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Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

These players are generally available in at least 70% of Sleeper leagues and ranked in order of priority, by position.

Your bid should vary by format and situation. Need help at RB? Prioritize that position. All set there? Then, you probably don’t need to chase the top guys.

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets

Blind-bid recommendation: 8-12%

Rodgers beat up on the Jaguars this past week, completing 16 of 30 passes for 289 yards and 3 TDs.

He leaned on stud WRs Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson. Those weapons make him an attractive streamer vs. the Rams, the ninth-friendliest scoring matchup for QBs by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

You just won’t want to hang onto him for Week 17 against Buffalo. Outside of Jared Goff's Week 15 numbers against a secondary missing both safeties and CB Rasul Douglas, the Bills have ranked among the league's stingiest QB matchups.

Treat Rodgers as a one-week rental.

Running Back

Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns

Blind-bid recommendation: 50-75%

Nick Chubb’s season-ending foot injury leaves Ford in an elevated role going forward. In five healthy games without Chubb to open the season, Ford averaged 9.6 carries and 4.6 targets per game. 

He finished Sunday’s loss to the Colts with 104 total yards and a score on 9 touches, highlighted by a 62-yard TD run in the third quarter. 

Ford gets an excellent matchup against the Bengals in Week 16. If you’re thin at RB, bid aggressively for Cleveland’s new lead back.

Alexander Mattison, Las Vegas Raiders

Blind-bid recommendation: 50-75%

A Monday night injury to Sincere McCormick puts Mattison back in play here. The team ruled McCormick out well before the end of the game, which bodes ill for his Week 16 availability.

Mattison managed just 21 yards on 7 carries and 2 catches for 3 more yards against Atlanta. That marks three straight appearances with fewer than 10 touches for Mattison. But that span included two injury-shortened appearances and a McCormick start.

Before that came four straight weeks of 18+ opportunities. Mattison has caught 3+ passes in a game in five of 11 games this season.

He's far from exciting, but playing a lead RB role against Jacksonville puts you in lineup contention. The Jaguars have yielded the league's third-most PPR points to RBs.

Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints

Blind-bid recommendation: 25-40%

Miller was the only Saints RB besides Alvin Kamara to touch the ball in Week 15.

That left Miller as the backfield after Kamara left with a groin injury. If Kamara misses further time, Miller could be busy as the lead back.

And even if Kamara's healthy enough to be active, the Saints might shut him down to avoid a longer-term injury.

Miller is a talented runner who simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy through nearly two NFL seasons. 

The Saints get a neutral matchup vs. the Packers in Week 16, followed by a plus draw vs. the Raiders in Week 17.

That final matchup looks particularly attractive -- if Kamara's out.

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans

Blind-bid recommendation: 15-30%

RB Tony Pollard aggravated his ankle injury early in Sunday’s game and didn’t seem quite right the rest of the way. 

He still out-carried Spears 17-4. But Spears punched in a 1-yard rushing score and racked up 6 catches on 7 targets for 87 yards and another TD. 

We’ll keep tabs on Pollard this week, but it’d make sense for the 3-11 Titans to mix in Spears more often the rest of the way.

He gets plus matchups against the Colts and Jaguars the next two weeks.

Wide Receiver

Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Blind-bid recommendation: 25-40%

We highlighted McMillan last week, but he remains available in 86% of Sleeper leagues. 

The rookie followed a 2-TD Week 14 with a 5-75-1 line in the Bucs’ win over the Chargers. 

McMillan’s 6 targets ranked second on the team and were a 22% share. He has turned into a full-time player on this Bucs passing game that continues to roll. 

The next two matchups are positive:

• at Cowboys
• vs. Panthers

McMillan looks like a nice flex option over the next two weeks.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Blind-bid recommendation: 15-25%

So much for Bateman’s knee injury. He led the Ravens in receiving yards (80) and TDs (2) on a 20% target share against the Giants.

The matchup certainly helped. But Bateman’s now up to 4 TDs over his past four healthy games. On the year, he has impressed:

• 68% catch rate
• 17.2 yards per catch
• career-high seven scores

Bateman’s remaining schedule includes one tough spot (Week 16 vs. Pittsburgh) and one favorable spot (Week 17 vs. Houston).

