Fantasy Football Week 16 Waiver Wire: Must-Have Players to Add to Your Roster (Ep. 1901)

Summary

FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast

"Fantasy Football Week 16 Waiver Wire: Must-Have Players to Add to Your Roster"

Episode 1901 | December 15, 2025 | Hosted by Joey P. Zepia with Derrick Brown (“Dbro”) & Pat Fitzmorris (“Fitzy”)

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Episode Overview

This week’s episode zeroes in on must-add waiver wire targets for Week 16, designed to help listeners survive injuries, make savvy pickups, and push for a fantasy football championship. The crew—Joey P., Dbro, and Fitzy—dives into crucial replacements for injured stars (notably Patrick Mahomes), runs through streamable quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends, and provides actionable analysis and rankings for league-winning waiver moves.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Quarterback Panic: Mahomes Injury & Waiver Solutions

• Patrick Mahomes’ ACL Tear Reaction
  • “This is the sign from the football gods…take a step back now, Kansas City…this is where you remake the team.”
    — Joey P., 01:44
  • Chiefs’ roster needs: An “X” receiver and reliable running back required to reignite the offense.
• Waiver Streamers for QB
  • Jacoby Brissett (Washington): Overlooked after a bad matchup, but still delivering as a QB1. Facing Atlanta next.
    • “He finishes a QB1 again. It doesn’t matter who he’s playing against.” —Joey P., 05:35
  • J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota):
    • “QB6 right now…250 and 2, got a rushing score on the ground…he looks like a totally different quarterback.” —Dbro, 05:58
    • Great streamer versus the Giants.
  • C.J. Stroud (Houston):
    • “I don’t think the issue was ever really with C.J. Stroud… his O-line has stabilized… really nice game against the Cardinals (22-29, 260 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT).” —Fitzy, 07:20
    • Raiders matchup up next.
  • Bryce Young (Carolina - longshot): Good matchup with Bucs, but lower passing volume due to team’s tendencies.

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2. Running Back Recommendations

• Blake Corum (LA Rams)

  • Still available in about 60% of leagues.
  • “93.3 rushing yards per game, 9.3 yards per carry, four touchdowns over last three”—Fitzy, 09:24
  • Volume limited (⅓ snaps, no passing game usage).

• Michael Carter (Arizona)

  • Elevated to lead back after Bam Knight injury.
    • “Played 53 of 66 snaps, 18 touches, 94 total yards. If he’s the bell cow, he’s an RB2.” —Dbro, 10:41

• Washington Backfield Sheer Madness: Jacory Crosky-Merritt & Jerrick McNichols

  • JCM viable IF Chris Rodriguez remains out.
    • “12 to 17 touches…If he scores a touchdown, he’s an RB2” —Dbro, 11:41
    • “I do think Crosky Merritt would be the play. McNichols just doesn’t get the sort of target numbers you would hope for.” —Fitzy, 13:27

• Joar Jordan (Houston)

  • Next up with Woody Marks injured:
    • “17 touches, 118 total yards…if Marks misses the next two games, he gets the Raiders and Chargers, who can’t stop anybody on the ground.” —Dbro, 15:18

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3. Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Focus

• Darius Slayton (NY Giants)

  • “27.7% target share…definitely more meat on the bone here. He gets the Vikings and the Raiders.” —Dbro, 20:50

• Jaden Reed (Green Bay Packers)

  • “I think Reed can maybe be their possession guy, higher volume guy…he might flirt with wide receiver two upside.” —Dbro, 22:59
  • Bears matchup looks favorable; slot matchup with Kyler Gordon out.

• Jaden Higgins (Houston)

  • Recent usage drop; Texans’ WR rotation makes him volatile.
    • “Over-under on targets this week might be three and a half, unfortunately.” —Fitzy, 24:49
    • “Wide range of outcomes…still think he’s a pickup, flex play, depends on options.” —Dbro, 25:06

• Devon Vele (NO Saints)

  • “Schedule is glorious—Jets, Titans, and Falcons. Plug him in, probably gets you 4 for 60, 5 for 50.” —Dbro, 26:27

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4. Streaming Options: Tight End, Defense, Kicker

• Tight Ends

  • Darren Waller (MIA): “Bengals defense is not good…Waller probably involved, especially in the red zone.” —Fitzy, 27:58
  • Colby Parkinson (LA Rams):
    • “Full time routes, multiple TDs last week. Gets Seahawks, Falcons, Cardinals—all juicy TE matchups for rest of season.” —Dbro, 28:58

