Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire: Top QB, RB, WR and TE pickups feat. Joe Flacco, Ty Chandler and more

The purpose of a waiver-wire column should be to highlight players who may be on the verge of a breakout. After all, trying to land that player after his breakout is exponentially more difficult.

Additionally, waiver-wire moves at this point of the season should be made to win the upcoming week, add a high-upside handcuff running back or block a potential opponent from making a move to improve their team.

Not all of these columns will feature a future stud or no-brainer add, but we can usually find help for our fantasy teams if we try hard enough. Furthermore, I will try to avoid recommending players coming off a 10-catch or three-touchdown game because it should be incredibly obvious to most that they need to be on a roster at that point.

The players listed below are available in at least 75 percent of ESPN leagues and stand at least a decent chance of making some kind of impact during the fantasy playoffs:

---

Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups: Quarterbacks

Jaguars Browns Football

Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

Week 14: 311 passing yards and three touchdowns, four carries for -1 yards

Flacco joined the Browns on Nov. 20 and made his first start for them 13 days later. That was all the time it took for Cleveland to turn over its offense to the 38-year-old.

His 44 and 45 pass attempts over his first games with the club are the two highest figures by any Cleveland quarterback in a game this season. Flacco, who is averaging 282.5 passing yards and 2.5 touchdowns in his two starts, is responsible for 35.7 percent of the team's passing touchdowns for the season despite playing only 15.4 percent of their games.

While trusting Flacco at this point of the fantasy season could easily backfire, his 21.3 fantasy points/game ranks fourth among quarterbacks. It means that during his short time with the Browns, he has been slightly more productive than Kirk Cousins was before he got injured.

With all the injuries at the position this season and upcoming games against the Bears and Texans, managers who are reeling from the loss of C.J. Stroud, Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert in recent weeks could do worse over the next two weeks than Flacco.

ESPN ownership: 4.4 percent

Other potential strong add(s): Gardner Minshew, Colts (17.4 percent); Will Levis, Titans (16.2); Tommy DeVito, Giants (3.8); Nick Mullens, Vikings (0.1)

---

Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs

Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings

Week 14: 12 carries for 35 yards; three catches for seven yards

Chandler is one of at least two backs this week (Zamir White being the other) who may be poised for a heavy workload this week because the man ahead of him on the depth chart did not return after getting injured last week.

Early reports suggest Alexander Mattison could be dealing with a high-ankle sprain, which would almost certainly cause him to miss Week 15 and possibly the rest of the fantasy season. At the very least, it would greatly reduce his effectiveness the rest of the way.

Minnesota Vikings v Las Vegas Raiders

There's not a great deal of upside in the Minnesota backfield (two rushing and three receiving touchdowns for the season), but there's usually value to be had in any back who is in a position to handle 15 or more touches.

Assuming Mattison is forced to miss multiple games due to his ankle injury, Chandler's explosiveness could make him a strong upside flex option or even low-end RB2 - including this week against the Bengals.

ESPN ownership: 23.8 percent

Other priority add(s): Elijah Mitchell, 49ers (15.6 percent); Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (14.9); Rico Dowdle, Cowboys (8.4); Chase Brown, Bengals (1.4); Zamir White, Raiders (0.5)

Other potential strong adds (especially in deeper leagues): D'Ernest Johnson, Jaguars (4.2); Chase Edmonds, Bucs (1.0); Patrick Taylor, Packers (1.0); Chris Rodriguez, Commanders (0.4)

---

---

Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups: Wide Receivers

Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers

Week 14: Still on injured reserve

Mike Williams (knee) was lost for the season months ago, Keenan Allen has been a regular entry on the injury report in recent weeks, and Quentin Johnston has yet to step up (although he's starting to show some signs of progress).

Now, the Chargers will be without their stud quarterback (Herbert) for the remainder of the fantasy season after he suffered a broken right index finger in Week 14.

Palmer was activated from IR this week and is practicing in full. While he may not be ready for his usual allotment of snaps in Week 15, it appears that he will play.

With Allen (heel) being estimated as a DNP for the first two practices of the week and the Chargers' season continuing to circle the drain, it's fair to wonder if the five-time Pro Bowler misses the Thursday night game against the Raiders.

It could make sense for the team to lessen its dependence on Allen (which could happen anyway with Herbert out) with an eye toward 2024 and rely more heavily on young players like Johnston and Palmer, who had emerged as the clear No. 2 receiver for the Chargers before he suffered a knee injury in Week 9.

ESPN ownership: 21.0 percent

Other priority add(s): Rashid Shaheed, Saints (20.4 percent); Michael Wilson, Cardinals (4.2); Wan'Dale Robinson, Giants (3.4); Parker Washington, Jaguars (2.4); Demarcus Robinson, Rams (0.1)

Other potential strong adds (especially in deeper leagues): Jameson Williams, Lions (12.8); Xavier Gipson, Jets (0.5); Cedrick Wilson Jr., Dolphins (0.2); Xavier Hutchinson, Texans (0.1)

---

Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups: Tight Ends

Tanner Hudson, Cincinnati Bengals

Week 14: two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown on three targets

Hudson's final numbers each week may not move the needle much, but Week 14 marked the first time in six games that he failed to secure at least four catches.

While his snap share remains a concern (34 percent in Week 11 remains his high-water mark during his recent surge), the mere fact he has been as productive as he has with two quarterbacks on such a limited snap count reinforces the notion he is a priority for the offense when he in on the field.

That last statement should be all the motivation that fantasy managers in desperate need for some fantasy points at tight end should need to pick up Hudson, who is the overall TE14 over the last six weeks of the season.

While his limited playing time caps his upside, there's value in finding a decent floor play at such a weak position. Hudson has produced at least 7.5 fantasy points in five of the last six weeks.

ESPN ownership: 4.5 percent

Other potential strong add(s): Tyler Conklin, Jets (21.8 percent); Hunter Henry. Patriots (16.2); Dawson Knox, Bills (5.3); Tucker Kraft, Packers (2.4); Davis Allen, Rams (0.0)