Tight End

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

Blind-bid recommendation: 15-25%

Strange delivered an Evan Engram-esque line in Week 15:

• 12 targets
• 11 catches
• 73 yards

If Mac Jones keeps targeting Strange like that, the TE will be a low-end PPR starter going forward.

Strange averaged 4.5 targets, 3.0 catches, 30 yards, and 0.5 TDs with Engram out for four games earlier this season. Expect numbers closer to those the rest of the way.

But it’s worth noting that WRs Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis were healthy for those games. Both WRs -- and Engram -- are out for the rest of the season.

Strange could be a PPR option in a plus matchup against the Raiders next week. He gets a neutral matchup vs. the Titans in Week 17.

Deep-League Options

Craig Reynolds, RB, Detroit Lions

Blind-bid recommendation: 10-20%

David Montgomery is officially out for the year, opening the door for another RB.

Jahmyr Gibbs should get increased usage, but Reynolds is the bet over rookie Sione Vaki to inherit part of Montgomery’s touches.

In the three games that Montgomery missed last year, Reynolds averaged 7.66 touches for 42 yards.

He is worth stashing for now until we get reports about how Reynolds might be deployed.

The Lions have a positive matchup against the Bears in Week 16, followed by a neutral matchup against the 49ers in Week 17. 

Audric Estime, RB, Denver Broncos

Blind-bid recommendation: 5-10%

As of Tuesday morning, we’re waiting to hear more on Jaleel McLaughlin’s quad injury. He left Sunday’s game vs. the Colts and didn’t return.

If he’s out, Estime would garner more work against the Chargers. McLaughlin saw a season-high in carry share (54%) prior to a Week 14 bye. So his loss would be meaningful for this hot-hand backfield.

Just note: Estime doesn’t offer much in the passing game, with 4 targets all season. The Chargers have also proved capable on run D, allowing only five total RB scores in 2024.

Malik Washington, WR, Miami Dolphins

Blind-bid recommendation: 10-18%

Jaylen Waddle left the game against the Texans with a knee injury, opening the door for Washington to get more snaps.

The Dolphins also released Odell Beckham ahead of the game.

Washington ranked second among WRs for the game in:

• snaps (40)
• routes run (31)
• and targets (6)

The rookie caught five passes for 52 yards.

The 49ers turn up a tough Week 16 matchup, but Washington's worth stashing if you're in a pinch at WR. 

Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

Blind-bid recommendation: 12-18%

In Week 15, Okonkwo set season highs in:

• targets (10)
• target share (28%)
• targets per route run (48%)
• catches (8)
• air yards share (27%)

Perhaps it’s just a one-week blip. But it’s clear this passing game lacks a go-to target behind Calvin Ridley, which should give Okonkwo more opportunities.

Next up is a Colts defense that's allowed four TE scores since Week 11.

Stone Smartt, Los Angeles Chargers

Blind-bid recommendation: 8-15%

Smartt filled in admirably for Will Dissly (shoulder) in Week 15. He posted 5 catches for 50 yards on a solid 19% target share. He also tallied a 70% route rate, a figure Dissly's hit only four times in 2024.

We’ll see about Dissly's status, but he didn’t practice at all last week and was listed as DNP on Monday.

If he remains out, Smartt will be a low-end streamer vs. Denver.

Top Streaming Defense for Week 15

Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants

The Giants QB room is in shambles. Drew Lock's dealing with a heel injury. The Ravens concussed Tommy DeVito.

If neither can go, journeyman Tim Boyle will start.

Boyle has 5 career TDs and 13 INTs on 233 passing attempts.

The rest of the Giants offense won’t help Boyle, averaging 13 points per game over the last four.

The offensive line remains generous, giving up 3.75 sacks per game over the last four.

The Falcons held the Raiders to only 9 points on Monday night. 

They sacked Desmond Ridder three times and intercepted two passes.

There is little reason the Falcons can’t repeat that performance this week.

If you want other defenses to stream, check out our Streaming Defense Guide for Week 16.

Drop Candidates

At this point in the year, anyone you won't start the next two weeks is a cut candidate -- as long as dropping that player also won't help one of your remaining opponents.

Kevin English, Senior Analyst

Kevin brings 15 years of experience as a fantasy analyst and mid-stakes competitor across various formats (redraft, best ball, dynasty, DFS). His work has been featured on The Mercury News, Rotoworld, and FantasyPros.