If you are still consuming fantasy football content at this late date in the season, congrats. It’s already been a decently successful season for you. Let’s try to make it a legendary season by navigating the fantasy semifinals and advancing to Championship Week.
Just in case your roster can use a boost from the waiver wire, we are here to help. Each week, we prioritize the top potential pickups who remain available in at least 50% of Yahoo leagues. Add these names either to fill glaring holes in your own lineups, or simply to keep them away from rivals. It’s winning time, people.
Running backs
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns (42% rostered)
Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): Empty the wallet. You can’t carry it into 2025, so let’s spend.
Ford needed only nine touches on Sunday to produce a triple-digit yardage total against Kansas City, rushing seven times for 84 yards, catching two passes for 20 and scoring Cleveland’s lone touchdown. He did most of his damage on a single play, which is not at all unusual for a burner like him:
Nick Chubb suffered a broken foot in the loss — a brutal way for his season to end — so we can expect Ford’s usage to return to early-season levels.
It’s worth noting that Ford was routinely playing over 50% of the snaps for the Browns while Chubb was in the mix, a strong indication of his importance to the offense. He’s averaging a career-best 5.2 YPC on the year and he’s up to 32 receptions on 38 targets. Ford is headed into an exceedingly friendly matchup in Week 16 at Cincinnati, so he definitely deserves RB2/flex consideration.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (44%)
FAB: $16
Tony Pollard is battling an ankle injury that clearly affected him on Sunday, while Spears was looking as spry and effective as ever. The second-year back delivered 92 scrimmage yards and two scores against the Bengals, with six receptions included. He broke the plane on a short-yardage carry in the first quarter, later adding a 17-yard fourth quarter receiving TD. His afternoon was full of ludicrous highlights, reminiscent of his rookie season.
Tennessee is headed to Indianapolis in Week 16 to face one of the league’s most generous run defenses, so it’s a situation in which Pollard and Spears can both produce useful fantasy totals. If you’re searching for flexes, give Spears a long look.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints (11%)
FAB: $9
Over the past two weeks, Miller has carried 19 times for 78 yards and one score, generally functioning as an effective complement to Alvin Kamara. Miller’s rushing services could be desperately needed in the matchup ahead at Green Bay, because Kamara exited with a groin injury on Sunday. We may not have clarity on his status until the weekend.
It seems unwise to get too aggressive with Miller, because A) it’s unlikely his team, in its current state, can compete with the Packers at Lambeau, and B) he certainly is not Kamara’s equal as an all-purpose talent. But he’s also a capable runner with a real chance to be his team’s featured back in the fantasy semis. Basically, he cannot be fully trusted or fully ignored. This is not an all-in waiver situation.
Various other RB adds:
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Sincere McCormick should be long gone in nearly all competitive leagues, yet he is still technically eligible for inclusion in this feature. His head coach has made clear that McCormick is now the featured runner for Vegas, so he clearly deserves a spot on someone’s roster in all formats.
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This will serve as your weekly reminder that Tyler Allgeier remains way too available (32%). He’s a very good back with a steady rotational role and he’s an injury away from must-start status. Atlanta will host the Giants on Sunday, a gift of a matchup.
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Ray Davis made another visit to the end zone on Sunday, his fifth of the season for the Bills. It’s easy to imagine a scenario in which the rookie might see significant second-half touches against New England in Week 16.
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Wide receivers and tight ends
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8%)
FAB: $9
Another week, another outrageously wide-open TD from McMillan:
The rookie finished with five catches for 75 yards in Sunday’s mauling of the Chargers. He’s caught nine balls and made three house calls over the past two weeks, looking very much like Tampa Bay’s No. 2 receiver.
McMillan generated plenty of camp buzz back in the summer, but he was never likely to emerge as a playable fantasy option while Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were rolling. Injuries eventually led to opportunities for McMillan, however, and he’s taken full advantage. He matched Evans on Sunday in terms of routes-run and snaps, if not in fantasy output. The Bucs are headed into a not-so-intimidating matchup at Dallas, so McMillan remains on the deep-league radar.
Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers (38%)
FAB: $9
Doubs returned from a two-game concussion-related absence on Sunday night and immediately reclaimed his status as a modest-volume/high-upside receiver. So it goes in Green Bay’s receiving corps. Doubs caught three balls for 40 yards and two spikes on five targets against Seattle, plus he drew a huge PI penalty at the end of the second quarter. The Packers have a pair of appealing matchups on deck (NO, at Min), which keeps Doubs in the flex discussion.
Additional WRs and TEs to consider:
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Rashod Bateman reminded us on Sunday of his exceptional elusiveness and big-play receiving ability, making two house calls against the overwhelmed Giants. He’s reached the end zone seven times this season, including four touchdowns over his last five games. Bateman is obviously a boom-or-bust fantasy asset, but he’s attached to an offense that rarely lets us down.