• Defenses

  • Saints Defense vs. Jets: “An improving Saints defense vs the Jets? Yes, sign me up.” —Dbro, 30:05
  • Cowboys Defense vs. Chargers: “Since Joe Alt went on IR, Chargers’ OL is Swiss cheese…Dallas is in play this week.” —Fitzy, 30:58

• Kickers

  • Eddy Pinero (Carolina): “Averaging 10.6 fantasy points, gets an indoor matchup vs Colts.” —Fitzy, 31:31
  • Will Lutz (Denver): “Field goal opportunities against the Jaguars.” —Dbro, 32:11

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5. Top 5 Waiver Priorities for Week 16

Dbro:

1. Michael Carter
2. Jacory Crosky-Merritt (“Bill”)
3. Joar Jordan
4. Blake Corum
5. Darius Slayton
   Fitzy:
6. Michael Carter
7. Jacory Crosky-Merritt (adjust down if Chris Rodriguez plays)
8. Jaden Reed
9. Blake Corum
10. Darren Waller
    (32:40–33:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You know how many times Cher has reinvented herself? I’m pretty sure the Kansas City Chiefs can do it.”
  —Joey P., 03:11

• “If Marks is less healthy than we think and isn’t able to suit up, I mean, Jordan is probably a guy I’ll be ranking in the top 20 next week.”
  —Fitzy, 16:53

• “Brady Cook played way better than I thought…I’ve seen too much Brady Cook in college to believe in Brady Cook.”
  —Dbro, 30:37

• “Pinero is averaging 10.6 fantasy points…indoors against the Colts—it’s attractive.”
  —Fitzy, 31:31

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Important Timestamps

• Mahomes Injury & Chiefs Future: 01:44 – 03:30
• QB Waiver/Streamer Chat: 05:35 – 08:14
• RB Waivers—Corum, Carter, Washington Backs: 09:24 – 14:34
• RB Injury Watch—Houston’s Joar Jordan: 15:18 – 17:04
• WR Recommendations: 20:43 – 27:47
• TE Streamers: 27:58 – 29:32
• Defense/Kicker Streamers: 30:05 – 32:22
• Top Waiver Rankings: 32:40 – 33:08

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Episode Tone & Style

The hosts balance sharp, evidence-based fantasy guidance with humor and camaraderie. They maintain a conversational, lively pace—even during minor debates, keeping the advice accessible and actionable for all fantasy players. The banter (e.g., “Cher has reinvented herself, so can Andy Reid!”) and real-game references blend entertainment with expertise.

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For listeners in playoff contention or scrambling to replace key injured starters, this episode serves up a comprehensive, practical roadmap for waiver wire success in Week 16.

Transcript

[Joey P. Zepia]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Guaranteed Human.

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[Joey P. Zepia]

Welcome in everybody to fantasy pros. This is the fantasy football podcast. It is me, Joey P. Joe P. Zepia and it's time to look ahead to round two, week 16 for the waiver wire with my boys. Dbro, Derrick Brown, the king of bros and my Patty cakes. The birthday boy, he blew out his candle and now he is hoping that he will be the starting quarterback next week for the Indianapolis Colts. Philip can do it. Why can't Patty? That's what I say. And we're here to break down all the injuries, all the streamers for week 16 and there's a lot going on there. Patty, it is kind of a tough birthday for you yesterday and I want everybody in the comments to wish Pat a happy birthday. But I said, how was your birthday? Would you do? And. And Pat went right to it. Well, I watched the Green Bay packers season go up in smoke. That's depressing me. That's sad. I want to think more about your pizza party on Saturday than I want to think about Michael Parsons acl.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Yeah, it was a good time. We got some good carry out pizza, quiet night with the dogs, good bottle of wine. Very nice. Nice, very nice.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Eve.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Yes, the birthday Eve was fabulous. Birthday. Not so much.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Still in his feelings about that.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

I've had better gifts than a Micah Parsons ACL tear. Tear for my birthday.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't the only ACL tear. Patrick Mahomes also tearing his acl. To me, this is the sign from the football gods of them saying, oh, okay, take a step back now, Kansas City next year to take a step forward for the next five or six years. This is where you remake the team this year, this is where you start getting rid of the older players, you start revitalizing this team so you can go on a second run with Patrick Mahomes. You know, when, when Tom Brady got Randy Moss, things got better for, for Tom Brady again. When you know you, you surrounded people with a running game and all of a sudden more support, things got better again. There's a second leg to this Chief's dynasty. That can happen, but they've got to move on and kind of push forward Debro, don't you think? Yeah, I do.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

I was. I. I heard the setup, and I knew exactly where you were going with the Brady stuff. I knew it was coming. And it's not. Wrong, man. Like, wrong.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

The.

