Judging by the hit rate on last week's article, it seems many of your teams made it to the playoffs. Congratulations! And if you got to the playoffs, I hope your team is now in the semi-finals.

I had two teams playing in the quarterfinals. They both put up a lot of points, but only my Dynasty League team advanced. My third team, in a keeper league, had a 1st seed bye week. So now I have two teams in the semifinals.

The team that lost last week put up 137.45 fantasy points with an 8-man starting lineup, but the other team was unstoppable earning 166.8 fantasy points. So I am already thinking about next year for that team. We can keep up to three players, but we must use a pick two places higher in the draft compared with this year. So just glancing, it looks like my best keepers are Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR, Det) for a 6th, Chris Godwin (WR, TB) for a 4th, and Brock Bowers (TE, LV) for a 5th. That seems like a great core group for 2025, but still, I might try to identify some other possible keepers for trade value.

And this week I feel smarter about trading away Tyreek Hill (WR, Mia) and a 2026 1st for Tee Higgins (WR, Cin). I was squared off against the team from which I acquired Higgins, and he started Hill against me. Higgins scored 19.8 fantasy points to Hill's 5.6. I hope I still feel good about this trade at the end of the playoffs.

I thought about not writing an article for this week. After all, the waiver wire is thin, and we mostly have all our starters already. But last week, Evan Engram (TE, Jac) was a late-week scratch and my 2nd TE, Dalton Kincaid (Buf) was questionable. Also, my kicker, Matthew Wright (KC) was kicked off the Chiefs roster. I found myself using my article a few times over the week.

So, on to the Week 16 streamers...

If you are familiar with my format of "Streamers for the Desperate" articles, then skip the following introduction.

This article is based on the principles I wrote about in How To Own Your League's Waiver Wire.

I name this article as such because it is generally for deep roster leagues (18-to-24-man rosters), and as the season progresses (especially in the 24-man roster leagues), the pickings can get very thin. ASL's Alex Cuilla writes an article focused on regular Yahoo redraft leagues that is more descriptive but does not cover as many players. See Week 16 Fantasy Football Waiver Adds.

I list the players who are available on waivers in my three leagues and who generally scored more than 10 fantasy points (PPR). The players with an asterisks are available in my 24-man roster league. As we get deeper into the year, no matter how slim the options are, I always list a couple of available players for each position from my 24-man league.

I have loosely ranked the players but you need to decide which ones are right for your team. Your criteria for deciding will be different depending on team need and if you are in a redraft, keeper, or dynasty league.

The ranking in parenthesis after each player is the strength of the opponent against that position for the remaining weeks of the fantasy season. So a "1st" indicates the most difficult opponent for that position, and a "32nd" indicates the weakest opponent against that position.

As much effort as it is, I make waiver requests every week for all of my teams. I don't just try to fill in obvious immediate needs, but look to make my team better to the last man on the roster. A deep roster creates resilience against injury. It also results in other teams having fewer good options, increasing the opportunity to trade to teams that truly are desperate and thereby building my draft pick arsenals.

Quarterbacks

• ^*Cooper Rush, Dal v TB (31st, 3rd) - Cooper completed 18 of 29 passes for 214 yards and 3 TDs, rushed 4 times for 5 yards, and had one lost fumble in Week 15. Rush seems to continue to improve after taking over for Dak Prescott earlier this season. He has a favorable matchup against the Buccaneers in Week 16. 
• ^*Mason Rudolph, Ten @ Ind (21st, 32nd) - Rudolph took over for Will Levis after he was benched in the 3rd quarter. He then completed 21 of 26 passes for 240 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 Int, and rushed 2 times for 14 yards. 
• Drake Maye (R), NE @ Buf (13th, 18th) - Maye completed 19 of 23 passes for 202 yards, 1 TD and 1 Int, and rushed 4 times for 14 yards and 1 TD in Week 15. His 2 TDs came in garbage time, and Maye has a 1 TD to 3 Ints ratio through 9 starts. With the Patriots out of playoff contention, and likely playing from behind against the Bills and Chargers over the next two weeks, Maye will be doing all he can to fix his mistakes and show he has the potential to be a viable quarterback in the NFL.
• Bryce Young, Car v Ari (10th, 31st) - Young completed 19 of 28 passes for 219 yards, 1 TD and 2 Ints, and rushed 3 times for 12 yards and a TD in Week 15. Young has a favorable matchup in Week 17 against the Buccaneers.
• Mac Jones, Jax @ LV (22nd, 19th) - Jones completed 31 of 46 passes for 294 yards 2 TDs and 2 Ints, and rushed 4 times for 29 yards in Week 15. This was one of Jones's best performances of the season, and he will look to build on it heading into Week 16 against the Raiders.
• ^*Spencer Rattler, NO @ GB (12th, 23rd) - Rattler did not get the start last week as we had expected. Rather he took over for Jake Haener to start the 2nd half after Haener only completed 4 passes in the first half and the Saints were scoreless. Rattler almost led the Saints to a comeback win. His performance was much more impressive than his stats. He completed 10 of 21 passes for 135 yards and a TD. He is almost certain to start in Week 16.

