10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 15

There are no more bye weeks to sift through as we head into Week 15, but that definitely doesn't mean we don't need waiver-wire plays down the stretch.

There's a combination, now, of short-term and long-term (long-term meaning multi-week) additions we can eye up on the wire. Here are 10 of the best moves you can make.

(I'll stick to players rostered on 50% of Yahoo teams or fewer and also list some other viable pickups who may be available in shallower leagues or relevant only in deeper leagues.)

Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Roster Percentage: 31%

Tua Tagovailoa will be coming in fresh off of a bye week to face the New York Jets during a week where there aren't many great streaming matchups. Again, with no byes, you might not need to stream at quarterback, but Tua remains viable in deeper leagues and multi-quarterback leagues.

The Miami Dolphins are on a nice win streak, and a lot of that has to do with how Tagovailoa has played.

From Weeks 11 through 13 when Tagovailoa started again after injury, he ranks third in Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back.

Others to Consider:
Taysom Hill (50%; at Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Jimmy Garoppolo (30%; vs. Atlanta Falcons)

Running Backs

Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks

Roster Percentage: 19%

There were some rumblings that Rashaad Penny would be featured this week, and he was. Penny finished Week 14 with 16 carries for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns with an additional target for another yard. Three of his 16 carries went for at least 10 yards.

Penny's snap rate was 57.9%, via NextGenStats, and it's quite possible with his results, that'll climb up toward 65.0%.

That'd put Penny into league-winning territory as an RB2 or FLEX option.

Joshua Kelley (and Justin Jackson), Los Angeles Chargers

Roster Percentage: 0% (and 2%)

With Austin Ekeler exiting with 23 minutes left in Week 13, we saw a timeshare of sorts for the Los Angeles Chargers' backs between Joshua Kelley and Justin Jackson.

After Ekeler left, Kelley led with 7 carries to Jackson's 5. Neither had any of the five targets within the offense during a positive game script. The red zone rushes did, however, lean toward Jackson over Kelley three to two.

In terms of snaps, Kelley was in on 13 of 22 offensive plays (59.1%); Jackson was in on 9 (40.9%).

With the Chargers playing on a short week against a beatable run defense -- the Kansas City Chiefs -- we could see enough work for both while prioritizing Kelley.

Ty Johnson, New York Jets

Roster Percentage: 29%

The Jets' backfield carousel continues. In Week 14, they were without Tevin Coleman.

Ty Johnson handled 6 of 13 running back carries but all 7 running back targets. He also ran 34 pass routes a stellar 75.6% rate.

With Elijah Moore on injured reserve, Johnson could see the type of passing volume to generate a late-season surge of fantasy points.

Also, consider adding Coleman (27%).

Ameer Abdullah, Carolina Panthers

Roster Percentage: 11%

Ameer Abdullah was featured in this column a week ago, and while he didn't have a great Week 14 output, he played plenty. He out-snapped Chuba Hubbard 37 to 24 (giving Abdullah a 59.7% snap rate in total). This marks the fifth straight game during which Abdullah has out-snapped Hubbard.

Abdullah's receiving role -- he had all four running back targets -- gives him heavy leverage in PPR leagues and makes him a viable replacement back even in standard leagues. Those yards matter even if we don't get fantasy points for the catches.

Others to Consider:
Mike Davis (52%), Tevin Coleman (27%), Phillip Lindsay (10%), D'Ernest Johnson (13%), Craig Reynolds (1%), La'Mical Perine (0%)

Wide Receivers

DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins

Roster Percentage: 44%

DeVante Parker returned to the Dolphins' offense in Week 13 and played on 72.1% of their snaps. He had just a 12.2% target share but caught all 5 targets for 62 yards while seeing an above-average target depth of 11.3 yards downfield.

The Jets are the worst adjusted pass defense in football, setting up Parker well for a post-bye game as someone who could be set up for a big role increase down the stretch.

K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings

Roster Percentage: 38%

K.J. Osborn was the featured pickup here last week but still is available in a majority of leagues.

On Thursday night, Osborn had only 3 catches on 9 targets but turned them into 83 yards and a touchdown. The downfield threat has that potential, though it is worth noting that he caught just 2 of 7 passes on short attempts (within 9 yards of the line of scrimmage) for 21 yards.

Either way, he's a full-time receiver while Adam Thielen is sidelined.

Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills

Roster Percentage: 3%

While it's not yet clear how severe Emmanuel Sanders' knee injury is, but we should strongly consider adding Gabriel Davis regardless. His upside within a great passing offense puts him above most waiver-wire options at receiver.

Davis ended up seeing an 84.0% snap rate in Week 14 after Sanders left early (after 30.7% of the Buffalo Bills' snaps), and he drew 8 targets for 43 yards and a score. Davis also accounted for three red-zone targets, two of which were end zone-targets, in Week 14.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns

Roster Percentage: 10%

Donovan Peoples-Jones has been elevated within the Cleveland Browns' offense without Odell Beckham. In four active games for DPJ in that span, he has a steady 17.5% target share with a team-best 32.0% air yards share.

That's tied to a high 15.1-yard average depth of target (aDOT).

Although the passing volume is low in this offense, Peoples-Jones' combination of volume with downfield leverage puts him into waiver-wire pickup territory in deeper leagues.

Others to Consider:
Russell Gage (53%), Jamison Crowder (38%), Allen Lazard (4%), Rashod Bateman (36%), Sterling Shepard (27%), Amon-Ra St. Brown (12%), Byron Pringle (1%)

Tight Ends
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns

Roster Percentage: 41%

Austin Hooper didn't have the largest Week 14 stat line -- 5 catches for 30 yards and a touchdown -- but he did see 7 targets on 25 routes, similar numbers to the Browns' top receivers.

Since Week 9 -- after the Odell Beckham trade -- Hooper has a 16.9% target share within the Browns' offense with a 21.1% red zone target share.

Hooper draws a plus matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.

Others to Consider:
Gerald Everett (31%), Tyler Conklin (48%)