[Joey P. Zepia]

The. The two.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

The big.

[Joey P. Zepia]

When guys get the three straight Super Bowls, I mean, look. I mean, you know, you can win with this quarterback. Okay? You can. The.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

The big checklist for the Chiefs is they need to go out and get an X receiver, and they need to go out and get a running back. Now, whether you want to go sign Breeze hall or do it in the draft or what have you have at it, but the Chiefs don't have anybody to beat man coverage right now, and they do not have a consistent running game. So offensive line gets healthy in the off season, and they can get those two parts of pieces. I think the defense is good enough.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Yeah.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Casey could be back.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Yeah. We need wide receivers who are more than, you know, 5, 10, and a buck 70. Like, we need some big body bowls.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Tell that to Andy Reid. Tell that to Andy Reed.

[Joey P. Zepia]

God, you got. We got to change what we're doing here, because it's not working anymore. It worked for a long time. It was great. But now we have to reinvent ourselves. And you can. Look, you know how many times Cher has reinvented herself? I'm pretty sure the Kansas City Chiefs can do it. Come on, let's go, everybody. Madonna. Oh, here we go. Lady Gaga, all the great pop divas, and now Andy Reid.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right?

[Joey P. Zepia]

It's time for you to reinvent yourself yet again, Andy Reid. All right, we're gonna have more about Mahomes because he's gonna be a guy we have to replace. We're gonna talk about some of these injuries, the impact of. Of the lack of knowledge we're going to have and the knowledge we do have. But before we do, don't forget to subscribe to the channel. And we want to give away our latest giveaway to one of our fans here of the show. The championship belt is gone. It goes to Brian Hall. That was such an easy name to say. Finally. They gave me an easy one. They waited 16 weeks to give me an easy name. Brian, congratulations not only on your simple name, but also this simple, beautiful prize. So get in touch with us@mailbag fantasypros.com with your mailing address and a screenshot of your YouTube account while you're Logged in. Once we confirm that, we'll get your prize shipped out again. Congrats to Brian Hall. You're the winner of the Trophy Smack fantasy football championship belt. Which means when one giveaway goes away, another takes its place this week from Trophy Smack, the teeny tiny mini loser belt giveaway. That's right. We partner with Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware to give away the teeny tiny loser mini belt. I have to say it like that. I'm contractually obligated. And the ultimate prize for the fantasy football failure is this. So make sure you get this pint sized belt wrapped around your finger or the finger of the biggest loser in your league. And how do you win? You subscribe to The Fantasy Pros YouTube channel. You like this video, you drop your comments below and boom, just like that, you're in. And of course, don't forget to ring that bell for notifications so you never miss a piece of content on the channel. And we'll be announcing the winner right here of the teeny tiny loser mini belt giveaway from Trophy Smack. All right, so real quick, let's touch on Mahomes for a second too. With Mahomes being out, you might not realize this, boys and girls, but because he was playing the Houston Texans last week, lot of people just dropped Jacobe Brissette and said, well, this run was fun. We're not doing it anymore. And guess what? He finishes a QB one again. Okay. It doesn't matter who he's playing against. Jacoby, Brad's getting you fantasy points this week. He gets the Atlanta Falcons and the Falcons. Look, I, I know the Falcons at one point had some good numbers against opposing pass defenses, but now we're at a point where, you know, these teams aren't playing for much. You saw like Mike Evans go off last week. There's no reason why Jacoby Brissette can't get it done. So if you're in a more shallow league and you had Mahomes and you're still alive, great. I think besets the pivot and he's only 50 rostered on sleeper because so many people dropped him last week. Anticipating the bad matchup, I want to go right to the quarterback streamers because I feel like this is a hot topic. Dbro, give me your quarterback streamer for this week that you think can withstand the, the, the loss of Patrick Mahomes and hopefully get you to a championship round.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Somebody that everybody left for dead man. He's looked good in the last two games and I know it's been bad defenses, but he gets another one this week, dude, JJ McCarthy, QB6 right now, walking into Monday Night Football for the week, 250 and 2, got a rushing score on the ground, you look like a totally different quarterback. So against the Giants, who? I mean, dude, that Jackson darts got them fighting, trying to get claw at wins and stuff. We know what this defense gives up, man. So J.J. mcCarthy can get it done.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, Fitzy, give me a streaming QB that you think this week can be in that conversation to help out. Look, and McCarthy's a good one from Debro because he has been much better. Now, of course, he still doesn't recognize that Justin Jefferson plays on this team, but that's, you know, that's splitting hairs. What can we do at this point?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

I mean, Jefferson should have had two scores, by the way. He dropped one and then one got called back for an illegal formation. So that could have been different.

