Quarterbacks

Tua Tagovailoa (MIA; FAAB Bid: 6-8%) Tua won’t break the slate by any means, but he provides a decent floor most weeks. The Dolphins host the Jets and Miami is coming off their Bye week, so they’ll be well rested. 250+ passing yards and a pair of touchdowns are easily within reach for Tua, especially when you take into account the amount of running backs that are on the Reserve/COVID-19 list for Miami. It’s hard to imagine him coming up short in this matchup, so he’s likely my favorite streamer if you’re trying to make a backup plan in the event Lamar Jackson doesn’t play this week.

Jimmy Garoppolo (SF; FAAB Bid: 5-6%) If you aren’t sold on Tua Tagovailoa, then definitely roll with Jimmy Grapes this week. Garoppolo has multiple touchdown passes in five of his last six games and he’s flirted with 300 passing yards in each of his last two games. He provides a similar safety net to Tua and the 49ers will be hosting the Atlanta Falcons this week. The Falcons defense is nothing worth writing home about and given the weapons at Jimmy G’s disposal, he can most certainly carve them up and help you get to the semifinals in your league(s).

Justin Fields (CHI; FAAB Bid: 4%) I have to say, I had no interest in streaming this guy last week, but if you were smarter and played him then kudos to you. The passing numbers are still concerning as his accuracy has not been great. But he runs enough to potentially offset the passing deficiencies. He threw multiple touchdowns against Green Bay for the first time in his career and he added 74 rushing yards. I don’t trust him as much as Tagovailoa or Garoppolo, but a matchup against Minnesota is on tap next week. The Vikings have a decent pass rush but they’re also prone to bleeding yards and points to opposing offenses.

Running Backs

Rashaad Penny (SEA; FAAB Bid: 20-25%) Penny is likely the most sought after player on waivers this week. In Week 13 against the 49ers he became more involved late in the game and that carried over to Week 14. He was only on the field for 35 snaps but that was more than Alex Collins (14) and DeeJay Dallas (11). Penny rushed for over 130 yards and he found the end zone twice. Seattle gets a tough matchup in Week 15 against the Rams, but if you can survive that matchup Penny’s schedule wraps up nicely in Weeks 16 and 17 against the Bears and Lions.

Jeff Wilson (SF; FAAB Bid: 15-18%) I am not a big Jeff Wilson fan. I try to stress this as much as I can when asked whether to start him or not. He didn’t find the end zone in Week 14, but he did get 13 carries and that’s 13 more than JaMycal Hasty received. If Elijah Mitchell misses this week’s game against the Falcons then Wilson is a borderline Flex play. But I just don’t think he’s looked very good when he’s been given the ball. He wasn’t used in the passing game last week and if he isn’t finding the end zone then he’s likely hurting your squad. But the volume is there for him if Mitchell were to miss another game, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable about starting him.

Malcom Brown (MIA;FAAB: 5-8%) So as it stands as of late Monday night Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed, and Phillip Lindsay are all on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Lindsay landed there Monday afternoon while Gaskin and Ahmed tested positive last week. Malcom Brown is a player worth stashing, but don’t spend a ton of FAAB on him because it’s entirely possible the Dolphins get Gaskin back this week. But on the off chance that none of the aforementioned running backs are available then Brown could be in line for a nice workload if he were to return. Duke Johnson Jr. was called up to the active roster and he is also an option in deeper formats.

D’Ernest Johnson (CLE; FAAB Bid: 5-7%) Kareem Hunt is unlikely to play next week against the Raiders. So it’ll be the Nick Chubb show against Las Vegas. The Raiders allow over 120 rushing yards to opposing running backs and they gave up three rushing touchdowns on Sunday against the Chiefs. So if Cleveland can comfortably put this game away then I’m curious as to what kind of usage they could get out of D’Ernest Johnson. We know Cleveland likes to give Chubb a breather after longer runs and we’ve seen touchdowns vultured from Chubb plenty of times. Johnson is not a player you should be locking into your lineup unless you’re desperate or play in a deeper league.

Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley (LAC; FAAB Bid: 5%) I’m of the mindset that if you’re an Ekeler owner, you probably should look to grab one of these guys. We don’t have a lot of information regarding Ekeler’s ankle injury, but we do know the Bolts play Thursday against the Chiefs. I wouldn’t expect either of these guys to sniff the kind of workload or production Ekeler usually provides. Not to mention, the Chiefs defense has been playing much better over the last month or so and on a short week this just isn’t the time of year where I want to rely on either of these two. Overall, I think Ekeler plays, but if you find yourself in a desperate situation then look to cuff.

Craig Reynolds (DET; FAAB Bid: 3-4%) We all had a collective blanket pulled over our eyes on Sunday as Detroit didn’t lean on Jermar Jefferson as he saw a whopping three snaps and while Godwin Igwebuike saw 28 snaps he only had eight carries for 25 yards. We knew this wasn’t a desirable backfield especially with D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams inactive. But Reynolds came out of nowhere and played 29 snaps and ran for 83 yards on 11 carries. I don’t love the matchup in the coming week against Arizona, but if Detroit is once again without an abundance of weapons, then Reynolds could be in line for 10-to-12 touches. But I truly hope that isn’t the case.

Wayne Gallman (MIN; FAAB Bid: 1%) Not a ton of interest here and by no means should you spend more than 1% of your FAAB on him. Alexander Mattison has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list so I think Gallman is worth a stash in deeper leagues or formats that allow for deep benches. He’s still behind Dalvin Cook on the depth chart and truthfully only has a few days to try and learn the playbook. Gallman’s not a must-add, but have him on your radar especially if Dalvin Cook were to get hurt.

