Adonai Mitchell and Troy Franklin both reemerged as strong WR2 options in Week 15. Playing expanded roles, both wideouts are strong adds off the waiver wire heading into Week 16.
With one game left to go in Week 15, we’re nearly on to the fantasy semifinals. These are the biggest names to look out for on the waiver wire heading into Week 16. With one exception, everyone in this article is available in over half of all Yahoo leagues.
▶ Quarterback
C.J. Stroud, Texans
Stroud has been notably efficient this year. He ranks 10th in EPA per play and 14th in CPOE. Stroud sits at 13th in adjusted yards per attempt. His fancy efficiency stats haven’t resulted in many solid fantasy games this year, but he broke the trend in Week 15 with a QB1 outing. Stroud threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Now he gets a Raiders defense that ranks 27th in EPA per dropback allowed.
Tyler Shough, Saints
Shough is quietly stacking usable games, finishing as a top-15 fantasy quarterback in four of the past five weeks. He has at least 239 passing yards in all but one of those contests. The biggest change in his game has been a surprising amount of rushing production. Shough is averaging seven passes for 32 yards and .5 touchdowns over the past month. Shough will be in the QB2 mix when he faces the Jets this week.
J.J. McCarthy, Vikings
After a disastrous start to the 2025 season, McCarthy may have turned the corner in recent weeks. He has five passing touchdowns, one interception, and one rushing touchdown in his previous two appearances, both of which were wins. McCarthy is the QB in EPA per play over the past two weeks. He is largely a 2QB play for Week 16, but McCarthy does have some value versus a dreadful Giants defense.
▶ Running Back
Michael Carter, Cardinals
Bam Knight suffered an ankle injury in Week 15 and has been all but ruled out for Week 16 already.
Cardinals RB Bam Knight, who was carted off Sunday with an ankle injury, suffered what is being described as “a bad sprain” but nothing is broken. Knight will undergo an MRI today to confirm the diagnosis. He is unlikely to play this week. pic.twitter.com/9Uh6DfLQDD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 15, 2025
Carter operated as the Cardinals’ clear lead back after Knight went down. He tallied 14 carries and caught four passes on as many targets. Emari Demercado was active but only managed one carry and two catches. Carter logged a 79 percent snap share. With Trey Benson officially done for the year and Knight potentially out multiple weeks, Carter could be locked in for RB2 numbers to close out the season.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Commanders
Chris Rodriguez did not play in Week 15 because of a groin injury, putting Bill back in the driver’s seat in the Commanders' backfield. He didn’t disappoint, running for 96 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. JCM saw 62 percent of the team’s carries. That was his second-highest mark of the season. His fantasy resurgence will likely be cut short the moment Rodriguez returns to the lineup. If that doesn’t happen next week, JCM will sit on the RB2/3 border versus the Eagles.
Blake Corum, Rams
Corum is forcing a true committee in Los Angeles. He has 30 carries for 280 yards and four scores in his last three games. He has seen 37 percent of the Rams’ carries and 43 percent of their goal line attempts over that span. You can’t blame Sean McVay for giving him more work either. Pro Football Focus has Corum graded as their No. 7 runner this year. Corum ranks third in the NFL in rush yards over expected per carry (1.2).
Audric Estime, Saints
Devin Neal left Week 15 with a hamstring issue and did not return. Evan Hull led the remaining Saints backs in carries with four. Estime, however, only saw one fewer carry while also catching three passes. Hull did not catch a pass. Estime also led the backfield with a 39 percent snap share and a 37 percent route rate. This is an ugly backfield and we don’t even know Neal’s status for Week 16. I wouldn’t spend a lot of FAAB on this situation, but it’s one to monitor for deeper formats.
Jawhar Jordan, Texans
Nick Chubb missed Week 15 and Woody Marks left early with an ankle issue. As nearly the last man standing, Jordan turned 15 carries into 101 yards and two catches into an additional 17 yards. For fantasy purposes, it doesn’t look like we will get an encore next week.
DeMeco Ryans also said Woody Marks could have returned to the game when he tweaked his ankle, but he felt good about Jawhar Jordan and Dare Ogunbowale filling in.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) December 14, 2025
Still, things could change when the Texans practice for the first time on Wednesday. Jordan is at least worth a look in deeper leagues.
Patrick Daugherty▶ Wide Receiver
Adonai Mitchell, Jets
Mitchell is being used like an alpha wide receiver every week and fantasy managers continue to ignore him. He made his debut with the Jets in Week 11. From then onward, Mitchell has a 27 percent target share and 50 percent of the team’s air yards. He was doing nothing with the massive role early in his Jets tenure but has since turned things around. Mitchell has 45 PPR points over the past three weeks, highlighted by a pair of top-15 weekly finishes.
Troy Franklin, Broncos
Franklin is technically rostered in 51 percent of Yahoo leagues, making him a “Not in My League” Hall of Famer. Just in case he is available in your league, his Week 15 usage was worth noting. Pat Bryant was out and Franklin tallied a 21 percent target share, his highest mark since Week 11. He turned that into six catches for 81 yards and a score. Despite his role waxing and waning throughout the year, Franklin is currently the WR27 (pending Monday Night Football).
David Sills, Falcons
With Drake London out for the past month, Sills has stepped into a modestly interesting role for the Falcons. He has run a route on 96 percent of the team’s dropbacks over the past two weeks and his target share hit 24 percent in Week 15. Sills ended the day with six catches for 78 yards, both of which were season-highs. Sills also found the end zone two weeks in a row, starting with London missing Week 12. Kyle Pitts is ultimately this team’s WR1, but Sills can post usable fantasy numbers as the No. 2 receiver on this team.
Jalen Coker, Panthers
Coker missed the first month of the season with an injury and initially struggled to find his footing after rejoining the team. He is starting to turn the corner with back-to-back WR2 performances. Coker has a 23 percent target share and 43 percent of the Panthers’ air yards over his past two appearances.
▶ Tight End
Colby Parkinson, Rams
The Rams initially went with a tight-end-by-committee approach after losing Tyler Higbee to an ankle injury. They have since crowned Parkinson their TE1, and his fantasy output has followed suit. Parkinson has run 72 percent of the routes over the past two weeks. He exploded for a 5/72/2 receiving line in Week 15. That brought him to six touchdowns on the year, all of which have come in his past six games. With Matthew Stafford running away as the clear MVP favorite, his starting tight end is a weekly TE1 option.
Dalton Schultz, Texans
Available in just over half of all Yahoo leagues, Schultz is once again the highest-scoring tight end this season who still fits that aforementioned criteria. This will be the last time he is widely found on waivers. Schultz is the PPR TE9 this year and just posted an 8/76/1 line. He is ninth among tight ends in target share (20 percent) and 13th in air yards share (15 percent).
Colston Loveland, Bears
Loveland’s role remains capped by the presence of Cole Kmet, but things are continuing to shift in the rookie’s favor. He ran 66 percent of the routes in Week 15 and earned a 19 percent target share. His target share has been hovering just below 20 percent for a month. Loveland has at least three catches in every game since Week 6.
Category: General Sports
