Top Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15: K.J. Osborn, Rashod Bateman, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Gabriel Davis

December 14, 2021

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 15 of the 2021 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

Another week of NFL action is behind us and the fantasy playoffs are here. Are there any players left on the waiver wire wasteland? Let's find out. Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 15.

Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.

Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 15 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list here are around 50% rostered or below.

K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings

38% rostered

With Adam Thielen sidelined with an ankle injury, Osborn had nine targets, catching three passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. You know that whole "Kirk Cousins only throws to two wide receivers" thing? Well...on Thursday, he only threw to Osborn and Justin Jefferson. If Thielen missed more time, look for Osborn to be a solid flex play against the Bears in Week 15. But even if Thielen plays, there's some deep league appeal based on his recent usage.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

36% rostered

Bateman kind of disappeared against the Steelers in Week 13, but he made up for that against the Browns, with seven catches for 103 yards, both career highs. Notably, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley seemed to really like looking Bateman's way after Lamar Jackson exited with an ankle injury. If Jackson misses time, the Ravens will likely be forced to throw more — game script and all that — which should help Bateman, even as it hurts the real-life Ravens offense. Weird how fantasy is fantasy, ain't it?

Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers

35% rostered

Anderson has been surprisingly boring this season. He's there, but that's about it: he technically has existed as a member of the Carolina Panthers who is on the field and sometimes gets targeted. But this week, he set season highs in targets, catches, and yards, partly because D.J. Moore was a little banged up. And P.J. Walker seemed to really like the idea of throwing to Anderson, which could be good if the Panthers decide to play Walker more.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

12% rostered

The Lions' offense has been bad, but uhh...St. Brown has been targeted 24 times in the last two games. Jared Goff has to throw the ball to someone and after a season of the Lions trying to figure out who that would be, it appears we have an answer in the rookie out of USC. His volume makes him a WR3/4 play going forward. He should definitely be rostered in way more than 12 percent of leagues.

Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers

4% rostered

Lazard had a new season-high in targets and now has 13 of them in the past two games. This week, he caught six passes for 75 yards and a score, which isn't something he'll do every week, but he's someone who has some deep-league flex appeal if you're looking for someone to fill that role on your fantasy team.

Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills

3% rostered

Emmanuel Sanders exited with a knee injury on Sunday, with Gabriel Davis getting snaps in his place. He was targeted eight times, catching five passes for 43 yards. Obviously, the fantasy relevance of Davis depends directly on the availability of Sanders next week. There's a clear pecking order here, which is why Davis never had more than five targets or four receptions until this week. This offense can put up points, and the Panthers are a decent matchup for Davis next week if he gets to play in 11 personnel sets.

Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers

2% rostered

With Keenan Allen on the COVID list, Palmer was targeted seven times, catching five passes for 66 yards. He'd be an okay fill-in play in deep leagues if Allen misses more time, though he...probably is suiting up against the Chiefs on Thursday?

Jakeem Grant Sr., Chicago Bears

1% rostered

Grant had two touchdowns — one receiving, one return — on Sunday against the Packers. He now has found the end zone three times in the last two games, though it's worth mentioning he caught just one pass this week, which was his 46-yard score. I would probably not pick up Grant, but he's moved from "very little interest" to "slightly more interest" after this game.

James Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers

1% rostered

The Steelers were forced to throw a lot against the Vikings because they went down by a ton of points early on. Washington was targeted six times, catching four passes for 65 yards and a score. He was fourth among the team's receivers in targets behind Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Ray-Ray McCloud III. McCloud's type of targets doesn't interest me. Washington getting the looks he got, coupled with Claypool getting benched at one point and then making a very bone-headed play at the end by celebrating a first down with the clock running, could lead to more looks for Washington.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans

1% rostered

Houston made a change at quarterback, going with Davis Mills. Collins was targeted 10 times, catching five passes for 69 yards. Mills has been looking serviceable in his recent action and Collins gets the Jaguars next week. There's a deep-league upside here. There's a deep, deep floor, but there's an upside.

Braxton Berrios, New York Jets

0% rostered

Well, Elijah Moore and Corey Davis are both on IR now, so someone has to make plays for this hapless Jets offense. Jamison Crowder's role has really shrunk. Keelan Cole isn't it. Denzel Mims is a huge disappointment. Someone named D.J. Montgomery got six targets. Like, what? That's where Berrios comes in. He was targeted 10 times, catching six passes for 52 yards. He's probably the best active receiver on this team, and with the Jets having to do a lot of passing because of how far behind the team perpetually is, Berrios is probably the receiver to roster if you roster one.

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