Ladies and gentlemen, we’re entering Week 15 with all bye weeks DONE. No more, zilch, nada; we don’t have to worry about any team taking a break from here on out through the fantasy playoffs.
We set off to find the best waiver wire options of the week so you don’t have to, because we know how important having a ton of information will be now that we’re here in the fantasy playoffs in the majority of leagues. We’ll set you up for success heading into Week 15’s action.
Note: All rostership percentages use Sleeper for this Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire (2024) article.
Quarterback:
Aaron Rodgers – Sleeper Roster – 37%
- We can surely squeeze in one more week of Aaron Rodgers fantasy production before he goes full meme when his Netflix documentary “Enigma” debuts, right? Well Rodgers had his best fantasy week in the last four games with a 339-yard effort against the Dolphins which included a touchdown pass.
- Rodgers gets the generationally bad Jaguars pass defense in Jacksonville for Week 15, who are dead last in EPA per pass attempt on the season, second-to-last in defensive DVOA, and the second-worst defense against fantasy quarterbacks this season. For once, hoping Rodgers goes full “Florida Man” in Week 15 may have its benefit for fantasy managers who start him. He’ll no doubt be a recommended streaming option for anybody looking to use a Band Aid for a week to paper over any bad quarterback matchups.
Bryce Young – Sleeper Roster – 14%
- The Bryce Young-led Carolina Panthers have had a touch three-game stretch with the Chiefs, Buccaneers, and going on the road to play the Eagles. To their (and Young’s) credit, the Panthers didn’t completely lie down like other teams could have. Young has looked markedly better in this recent stretch and going up against a porous Dallas defense in Week 15, Young could have a top-12 fantasy finish up his sleeve.
- Young has kept his team in games, but of course, you don’t get fantasy points for that. He struggled a bit against the Eagles but put up a top-10 finish against the Buccaneers with 298 yards passing with a passing and rushing touchdown. The Cowboys are the seventh-worst defense in terms of giving up fantasy points to the quarterback position and ninth-worst in total defensive DVOA. Young could meet or exceed his Week 13 where he put up 23.6 fantasy points against Tampa Bay in Week 15, making him a nice matchup-based play at quarterback if you need to make a change at the position.
Jameis Winston – Sleeper Roster – 43%
- Jameis Winston; we know him and we love him for fantasy purposes. Of course, his game in a snow globe against Denver where Winston passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns (and three interceptions) comprised the best and worst of Winston’s skill set. He was, of course, QB1 in Week 13. This past week, Winston was expected to struggle with the Steelers, and he did to an extent, but still carved out a borderline QB1 week with 212 yards, two touchdown passes and a season-high 28 yards rushing.
- While the Browns will host the Chiefs in Week 15, it’s not a doom-and-gloom scenario for the Browns; in fact, far from it. The Chiefs are just 24th in the NFL in defensive EPA per pass attempt and in the bottom-half of the league in defensive DVOA . The Chiefs can be passed on and who better than Winston, who has averaged 43 pass attempts per game over the six full games he’s started this season? Winston is the volume play, and I know in the fantasy playoffs that people want to minimize downside, but that’s usually at the cost of upside. If you’re feeling dangerous (no, not you Russell Wilson), then Winston has a good matchup and environment for passing in Week 15.
Running Back:
Sincere McCormick – Sleeper Roster – 19%
- Playing in his third game as a pro, Sincere McCormick has already earned a 61% snap share and has averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his first two games of legitimate, volume-earning work. With Alexander Mattison and Zamir White out, McCormick has earned a big share of the Raiders’ backfield and has relegated Ameer Abdullah back to spell and passing-down duties.
- With McCormick set to take on the Falcons, Jaguars, and Saints in the next three games, he could very well be a league-winning running back and that usually doesn’t pop on the scene this late into the season. With the opportunity he’s earned going forward, McCormick needs to be universally rostered and is likely THE waiver wire pickup of Week 15.
