA, so it’s not as if he arrived in the league without a compelling resume. Even when Alexander Mattison and White return from injury, McCormick is clearly ticketed for a substantial workload. He was on the field for 61% of the offensive snaps on Sunday.

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Isaiah Davis, New York Jets (11%)

FAB: $12

Another week, another end-zone visit for the South Dakota State rookie. Sunday’s score was a 17-yarder on which Davis threaded his way through heavy traffic:

Davis and Braelon Allen split the backfield snaps evenly against Miami according to PFF (36 to 37) and the touches were close as well (13 to 15). Allen is long gone in competitive leagues — he was 59% rostered at kickoff — but Davis remains widely unattached. For however long Breece Hall (knee) is out of action, the Jets will roll with a two-rookie committee. New York is headed to Jacksonville this week, so the matchup shouldn’t scare anyone away.

Patrick Taylor Jr., San Francisco 49ers (3%)

FAB: $6

We probably should not be at all surprised that Isaac Guerendo exited due to injury in Sunday’s home win, because we’ve already been through this exercise with various other Niners backs. Guerendo joins Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell in a not-terribly-exclusive club.

Taylor is next up in a long line of next-men-up for San Francisco. He scored a late TD against Chicago in a non-competitive game, finishing with seven carries for 25 yards.

Guerendo downplayed the severity of his foot issue in postgame comments, so this situation might not be too dire. This via the Mercury News:

Sitting at his locker following the game, Guerendo was putting on his socks and shoes without pain and there was no protective boot in sight.

“Just precautionary,” Guerendo said. ”I feel great.”

Here’s hoping this is a relatively minor tweak. He’s facing a quick turnaround ahead of Thursday night’s matchup with the Rams, so Taylor clearly deserves a just-in-case waiver claim. New addition Israel Ibanikanda could get interesting down the road, but he’s not the immediate priority.

Various other RB adds:

• Tyler Allgeier, Blake Corum and Ray Davis remain three of the most important understudy running backs in our game, all possessing clear top-10 potential under the right circumstances. All three are available in over 70% of Yahoo leagues, an outrageous fantasy scandal. Allgeier visited the end-zone on Sunday and Corum has seen eight carries in back-to-back games.

• Jaleel McLaughlin got the hot-hand treatment in Denver’s wild win over Cleveland ahead of the team’s bye, carrying 14 times for 84 yards. Nothing whatsoever is guaranteed in the Broncos backfield, where Javonte Williams or Audric Estimé could resurface at any moment. The matchup on deck with Indy is certainly friendly, however.

• Sean Tucker could get interesting as a supporting player in a backfield platoon in Tampa Bay if Bucky Irving is forced to miss time with his growing collection of injuries. Tucker only handled three carries on Sunday, but he converted them into 47 rushing yards

• There is basically no chance that Gus Edwards will lose his role in the Chargers backfield when healthy, which caps the potential of Kimani Vidal. But it’s worth mentioning that Vidal handled a season-high eight carries on Sunday night, rushing for 34 yards. He whiffed on his lone target, which was not a great look. The rookie did out-snap Edwards in the loss at KC for what it’s worth (32 to 26), but he remains very much a committee back alongside a trusted and well-established vet.

• Kendre Miller is merely a rotational back tied to a doomed offense, so let’s not get too excited about his rest-of-season potential. He did break the plane on Sunday, however, and he could be in line for 8-12 weekly touches moving forward.

Wide receivers and tight ends

Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers (40%)

FAB: $12

Johnston made his long-awaited return to the end-zone on Sunday night at Kansas City, finishing with five catches for 48 yards on seven chances. Notably, he made a few tough, gotta-have-it plays against the Chiefs:

All things considered, it was a promising and reassuring performance from Johnston, on a night his services were desperately needed. He hasn’t made a habit of playing to his size to this point in his NFL career, but he certainly did in Week 14.

Johnston is very much on the radar ahead of a critical home matchup with Tampa Bay. The Bucs defense has allowed the third-most passing yards per game this season (253.4) along with 21 passing scores.

Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5%)

FAB: $8

McMillan was an extremely high-buzz player in camp for the Bucs, but he was of course buried in the team’s receiving hierarchy early in the season, then later battled injury. The rookie third-rounder finally delivered his breakout week against the Raiders, catching four passes for 59 yards and two scores on seven targets. His touchdowns on Sunday bookended the scoring for Tampa Bay, and he made ‘em both look easy.

If you’re among the few true believers who’s had him stashed all season, this is your week to victory lap. Congrats. McMillan led the Bucs in targets on Sunday and tied for the team lead in routes run, so this is not a situation in which a lightly used player happened to find the end-zone. He’s suddenly looking like a key weapon in a frisky offense.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (41%)

FAB: $6

Henry has been unusually touchdown-challenged this season, but you can’t argue with the recent volume. He’s seen eight or more targets in five of his last seven games. Entering the week, he ranked fourth among all tight ends in both receptions (58) and targets (83). He was also tied for third at his position in red-zone opportunities (15), so the fact that he’s stuck at one TD on the year reflects a bit of bad luck. Henry delivered seven catches for 75 yards against Indy ahead of his bye and he’s capable of similar production in any given week.

Additional WRs and TEs to consider:

• Let’s hope Cedric Tillman can clear the concussion protocol this week, because his mid-season breakout was a fun story and entirely legit. When healthy, he’s a locked-in WR2/3 in fantasy, substantially more interesting than any other name you’re going to find in this week’s WR/TE write-ups.

• Tim Patrick is coming off a two-touchdown performance on Thursday night and he’s attached to a Death Star offense, so he’s a fair deep league desperation flex. He was targeted seven times in the win over Green Bay and he’s topped 40 receiving yards in each of his last three games.

• Ray-Ray McCloud has delivered consecutive 90-yard receiving performances for Atlanta on 17 total targets. He’s heading into beatable matchups against the Raiders and Giants.

• Zach Ertz takes a three-game touchdown streak into his Week 15 matchup with New Orleans. He’s functioned as the clear No. 2 receiving option for Washington all season, ranking second on the team in targets (75), catches (52) and receiving yards (501).

Defense

Washington Commanders (23%)

FAB: $2

This is a perfectly respectable defense coming off its bye and headed into a matchup with the Saints, a team without good answers at QB behind the injured Derek Carr (fractured hand). Washington is the very clear waiver priority at D/ST for Week 15. This team is going to be a significant road favorite against an overmatched quarterback. Start this squad wherever you can.