Wide Receivers

Russell Gage (ATL; FAAB Bid: 7-9%) I’m not going to list many wide receivers as of right now for two reasons: 1. If I have three or four better options then I don’t want to prioritize a wide receiver that’ll be of little-to-no use to me, and 2. I value running back depth more at this time of year. But Gage has emerged as the WR1 in this offense as Calvin Ridley has missed time to address his mental health issues and Kyle Pitts apparently only goes off in London. But Gage is a fine Flex option in PPR formats. He’s not the best candidate to find the end zone with just two touchdowns on the season, but he has 33 targets over his last four games.

K.J. Osborn (MIN; FAAB Bid: 7-9%) With Adam Thielen out, Osborn found the end zone for the second straight game and in that span he now has 16 targets. He only caught seven of them, but the important thing is he’s scored in back-to-back games. If Thielen misses this week’s game against Chicago, Osborn warrants Flex consideration especially if he can take advantage of the volume and catch maybe 70% of his targets.

Gabriel Davis (BUF; FAAB Bid: 7-8%) Davis was a player I had on my radar to start the year and it took until December for him to finally stop making me look like an idiot. He had a great camp and showcased chemistry with Josh Allen. Then he rode the bench through the Fall and has finally started to make some noise. He’s now scored in each of his last two games and he was the beneficiary of eight targets on Sunday. If Emmanuel Sanders misses time due to his knee injury, then Davis is in line for more snaps.

Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET; FAAB Bid: 7-8%) A dozen targets in each of his last two games. With the absences of T.J. Hockenson, D’Andre Swift, and Jamaal Williams, ARSB has quickly become one of Jared Goff’s most reliable targets the last couple weeks. The Lions will likely always be playing from behind so passing volume is there for the receivers. Josh Reynolds may see five-to-six targets each game, but St. Brown is getting many more looks.

Donovan Peoples-Jones (CLE; FAAB Bid: 5-6%) In the absence of Odell Beckham Jr. we’ve seen DPJ take on more routes, but the production had not been there until Sunday. Against the Ravens, DPJ caught five-of-seven targets for 90 yards and he ran a route on over 95% of Baker Mayfield’s drop backs. Say what you will about Mayfield’s talent, but if a wide receiver is going to run that many routes in an offense without too many reliable pass catching options, then maybe he catches fire and becomes a WR2/WR3 option down the stretch.

Tight Ends

Austin Hooper (CLE; FAAB Bid: 5-6%) Hooper came through last week catching five-of-seven targets for only 30 yards but he did find the end zone. This is a touchdown-dependent position and Hooper found the end zone for just the second time in his last four games. While Travis Kelce may have had a quiet game against the Raiders last week, Las Vegas has still allowed nine touchdowns to opposing tight ends on the season so don’t be surprised if Hooper finds the end zone again this week.

Hunter Henry (NE; FAAB Bid: 5%) Let’s take a stroll down Narrative Street. Henry has seen his ownership dip after three straight sub-par performances. But New England is coming off their Bye week and Henry has the new dad energy as his wife gave birth to their son within the last week. The Colts are also coming off their Bye week and it’ll be a road game for the Patriots, but I’m of the mindset he gets back into the end zone this week.

Brevin Jordan (HOU; FAAB Bid: 3-4%) It’s not great when you have to look to the Houston Texans in Week 15, but Jordan did get seven targets last week despite splitting snaps with Jordan Akins, and Brevin Jordan also found the end zone. The Texans will face the Jaguars in Week 15 and while the game could be very ugly, there are decent streaming options in this matchup, especially Jordan at the tight end position.

James O’Shaughnessy (JAC; FAAB Bid: 3%) O’Shaughnessy has 17 targets over his last three games but he’s failed to find the end zone and he’s turned those targets into just nine catches for 63 yards. Not great across three games. But as mentioned in the Jordan section, this game features two terrible defenses so there could be some fantasy production here, but only entertain these two if desperate.

Defense/Special Teams

Miami Dolphins – They may have been dropped last week due to having Week 14 off. But they will host the Jets in Week 15 and they’ll be the priority D/ST to grab this week. If your roster is set at every other position, then prioritize the Dolphins. They didn’t generate enough sacks or turnovers when these two teams met the first time, but they still held the Jets offense to just 17 points. In four of their last five games, the Dolphins D/ST has returned double-digit fantasy points. The Dolphins are favored by 8.5 points and the over/under is sitting at 42 points.

Cleveland Browns – Vegas does not expect much scoring in Northeast Ohio this week. The Raiders visit Cleveland and the over/under is surprising low at just 42 points on most sportsbooks and the Browns are favored by six points. The Raiders offense has been ugly of late especially after a demoralizing loss to the Chiefs last week. The Browns defense has been stepping up with at least nine fantasy points in three straight games.

Kansas City Chiefs – If you want to roll the dice a bit you can look at Kansas City this week. The short week and the travel are a little concerning, but if Austin Ekeler is unable to play on Thursday then I want exposure to this D/ST. The Chiefs have posted at least nine fantasy points in five straight games including 16, 13, and 25 points in three straight. They’re forcing turnovers at an absurd clip with a total of 15 takeaways in their last five games including an interception and fumble recovery in each game in that span as well. It feels unsustainable, but they keep churning out production.

Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – I want to touch on these two teams because while there are certainly stream-worthy players here, like the tight ends mentioned earlier, Rex Burkhead, and maybe the quarterbacks in deeper leagues, the fact remains that we may not see much scoring in this game. Personally, I’d avoid it if I were you because it could be a trap. The over/under is at 40.5 points and that could drop even more as the weekend approaches. The Jaguars are favored by a field goal, but I get the sense that’s only because they’re playing at home. If I had to choose one of the teams to play it would be Houston, but I can’t stress enough how much you should avoid this game unless you’re in a deeper league.