With just three weeks left in the NFL regular season, most fantasy football leagues are wrapping up, so if you’ve made it this far, congratulations are probably in order! In more good news, it’s never too late for some waiver wire magic, and Week 15 had several injuries that could have a major impact on the last few weeks of the season.
Whether you are ready for a final push to the finish line or just trying to stay out of punishment for finishing last, some strong early pickups are already emerging from the waiver wire for Week 16.
Throughout the week, DK Network will have you covered with potential waiver wire pickups and strong plays for Week 16. Be sure to stay tuned to the outstanding coverage from the whole team. This post is designed to be an early look at some of the names to keep an eye on coming into Week 16.
Another key factor to keep a close eye on every week is new injuries. Here are some new situations to monitor moving forward:
Players with new injuries from Week 15 to watch:
- QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
- QB Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
- RB Woody Marks, Houston Texans
- RB Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys
- RB Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints
- RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
- RB Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals
- WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
- WR Davante Adams, Los Angeles Rams
- WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
- WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
- WR Rickey Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
- WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
- WR DeVaughn Vele, New Orleans Saints
- WR Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my early names to watch if you’re shopping on the Week 16 waiver wire.
WR Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers
In a tough loss for the Panthers, Jalen Coker (14 FPTS) continued his strong second half of the season. He hauled in all four targets for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Coker got a lot of preseason hype on a number of good sites (including this one), but he suffered an untimely injury just before the start of the season, right after the team traded Adam Thielen to the Vikings. Coker took a while to find his groove, but he’s been strong over the last few weeks and looks ready to finish the season strong.
The second-year receiver has at least four targets and at least three catches in five straight games. He found the end zone for the first time this season in Week 13 just before the team had a bye week, and he scored for a second straight game against the Saints.
Coker and Carolina are home to face the Bucs and Seahawks the next two weeks, before finishing with a Week 18 trip to Tampa that could ultimately determine the division winner. Coker has been consistent enough now that he’s healthy that he can be a deep-league flex option if you need help at receiver coming down the stretch.
Adonai Mitchell (17.4 FPTS), Luther Burden III (14.4 FPTS) and David Sills V (13.8 FPTS) are other widely available plays who had big weeks from their low ownership as well, with Troy Franklin (20.8 FPTS) as a strong option who is available in about half of leagues.
RB Jawhar Jordan, Houston Texans
While there are always strong plays that pop on the waiver wire, it is very unusual for someone to come out of nowhere like Jordan did this week against the Cardinals.
Jordan was a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Louisville, but he hadn’t played in an NFL game before Sunday. With Nick Chubb (ribs) inactive, Jordan got a chance to make his debut as the primary backup for Woody Marks (ankle). Marks later left with an injury as well, giving Jordan his big break.
Jordan stepped up in a huge way after that, taking his 15 carries for 101 yards and hauling in both his targets for 17 more yards while pushing the Texans to a big 40-20 win over the Cardinals.
He became the first Texans running back to rush for 100 yards this season, and he could end up being a part of the Texans gameplan going forward since the team has used a rotation all season with Joe Mixon (foot/ankle) on IR all year. Jordan showed plenty of explosive potential and upside in his NFL debut, and the team will likely find a way to get him involved moving forward.
The Texans have a great matchup next week against the Raiders, and Jordan could be a RB2 if he’s lined up for a big role. A potential RB2 with 0% ownership!?!? Welcome to the wild Week 16 waiver wire of 2025.
If you need a different option at running back since your waiver priority is too low to grab Jordan or are looking for other available options, Jacory Croskey-Merritt (15.6 FPTS), Isaiah Davis (13.5 FPTS) and Michael Carter (13.4 FPTS) had strong Week 15 performances worth noting. Our waiver wire wonder, Blake Corum (13.1 FPTS), was right there in the same range as well.
QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
The Saints knocked off the Bucs in one of the biggest shockers of the season last week, and they followed it up with another huge win to shake up the NFC South for a second straight week by beating the Panthers, 20-17.
Tyler Shough (18.1 FPTS) finished with 272 passing yards and a touchdown, while running for a team-high 32 yards as well. He led the Saints back in the fourth quarter with this late touchdown and a game-winning field goal.
Shough led the way after rookie Devin Neal and DeVaughn Vele left with injuries, and has shown solid promise since taking over as the starting QB a few weeks ago.
Shough has thrown for over 225 passing yards in four of his last five games, with five touchdowns and three interceptions over that span and a total of 126 rushing yards as well.
Shough is owned in under 10% of leagues despite his solid production over his last few games, and he has great matchups the next two weeks against the Jets next week and the Titans in Week 17. He finishes the season with a game in Atlanta against the Falcons.
While he isn’t a big-name QB that will strike fear in the hearts of your opponents, he’s been strong enough to deserve attention in dual-QB leagues and deep leagues. If you lost a quarterback in the last few weeks, Shough is a solid fill-in to finish the year.
Other QBs that are available after having big Week 15 performances include Kirk Cousins (29.9 FPTS) of the Falcons, Cam Ward (15 FPTS) of the Titans, and in shallower leagues, C.J. Stroud (23.4 FPTS) of the Texans.
TE Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams
Some key tight ends delivered monster games to single-handedly win weeks this week with Kyle Pitts Sr. (48.6 FPTS), Trey McBride (40.4 FPTS), Dallas Goedert (25 FPTS) and George Kittle (22.8 FPTS) all posting gigantic numbers. Right in the middle of that mix, though, Colby Parkinson (24.5 FPTS) continued to be a breakout performer for the Rams in their big win over the Lions.
Parkinson is owned in under 5% of leagues, but he has become a go-to for the Rams, especially near the goal line, as I highlighted in my fantasy football sleeper tight ends for this week. He continued his impressive run of production with his biggest week of the year, catching five of his seven targets for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
He has found the end zone six times in the last six weeks with multiple catches in each contest. Even if Tyler Higbee (ankle) comes back from IR, Parkinson has shown a strong enough connection with Matthew Stafford to stay very involved in the offense going forward, especially if Davante Adams (hamstring) misses time as expected.
Parkinson gets a great matchup for tight ends this week as he faces his former team, the Seahawks. Seattle has allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season and Parkinson had a touchdown against them in Week 11.
Parkinson was brought in before last season to be a potential successor for Higbee, and while it took him a while to get going, he definitely is a strong option for this coming week on Thursday Night Football in Seattle.
Dawson Knox (18.7 FPTS) and Gunnar Helm (14.9 FPTS) were two other widely-available options who stepped up on Sunday at tight end, while Dalton Schultz (21.6 FPTS) continues to be a PPR beast.
Falcons DST
The Falcons defense has often given up a lot of points in the last few weeks, but despite that, they have been a pretty solid fantasy option since they keep making big plays. They have multiple sacks in each of their last seven straight games, with at least five sacks in five of those games. They also have eight takeaways in those seven games, including a big interception against Baker Mayfield as they got a Thursday night win over the Bucs.
The Falcons play the Cardinals in Week 16, and they bring a high enough ceiling to be a solid streaming option if the elite units are owned in your league. In Week 17, they face the Rams, so they’re just a one-week fill-in, not a long-term solution.
Other streaming plays to consider based on matchup and current form include the Saints (vs. NYJ), Cowboys (vs. LAC) and the Vikings (at NYG).
