Top Week 15 Waiver Wire Targets 🎯

Welcome to the fantasy football playoffs. Congratulations to those who are fighting for glory this year… and for those of you in the consolation ladders and toilet bowls, let’s keep you from incurring your league’s punishment. 🤝

What’s in store:

• Justin Jefferson seems like he avoided major injury. 😅 Don’t get your hopes up too quickly – but there’s a chance he could be back as soon as this week.

• Josh Jacobs opens the short week as a DNP. It’s just an estimation since the Raiders play on Thursday, but definitely something to keep an eye on here.

• So many injuries in Week 14 – and right before the fantasy playoffs. The waiver wire is sure to be bustling this week, so let Tyler guide you through the fray.

• Jordan Addison has completely fallen off a cliff. If you’ve been holding out hope with Justin Jefferson in and out of the lineup, things probably aren’t getting better.

• Vikings WR Justin Jefferson considered ‘day-to-day’ with chest injury sustained in this past Sunday’s game vs Raiders

  • This is just about the best news fantasy managers could get given the nature of the injury on the field and the fact that he needed to be transported to the hospital. A day-to-day designation absolutely leaves the door open for a Week 15 return for Jefferson, but fantasy managers shouldn’t count their eggs before they hatch with this situation, especially in the first week of the fantasy playoffs. Minnesota takes on the Bengals on Saturday afternoon, not Sunday, which shortens the week for the Vikings - and more importantly, shortens the rest time for Jefferson as he recovers from his injury. The bottom line is that Jefferson, at the very least, has a realistic chance to return for the fantasy playoffs in Week 15 –something that not many would have anticipated after seeing the hit he took this past Sunday at game speed. Have a backup plan ready, but monitor Jefferson’s status throughout the week.

• Raiders RB Josh Jacobs estimated as a DNP at Raiders practice Monday while nursing knee injury

  • Jacobs exited the game early against the Vikings on Sunday and didn’t return, placing his status for the week in question given the short turnaround. At this point, it’s almost impossible to know anything about the extent of his injury until today’s and tomorrow’s practice reports are made available, at which point it will be easier to make a determination about whether or not Jacobs will be ready to go. In the meantime, fantasy managers can rush to the waiver wire to grab Zamir White as a potential high-volume option if Jacobs would ultimately miss the game against the Chargers. With the playoffs starting this week, fantasy managers will be hard pressed to find a fast, reliable replacement for Jacobs - who hasn’t missed a game since 2021.

• Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell says that the team remains undecided on Week 15 starter between Dobbs and Mullens

  • It’s officially the battle of mid for the Vikings starting quarterback position in Week 15, and regardless of who ultimately gets the nod against the Bengals, the fantasy upside for the offense remains understandably low. Josh Dobbs was a great story while it lasted, and while there’s a chance Nick Mullens could show more than what we saw from Dobbs in that 3-0 barnburner of a thriller in Las Vegas on Sunday, it remains unlikely that any quarterback on Minnesota’s roster – including rookie Jaren Hall – will be a true difference maker to the point where we’re able to rely on any of the Vikings’ pass catchers to produce on a consistent quality basis. With bye weeks out of the way and all 32 teams slated to play a game this weekend, the hope is that you won’t have to resort to starting any of these Minnesota signal callers with 31 other quarterbacks suiting up this weekend.

• Odell Beckham Jr. (WR - Baltimore Ravens) - In 3 games where Andrews has been out (including the Cincy game where he was injured on the opening drive), Beckham has posted 11 catches on 22 targets for 247 yards and a TD while pacing the Ravens in targets and posting 15+ fantasy points in 2 of the 3 games. He has become the go-to target for Lamar Jackson in Andrews' absence, especially with the deep ball. He's played his way into being a suitable WR3/FLEX option and somehow remains available in a majority of leagues. He should owned in every situation.

• Curtis Samuel (WR - Washington Commanders) - Samuel had been the leading receiver in back-to-back games prior to the bye week (in Week 14), posting double-digit points and 60+ yards in each of those two games. He's very quietly become a reliable WR3/FLEX option and a high-volume option in one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the NFL. He should be owned and ultimately can be played without significant worry if in a pinch.

• Isaiah Likely (TE - Baltimore Ravens) - In his first two starts since the Mark Andrews injury, Likely has posted back-to-back respectable performances: 4 catches on 6 targets for 40 yards (8.0 points) in Week 12 and now 5 catches on 7 targets for 83 yards and a TD (19.3 points) in Week 13. He's becoming a somewhat reliable option at an otherwise unreliable position. If you don't have a top-10 TE already, Likely needs to be your top waiver priority, but even if you have a reliable option, I would not be opposed to stashing him on your bench just as insurance.

• Ty Chandler (RB - Minnesota Vikings) - Alexander Mattison went down again in Week 14, this time to a presumed high-ankle sprain that will likely force him out multiple weeks (with the possibility of leaving him out throughout the fantasy football playoffs). Chandler is the 'next man up' in Minnesota and has already shown some effectiveness with 4.1 YPC on the season and posting 15 carries for 45 yards and a TD in relief for an injured Mattison in Week 10. The schedule is neither good nor bad going forward with Minnesota drawing the 17th-easiest SOS for the fantasy playoffs (at Cincinnati, vs Detroit, vs Green Bay). The potential is certainly there for RB2 production in Mattison's absence.

• Zay Jones (WR - Jacksonville Jaguars) - Last week, Christian Kirk suffered a season-ending injury on the opening drive. In the two games without him, Jones has led the Jaguars in targets and catches in both games, amassing 22 targets for 10 catches, 107 yards, and 20.9 points, even despite a rough matchup against Cleveland in Week 14. The volume alone keeps Jones notable for fantasy and it's hard to imagine the chemistry doesn't improve between him and Lawrence, especially in a better matchup.

• Tyler Allgeier (RB - Atlanta Falcons) - You're not picking Allgeier up for his involvement or his production as of late, eclipsing 10 touches and 10+ points just once each since Week 7. You are adding Allgeier as an insurance policy (and a potential desperation FLEX play this week against Carolina). Should Bijan go down to injury, Allgeier immediately becomes a borderline top-12 fantasy RB. It's the time of the year to be stashing some high-upside handcuffs as at least 1-2 will find their way into games, as is the case nearly every year.

Through the first eight games of the year, Vikings rookie WR Jordan Addison looked like he was on pace to break out in year as one of the top fantasy wide receivers in the NFL. That success was propelled by the excellent play of Kirk Cousins, who was getting the ball to him early and often - especially after Justin Jefferson went down with his hamstring injury. But once Kirk Cousins went down in Week 8, as well, Addison’s fortunes took a turn for the worst.

There hasn’t been a player in fantasy football this year that has seen a colder stop to his fantasy production in the middle of the season than Jordan Addison. After scoring 11 or more PPR fantasy points in all seven of his starts to begin the season, he’s failed to eclipse that mark once in any of his past five games. The issue? Quarterback play. The Vikings offense has bottomed out after starting off the Josh Dobbs era on fire, and that’s led to Addison being a prime bench candidate heading into the fantasy playoffs.

To add more context to just how sharp the downturn in production has been for the USC product: Addison scored seven touchdowns across his seven starts with Cousins to begin the season. Since then in five starts with the platoon of Dobbs, Mullens, and Hall, he’s scored zero touchdowns. Over the first eight weeks of the season, Addison was the WR14 in PPR points per game; through his last five, he’s the WR49.