[Joey P. Zepia]

It could have been different. And. And look, that is encouraging. So jokes aside, encouraging, and maybe, just maybe again, you take a step back to make a step forward, right? If McCarthy plays well these last couple games, as he has these last two, Minnesota feels confident in knowing what their off season is going to be. So these are very crucial games, not just for McCarthy's development, but also for the front office of the Vik rankings. So how about another guy here who might have also been kind of, you know, had some shots taken at him during the season? Maybe people kind of give up on him, but looks like CJ Stroud. Fitzy still slugging that rock pretty good on Sunday. Yeah.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

And I don't think the issue was ever really with C.J. stroud himself, Joe. I mean, maybe he. There were some games where he didn't play his best, but I think it was more about the offensive line, which is actually kind of stabilized. I wouldn't say the Texans have a good offensive line, but it's playing a lot better than it was early in the season. And C.J. stroud had a really nice game against the Cardinals on Sunday. 22 of 29 for 260 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions. We like his weapons. Nico Collins, Dalton Schultz, Jaden Higgins. And good matchup for him against the Raiders this week. I think they have like the 8th worst opponent passer rating. So you can do business against the Raiders through the air. It's just a matter of whether the Raiders can stay competitive into the second half and actually forced Stroud to throw more than about 20 or 25 times.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, so Stroud Brissette, McCarthy. There's definitely some names out there.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Those single quarterbacks, Bryce Young, maybe against the Buccaneers team that just made Kirk Cousins look like Dan Fouts. I mean, they do every time.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Nice.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Just crazy. So the only, the only issue is that the Panthers are pretty actively trying to hide Bryce Young. So the, the passing volume if, if the Carolina Panthers aren't really pushed to keep the pedal to the metal and throw a lot, they will limit his passing volume.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, let's talk about the running backs worth streaming this week. Fitzy, we'll start with you on this one here because again, you know we keep talking about Blake Corum and you know we keep saying everybody should be picking him up. He's the guy on your list. He is still available in 60 of leagues. But now some injury news we're waiting on as a recording this too to Devonte Adams. So things might change a little bit in terms of the dynamic of this offense if Adams is out and how they run certain things because Adams was that, you know, league leader in receiving touchdowns. You don't just take that out and replace it like Colby Parkinson is not going to replace Devonte Adams necessarily. But how might this offense work differently here and how could Blake Corum possibly continue to benefit?

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Yeah, maybe they are a little run heavier this week if they don't have Devonte Adams and they're going against the Seahawks. Unfortunately, Seattle is pretty good against both the run and the pass defensively, so. But we like that Blake Corum has shown now that he is a good player. Like over his last three games, 93.3 rushing yards per game and 9.3 yards per carry. Four touchdowns over his last three games. So he is on a heater, but there are workload limitations. He only plays about a third of the snaps for the Rams and typically gets seven to 12 carries and no passing game usage. So do you want to rely on a guy who's not playing a lot? I mean, I would much rather have the guy Debro is going to tell you about. And if we knew for a fact that Chris Rodriguez was going to miss another game, I think I'd rather have Jacori Crosby merit than Blake Corum.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Okay, interesting. I want to talk about them in a second too. We'll talk about that Washington backfield And maybe if McNichols is even a guy depending on that game script we're talking about about in that game too, that maybe could be in that mix. Let's talk about Michael Carter, who you were alluding to. Debro that's your guy. Because Bam Knight looking to be out this week. So Michael Carter certainly would go up in terms of stock for waiver wire in week 16.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Yeah, it was interesting the way that the Arizona Cardinals shifted the backfield with Bam Knight getting hurt last week. Amari D. Mercado was back. Arizona said, okay, Carter, you're a new James Connor. He played 53 out of 66 snaps. He had 18 touches and 94 total yards, man. So if he's going to close the year as their new bell cow workhorse back because DeMarcado is back, he didn't take away the passing downs. They just gave all the work to freaking Michael Carter. If that's the case, man, like, holy crap. Like, he gets the Falcons, the Bengals, and then, okay, then he closes in week 18 with the Rams. But each one of those games, you're talking about a guy that, that kind of workload, he falls into the ends. He's an RB2.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, so RB2 potential there for Michael Carter this week. Let's talk about this backfield also for the Washington Commanders. So Debro, is JCM a guy that you're going after here again, we're still early in the week. It's only Monday. We protecting with JCM or in deeper leagues. Is McNichols a guy that maybe has a little appeal as a flex option?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

