I assume everyone reading this has made it into the fantasy playoffs, or is about to. Congrats! I'm not bitter at all. May you experience the joys of the luck I struggled to get this year. I removed the FAAB recommendations for the rest of the waiver-wire season given it makes little difference at this point. Assume the ranking of said players is how I'd pick them up if I was debating who to consider at this stage of the season.
For the audio and video component of the article, I also went through a fully developed list on the RotoWire YouTube channel that you can view below.
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Quarterback
C.J. Stroud, Texans - I talked about it last week, but Stroud is a low-end QB1 the next two weeks against the Cardinals and Raiders. I'm not entirely positive who I'd stream him over, though, and that's the crux of the issue. Lamar Jackson has week-winning potential and a relatively similar floor to Stroud, but that definitely hasn't been the case the month prior to Sunday. Guys like Bo Nix, Daniel Jones and Justin Herbert have probably helped get fantasy managers to the promise land, but maybe were playing well enough prior that it didn't warrant planning out to begin with. I'd put Stroud close to QB9 this week with no teams on bye, so do with that information what you can.
Bryce Young, Panthers - The thought of trusting this Panthers team with my fantasy playoff life in the balance is a degree of sicko I don't feel comfortable doing personally. But if you're the type to put it all on 00, Young has 20-plus fantasy points each of the last two weeks and goes against a New Orleans defense that is gamey but lacks the real pieces to be a difficult fantasy decision. Young is outside QB1 conversion, but I'd imagine if you're looking for a Daniel Jones replacement, this might be the best option.
Running Back
Jaylen Wright, Dolphins - I don't know how to trust players/coaching staffs when they say a player "could have come back in the game." The truthful answer is that we won't really know until Thursday at the earliest. Miami was utterly obliterating New York prior to De'Von Achane suffering a rib injury, but I'm just about done trusting teams when they reference players capable of returning despite the nature of the game. Wright becomes the top pickup just because Achane's status is slightly more vulnerable, but theoretically he's no different than Blake Corum last week as a stash in the event the starter gets injured.
Blake Corum, Rams - Speaking of Corum, I talked about him enough last week that I don't think it's necessary to repeat. He's not supplanting Kyren Williams as the starter, or at least I don't think so, but I think specifically against a team like the Falcons in Week 17, Corum could easily be a RB2 because he's been getting plenty of volume in games that could get out of hand. It's possible (though unlikely) that could even extend to the following week against the Lions too.
Wide Receiver
Ryan Flournoy, Cowboys - CeeDee Lamb left Thursday's loss to the Lions with a concussion. He'll have 10 days to recover and reportedly is on the right track for availability in Week 15, but guessing the return status of a concussion has been a fickle thing this year. Dallas' passing tree opened up in the games in which Lamb was unavailable, so Flournoy becomes arguably the top waiver-wire pickup for me due to league-wide availability, and also because his situation is the easiest to react to with the current information.
Devaughn Vele, Saints - I really don't want to be invested in New Orleans' offense significantly during the fantasy playoffs, but Vele led the team in targets last week and has 20 the last three weeks combined. I'm not a fan of Vele the player, but volume is king in fantasy, and the 27-year-old has an obvious role within an offense projected to score some points at home against the Panthers.
Jayden Reed, Packers - It was great to see Reed back on the field Sunday after missing the last 10 weeks due to foot and shoulder surgery. The electric wide receiver immediately was a factor, first getting the opening target of the game en route six total touches in a contest that was a ball-control game from kickoff. Unlike the players above, I'd happily play Reed in the fantasy playoffs regardless of circumstances because he has such big-play potential. Only issue is that he's available in just 60 percent of leagues and has a much scarier floor on the road against Denver next week.
Tight End
Harold Fannin, Browns - Yet another repeat from last week. David Njoku left Sunday's win over the Titans with a knee injury, but I don't think Fannin's career day was necessarily tied to the veteran's absence. The rookie had been reliably playing close to 80 percent of the offensive snaps the last four weeks combined and clearly seems to be the team's best pass catcher in this offensive scheme. The low-end TE1 options in your usual fantasy formats have been a frustrating guessing game, but this feels like one of those things where you can't put the genie back in the bottle. Give me Fannin over Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert, Colston Loveland, Dalton Schultz and the Ravens TEs.
Ben Sinnott, Commanders - Zach Ertz unfortunately suffered a torn ACL, an injury that effectively ends his career entering his age-35 season. I loved Sinnot as a prospect back in 2024 and think he has immense potential, but it's probably telling Washington has not wanted to get him involved in the offense whatsoever since drafting him in the third round. I highly suspect Jayden Daniels will be unavailable too, making Washington's offense just a dreadful experience week-to-week for something to blossom.