Running Backs

• Jerome Ford, Cle @ Cin (17th, 18th) - Ford rushed 7 times for 84 yards and a TD and caught both his targets for 20 yards. The Brown's lead back, Nick Chubb, broke his foot in Week 15, so Ford is slated to take back the lead role going forward.
• Kendre Miller, NO @ GB (20th, 19th) - Miller took over backfield duties when Alvin Kamara left the game in the 4th quarter. He rushed 9 times for 46 yards. If Kamara is unable to return for Monday night against the Packers, it's advisable to have Miller on board as his handcuff. Miller has a 28-130-1 stat line for the season.
• ^*Ameer Abdullah, LV v Jax (30th, 23rd) - Abdullah rushed 3 times for 8 yards and caught all 7 of his targets for 58 yards and a TD in Week 15. His volume is unpredictable, but if he gets decent volume in a favorable matchup against the Jaguars, he will be a decent streaming option.
• Justice Hill, Bal v Pit (10th, 4th) -Hill rushed twice for 7 yards and caught all 5 of his targets for 61 yards and a TD in Week 15. Hill now has 4 TDs on the season and makes for a reasonable hit-or-miss streamer in Week 16.
• Ty Johnson, Buf v NE (24th, 9th) - Johnson rushed twice for 9 yards and caught all 5 of his targets for 114 yards in Week 15. With a favorable and lopsided match against the Patriots, Johnson could get a decent number of touches in Week 16.

Receivers

• Jalen McMillan (R), TB @ Dal (24th 10th) - McMillan caught 5 of 6 targets for 75 yards and 1 TD in Week 15. This is the second week in a row, McMillan put up some big numbers for fantasy. With Chris Godwin out the rest of the season, McMillan should continue to get more opportunities. As a rookie, he is worth a stash in dynasty leagues and is a decent streaming option for Week 16.
• Jalen Coker (R), Car v Ari (12th, 25th) - Coker returned to action after being out the last three games and caught 4 of his 6 targets for 110 yards and a TD in Week 15. 83 of the 110 yards were from a single broken coverage play. However, he should continue to see moderate volume going forward.
• Keenan Allen, Chi v Det (28th, 16th) - Allen caught 6 of his 13 targets for 82 yards and a TD. That's great for fantasy football, but inefficient for the NFL. Will he get as many opportunities in Week 16 if he can't pull in a higher percentage of targets?
• Rashod Bateman, Bal v Pit (15th 26th) - Back from an injury he sustained in Week 13, Bateman caught 3 of 5 targets for 80 yards and 2 TDs in Week 15. With Diontae Johnson on suspension, Bateman should see plenty of volume as the Ravens No. 2 in Week 16.
• ^*Marquez Valdes-Scantling, NO @ GB (8th, 9th) - MVS caught 2 of 7 targets for 64 yards, and rushed once for 4 yards in Week 15. However, even with Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave both on IR. Spencer Rattler showed promise behind center when he took over for Jake Haener in the 2nd half last week. If Rattler can build on his Week 15 performance, MVS might just be a dynamic streaming option in Week 16.
• Marvin Mims, Den @ LAC (21st, 20th) - He caught all 4 of his targets for 20 yards and rushed once for no yards in Week 15. He has seen an uptick in volume since Week 10, averaging over 5 touches per game. He could help your team if you need a WR in Week 16.
• ^*Tim Patrick, Det @ Chi (3rd, 2nd) - Patrick caught 4 of 8 targets for 30 yards and 1 TD in Week 15. Patrick is the clear No. 3 receiver behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and has averaged 4 receptions in the last four games. Patrick should continue to see a moderate number of touches but has tough matchups against the Bears and 49ers over the next two weeks.
• Michael Pittman, Ind v Ten (5th, 10th) - Pittman caught 6 of 9 targets for 58 yards in Week 15. He has averaged 5.5 receptions in his last four games and remains a reasonable streaming option, but has a tough matchup against the Titans going into Week 16.
• Christian Watson, GB v NO (27th, 32nd) - Watson caught 3 of 6 targets for 56 yards in Week 15. Look for Watson to maintain or improve on those numbers against the Saints and Vikings soft Ds in Weeks 16 and 17.
• Elijah Moore, Cle @ Cin (20th, 4th) - Moore caught 2 of his 6 targets for -1 yards in Week 15. This was a huge drop off from his previous four weeks, in which he averaged 5 catches per game. This was in part due to Jameis Winston being replaced by Dorian Thompson-Robinson behind center. He will look to bounce back in Week 16 as the quarterback play will also likely bounce back against a Bengals soft D.
• Ray-Ray McCloud, Atl v NYG (10th, 11th) - McCloud caught 1 of 3 targets for 14 yards in Week 15. He will look to bounce back in Week 16.
• ^*Malik Washington (R), Mia v SF (2nd, 23rd) - Washington got more opportunity than usual when Jaylen Waddle left the game with an injury and caught 5 of 6 targets for 56 yards in Week 15. With the Dolphins season all but over, there is no need to hurry Waddle back to the lineup, so Washington could continue to see a bump in target share going forward. Being a rookie playing behind an aging and increasingly inconsistent Tyreek Hill, Washington is worth a stash in deeper dynasty leagues.