I think you can go with either one of them. It depends on, you know, who's available in your leagues. Like a lot of leagues. Bill wasn't dropped if he was. I mean, I picked him up in one of our leagues yesterday and started him Joey. So like, if he's out there, you need to pick him up. Absolutely. Like, I know the schedule isn't fantastic, like to close the season, they get two meetings with the Eagles at the Cowboys, improved run defenses. But it's the same exact bet we've been making on a weekly basis with Chris Rodriguez. Same bet that you're talking about making with Blake Corum where a guy that's going to get anywhere from 12 to 17 touches, all the coming on early downs, and the only thing is, does he score a touchdown or not? And if he scores a touchdown, he's an RB2. If he doesn't, he's still like a decent RB3 flex play.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Fitzyou took a lot of shots on the Sunday stream against Chris Rodriguez. With good reason, I do believe. So this matchup on Saturday here against the Eagles is not great for any of these running backs. So are you a JCM believer? Potentially with A shorter week.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

And it's not necessarily a bad matchup. The the Eagles run defense is sort of run hot and cold, Joe. And we saw the cold the last time the the Eagles played a non Sunday game when they played against the Bears on Black Friday and the Bears just ran all over them. Now granted, I was going to say.

[Joey P. Zepia]

That was no Jalen Carter that week too.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Right.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

That was no Jalen Carter.

[Joey P. Zepia]

And the other time they got steamrolled too is like when Jalen Carter is not there. It's bad. It's like he's like that one man wrecking crew if you like.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

And the Bears, the Bears have a top three run blocking offensive line. True.

[Joey P. Zepia]

And I'm thinking he was out in that Giants game, that upset Giants game. He was out in that first game where he got thrown out. And those are all games where Javante Williams had a good game. The Giants ran amok on them in Giants in MetLife Stadium there. So you know, it's like if Jalen Carter's playing, it's a whole different situation when Jalen Carter's out.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

It is. And but I, I do think Crosky Mayer would be the play. I wouldn't really trust McNichols much. He, he, they split snaps pretty evenly but McNichols just doesn't get for a third down back. He does not get the sort of target numbers you would hope for. I just don't think the running backs are a big part of the Washington passing game this year and we've certainly seen that with Chris Rodriguez and his one catch, Jacquori Crosby. Merritt has not been very involved as a pass catcher, but maybe on the ground we get a bill Mania comes to fruition three months later than we were expecting it to because 18 for 96 and a touchdown. Now granted in a really good matchup against a bad Giants run defense, but there's a reason that there was some buzz around Jakory Crosby Merritt back in August and early September. There is something here, you know, maybe not the the star in the making that some people were hoping for, but it's possible, it's possible that he could be a key player for some people down the stretch if Chris Rodriguez continues to miss time.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Jcm the Amazon package that you ordered that never came and then showed up at your doorstep unbeknownst to you on December 15th. Let's talk about another running back situation here. Now Woody Marks, which by the way, can we just say that, you know, if my real name was Jaquavius, I would always Just be Jacquavius. I would be Joe Quavius no matter what. Because Joe Quavius is way cooler than just Joe. But Woody Marks obviously had an injury this week. You saw him leave there. Now, he said he could come back with that ankle injury. They said he was, you know, obviously aggravated it. He could have come back in the game. They decided not to. So Jar Jordan ended up working a ton. Debo, does that matter to us? Like, is that something that we should be paying attention to?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Yeah, we absolutely should. And he should be picking him up because. Yeah, I mean, Marks. The other thing about it is he left the game with the ankle injury. He was already dealing with a knee injury going into that game. So Woody Marks is banged up, man. Like, I'm not going to be surprised because they said similar things about Nick Chubb, like, oh, maybe he plays, maybe he doesn't. Nick Chubb didn't play. I don't think Nick Chubb with the ribs is back this week. I think Marks probably misses the next game. And if that's the case, dude, like, draw. Jordan got 17 touches, 118 total yards. And I know the matchup was fantastic, but so are the next two matchups. If Marks misses the next two games, he gets the freaking Raiders and the Chargers who can't stop anybody on the ground.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Fitzy, what's your take on this situation here with Houston, which, by the way, Houston to me looks like the most dangerous team right now? Like, that is the team you do not want to play. That defense is ferocious and the offense starting to put things together a little bit. Like that is not the first round team you want to face, in my opinion, in the playoffs.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Correct. That defense is nasty. And that might be the key to Jordan having some Week 16 utility. Even if Woody Marks plays. Because they could afford to send Woody Marks, put him on ice early because they had that game against the commander or the Cardinals well in hands and Jordan was kind of the guy who salted the game away. Well, they're playing the Raiders this week. And does anyone really think the Raiders can give Texans a game? So this could be another instance where we see Jordan really just put together an entire fantasy day in one half. And that's assuming Marks is okay.

