NFL

10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 15

It's playoff time in fantasy football.

Here are some of the best additions you can make to your squads this week. (I'll mostly stick to players rostered on no more than 60% of Yahoo teams and also list some other viable pickups who may be available in shallower leagues or relevant only in deeper leagues).

Quarterbacks
Mike White, Jets

Roster Percentage: 20%

The two top streamers for Week 15 -- Mike White and Russell Wilson (47% rostered) -- both got banged up on Sunday. Hopefully, we'll have more news on them before waivers run. Of the two, I feel best about White's chances to play.

White gets a home date with the Detroit Lions. We've been picking on the Lions' defense all year, and there is no reason to stop now. Detroit has allowed the most FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks (24.0), and they rank in the bottom five in both pass defense and overall D, per our schedule-adjusted metrics. As long as White -- who has 952 passing yards over the past three games -- can play, he's a superb streaming option.

As for Wilson, he looked pretty good this past week. For maybe the first time all year, Wilson played like the Russell Wilson we used to know, throwing for 247 yards and rushing for 57 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs. But Wilson is in concussion protocol and is likely up against it to play in Week 15. If he's cleared, Wilson has a great matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.

Others to Consider:
Deshaun Watson (73%; vs. Ravens), Russell Wilson (47%; vs. Cardinals), Sam Darnold (5%; vs. Steelers)

Running Backs
Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs

Roster Percentage: 62%

This has been true for a while, and I've said it a couple of times in this piece throughout the campaign -- Jerick McKinnon should be rostered in more leagues.

After McKinnon's huge Week 14 game, his roster percentage is finally about to jump.

McKinnon made 7 catches for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns on Sunday, adding 6 carries for 22 yards as a runner. It's pretty much the same role he's been playing for a while now as McKinnon is the preferred pass-game back and will, at times, get extended run in other situations, as well.

McKinnon played 57% of the snaps in Week 14, and it's the second straight week that he out-snapped Isiah Pacheco. It's noteworthy that KC played with a lead nearly all game on Sunday, and McKinnon still led the backfield in snaps. That's the type of game script that would seem to favor Pacheco.

McKinnon probably won't have another game like this in 2022, but he is on the flex radar in PPR and half-PPR formats.

Zonovan Knight, Jets

Roster Percentage: 55%

Michael Carter returned in Week 14. It didn't do much to slow the Zonovan Knight freight train.

Carter and Knight handled all of the work for Gang Green. Ty Johnson didn't play a single snap while James Robinson was a healthy scratch. Knight held onto his early-down gig, getting 17 carries, which he turned into 71 yards and a tud. He tacked on two receptions for six yards. Carter was mostly used as the third-down back.

While it's possible the Jets were just easing Carter back into things and the usage could look different in Week 15, Knight has shown to be more than capable and could keep his early-down role the rest of the way.

With a delightful Week 15 date against Detroit. Knight is a quality flex play for the first week of the fantasy postseason.

Jordan Mason, 49ers

Roster Percentage: 13%

Jordan Mason continues to operate as the number-two back for the San Francisco 49ers. While he's purely a handcuff right now with Christian McCaffrey getting hefty volume, Mason is a bench stash who could be a league-winning piece if CMC went down.

Mason has looked good with the touches he's been given -- 19 carries for 107 yards over the last two games -- and we know the 49ers' offense can run the ball as well as anyone.

Find room for him on your bench if you can.

Kyren Williams, Rams

Roster Percentage: 36%

Just as quickly as things have gone south for rookie Kyren Williams, which has resulted in Williams being dropped in a lot of leagues, they could swing the other direction, so he's still worth a roster spot despite his role falling off.

After playing 55% and 70% of the snaps in Weeks 11 and 12, Williams has seen snap rates of just 28% and 30% in the last two games as Cam Akers has been resurrected. But Akers hasn't done much with the volume, taking 29 carries for just 102 yards the past two weeks, and Akers played only 40% of the snaps in Week 14 as Malcolm Brown logged a 28% snap rate.

