Week 15 fantasy football waiver wire must-adds

There were plenty of letdowns and injuries to go around in Week 14 of the NFL season. Every Tuesday, we will dive into a handful of the top fantasy football pickups available that week and why they could be of value for fantasy owners looking to give their teams an extra boost.

Here are the top waiver-wire adds for Week 15 as teams prepare for the playoffs:

1. Jake Browning, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (rostered in 13% of fantasy leagues)

It feels like this year more than any other has not been kind to starting quarterbacks. With so many top signal callers shelved with injuries including Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, Browning is a low-risk, high-reward add.

He’s been nothing but efficient in all three of his starts (79.3 completion percentage, six total touchdowns scored, six sacks taken), and he’s thrown for a combined 629 yards the last two weeks — both Cincinnati wins. The Bengals trust him enough to throw it nearly 30 times per game, and with weapons like Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, he’s always a threat to put up big numbers.

2. Ty Chandler, RB, Minnesota Vikings (rostered in 8% of fantasy leagues)

Not much has gone right for the Vikings this season, and now starting running back Alexander Mattison is dealing with a sprained ankle suffered in Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Minnesota has a short week with a matchup against the Bengals on Saturday, which means Chandler could get the start in Mattison’s absence. 

He carried the ball 12 times Sunday and was targeted three times as a receiver, so 20-plus touches this week isn’t out of the question. Chandler has had double-digit carries in three of the last four games, and with that kind of workload, he could have a big day against a Bengals run defense that surrenders the ninth-most yards per game.

3A. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (rostered in 19% of fantasy leagues)

3B. Jerick McKinnon, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (rostered in 26% of fantasy leagues)

With Isiah Pacheco nursing a shoulder injury and not practicing at all last week, the Chiefs could hold him out one more game just to be cautious. In his absence on Sunday, Edwards-Helaire and McKinnon split carries and combined for seven targets out of the backfield. Though Edwards-Helaire got more work (11 carries, 39 yards), McKinnon scored the lone touchdown between the two. 

The Chiefs play the Patriots this week, who featured the No. 3-ranked run defense in the NFL. Edwards-Helaire has more experience as a bell-cow running back, so he should see the bulk of the carries. However, McKinnon has value as a receiver, catching 22 of his 29 targets through 11 games. The good news is if one is already claimed, the other could still be available.

4. Jonathan Mingo, WR, Carolina Panthers (rostered in 2% of fantasy leagues)

Mingo has been targeted 19 times over the last two games, and he hasn’t had fewer than six targets since Nov. 5. He’s not putting up the number that Adam Thielen is, but Mingo is Carolina’s second-leading receiver in targets, receptions, yards and first downs via catch.

The rookie second-rounder shouldn’t be relied on as a WR1 or WR2 by any means, but he could prove useful if needing to fill a receiver spot in a pinch because of injury. Mingo is worth an add as a depth option down the line and if he keeps seeing a high volume of targets, he’s certainly got upside as a flex start.

5. Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals (rostered in 2% of fantasy leagues)

Although he’s missed a few games while nursing a shoulder injury, Wilson participated in Monday’s practice and should be on the road to being cleared for Sunday’s matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Top receiver Marquise Brown suffered an injury right before Arizona’s bye, so if he’s still banged up, Wilson could see a significant workload this week.

Wilson has averaged 4.3 targets and nearly 50 yards receiving per game when healthy. He makes sense as an add for teams needing to supplement lost production from injured top WRs like Tank Dell, Keenan Allen or Michael Thomas.