[Joey P. Zepia]

If.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

If Marks is less healthy than we think and isn't able to suit up, I mean, Jordan is probably a guy I'll be ranking in the top 20 next week.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yep.

[Joey P. Zepia]

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[Joey P. Zepia]

Next up, wide receiver discussion here. Dbro, you're back on the Darius Slayton sleigh. Let's talk about it.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Dude, he said he should have had a really really good day if he just didn't go to the Marquez Valdez Scantling school of how to catch a football. Like dropped a big touchdown. Dropped another chunk game but in every single league, guys, I got to bring him up here. A 27.7 target share will play 53 receiving yards on the day. So he turned out as like an okay PPR flex play, but there's definitely more meat on the bone here. He gets the Vikings and the Raiders. So Slayton's in that wide receiver three bucket moving forward and if he scores or good lord if he catches the freaking football, he could be a wide receiver too in any week.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Yeah, Wandale also 5 for 54 in that game with a touchdown. So he could be another guy to Be discussing Pat, who do you have lined up here? I know with some of the packers injuries here with Christian Watson, some people say Matthew Golden. I know you're never that guy, but who do you say? Pat, Fitz, Morris.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

I will say that Matthew golden had a pretty good day yesterday. Like he wasn't asked to do much, but he looked good.

[Joey P. Zepia]

No, I don't actually he did. They even pointed out like some of the routes were nice, that he ran some, some moments there.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

So yeah, I don't think he's bad. I just think he's, you know, has not earned a lot of opportunity and he should be able to do that because the packers have injuries now and Christian Watson, who just can't stay healthy, has some sort of chest sl shoulder injury. And yesterday against the Broncos we saw jaden Reed targeted six times and have five catches for 55 yards. He has a little bit of rushing value sometimes too. The packers like running him on jet sweeps. And so this was just the second game back from a collarbone injury for Reed. And now I think they need him to step into a much bigger role with Watson out because it's down to basically Reed, Dobbs, Matthew golden, maybe Don, Tavian, Wicks. But I think Reed can be maybe their possession guy and higher volume guy.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Debro, I saw you shaking your head, but on which guy? Which of these guys that are left remaining and most of these guys are on waiver wires I would imagine too that are available right now. So any of these packers wide receivers excite you in week 16?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Jaden Reed definitely does. Wrote him up in the waiver wire article. I mean the thing about the packers is because the, the wide receiver usage and the routes and stuff like that, in the last two weeks they've been more consolidated. Before the Watson injury, it was basically Dubs, Reed and Watson and that was their starting three and everybody else is just playing like getting scraps behind them. So I think Reed they're going to run the passing game through. I think it's either him and Dubs and Luke Musgrave's not a full time player. I don't think that Matthew golden is going to like all of a sudden be a full time player in the offense. They'll probably sprinkle him in with Wicks and a part time role depending on coverages. So yeah, I think Reed is a big beneficiary. Like dude, if he, he might honestly in PPR leagues moving forward for however long Christian Watson is out, he might flirt with wide receiver. Two upside.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Yep.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Because he is a slot guy. And this week they're playing the Bears. And the Bears slot corner Kyler Gordon is not going to play in that game, so he is going to get a matchup against the lesser player. So it could be a big day for Jaden Reed.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, so Jaden reed, Adam, he's 41 rostered. So is Slayton, ironically. That's weird. All right, let's talk about Jaden Higgins. 40. Pat, what are your thoughts on Higgins? Another guy we've been pounding the table for, for weeks and weeks. What does it look like in week 16?

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Well, he kind of disappeared in week 15 and that's the issue that the Texans use this confounding rotation of receivers around the orbit of Nico Collins. So you can't really fully lean into any of these guys. And we brought this up with the, you know, trying to sell Jaw Jordan. Like what is the passing volume going to be in a game against the Raiders where the Texans are probably going to open as two touchdown favorites? So I just Such a heavy tight.

[Joey P. Zepia]

End day last week. Yeah, last Sunday, I should say because Schultz had nine targets and eight receptions. I don't think that you can count on every week either.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

But I don't think we're going to see seven or eight targets for, for Jaden Higgins. I think that the over under on targets for him this week might be like three and a half, unfortunately.

