Fantasy Football 2025 Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice

Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? It’s fantasy playoffs time, so the list is shortened, and all the adds are players who can be played immediately, or are direct RB handcuffs. All the players I list will be rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Immediately Useful

Theo Johnson, TE, Giants (42% Rostered): Johnson has become a key target for the Giants, and while that’s not any great shakes for one of the NFL’s bottom rung teams, the presence of rookie QB Jaxson Dart makes this offense better than you’d think. Johnson is seeing consistent targets – at least four in each of his last 10 games – and his athleticism lends itself to explosive plays and touchdown potential. This list is heavy on TEs, and some I do prefer over Theo Johnson, but he’s a solid player you can definitely slot in and rely on a non-zero outcome.

Jayden Reed, WR, Packers (41% Rostered): Reed is back, and in his return he drew four targets, catching all of them for 31 yards. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but Reed played 47.2% of the snaps, and after getting through unscathed should see that inch upward. Reed is an explosive player who does not need a ton of snaps or targets to do damage, although we’d happily take it! Reed isn’t the Packers “No. 1 receiver,” but he is the best receiver on this team and when he’s right he has a rock solid role. If you are moving forward and potentially lost a guy like Tee Higgins, or you had Jets WRs that are unusable now, Reed is someone who can help this week and throughout your postseason.

Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Browns (40% Rostered): Fannin had his best game as a pro last week, turning 11 targets into eight receptions, 114 yards and a touchdown. Shedeur Sanders may not be the Browns’ answer at QB, but he can definitely get the ball to Fannin, who has scored in back to back games and offers a truly high floor for the TE position. We have a few TEs listed here who haven’t seen their roster rates change very much, suggesting teams are happy with their TE situation. I’m sure a bunch of them, if they took a look, might rather have Fannin.

Colston Loveland, TE, Bears (40% Rostered): Loveland has been the ceiling play for rookie TEs for me of late, with Fannin being the floor. Now, I think Fannin is just in a better position to contribute consistently because the WRs around him are subpar, and the QB is less adept at taking chances and hitting deeper throws, choosing to prioritize Fanning. With that said, Loveland has a 118-yard, two-score game under his belt this season and a QB who can go nuclear on any given Sunday. I’d add Fannin before Loveland, but I would probably roll with Loveland over Theo Johnson.

Chris Rodriguez, RB, Commanders (37% Rostered): Rodriguez struggled vs. a tough Minnesota defense Sunday, and losing Jayden Daniels in the first half didn’t help, but he still turned 10 carries into 52 yards. Rodriguez isn’t going to rip off long plays, but he’s good at churning out yards on plays where there should be none available, and he’s a strong option at the goal line. This is not a league-winner by any means, but you can play him and have a reasonable chance at double digits.

Darius Slayton, WR, Giants (35% Rostered): Playing Slayton is playing with fire, so you cannot say you weren’t warned of the burn risk. With that said, Slayton is capable of bomb plays with Dart under center, and we have seen him connect on some this year. Overall, he’s been very disappointing in his big opportunity sans Malik Nabers, and I wouldn’t be pumped about using him in Round 1 of the fantasy playoffs. He’s also up against a Commanders defense that’s pretty old and worn out.

Blake Corum, RB, Rams (33% Rostered): Corum’s floor remains low because Kyren Williams is an elite lead back, but Corum has graduated from the handcuff class. There’s a clear desire to keep Williams fresh for the NFL playoffs, but Corum has also just forced the Rams’ hand because he’s excellent in his own right. He’s scored three touchdowns in the last two games, and punished Arizona late when he got extended opportunity. You could play him and end up with sub-five points, but he’s also been given entire drives at times including goal line work. There’s high risk here, but Corum has proven to have standalone value.

Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans (28% Rostered): Spears watched as Tony Pollard finally exploded for nearly 30 fantasy points on Sunday, and we all should’ve seen that and understood that is possible for Spears too. The carries aren’t there for him, and won’t be without an injury, but Spears continues to see consistent receiving work and he possesses the electricity needed for similar long strikes. Playing Spears is desperate stuff, but guaranteed volume can’t be completely dismissed.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Steelers (24% Rostered): I just wanted to have at least one QB on the list, and Rodgers is coming off arguably his best game as a Steeler, and definitely his best game since torching the Jets in Week 1. He only threw for one touchdown, and his fantasy output was boosted by a touchdown rush. But it was the best Rodgers has looked throwing the football in some time, as he frequently got the rock to D.K. Metcalf, and also found some chemistry deep with Calvin Austin. It’s probably a flash in the pan, but a matchup with Miami in Week 15 is promising.

Dare Ogunbowale, RB, Texans (0% Rostered): Ogunbowale is a pure volume gamble in the event that Woody Marks and Nick Chubb both are unable to go in Week 15. We don’t have those answers yet, and if either of them are looking like they’ll be active for Week 15, cross Ogunbowale off your list. If they’re both out, however, he’s the de facto RB1 even if they bring in some warm bodies behind him.

Handcuffs

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jaguars (40% Rostered)

Tyler Allgeier, RB, Falcons (40% Rostered)

Emanuel Wilson, RB, Packers (31% Rostered)

Devin Singletary, RB, Giants (25% Rostered)

Brian Robinson Jr., RB, 49ers (21% Rostered)

Tank Bigsby, RB, Eagles (18% Rostered)

Ray Davis, RB, Bills (7% Rostered)

Isaiah Davis, RB, Jets (3% Rostered)