Tank Bigsby – Sleeper Roster – 49%
- In one of the clearest signs of a baton passing from one running back to another, Tank Bigsby grabbed the baton from Travis Etienne and literally ran with it. In a game with both Bigsby and Etienne both active and playing the entire game, Bigsby had a clear touch advantage on the ground 18-to-4, with Etienne grabbing more of the passing work, third downs, two-minute drill, and the lone goal-line snap.
- While the touch disparity could even out a little bit more in the next couple of weeks, Bigsby is back into flex consideration for the rest of the season. The Jaguars have the Jets, Raiders, and Titans remaining, so at the very least, the first two weeks of the fantasy playoffs represent startable matchups for Bigsby.
Kendre Miller – Sleeper Roster – 10%
- Now that Derek Carr may be shelved for the rest of the season with an injured hand and concussion, plus the receiving corps being a literal shell of what they were at the start of the season, Kendre Miller has a real chance to get some run here at the end of the season. He started that in Week 14 with 10 carries, 27% snaps, and a touchdown.
- While Miller wasn’t very efficient at just 3.2 yards per carry against the Giants, he’s got some juice and it remains to be seen if the Saints will just plunge Alvin Kamar up the middle for the rest of the season. Miller was much more prioritized as the secondary back besides Kamara, so Miller should at least be rostered to see if he can carve out a late-season role on a Saints team that won’t have playoff aspirations.
Wide Receiver:
Jalen McMillan – Sleeper Roster – 12%
- We have a saying around here: “never late, just early.“ Jalen McMillan was a late-Day 2 pick for the Buccaneers and in Week 1, he caught a touchdown and ran 88% of routes per dropback. It was supposed to be a solid ramp-up, but then McMillan got hurt throughout the middle of the season and had a two-game stretch where McMillan earned 15 targets in two games. He got hurt again and couldn’t get much of a foothold in the Buccaneers’ offense until after the Bucs’ Week 11 bye.
- The last two weeks, McMillan has run 85% of routes per dropback and last week, got up to seven targets and a 4-59 line with two touchdowns. Week 14 was McMillan’s best game of the season by far and he’s looking to get some momentum here at the end of the season to bring into 2025. He’s worth an add and stash on benches if you have the room in this prolific offense that may skew a little more to the pass with Bucky Irving banged up.
Ray-Ray McCloud – Sleeper Roster – 24%
- Ray-Ray McCloud has run routes on 93% of dropbacks this season; the sixth-highest mark in the NFL this season. I’ve written about McCloud’s routes-based upside a few times this season in this article, and somehow, McCloud’s rostership still hovers around roughly a quarter of fantasy leagues.
- McCloud had his best game of the season in Week 14 with a massive volume game of 8-98 on 10 targets and with a three-game stretch in the fantasy playoffs that includes the Raiders, Giants, and Commanders, the Falcons could be eating pretty good to close out the season. With McCloud putting up his third straight game of double-digit fantasy points, he should he much more rostered than he currently is.
Tim Patrick – Sleeper Roster – 2%
- Tim Patrick came over to the Detroit Lions from the Denver Broncos after being cut following the preseason and has been a solid rotational wide receiver in the Josh Reynolds-mold from previous seasons. While Patrick has been solid, his best stretch of fantasy has come in the last four games, with the highlight being this past week where he earned a season-high seven targets and a 6-43 line with two touchdowns.
- Kalif Raymond went on IR after Week 12, so that role for right now is open with Patrick, who offers more to the Lions as a dependable target with size (6-foot-4) as a compliment to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta. As prolific as the Lions’ offense should be, the player running 60-70% routes per dropback should be rostered for what he can offer for fantasy managers if needed. He’s a “break glass in case of emergency” start rather than a locked-in fantasy asset for playoff-bound managers.
Tight End:
Grant Calcaterra – Sleeper Roster – 6%
- In my research for this weekly article, in which I do only the most serious research, I have compiled only the most relevant data. Like this note on Grant Calcaterra:
- “Calca” means “pants” in Portuguese
- “Terra”, of course, means “earth”
- Well, considering the problems the Eagles have had in the passing game over the last five games where Jalen Hurts hasn’t completed more than 20 passes since Week 3, Grant Calcaterra put on his big boy pants in Week 14. Calcaterra ran a season-high 93% routes in Week 14 and caught one of two Hurts’ passing touchdowns on the afternoon.
