Early waiver wire targets for Week 15 fantasy football

With most of the Week 14 games completed, here is an early look at the players—all under 50% rostered—who you should be targeting in fantasy football this coming week (percent rostered in Yahoo leagues).

Now that we are in the throws of the fantasy playoffs, I’ve blended this article with a few adds for the rest of the fantasy season, and a few players who are just worth streaming for Week 15 given their juicy matchup.

Let’s being.

QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (17% rostered)

Against a tough Saints defense, Hurts had a surprisingly solid day for the rookie’s first NFL start, throwing for 167 yards and a touchdown while also adding 106 yards on the ground. Oh and the Eagles won. Really makes you wonder why it took so long for Philly to shift away from Carson Wentz since he hasn’t put a good game together since... I mean, Week 6 against the Ravens of all teams? Hurts faces the Cardinals and Cowboys the next two weeks, both of whom offer favorable matchup to opposing quarterbacks.

QB Mitch Trubisky, Chicago Bears (10% rostered)

Playing Trubisky in your playoffs may seem like committing fantasy suicide, but let me assure you that actually you’d be making a wise choice. Against the Texans this week, Trubisky tossed for three touchdowns and 267 yards while adding 23 yards on the ground. Even the biggest Trubisky hater can’t ignore those numbers. Things remain easy for the Bears quarterback as he faces the Vikings in Week 15 and the Jaguars in Week 16. If you’re someone like me who’s been starting Cam Newton the last few weeks, go get Mitch and throw him in your starting lineup.

RB DeAndre Washington, Miami Dolphins (24% rostered)

In a surprise move, the Dolphins placed Myles Gaskin on the COVID-19 list Saturday, thrusting Washington into the starting gig. While he didn’t manage to put much on paper against the Chiefs—he carried the ball 13 times for 35 yards and caught two balls for 17 yards—he was undeniably the Dolphins top running back. If Gaskin misses another week, Washington seems to be in for yet another solid workload against a Patriots run defense that just got torched by Cam Akers and the Rams.

RB Jeff Wilson Jr., San Francisco 49ers (18% rostered)

While he hasn’t been extremely productive, Wilson has seen a fair amount of usage in the last three weeks. He’s seen double digit touches in two of his last three games, including 11 for 31 yards and a touchdown and a 13 yard catch Sunday against Washington Football Team. With the Cowboys’ lack luster rush defense on tap for Week 15, Wilson isn’t a bad add and start option for deeper leagues, especially if Raheem Mostert’s injury is anything major heading into next week.

WR Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos (28% rostered)

Patrick has been a reliable WR3 for much of the season, scoring double digit PPR points in five of his last six games. In Week 13 against the Chiefs, Patrick went 4/4-44-2 and followed that performance up against the Panthers this week going 3/5-36-1. With the Bills and Chargers next on the schedule, Patrick should be added and trusted to be a Flex worthy start rest of the year. K.J. Hamler is also worth rostering (3% rostered) coming off a 2 touchdown game against the Panthers, but he has a much lower floor than Patrick.

WR Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons (11% rostered)

With Julio Jones out against the Chargers, Gage went 5/7-82 (while also throwing an absolute dime touchdown to Calvin Ridley). Even if Jones is back for Week 15—a rather serious “if” given how his season has been—Gage still has fantasy value against a Buccaneers defense that hasn’t been the same in recent weeks. Gage has scored double digit PPR points in three of his last four games and has a reliable WR4 floor and possible WR2 upside every week.

WR Chad Hansen, Houston Texans (2% rostered)

If Keke Coutee is on your waiver wire (45% rostered), he’s still your top target from Houston but I don’t want to ignore the fact that Hansen has now seen 7 targets in two straight games as well as going over 50 yards in each. And those games were against the Colts and the Bears, two of the better defenses in the NFL right now. With the Colts again on tap for Week 15, if you’re in a particularly deep league, Hansen is worth adding and even starting if you’re dealing with injures at the wide receiver position.

TE Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings (6% rostered)

Smith missed the Vikings last two games but came back this week against the Buccaneers and went 4/4-63-1. It’s great to see Smith take advantage of a good matchup and let’s hope it continues as the Vikings play the Bears in Week 15. Chicago is allowing the third most PPR points to tight ends this season. With Kyle Rudolph dealing with a foot injury, Smith seems primed for another solid fantasy performance this coming week.

TE Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears (6% rostered)

Kmet has now seen 7 targets in each of the last two games, finishing with 4 catches for 41 yards Sunday against the Texans. While Jimmy Graham snagged the one tight end touchdown, Kmet still led the tight end group in targets and was only out-targeted by Allen Robinson. The Vikings and the Jaguars are the Bears next to opponents which is about as nice of a lineup as you can possibly ask for off the waiver wire.