by Will Overton

Championship week isn’t the ideal time to be relying on waiver wire pickups to save your team, but you also don’t want to be so stuck in your ways that you pass up guys who can be helpful. If you have an injury to fill, or a spot that you find yourself streaming week to week, we are going to help you navigate the waiver wire by looking at some of the standouts from Week 15 available in a majority of leagues:

Dion Lewis – RB, New England Patriots
The running back pool right now is very weak, but Lewis is available in over 50% of leagues on ESPN. It seemed like the Patriots were content to keep Lewis as a piece of a three headed monster and not a focal point of the offense, until yesterday. Lewis ran the ball 18 times for 95 yards and also caught a pair of passes. We know he is more talented than James White, and if the Patriots are looking to move back to a two man crew at running back then Lewis is a great add.
Verdict: Must Add If Available

Eli Rogers – WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
After several weeks being downplayed in the Steelers offense, Eli Rogers re-emerged yesterday with five catches for 75 yards and a TD. He has these popup games periodically, but just can’t seem to remain consistent with his production. A big factor in his success was the Bengals determination to not let Antonio Brown beat them. I can see the Ravens taking a similar approach in Week 16 in a must win game and that could lead to another nice showing from Rogers, but you just can’t count on him.
Verdict: Only If You’re Desperate

John Brown – WR, Arizona Cardinals
Injuries and inconsistency has really ruined what was supposed to be a breakout year from John Brown. That said, he could still emerge for the last few games. Yesterday the Cardinals wound up in a shootout with the New Orleans Saints and Brown had five catches for 81 yards and a TD. The Cardinals released Michael Floyd earlier in the week which gave opportunity to Brown which he capitalized on. I like his talent and I like the fact that he is back in a bigger role, I just don’t like the matchup this week with Seattle which certainly won’t be the shootout the Cardinals had yesterday.
Verdict: Only Start Worthy In Deeper Leagues

Duke Johnson – RB, Cleveland Browns
We’ve already mentioned that the running back position is weak for the waiver wire. Johnson is owned in half of leagues, but he has been dropped in multiple places over the last couple weeks. He picked up 31 yards on the ground yesterday and also caught five passes for 62 yards. It seemed as though Robert Griffin III was looking to Johnson early and often and that should continue to be the case. The Chargers are a pretty sweet matchup to exploit in Week 16 too.
Verdict: Must Add If Avalable

Tyler Lockett – WR, Seattle Seahawks
It took all the way until Week 15 to happen, but Tyler Lockett finally had the kind of game people were expecting from him at the beginning of the season. He was targeted eight times by Russell Wilson and caught seven passes, totaling 130 yards and scoring a TD. This is now three weeks in a row with at least six targets, and it seems Wilson is looking his way and the Seahawks want the ball in his hands. The Cardinals are coming off a game where their secondary was torched by New Orleans and Seattle may very well take advantage of them this week.
Verdict: Must Add

Dion Sims – TE, Miami Dolphins
With so many people out there streaming tight ends it’s a little surprising that Dion Sims isn’t being discussed more, but he should be now. He caught four passes for 31 yards on Saturday Night and scored a pair of TD. He now has 4 TD in his last four games and while he isn’t targeted a ton, he is targeted in the red zone on a team without other red zone threats. Sims also seemed to have a good connection with Matt Moore, which helps his cause. He won’t be in the Top 10 of any rankings, but Sims is a decent option for the streamers out there.
Verdict: Decent Streaming Option To Add

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