Fantasy Football Streamers & Rankings For Week 15: Jameis Winston & More
You know what they say - “Can’t hold anything back now”. It’s fantasy football playoffs.
A lot of our teams are bruised and beaten from the grind of the regular season. And you can’t afford to lose. You need the best possible players, and you need them NOW.
Fantasy Football Streamers For 2024 NFL Week 15
This article works in conjunction with our Waiver Wire Adds and Stashes articles.
The Week 15 waiver wire article includes the best players to pick up in general - they have both short-term and long-term upside. But they might not be available, or you might get outbid. In our Week 15 stashes article, we look at longer term options. But those aren’t guys you can necessarily start this week.
The fantasy football streamers article is this one - guys that you can reasonably acquire off the wire AND potentially start this week.
We know that folks play in varying league depths so we’ll include any players that MIGHT be available (especially for really good matchups). And we’ll throw some honorable mentions in there for the really deep leagues. So, let’s dig into the Week 15 Fantasy Football Streamers!
Fantasy Football QB Streamers
Jameis Winston - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 34% | ESPN: 20% | Sleeper: 42%
As we mentioned in the main article, Jameis Winston is the top streaming option if he’s available. Outside of the one game where they played the Steelers on Thursday in the show, he’s thrown 40+ times in each start. I don’t see how that would stop against the Chiefs, Bengals, and Dolphins.
Drake Maye - New England Patriots Yahoo: 13% | ESPN: 15% | Sleeper: 24%
Rookie catching stride? Check. Rushing upside? Check? Decent matchup? Check. Dropped in a bunch of leagues during his bye week? Check. Drake Maye checks a lot of boxes for a one-week streaming option.
In fact, any quarterback that is willing to run is worthy of a one week spot start if you need it. Forty rushing yards and a rushing TD puts you into double digit points already and the rest is house money.
- Honorable Mentions: Bryce Young vs. DAL, Aaron Rodgers vs. JAX, Will Levis vs. CIN
Fantasy Football RB Streamers
Tank Bigsby - Jacksonville Jaguars, Yahoo: 46% | ESPN: 36% | Sleeper: 49%
Just like last week, Bigsby is our guy if he’s available. We wrote about him in the main article but he’s taken over the run-down work from Travis Etienne. The Jets are a tough pass defense but you can run on them.
Jerome Ford - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 41% | ESPN: 31% | Sleeper: 41%
For a while there, Nick Chubb was in the Derrick Henry role with Jerome Ford in the Justice Hill role. Chubb got virtually all the carries while Ford really only got pass work. And they still skew that way.
But Ford has quietly gotten 9 and 10 carries the last two weeks, perhaps in an attempt to limit the work for Nick Chubb in a lost season. The Chiefs will be tough on Chubb on early downs so we could see a lot of Ford this week.
Patrick Taylor - San Francisco 49ers, Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 0%
We don’t know for sure what the status of Isaac Guerendo is. But Taylor, with his pass-catching chops, should have a role regardless. And, if Guerendo is out, it could be a BIG role. They play on Thursday night making it even tougher for Guerendo to get to 100% in time.
- Honorable Mentions: Tyler Allgeier vs. LV, Tyjae Spears vs. CIN, Sincere McCormick vs. ATL
Fantasy Football WR Streamers
Xavier Legette - Carolina Panthers, Yahoo: 28% | ESPN: 32% | Sleeper: 49%
Like we said in the main article, go with Adam Thielen if he is there, especially in PPR. But he’s rostered in a lot more leagues than Legette. Legette has gotten 8 targets in back to back games and Bryce Young has looked a lot better as of late so you could do worse for upside than Legette.
DeMario Douglas - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 31% | ESPN: 23% | Sleeper: 41%
Our PPR ringer is back. If you look back through his season, he had a short blip where he was sick against the Jaguars and left the game then had a tough matchup in the follow up against the Jets.
In his other 7 games dating back to Week 4, he’s caught at least four passes in every game. He’s not a full time player and he runs low aDot routes but they always seem to find a way to get him involved.
Van Jefferson - Pittsburgh Steelers, Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 0%
We like to write up one really deep sleeper though you should always check the weekly rankings before making final lineup decisions. Van Jefferson only caught one pass but, with George Pickens out, he took over as the top WR for the Steelers leading them in snaps and routes.
If Pickens is out again, I don’t see why that would change. Obviously if guys like Cedric Tillman or Romeo Doubs were dropped in your league, you don’t need to even think about guys like this.
- Honorable Mentions: Cedric Tillman vs. KC, Romeo Doubs vs. SEA, Noah Brown vs. NO, Ray-Ray McCloud vs. LV
Fantasy Football TE Streamers
Stone Smartt - Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 0%
If guys like Hunter Henry or Zach Ertz are there, that’s the play. If not, Stone Smartt actually isn’t a crazy move. Will Dissly is out for multiple weeks based on reports. Hayden Hurst is MIA. We explained in the main article why Smartt has the athleticism to make things happen in this scheme. In one half of action last week, he caught all three of his targets for 54 yards.