[Joey P. Zepia]

So is he a passover for you, Derek, at this point too? The way the Texans are running in terms of game script this week, I.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

I see both sides of the coin. Can he fail again because he got one target, one reception? You know, that's not the obviously the stat line that you were hoping for considering for a player that walked in to this game in weeks 10 through 14 is the wide receiver 27 and fantasy points per game. But that kind of alludes to there's a wide range of outcomes. So for me, I still think he's a pickup. I think he's worthy of a, of a flex play. But it depends on your options. Like he could easily turn in another wide receiver. Three usable type of game. It just depends on is it a Schultz day? Like the biggest now, now enveloping all of this, the biggest determinant is the passing volume. But in this matchup, is this also not like another matchup to where if Houston wants to feed Stroud and really get this offense humming and feel better about walking into the playoffs, yeah, it's another opportunity for them to do that. But is the risk. Absolutely. All right.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Devon vale keeps getting opportunities. 5 for 69 again this week. Debra. I keep talking about every week, I'm like, this guy's a really nice floor PPR play. And say what you will about Tyler Shock, and I know you have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Tyler Shuck. Tyler Shuck. I think it's a little bit better every week. I really do. I think every week he improves just enough where you go, maybe there's a little bit of a future here. I don't know if he, you know, he's ever going to be a great quarterback in the NFL, but certainly improving every single week. And with him, Devon Bailey's fantasy points still continue to fall in.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

No, absolutely.

[Joey P. Zepia]

And.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

And the thing about Vale, that. That's fantastic is, dude, his run out for schedule is. Is glorious, man. He gets the freaking jets, the Titans, and the Falcons. Like, you can't draw it up any better than that as far as, like a run out for the rest of the season. So, yeah, Bailey is getting the volume and. And looking at the matchups moving forward again, another guy in PPR formats where you're like, okay, I'm plugging him in. He's probably gonna get me somewhere in like, in the range of like 4 for 60, 5 for 50. It was like maybe 10 points just based off of PPR production alone. And if he scores a touchdown, Yahtzee. So, yeah, I like Bailey. And Chuck is looking better.

[Joey P. Zepia]

I will give Ms.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Flowers. I was very happy and. And pro shuck in the primer last week, and I actually bet the over one and a half passing touchdowns at plus money. Although that didn't happen. I'm still happy with Tower shuck right now.

[Joey P. Zepia]

He did throw for 272, though. I mean, look, it was the Panthers.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Whatever.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Thoughts on Vale here, Fitzy? Anything you want to throw in?

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Yeah, I like him, too. And again, that schedule looks great. It's a pretty consolidated target tree for the Saints. So I. I do think Vale is. You'd have to be pretty desperate. And I think he's mostly for leagues where you have to start three receivers and a flex or two, but in a situation like that, Vale might be better than what you have on hand or. Or he might be a adequate sub for the devonte Adams stakeholders.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, so let's get to streamers here for week 16. Obviously, we already discussed McCarthy, Stroud, Brissette for Patrick Mahomes earlier. Let's talk tight end. Fitzy, give me your streaming tight end for week 16.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

A tight end against the Bengals? Yes, please. Although. So I Want to say Darren Waller. Although really, I mean, do we even consider Darren Waller a tight end? Maybe this should be Greg Dulcich because really Darren Waller is sort of the, he's almost like the, the Dolphins x receiver. Right. Like he, he, he's playing a wide receiver role for them. But still, anyway, you cut it, the Bengals defense is not good and Darren Waller's probably going to be involved in the Miami passing game, especially in the red zone.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Dbro, who's a streaming tight end you feel good about in week 16 to get to the championship?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Man, I'm, I'm going to throw out a deeper name here, but I really like it. I mean we just talked about the devonte Adams injury. Dude, if he's out for the next like two to three weeks, like if they just kind of put him on ice for the playoffs and stuff like finally get this hammy healthy because he's been dealing with this for the last few weeks and it finally just got bad enough to where he.