In short, this backfield is far from set in stone, and Williams might get another shot to lead the way. It stands to reason that the Los Angeles Rams would want to get more of a look at Williams, and their upcoming schedule is pretty nice as they've got the meh run defenses of the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Chargers in two of the next three.

Others to Consider:
J.K. Dobbins (69%), Tyler Allgeier (38%), Travis Homer (38%), Chuba Hubbard (33%), Marlon Mack (3%)

Wide Receivers
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns

Roster Percentage: 58%

Donovan Peoples-Jones is kind of the receiver version of Jerick McKinnon -- he's had too good of a role for his roster percentage to be as low as it is. DPJ just hasn't had his blowup game yet.

Peoples-Jones has played at least 95% of the snaps in four straight games. He's been targeted 15 times across Deshaun Watson's two starts. In Week 14, DPJ got 12 targets, and he was the intended target on all five of Watson's deep balls. He also played every single snap.

A big week is coming eventually, and with a fantasy-playoff schedule that features the Ravens, Steelers, and Saints, DPJ could have more than one huge outing the rest of the way.

D.J. Chark, Lions

Roster Percentage: 40%

D.J. Chark is balling for the Lions.

He's posted 94 and 98 receiving yards in the past two games and has played at least 73% of the snaps in three straight. For the year, Chark has recorded a snap rate of at least 80% in three of his six fully healthy games. In those three games, he's scored 13.2, 12.3, and 18.4 half-PPR points.

Jameson Williams will likely keep getting more and more playing time, but so far, Williams is eating away at Josh Reynolds' snaps, not Chark's.

Chark is on the WR3 radar moving forward, although he has a difficult matchup with the Jets in Week 15.

Parris Campbell, Colts

Roster Percentage: 33%

Parris Campbell has benefitted from Matt Ryan taking back the starting job, and the Indianapolis Colts' passing game has a friendly schedule during the fantasy playoffs.

Since Ryan got put back under center four weeks ago, Campbell has amassed 23 targets, which is good for a 20.8% target share. He's hauled in 18 of those 23 looks, making Campell fairly viable in half-PPR and PPR formats.

The schedule is a big help, too. The Colts are due to face the Vikings, Chargers and Giants over the next three weeks.

Others to Consider:
Darius Slayton (67%), Kadarius Toney (35%), Elijah Moore (27%), Nico Collins (25%), Demarcus Robinson (15%), Tutu Atwell (0%)

Tight Ends
Tyler Conklin, Jets

Roster Percentage: 26%

Tyler Conklin has seen 15 total looks over the past two games, and in Week 15, he's up against a Lions defense that has permitted the fourth-most half-PPR points per game to tight ends. It's as simple as that.

If Mike White can't go, it lessens the outlook for the entire offense, but Conklin would still be a serviceable streamer whether it was Zach Wilson or Joe Flacco who took over. Wilson targeted him 10 times in a game earlier this season, and Flacco peppered Conklin with at least seven looks in each of the first three games of the year.

Others to Consider:
Greg Dulcich (62%), Hunter Henry (51%), Juwan Johnson (18%)

Defenses
New Orleans Saints D/ST

Roster Percentage: 25%

Week 15 gives us quite a few solid streamers at defense. I really like the New Orleans D/ST in a home game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons are turning to Desmond Ridder, who will be making his first career start. It's a tough spot for the rookie. The New Orleans Saints have surrendered just 30 combined points across their last two games, which came against vets Jimmy Garoppolo and Tom Brady.

I like the Saints' chances of making Ridder's debut an unpleasant one. Depending on your league's settings, you might be able to nab the Saints before waivers run as New Orleans was on a bye in Week 14.

Others to Consider:
Green Bay D/ST (34%; vs. Rams), Washington D/ST (27%; vs. Giants), Cleveland D/ST (20%; vs. Ravens)