Fantasy Football Week 15 WR Waiver Wire: How to replace Christian Kirk for 2023 playoffs 

Week 15 of the 2023 fantasy football season marks the first round of the playoffs in most leagues. Many host their postseason formats between Weeks 15 and 17, ignoring the final Week 18 to avoid NFL teams that potentially bench their starters if they have nothing left to play for.

The traditional fantasy football playoff format will feature six postseason teams, with the top two from the regular season receiving a bye in the first round. This particular style is based off of the previous NFL Playoff format with 12 total teams, with fantasy football leagues hosting a bracket identical to the six-team conference tournament.

With every week representing a sudden-death matchup for the remainder of the season in the large majority of fantasy leagues, managers will need to make sure their roster is built for this type of format. Stashing players and hoping they eventually break out becomes much less valuable at this time of the year, as the sole focus should be turned to maximizing each week.

One of the best ways to make sure that happens is by making the right additions from the waiver wire. Unlike the trade market, where the deadline has already passed, the waiver process continues for the entirety of the fantasy football season, including in the playoffs. Managers will want to find the best targets that can potentially help them right away and get them closer to a championship.

Wide receivers will always be among the most popular targets on the waiver wire due to the elite depth of the position. More players in this position are capable of providing relevant fantasy output than any other by a significant margin. Value can always be found on the waiver wire, especially with wide receivers, and potential targets change based on injuries and fluctuating offensive roles.

Christian Kirk is one of the most significant wide receivers to suffer a recent injury. He has been a staple in fantasy football lineups all season long, profiling as a WR2 on most rosters. He has been placed on injured reserve, so he will need to be replaced on fantasy rosters. Christian Watson and Nico Collins are other notable names who could miss time after suffering recent injuries.

Managers with any injured wide receivers on their rosters, or those just looking to upgrade their options for the fantasy football playoffs, should consider adding the following players from the Week 15 waiver wire. All of them are currently owned in less than 50 percent of total fantasy leagues, but that will likely change after the waivers are officially processed this week.

Top Fantasy Football WR Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15

Week 15 waiver wire WRs

#1 - Zay Jones

The most logical replacement for managers with Christian Kirk on their rosters is Zay Jones. His workload is expected to significantly increase for the rest of the season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in his absence. He already has a proven chemistry with Trevor Lawrence, but the addition of Calvin Ridley, along with injuries of his own, have severely limited his production this year so far.

With Lawrence also surviving an injury scare of his own, Jones' fantasy value is on the rise. His usage has already seen a major uptick in the past two weeks as he has totaled 10 receptions and 22 targets during that time. He has turned that into just 107 yards and zero touchdowns, but this type of volume often signifies that better days are ahead in fantasy football.

In his full-time role as a starter last year with the Jaguars, Zay Jones put together a quietly impressive season. He totaled 82 receptions on 121 targets for 823 yards and five touchdowns. Now that he is back to being their WR2 again, he could see a similar workload. This makes him one of the top players to target on the waiver wire and could be a valuable unexpected asset for the playoffs.

#2 - Noah Brown

The Houston Texans have accumulated key injuries to their wide receivers at this crucial stage of the 2023 NFL season. They lost rookie superstar Tank Dell to a season-ending injury two weeks ago, and Nico Collins suffered an injury in their most recent game. They are in the middle of a playoff race of their own, so they will need other players to step up in a big way.

Noah Brown is the most likely candidate to do so, especially considering he has already proven his elite upside, though in an extremely small sample size. He had an insane two-game stretch in the middle of this season, totaling 13 receptions on 14 targets for a massive 325 yards and a touchdown. He ranked among the top 10 overall fantasy football wide receivers in both of those games.

With Dell already out and Collins potentially joining him, it could be Noah Brown who is elevated to the featured wide receiver in the Texans' offense. This comes with significant upside, as both Dell and Collins profiled as WR2's on most fantasy football rosters this year. Even with CJ Stroud questionable to play in Week 15, Brown's expected volume for the remainder of the season can't be ignored on the waiver wire.

#3 - Odell Beckham Jr.

The Baltimore Ravens signed Odell Beckham Jr. before the start of the 2023 NFL season to potentially add a much-needed playmaker to their wide receivers. They were one of the weakest positional groups in the NFL last season, but he and Zay Flowers were expected to change that immediately. While the rookie instantly caught on, Beckham struggled in the early stages of the year.

The veteran failed to eclipse 50 yards or score a touchdown in any of the first eight weeks of the season. He has completely turned things around in his past five games, while also elevating himself to become an asset in fantasy football. In his past five games, he has finished among the top 20 wide receivers in PPR leagues three times and has also scored three touchdowns along the way.

His most recent game represented his best performance of the season so far, including a season-high 10 targets and his first top-10 finish of the year. He appears to be fully healthy and rounding into form at just the right time to potentially provide a major boost to the team.