Week 14 wasn’t kind to fantasyland with the plethora of injuries we witnessed to players that we’re depending on in the postseason. Calvin Ridley, DeVante Parker, Mike Evans, Derrius Guice, Mark Andrews, and D.J. Chark are all major contributors who left their games early after suffering an ailment. This doesn’t even include Josh Jacobs, who didn’t suit up on Sunday.

Needless to say, the byproduct of all these key injuries is a somewhat reinvigorated waiver wire as we head into fantasy football’s penultimate week, Week 15. Arguably the best pickup many fantasy owners have access to is Raheem Mostert. We won’t feature him in this article since he’s over 50% owned, but he would most likely be your league’s top pickup now that he appears to be the lead man in San Francisco’s backfield moving forward. Read on to see which other waiver wire athletes our featured analysts are touting heading into Round 2 of the fantasy football playoffs.

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Featured Experts:
Dan Harris – FantasyPros
Bobby Sylvester – FantasyPros
Mike Tagliere – FantasyPros
Donald Gibson – FantasyPros
Doug Orth – FFToday

View These Expert’s Waiver Rankings
Dan Harris
Bobby Sylvester
Mike Tagliere
Donald Gibson
Doug Orth

Q1. How much are you willing to spend (FAAB %) on your favorite waiver wire target (or two) and why do you like him?

Patrick Laird (RB – MIA) 
“We’re heading into Week 15 and you aren’t saving your FAAB for anything at the moment, so I’d be willing to spend 100% of my remaining budget on Laird if necessary. Laird isn’t special. but if he sees the 19 touches he saw against the Jets when he goes up against the Giants and the Bengals in the next two weeks, he’s going to be a worthy flex play. His involvement in the passing game (four catches in each of the past two weeks) gives him enough of a floor that any running back-needy team should give him a shot. If you only need a receiver, I’d be willing to spend a hefty portion of my remaining budget (even 100% if necessary) on A.J. Brown, who has shown a real connection with Ryan Tannehill and gets soft matchups with the Texans and Saints next.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)

Zach Pascal (WR – IND) 
“Besides my top two choices of DeAndre Washington and A.J. Brown, I’m quite fond of Pascal again this week. Although he won’t be taking on Tampa’s defense again, we are still talking about someone with 19 targets over the past two weeks with both Eric Ebron and T.Y. Hilton out. If you can at least eight targets out of a competent receiver versus the Saints, then you’d better believe he’ll be a top-36 wideout. I’ll spend all of my remaining FAAB on Washington, Brown, or Pascal (in that order) to try and get that championship bid this week.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

DeAndre Washington (RB – OAK) 
“Washington is clearly the top pickup this week. After Josh Jacobs was ruled out in Week 14, his season was practically over. He’s set to have an MRI on his fractured shoulder this week. What else do we need to know? The Raiders are out of the playoff race and will move forward with Washington, who happens to get the Jaguars in Week 15, a team allowing almost 7.0 yards per carry over their last five games. This is not a time to hold back on the FAAB. Use all of it.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

O.J. Howard (TE – TB) 
“I’d be willing to give up to 20% of remaining FAAB for Howard. I get it. It’s been quite a season of ups and downs for him, but he has at least 61 yards in each of his past two games and he has as much individual upside as most other tight end options. My willingness to spend on Howard is as much about his involvement as it is about the scarcity of the position in general. Outside of the top three or so guys, none of the others can really be trusted, so why not go for an upside play?”
– Donald Gibson (FantasyPros)

A.J. Brown (WR – TEN) 
“With the majority of owners only caring about this week at this point of the season, it’s hard not to like Brown, who has made his case to be the alpha dog in Tennessee’s passing game (and very well could be there already). The rookie is a high-level talent with a highly favorable Week 15 matchup in the Texans and is worth upwards of 50 percent of what is left of your FAAB. It’s likely we won’t know about Josh Jacobs’ Week 15 status until most waivers have run, but DeAndre Washington (20 percent of remaining FAAB) is a fine option for running back-needy owners and worth stashing in the event Oakland decides to let Jacobs heal some more.”
– Doug Orth (FFToday)

Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 15, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target and why?

“If you have been streaming defenses all season, then you’re in a bit of a pickle in Week 15, but I’d take my shot with Kansas City. Over their last three games, the Chiefs have totaled seven sacks, eight turnovers, and an interception, and now come home to face the Broncos. Drew Lock and company did well against the Texans, but in Arrowhead, against a defense that has begun to play much better of late and utilizes the blitz more, he’s likely to struggle. It’s not a dominant option, but you can get by with the Chiefs if you’ve been waiver-wiring your way through the season.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)

“A lot of fantasy owners think of the Chiefs as a bad defense, though that’s not really the case. Coming into Week 14, they’d generated 34 sacks (11th in NFL), had allowed 22.1 points per game (16th in NFL), and had 12 interceptions (fifth in NFL). They’re actually above average in all the ways you should care about. After shutting down the Patriots’ offense, they return home to play against the Broncos and Drew Lock.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“The streamers with the best matchups this week just so happen to be lousy defenses, from the Lions (vs. TB) and Raiders (vs. JAC) to the Giants (vs. MIA) and Dolphins (@ NYG). Among that group, I’m intending on picking up the Giants as they at least have 26 sacks on the season and will be playing at home against the worst offensive line in football. We know Ryan Fitzpatrick is an interception machine as well. Plus, you could use the Giants in Week 16 too versus Dwayne Haskins.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

“I try to line up my D/ST matchups for the fantasy playoffs as early as Week 8 or Week 9 if I have the room on my roster to do so. If streaming is your preferred method of handling the position, I would roll with the Giants and continue to pick on the Dolphins’ offense — but not for the same reason we did it earlier in the season (Ryan Fitzpatrick). If DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson are unable to return in time from their concussions, it will leave the Dolphins with Isaiah Ford, Allen Hurns, and Mike Gesicki as the primary pass catchers. With Miami having no running game to speak of and a poor offensive line, the Giants should be able to rush four, give their struggling corners some help, and wait for mistakes.”
– Doug Orth (FFToday)

“Believe it or not, Tampa Bay is a top-15 fantasy defense this season and they face the Lions in Week 15. The Lions struggled to score any points at all against the Vikings and they really haven’t looked like an effective offense after the first half of the Thanksgiving game against the Bears. The Bucs should be a strong streaming option.”
– Donald Gibson (FantasyPros)

Thank you to the experts for naming their top waiver targets. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.

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