NFL Waiver Wire: Week 15 Pickups

Week 14 is in the books and for many fantasy leagues, the playoffs are here. Do not be afraid to pick up a player and start him this week; had you done that last week with Jared Goff, you would have been rewarded. While it's tough to sit a player who has helped you all season, all 32 teams play this week and there continues to be revolving situations that could help your fantasy team.

This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues and based upon a $100 free-agent budget. Please adjust for your league based on both the number of teams (I'm in a 24-team league, for example) and remaining budget.

QUARTERBACK

Primary Targets

Desmond Ridder, ATL - If a team is going make a quarterback switch, a bye week would be the optimal time to do so. Ridder should be on everyone's fantasy radar following the Falcons' bye last week. First, he's the same type of dual-threat quarterback as Marcus Mariota, so he has plenty of rushing upside. The next three games are fantasy-friendly as the Saints, Ravens and Cardinals rank (in that order) in the bottom-half of the league against quarterbacks. Ridder is a wild card this week but has the upside to finish as a top-10 fantasy quarterback on any week the rest of the way. FAAB: $5-$10

Secondary Targets

Colt McCoy, ARI - It appears Kyler Murray's season is over and the Cardinals will hand the keys of the offense to McCoy. He's actually one of the better backups in the league, and while he didn't have a great performance Monday night, his offense did him no favors as he seemed under duress the whole night. He's got a great duo of receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown and he'll have extra time to work with them before their next game against Denver, which has already been eliminated from the playoffs. FAAB: $4-$8

Hail Mary

Brett Rypien, DEN - Most players who go into the concussion protocol miss at least the following game so it wouldn't be a surprise if Russell Wilson misses this week's tilt with the Cardinals. Arizona comes into this game ranked 28th in the league against quarterbacks so there's an opportunity for Rypien to be successful. Courtland Sutton's return to the lineup would obviously help and the team seems to have realized they should get Jerry Jeudy the ball. FAAB: $1-$2

RUNNING BACK

Secondary Targets

Travis Homer, SEA - Homer led the Seahawks backfield Sunday with both Kenneth Walker and DeeJay Dallas out nursing injuries. It's unlikely they return for Thursday's matchup with the 49ers, a bad matchup for any of Seattle's running backs no matter who is healthy. Still, Homer received a team-high 11 touches Sunday and would be in line for another game of double-digit touches if his teammates are out again. FAAB: $4-$8

Chuba Hubbard, CAR - Hubbard has established a timeshare with D'Onta Foreman and had the better fantasy game between the two Sunday, finishing with 99 yards from scrimmage and a score. While he only has 55 carries this season, he averages 4.5 yards per carry and has shown to be a better pass-catcher than Foreman. The only red flag besides Foreman consistently getting more carries is that it's a rough schedule with every remaining team in the top half of the league against  running backs. FAAB: $3-$6

Marlon Mack, DEN - With all of the attention on Russell Wilson this season it's been an injury-filled circus in the backfield for the Broncos. Mike Boone looks to be the latest casualty, giving Marlon Mack another shot in the NFL. Mack turned in a nice game after Boone left, which included a 66-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Russell Wilson. At the very least it appears Mack has worked himself into a "1B" role with Latavius Murray in the Denver backfield. FAAB: $3-$6

Rex Burkhead, Dare Ogunbowale, HOU - I can't really believe it's 2022 and I'm forced to write about Burkhead, but here we are. Dameon Pierce was seen limping around the locker room after departing Sunday's game, and it appears Burkhead would be the next man up at running back for Houston. On the wrong side of 32, Burkhead averaged only 3.5 yards per carry last season and has a 3.1 mark this season. Ogunbowale is my preferred choice, though I don't trust the Texans to give him more touches over Burkhead with this being a lost season. FAAB: $2-$4 for either, prefer Burkhead in PPR, Dare in standard

WIDE RECEIVER

Secondary Targets

Chris Moore, HOU - With both Nico Collins and Brandin Cooks out for Sunday's matchup with the Cowboys, it ended up being Moore and not Phillip Dorsett who was the Texans' top wide receiver. He finished with 11-10-124 and had more than twice as many targets as Amari Rodgers (five targets), who finished second on the team. Even if Cooks or Collins returns this week, Moore may still be worth considering with an elite matchup on hand against the Chiefs this week. FAAB: $3-$6

DJ Chark, DET - The Lions are a great story this season and have been one of the more entertaining teams to watch the last couple weeks.  A lot of analysts will be more on Chark this week than I, and there's a few reasons for that. Chark has had two easy matchups the last two weeks against the Vikings and Jaguars, but it's a different story this week going to New York to face the Jets. Chark also has caught 11 of 13 targets (84.6 percent) the last two game, an unsustainable rate to continue. Week 16 lines up much better for Chark when the Lions head to Carolina to take on the Panthers. FAAB: $3-$6

Marquise Goodwin, SEA - The Seahawks may have found the answer to their third wide receiver problem with Goodwin finally healthy. He's been a boom-or-bust player this season when on the field and Sunday was one of those "boom" games (6-5-91-1 line). It's hard to trust Goodwin on a consistent basis and this week it's a short week with not the greatest matchup with the 49ers. Week 16 is a much more attractive option facing the Chiefs, so it's probably smart to wait and consider using him then. FAAB: $2-$4

Hail Mary

T.Y. Hilton, DAL - It's tough to know how much Hilton has left in the tank at age 33, and he'll  initially be buried on the depth chart below Noah Brown. It'll take some time for him to learn the playbook and get his timing down with Dak, so I don't see much value. It's fair to say he could still have some upside given the lack of talent at quarterback he's had recently in Indianapolis, but I'd say pass in most formats. FAAB: $1-$2

TIGHT END

Primary Targets

Taysom Hill, NO - With the Saints on bye last week the level of Hill being rostered dipped below 50 percent, so it's a coin flip as to whether he's available. The position has been pretty thin all season given the inconsistency, but there's a lot to like about Hill this week. The Falcons aren't a great defense and Hill can be used in a variety of ways from quarterback to running back to even catching passes. He's also been used as the goal-line back. In full point PPR he had 15.3 fantasy points against these same Falcons Week 1. FAAB: $6-$12