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Injuries continue to pile up for your fantasy football roster, and with your playoffs likely starting in Week 15, you need to round out your roster the best you can. Our Week 14 waiver wire pickups include a clear number one choice, followed by a few repeat players that have sustained their play over the course of this season.
The following list includes players that are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN rosters making the chances you can pick them up pretty high. As bye weeks and the injury bug continue to run wild, try your best to button up some roster holes as you get closer to preparing for the playoffs.
1. Patrick Taylor Jr., San Francisco 49ers – RB
4.0% Rostered
The top target in our Week 15 waiver wire pickups is Patrick Taylor, the next man up in the turnstile that is the San Francisco 49ers backfield. After losing Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason for the season, Isaac Guerendo looks likely to miss time after suffering a foot injury.
On a short week, the Niners face the Los Angeles Rams in a key NFC West battle, one that points to Taylor being the lead back in. While you may want to temper expectations for Taylor’s first start, don’t be afraid to fire him up in your lineups.
2. Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars – RB
35.6% Rostered
Another week, another backfield led by Tank Bigsby, as he outpaced Travis Etienne for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14’s upset win. The Jacksonville offense, which is led currently by Mac Jones, is not a unit you want to seek out, but Bigsby seems to be one of the few players insulated from the QB issues.
As long as Bigsby continues to hold down the lead-back role for the Jaguars, which all signs point to, then he can be an RB2/FLEX for you for the rest of the season.
3. Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers – WR
38.7% Rostered
The lone benefit of the Carolina Panthers playing from behind so often this season is that the passing attack gets a boost, giving Adam Thielen relevancy for your fantasy football roster. Thielen has become Bryce Young’s favorite target after coming back from his Injury Reserve stint, racking up two consecutive games of double-digit targets.
Thielen’s 9-reception, 102-yard showing in Week 14 was his first 100-yard performance of the season, and facing secondaries from the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals down the stretch gives Thielen a shot at holding WR2 relevancy for the rest of the season.
4. Sincere McCormick, Las Vegas Raiders – RB
11.2% Rostered
With the injury statuses of both Alexander Mattison and Zamir White still up in the air, Sincere McCormick stepped into the spotlight for the Las Vegas Raiders, racking up 17 touches and double-digit fantasy points.
While the Raiders offense really isn’t a unit you want to target players from, McCormick absolutely fits the persona of being a league winner down the stretch. An under-the-radar performer thrust into a larger role, McCormick looks to have a hold on the backfield, even if the health of the other two incumbents improves.
5. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – QB
38.1% Rostered
Matthew Stafford finds himself as the only quarterback worth adding in our Week 15 waiver wire pickups, and he was on an absolute heater in the win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 14. The trio of Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua have been money for your fantasy football rosters down the stretch, and it feels like they have been talked about in quite a few of these waiver wire pickup articles lately.
Stafford gets to face the Niners, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Seattle Seahawks to wrap up his season, four opponents that can be thrown on. If the Rams have any hopes of getting themselves into playoff contention, it will be because of the right arm of their QB.
6. Braelon Allen & Isaiah Davis, New York Jets – RBs
48.7% & 3.4% Rostered
The two-headed attack of Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis stepped in for the injured Breece Hall, and they both shared a pretty even share of the vacated workload. While the Jets do not have anything left to play for this year, their comments about Hall’s workload for the rest of the season make this backfield a bit murky to predict.
But Allen has shown enough during the season that he can handle a decent-sized workload for the Jets. However, it was Davis who stole the show in their overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins, as he found the end zone and looked pretty solid in the passing game. You should consider both options when filling out your Week 15 waiver wire pickups, especially if your roster is lacking RB depth.
7. Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers – WR
21.5% Rostered
Quentin Johnson stepped back into the spotlight for the Los Angeles Chargers, hauling in a touchdown from Justin Herbert in their Week 15 matchup. With rookie wideout Ladd McConkey missing their Week 15 matchup, Johnston stepped into the WR1 role, showing strong hands and a willingness to regain the trust of the offensive staff.
While Johnston will fall back into his WR2 role once McConkey returns, this strong showing could provide Johnston with more opportunities coming up, so look to snap him off your waiver wire if he is available.
8. Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – WR
8.5% Rostered
Fresh off a two-touchdown performance, Jalen McMillan finds himself as the final wide receiver on our Week 15 waiver wire pickups. Stepping into a larger role after Chris Godwin was lost for the season, McMillan had his breakout performance in the Week 14 win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His expanded workload should continue down the stretch, as the Buccaneers moved into pole position in the NFC South after their win over the Raiders. Needing to finish the season strong to lock in a playoff spot, look for McMillan to continue to be a trusted target for Baker Mayfield.
9. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints – TE
13.9% Rostered
The lone tight end on our Week 15 waiver wire pickups might be the only pass-catcher to still have value for your fantasy football roster after Derek Carr suffered an injury that will knock him out for a few games.
Juwan Johnson hauled in a touchdown and five receptions in the win for the New Orleans Saints over the New York Giants, as he stepped into the passing-game workload vacated when Taysom Hill went down with his season-ending injury. While the Saints’ offense is not going to blow the doors off any opposing defense, Johnson should become a safety valve for either Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler, whichever of the two backups the Saints decide to roll with moving forward.
10. Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers – RB
14.6% Rostered
The second of two Chargers in our Week 15 waiver wire pickups is running back Kimani Vidal, who actually out-snapped Gus Edwards in LAC’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Edwards is still the backfield leader in terms of earning valuable touches, Vidal has seen his workload ramp up after JK Dobbins was placed on Injured Reserve.
The Chargers offense is predicated on a running attack, and while Vidal hasn’t shown a ton of explosiveness up to this point, he has the clear handcuff role behind Edwards, which lends itself six-plus touches every game. Now is the time to insulate your fantasy football roster for injuries, and a player like Vidal fits the bill for the type of players you should be looking for.