Tight Ends

• Noah Gray (R), KC v Hou (6th, 20th) - Gray continues to top our list every week despite being the overall 5th TE over the last five weeks, averaging 13.48 fantasy points per game in PPR, and far outperforming the 35-year-old Travis Kelce, who averages only 9.00 fantasy points over the last five weeks. However, he has a tough matchup against the Texans in Week 16. Gray could be worth a stash in keeper leagues if Kelce retires this year.
• Brenton Strange, Jax @ LV (29th, 10th) - With Evan Engram on IR, Strange hauled in 11 of his 12 targets for 73 yards in Week 15. Could he spell Engram against a soft Raiders D in Week 16?
• Austin Hooper, NE @ Buf (12th, 4th) - Hooper caught all 3 of his targets for 38 yards against a stingy Cardinals D in Week 15. He has been getting consistent volume and has 2 TDs in his last 3 games, making him a medium-floor streaming option for Week 16.
• Dalton Schultz, Hou @ KC (30th, 24th) - Schultz caught 2 of 4 targets for 13 yards in Week 15. He has inconsistent targets and only 1 TD on the season but has favorable matchups the rest of the way.
• ^*Will Dissly, LAC v Den (17th, 22nd) - Dissly has been out since being injured in Week 14 and is questionable to return in Week 16. If healthy and returns to his Weeks 6 through 12 form, he would be a reasonable streaming option for Week 16. If Dissly remains out, Stone Smartt caught 5 of 6 targets for 50 yards, 1 TD and a lost fumble in Week 15, and would be a reasonable streaming option for Week 16.
• ^*Foster Moreau, NO @ GB (26th, 29th) - Moreau caught all 4 of his targets for 39 yards and a TD in Week 15. He has favorable matchups against the Packers and Raiders the rest of the way but is unpredictable as a streaming option for Week 16.

Kickers

• Chad Ryland, Ari @ Car (29th, 23rd)
• Wil Lutz, Den @ LAC (9th, 14th)
• Anders Carlson, NYJ v LAR (23rd, 2nd)
• Jason Sanders Mia v SF (10th, 12th)
• Matt Gay, Ind v Ten (17th, 11th)

Defense / Special Teams

• Cincinnati Bengals v CLE (31st, 6th) 7.750
• Indianapolis Colts v Ten (32nd, 29th) 5.875
• Los Angeles Rams @ NYJ (12th, 14th) 8.566
• Dallas Cowboys v TB (9th, 11th) 9.125
• Houston Texans @ KC (5th, 2nd) 9.750
• Arizona Cardinals @ Car (21st, 7th) 7.375
• Kansas City Chiefs v Hou (13th, 15th) 6.556
• New Orleans Saints @ GB (4th, 30th) 5.375

^*Available in my league with 24-player rosters