With injuries and reserve/COVID-19 lists impacting numerous players throughout the league, finding a startable player on the waiver wire carries more urgency than ever. Which mostly un-rostered fantasy football players should be targeted off the waiver wire ahead of Week 15?
Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Targets | QB, RB
If you need fantasy help at QB or RB, here are a couple of options available in most leagues. Roster share is based on Fleaflicker fantasy league data.
Mike Glennon, QB, New York Giants (89% available)
I could take the easy way out and recommend QBs rostered in 70% or more leagues. But if you’re reading this, you want a widely available breakout candidate. In most leagues, Mike Glennon is sitting on the waiver wire collecting dust.
According to the New York Post, teammates believe Daniel Jones’ season is over due to reported structural damage in his neck. That would leave Glennon as the clear-cut Week 15 starter.
The opposing Cowboys have been fierce against the pass. But, in fairness, Glennon doesn’t need his receivers to do much to be fantasy-relevant. While Saquon Barkley still hasn’t reclaimed his 2019-level dominance, he’s slowly worked his way back to RB2+ levels.
Glennon was the QB13 last week by leaning on his backfield, as Barkley and Devontae Booker led all Giant receivers with 3 and 4 catches, respectively. It won’t be pretty, and New York is a longshot to win. But if you don’t have a top-14 QB, Glennon should be stashed in case you decide his strong 16+ point potential makes him worth the start.
Craig Reynolds, RB, Detroit Lions (98% available)
In case it’s not obvious, the Lions’ season is over. There’s no incentive to reactivate D’Andre Swift or Jamaal Williams when they’re healthy. This is a run-out-the-clock situation for a team that started the year hoping that a promising young RB, WR, and TE could help elevate a previously high-performing quarterback.
So as we scan this team for scraps of fantasy opportunity, our eyes focus on an out-of-nowhere Kutztown University graduate named Craig Reynolds, who was placed on Detroit’s active roster last week in what appeared to be a desperation move.
Rookie Jermar Jefferson entered the season as the presumed No. 3 RB in this offense. But Reynolds took over in Week 14, amassing 83 yards on 11 carries and 16 receiving yards on 2 catches.
We can’t overthink this. The Lions face Arizona this weekend before shifting to Atlanta and Seattle — two venues where the Lions’ offense could gain traction. If Reynolds is starting, he needs to be in fantasy lineups. That makes him a must-roster waiver wire add and a wait-and-see fantasy starter.
Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Targets | WR, TE
If you need fantasy help at WR or TE, here are a couple of options available in most leagues.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions (59% available)
Another example of a strangely under-rostered fantasy player, rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown entered this season as a promising prospect playing behind presumed No. 1 receiver Tyrell Williams. When Williams was lost for the year in Week 1 with a concussion, many fantasy eyes should have turned to St. Brown. And with T.J. Hockenson now out for the season with a thumb injury, many more fantasy eyes should be trained squarely on St. Brown.
I’ve written about St. Brown on the Facebook page, and we at PFN have hyped him on the podcast. He had 5+ receptions on 7+ targets in each game from Weeks 5 to 7. He then broke through with a career-best 10-86-1 receiving line in Week 13, followed by an 8-73-0 line this past weekend. Both times he had 12 targets.
This wasn’t some fluke. St. Brown is proving he’s the Lions’ top wideout.
As referenced with Craig Reynolds, Detroit has a fairly good fantasy playoff schedule. Starting St. Brown against the Falcons in Week 16 and the Seahawks in Week 17 realistically could net you cheap WR2/3 production.
Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Denver Broncos (85% available)
How much more evidence do we need? Apparently, still a lot, as Albert Okwuegbunam is rostered in only 15% of leagues.
I can somewhat understand it. Denver’s offense runs through Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon. Teddy Bridgewater has taken on a game-manager role, minimizing mistakes and letting the running game and defense take care of business.
But Okwuegbunam has picked up a little steam in recent weeks, averaging 8.3 fantasy points in each of his last four contests. He tied for the team lead in receptions (5) last weekend. A 2020 fourth-round pick, Okwuegbunam is not an afterthought in this offense.
Is he reliable? Of course not. No Broncos pass catcher is. But with a snap share that continues to hover around 50%, and with an incredible 88% catch rate, Okwuegbunam isn’t going anywhere. If you don’t have a top-12 TE, he’s a solid stash for the fantasy playoffs.