[Joey P. Zepia]

And there is a zero chance he plays Thursday. I'm just putting that out there, everybody. Exactly. You've got devonte Adams. The best case scenario news is still he's not playing Thursday, I think. Yep.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

And, and that leads me to Colby Parkinson. And I know people say like okay, you're just chasing, but dude, he's been running full time routes. I'm not chasing the 75 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Although that just helps the case he gets the freaking Seahawks. And over the like, honestly, you could stream him for the rest of the season and pick him up for like a, like very cheap cheaper than he should go. He gets the Seahawks, the Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals. And we just saw what Schultz did to the Cardinals. Seattle's giving up the six most fantasy points per game to tight end. So a guy that honestly you could pick up for cheap and stream him for the rest of the year.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Well, I think what I like about that call too is he kind of look when you remove devonte Adams from the Rams offense, you're removing massive amounts of receiving touchdowns. Right. Passing touchdowns. And that's hard to replace. And I think you saw Parkinson kind of fill that gap a little bit with the two touchdowns where it's like, okay, where do we go red zone wise when we go on devonte Adams? Well, Kobe Parkinson, that's the answer when we're throwing the football in the red zone. So good to see there. All right, let's talk about a defense dbro. Where are you going for week 16? Who's streamable well, I talked about all.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

This pro Saints talk. I guess I'm just going to go to their defense, man, and I guess.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Yeah, look at you.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Another start for Brady Cook. Brady Cook provides.

[Joey P. Zepia]

And if we don't get that, maybe.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

We get Justin Fields and that's been a roller coaster of bad and uglier. Or maybe we get to Rod Taylor. Either way it goes. An improving Saints defense versus the Jets. Yes. Sign me up.

[Joey P. Zepia]

I gotta be honest. Brady Cook played way better than I thought he was going to. Now, my expectations were very low, but he put 20 points up. I didn't think they were going to get three. Like, I thought it was going to be one of those kind of games, but, you know, not everybody.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

More about the volatility of the Jags.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Defense to me, maybe, maybe a bit there. You know, he also ran a little bit too, which is fun.

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

I've seen too much Brady Cook playing college to believe in Brady Cook.

[Joey P. Zepia]

That's fair. Fitzy, how about a defense this week? Where are you going?

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

This might be a hard sell because the Dallas Cowboys defense just made J.J. mcCarthy look like a professional quarterback. But this week, the Cowboys get the Packer fan.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Really comes out sometimes. Really? Sometimes.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

So this week, Dallas gets the Chargers, and the Chargers offensive line is really bad. In the five games since star left tackle Joe Alt went on injured reserve, Justin Herbert has taken 21 sacks and thrown four interceptions. So he can basically, this Chargers offensive line is making every defense they play look really fearsome and potent. So Chargers are actually a really good target for streaming defenses right now. I think Dallas is in play this week.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, how about a kicker? Fitzy, who do you have?

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Eddie Pinero. So he missed three games with a hamstring injury, came back in week 15, went 3 of 3 on field goals, 404, an extra points in the 49ers wins win over the Titans. And Pinero is averaging 10.6 fantasy points over his 11 games this season. Oh, and he gets an indoor matchup against the colts in week 16, which is really no small thing this time of year. We, you know, have weather concerns in a lot of games every week. And kicking indoors, I think that's attractive.

[Joey P. Zepia]

It very well will be. All right, let's get to the next one here. Kicker for you. Dbro, who do you have?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

I'm just going to Will Lutz. The Broncos offense looked really good and I'm in like this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, I think they're going to move the ball and not have any issues with it. So field goal opportunities for Lutz.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Okay, so those are the streamers for the week. Remember, if you need more help with your waiver wire, waiver centrals here, fantasy bros.com myplaybook or just download the Fantasy Bros app so you can view all the suggestions to help you get to the championship in 2025 slash 2026. All right, top five picks of the week Dbro, what do you have for the people?

[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

Number one, Michael Carter number two Bill three Joar Jordan four Blake Corum and five round Darius Slayton Arius Layton.

[Joey P. Zepia]

Okay, Fitzy, your top five for week 16.

[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

Top two are same as Dbro. Michael Carter with a bullet, Jacori Crosky merits. Although if we know that Chris Rodriguez is going to play, he would go down in the rankings. Jaden Reed is number three for me. Blake Corum is number four and then I'll say Darren Waller at number five.

[Joey P. Zepia]

All right, that's what we're saying, everybody. Remember, we will be here Tuesday as well on the channel. So subscribe so you don't miss the 3:00pm waiver wire discussion with Derek Proud and myself. Pick up the pieces from whatever falls out on Monday night and get you updated with more news and injuries because God knows there's going to be more of that discussion too. So make sure you ring the bell till it goes ding so you never miss a piece of content here on Fantasy Pros. We are so close. You can taste that championship, baby. Let's go. We can get there. We're two weeks away. Let's do it for Pat Fitzmorris. Derrick Brown, I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time, kids.

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[Joey P. Zepia]

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[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

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[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

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[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

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[Joey P. Zepia]

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[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

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[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

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[Pat Fitzmorris (Pat, Fitzy)]

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[Joey P. Zepia]

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[Derrick Brown (Dbro)]

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