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Tim Patrick crossed the goal-line again on Sunday, giving him three touchdowns in his last two games. He’s also caught 10 passes on 15 targets over the past two weeks, so it’s not as if the fantasy output is unusually fluky.
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Quentin Johnston drew a season-high 10 targets in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs, converting those chances into five receptions for 45 yards and another score. He’s up to eight TDs on the year on 34 catches. The Chargers have a challenging Thursday night matchup ahead with Denver, however, which could mean a visit to Surtain Island.
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Mac Jones targeted Brenton Strange a dozen times in Sunday’s loss, and the second-year tight end caught 11 of his chances for 73 yards. His longest reception went for just nine yards, so it was the sort of performance that full-PPR zealots truly love to see. With Evan Engram (shoulder) on IR and out for the season, Strange should continue to see significant usage. He has a beatable matchup ahead of him against the Raiders.
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Stone Smartt drew six targets on Sunday, catching five for 50 yards in the Chargers’ loss to Tampa. Smartt is now seeing the full workload that otherwise would have belonged to Will Dissly (shoulder), making him a viable option at fantasy’s most challenging position.
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (35%)
FAB: $6
Rodgers produced a turn-back-the-clock game on Sunday, torching the Jaguars for 289 yards and three scores, adding an unexpected 45 rushing yards on the ground. For an older gentleman, he was looking pretty frisky. He’s actually delivered nine multi-touchdown performances on the year, but hadn’t cleared 22 fantasy points in any game prior to Week 15.
Despite being a 10-loss team, the Jets are not exactly short on offensive playmakers. Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall each found the end zone on Sunday. New York is now preparing to host the Rams, a team that recently smothered the Niners in prime time. It’s not a spot in which we’d expect another massive line from Rodgers, but he’s certainly capable of his usual 200-plus yards and two scores.
Cooper Rush, Dallas Cowboys (34%)
FAB: $5
Look, it should go without saying that you cannot play Rush in a must-win week in any fantasy league of typical size or settings. We are certainly not recommending that you bench whichever star QB led you to the semifinals in favor of this longtime backup.
However, if you happen to play in a superflex format — or some other league of unusual size and depth — then Rush is probably looking pretty good right now. First of all, he’s the guy who gets to lob passes to CeeDee Lamb, which is a tremendous way to make a living:
Secondly, Rush is about to face Tampa Bay, a defense that entered the week allowing the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Rush is coming off a 3-TD performance at Carolina and he’s thrown eight touchdowns over his last three games. He’s definitively proven that he can direct a functional, competent passing attack when the matchup is right.
Rush offers zero upside as a runner and he’s averaging just 204.8 passing YPG in his starts this year, so, again, we’re not talking about some high-ceiling option here. He’s just a guy who might get you 18 fantasy points if he finds himself in a shootout with the Bucs.
Additional QB options:
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Russell Wilson is just barely under the 50% rostered threshold at the moment, as he was mass-dropped ahead of the matchup with Philly. He’s about to face a vulnerable Ravens secondary on Saturday, so Russ could return to relevance in the fantasy semis. He’ll be a great deal more interesting if George Pickens (hamstring) can make his way back for the matchup with Baltimore.
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Drake Maye has topped 20 fantasy points in six of his nine starts this season, including Sunday’s loss at Arizona. His rushing ability has helped him overcome the lack of high-end receiving threats. Maye has an ideal fantasy skill set, but, unfortunately, he’s facing a pair of challenging matchups over the next two weeks (at BUF, LAC).
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If you’re interested in recycling bad fantasy ideas from the recent past, please note that Sam Howell and Carson Wentz could both draw starts in Week 16, depending on the availability of Geno Smith (knee) and Patrick Mahomes (ankle). We are not officially recommending either Howell against the Vikings or Wentz against the Texans, but superflex managers are often forced to rely on less-than-perfect options.
Defense
Green Bay Packers (49%)
FAB: $3
Sometimes, your streaming priority in fantasy is made clear when a quality defense is facing an overmatched and heavily damaged opponent. Green Bay is the obvious call this week. New Orleans is taking its junior varsity offense to Lambeau on Monday night for a matchup that could get messy in a hurry. The Packers D needs to be scooped up by one of your league’s contending teams.
Cincinnati Bengals (39%)
FAB: $1
As the Bengals just demonstrated on Sunday afternoon, even the worst defenses can produce useful fantasy performances when facing sketchy passers. Cincinnati is a decent bet to deliver a second straight double-digit total in the upcoming matchup with Cleveland, no matter which QB is behind center for the Browns.