- In a condensed offense that now is without Dallas Goedert following his placement on IR, Calcaterra will be running a ton of routes for one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. That’s worth a pickup if you need a tight end for your bench or to spot start in your fantasy playoffs run.
Juwan Johnson – Sleeper Roster – 19%
- Look, the tight end position aside from the penthouse options like Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Travis Kelce, and others has been a veritable wasteland. We’re always looking for options and while he’s not the sexiest name on the list, Juwan Johnson has the juice. (I’m sorry, the kids made me say it.)
- While the quarterback situation is up in the air at the moment for the Saints, Johnson has two top-ten fantasy weeks at tight end, including a 15.0-point week where he put up a 4-50 line plus a touchdown on five targets. Johnson has two of his top-three routes per dropback percentages of the season in his last two games, so Johnson has taken advantage of the team having little at wide receiver and Taysom Hill being out for the season. Johnson is a solid add in a pinch if you need a tight end for the fantasy playoffs or having a fallback option for your bench.
Daniel Bellinger – Sleeper Roster – 3%
- Daniel Bellinger has been a bit player so far this season as Theo Johnson had been running a consistent 70-80% routes per dropback in every game this season. Unfortunately, Johnson was placed on season-ending injured reserve after Week 13, so Bellinger moved up a spot to take Johnson’s role as what is essentially a one-for-one replacement.
- Bellinger stepped right in to earn five targets and caught all of them for 45 yards while running 82% routes per Drew Lock’s dropbacks. While the quarterback situation is quite a mess, at least his aDOT (5.2 yards) isn’t prohibitive for target quantity. I would prioritize the first two names on this list to add to fantasy rosters, but if those players are gone or you’re in a very deep league, Bellinger is a solid add that will run routes and be involved in the offense.
D/ST:
Atlanta Falcons – Sleeper Roster – 10%
- While the Falcons have been a bad fantasy defense for much of this season, they’re showing some signs of life. Those signs were muted in most part by five Sam Darnold touchdown passes in a 42-21 loss to the Vikings in Week 14, but their next two weeks make them worth considering in lineups.
- The Falcons head to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders in Week 15, who could be without Aidan O’Connell. O’Connell is certainly no playmaker himself, and he’s banged up with a bone bruise in his knee which caused him to leave Week 14 a bit early. Whether it’s O’Connell or former Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder, it’s a plus matchup for a team that has almost as many sacks in the last two games (9) as they had in their first 11 games (10). Atlanta will also get the New York Giants at home in Week 16, and we know their quarterback woes (Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock, et al.) very well. The Falcons are a nice two-week play for the fantasy playoffs despite their play earlier in the season.
Arizona Cardinals – Sleeper Roster – 38%
- While the Cardinals had a forgettable day at the office against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 with -1.0 fantasy points, the Cardinals should be in good position to make up for it as the New England Patriots come to Glendale in Week 15.
- Aside from that blip on the radar, the Cardinals had been a top-12 fantasy defense in each of the previous four weeks with two top-five finishes. Getting the Patriots this week and then the Carolina Panthers next week in Week 16, the Cardinals are in a good spot as a two-week play during the fantasy playoffs.
Washington Commanders – Sleeper Roster – 32%
- Yet another two-week defense play for fantasy managers is the Washington Commanders, who come back from their Week 14 bye and will travel to New Orleans to play the Saints. Derek Carr was deemed “week-to-week” following a hand injury to his non-throwing hand as well as entering concussion protocol. It seems likely that the quarterback situation for the Saints has reached critical mass with Jake Haener the next man up.
- The Commanders can take full advantage of this quarterback situation and put up a solid week without a lot of heavy lifting. While the Week 16 matchup against the Eagles could be dicey, they get a nice home matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, who are no strangers to turnovers. While Washington is a two-week DST play, you’ll have to find a good play in Week 16 with Atlanta vs NYG, Arizona at CAR, and Green Bay vs NO being my early recommendations to pair with Washington.
