December 13, 2016

Tony Peters identifies deeper 2016 fantasy football PPR sleepers & Week 15 NFL waiver wire pickups. These PPR RBs, WRs & TEs should be added off the waiver wire as fantasy football sleepers.

It's playoff time, RotoBallers. Below is my deeper PPR league sleepers column for Week 15 of the NFL season.

In this weekly article, we are going to take a look at some deeper waiver wire options for PPR leagues and target players who could help out your team in the upcoming week.

The following waiver wire suggestions for Week 15 of the NFL season are all owned in 15% or less of Fleaflicker leagues.

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 15 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

PPR Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Adds

Marqise Lee (WR, JAX) - 11% Owned

The man who has become a staple of this column the past few weeks, Marqise Lee, is back yet again! After hauling in 5-of-8 targets for 113 yards Sunday against the Vikings, he's now ranked 30th in receptions among all wide receivers over the past four weeks--which is tops among Jacksonville receivers. To be quite honest, Lee should be owned in a quite a few standard scoring leagues before even mentioning PPR leagues. Lee and the Jags draw another solid matchup Week 15 against a Texans' passing defense that is falling off it's strong start, giving up the ninth-most fantasy points to wide receivers over the past four weeks.

Robby Anderson (WR, NYJ) - 2% Owned

Out with the Marshall, in with the Robby. Quarterback Bryce Petty is being allowed to make his mark however he sees fit, which has given way to the rise of rookie wide receiver Robby Anderson. Since Petty took over under center Week 13, Anderson has caught 10-of-23 yards for 160 yards and his first career touchdown. This chemistry has been on display since the preseason and has cropped up every single time Petty has played this season. Having seemingly passed Brandon Marshall for the top receiver spot on the Jets, he should be considered a WR3 going forward, including a so-so matchup against the now quarterbackless Dolphins in Week 15.

Others: This week is heavy on dart throws as ownership rates have swelled as of late. Jeremy Kerley (9% owned) was able to push for some more action following tight end Vance McDonald's season-ending injury Week 14. This is still a run-first offense that doesn't have many passes to go around, but there's always the chance of a PPR-okay day out of Kerley. With fellow wide receiver Michael Thomas out with an injury, Brandon Coleman (0% owned) made his presence known, catching 5-of-8 for 47 yards Sunday against the Bucs. If Thomas is out again, there's definitely a chance of a repeat performance against the Cardinals. Slowly but surely we are getting a read on the Matt Barkley-led Bears' offense and Joshua Bellamy (0% owned) has shown up the past three weeks (by PPR standards, at least), catching 11-of-22 targets for 179 yards. He'll face a Packers' pass defense Week 15 that has given up the fourth-most points to wide receivers on the season.

PPR Running Back Waiver Wire Adds

Kenneth Farrow (RB, SD) - 4% Owned

Another weak week for running back help as the season reaches the final stretch. The only new name fished up from the depths of the waiver wire is Melvin Gordon's backup, Kenneth Farrow. After Gordon was knocked out of the Chargers' Week 14 contest on a cart, Farrow came in and looked like a PPR friend-in-the-making. He rushed 16 times for 55 yards while catching all six of his targets for 23 yards. While Gordon's initial prognosis has him playing Week 15, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Farrow to split time against the Raiders Sunday, a team allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs over the past four weeks.

Travaris Cadet (RB, NO) - 0% Owned

For the truly desperate. Despite the Saints' offensive woes the past few weeks, somehow Travaris Cadet's stock has risen. After catching 4-of-5 targets for 30 yards in Sunday's loss to the Bucs, he's caught 9-of-11 targets for 83 yards combined the past two weeks. The Saints travel to Arizona for their Week 15 game, a bad matchup for any pass-catching back. But with Drew Brees under center, there's always a chance. If you dare take this route, know its potential is capped as Cadet has no chance of putting up rushing yards or scoring, making him one very low-end PPR waiver claim.

PPR Tight End Waiver Wire Adds

Trey Burton (TE, PHI) - 0% Owned

The Eagles are the latest team to jump on the double tight end gravy train. The return of Zach Ertz a few weeks ago seemed to signal the end of fantasy value for any Eagles' tight end not him. But instead, the team has been finding a lot of success throwing Trey Burton out with him. Over the past two games, Ertz has 28 targets to Burton's 19 as they are soaking up huge amounts of Carson Wentz's attention. The Eagles' Week 15 matchup isn't a strong one as they'll face the Ravens on the road. That makes Burton a hard recommendation to start this week, but he should definitely be stashed for the final two games of the season.

Jermaine Gresham (TE, ARI) - 4% Owned

The Cardinals continue to work Jermaine Gresham into their offensive game plan, but just enough to keep him off standard scoring radars. But that hasn't kept him from fighting back, pushing himself out of the dirt and into PPR relevance. He's averaging six targets a game since Week 8, catching at least five of them for three straight weeks. Gresham isn't seeing much yardage gains or red zone completions despite all the attention paid to him, but he has been a steady low-end producer among a sea of tight end inconsistency.