Juwan Johnson - New Orleans Saints Yahoo: 10% | ESPN: 14% | Sleeper: 19%
Since Smartt is available in so many leagues, we don’t need to lay out a huge number of players. Most folks in the playoffs will have a tight end so they won’t go crazy adding Smartt. If you miss on him, there are options though. The usage for Juwan Johnson got a lot better with Taysom Hill out. The problem is that Derek Carr is now hurt.
- Honorable Mentions: Grant Calcaterra vs. PIT, Daniel Bellinger vs. BAL, Noah Fant vs. GB, JT Sanders vs. DAL
Fantasy Football K Streamers
Zane Gonzalez - Washington Commanders, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 1%
Our favorite maneuver will work one last time for us. The old “add a kicker from a good team because he was dropped during his bye week: The Commanders are sticking with Zane Gonzalez, and he is WIDELY available in leagues.
Cade York - Cincinnati Bengals, Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 2% | Sleeper: 34%
A lot of teams out there have given up to the point that they stopped caring about adding kickers. So the Bengals starting kicker ended up on a lot more waiver wires than he should be. He hit both his field goals and all three of his extra points with his Dallas Cowboy cheerleader girlfriend watching yesterday. Good for him.
- Honorable Mentions: Dustin Hopkins vs. KC, Daniel Carlson vs. ATL
Fantasy Football DST Streamers
Washington Commanders DST, Yahoo: 24% | ESPN: 10% | Sleeper: 30%
Not only was the Commanders DST dropped during the bye week in a lot of spots but their good matchup actually got even better. The Saints were already struggling without Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Taysom Hill but they now just lost starting quarterback Derek Carr. Going up against Jake Haener without most of his weapons sounds pretty good.
Atlanta Falcons DST, Yahoo: 10% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 10%
This one is pretty simple. The Las Vegas Raiders are not a good football team. We are not scared of a Desmond Ridder Revenge Game. We want to start defenses against Desmond Ridder whenever we can.
- Honorable Mentions: ARI vs. NE, CIN vs. TEN, CAR vs. DAL
Make Use Of These Week 15 Fantasy Football Streamers & Good Luck!
In a perfect scenario, your starting team is packed with all-star talent. Your bench would ideally feature a solid mix of high-potential players from our Waiver Wire Article or some deeper stash options. But let’s be real, fantasy football isn’t always perfect.
Sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and play the guy who gives you the most reliable performance, even if he’s not the most exciting choice. That’s where these fantasy football streamers come into play.
Sure, the breakout players later in the season might be the ones that clinch the championship, but you’ve got to make it to the playoffs first to have a shot at winning it all.
Player News
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan expects Jaxson Dart to sit his entire rookie year if “all goes well.”
The problem with that otherwise sensible opinion, of course, is that it is extremely unlikely “all goes well” with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on a roster that found itself picking at No. 3 overall last month. If the Giants are genuinely serious about redshirting Dart for a year, it will be easier than most places because of the presence of two veteran quarterbacks instead of just one, but coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen both have their jobs on the line. That almost equals “break rookie glass.” Teams have become more amenable to sitting blue-chip rookie QBs in recent years, but we would be stunned if Dart fails to make 2025 starts.
Colts claimed DT Eric Johnson II off waivers from the Patriots.
A 2022 fifth-round pick of the Colts, Johnson spent two years in Indy before last year’s sojourn in Boston. Waived at final cuts last summer, Johnson was claimed by the Pats. He’s been a steady special teamer and rotational depth piece up front. Johnson’s Colts experience greatly enhances his 53-man roster odds, but his spot will be far from a given. He turns 27 in July.
NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco reports that the 49ers and OT D.J. Humphries do not have a deal in place.
Humphries reported on his social media account a few weeks ago that he had agreed to a contract with the 49ers, but that does not appear to be the case. At least for now. Humphries tore his ACL at the end of the 2023 season and was released by the Cardinals. He spent most of the 2024 season rehabbing before signing with the Chiefs. He started at left tackle in Week 14 before hurting his hamstring and missing the rest of the season. He will continue to search for another opportunity.
Patriots DT Christian Barmore (blood clots) will be ready to play in Week 1.
Barmore was limited to just four games last season while battling blood clots. He told reporters on Thursday that he’s been cleared for all football activity and has been a full participant in the Patriots’ offseason workout program. He expects to be fully ready by Week 1.
Raiders hired Brandon Hunt as Vice President of Player Personnel
Hunt was most recently the senior director of scouting for the Philadelphia Eagles and spent the previous two seasons as their director of scouting. Before joining the Eagles, Hunt spent 12 seasons (2010-21) as the pro scouting coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
ESPN’s Seth Wickersham reports Caleb Williams considered forcing a pre-draft trade from the Bears before ultimately deciding he could win in Chicago.
In other words, he mulled pulling an Elway. “Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die,” were the words of Caleb’s father Carl to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham. Williams reportedly desired a trade to the Vikings, but he changed his mind after touring the Bears’ facility. “I can do it for this team,” Caleb reportedly told his dad. “I’m going to go to the Bears.” Williams acknowledged any attempt to force a trade would require going scorched earth on the Bears and city of Chicago, a process he did not have the stomach for. There have been zero reports of Bears/Williams drama since he made his peace with the idea, even after former coach Matt Eberflus’ clown show 2024 mistakes. It’s an interesting story, but one firmly planted in the past.