Week 15: Waiver Wire Pickups

Players who have been mentioned in this space in the past and are still worth a waiver pickup include: QB Kyle Orton, RB C.J. Anderson, RB Isaiah Crowell, RB Tre Mason, RB Latavius Murray, WR Martavis Bryant and TE Kyle Rudolph. Check to see if any of these players are available in your league before consulting this list.

QB Derek Carr, ---

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Carr helped lead the Raiders to an impressive win over the 49ers on Sunday and posted another solid game in what has been a promising rookie season. Now, Carr has had his struggles this year, and inconsistency is the last thing fantasy owners need during the playoffs. Plus, frankly, if you're still looking for a dependable QB at this point in the year, a championship probably isn't in the cards for you. But if you play in, say, a deep two-QB league, and you just lost Zach Mettenberger, Carr is one of the best available waiver pickup options. He's brought some excitement and promise to an Oakland offense that has been a black hole for years, and while he isn't yet a worthy fantasy starter in most formats, he deserves some recognition for the job he's done this season.

RB Marcel Reece, ---

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Latavius Murray is the hot name in Oakland right now and with good reason. The Raiders seem committed to giving him a heavy workload over the final three games of the season. But there's another development in Oakland that's nearly as interesting - the development of Reece as the No. 2 RB. He touched the ball nine times Sunday and ten times the week before. He gained at least 60 yards in each game and scored yesterday. He's being used mostly in the passing game and caught a season-high seven receptions in Week 14. Murray appears to own the ground game, but Reece could be viewed as a Darren Sproles with less name recognition and is especially valuable in PPR leagues. He looks like a reasonable flex option in Week 15 versus the Chiefs.

RB Kerwynn Williams, ---

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Get ready for a whole bunch of painting jokes. Williams was the unexpected feature back for the Cardinals in Week 14. With Andre Ellington unable to play due to a hip pointer injury, Williams was given consistent opportunities, ending the game with 19 carries for 100 yards. While earlier in the week it seemed like Marion Grice and Stepfan Taylor would take the bulk of the backfield workload, it now appears that Williams will be the feature back going forward, and that makes him the top waiver pickup for Week 15, especially for Ellington owners. Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said after Sunday's win that Williams 'has been the only guy on our practice field the last three weeks that made our players go, 'Wow,'' which serves pretty well for an endorsement. As always in these situations, there's a chance that another back could unseat Williams during the week. But for now, he should be regarded as the No. 1 RB in Arizona, and therefore a must-own in fantasy.

WR Kamar Aiken, ---

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In Week 14, pregame knee swelling kept Torrey Smith off of the field for most of Sunday's game in Miami, and Aiken capitalized on his expanded role by nabbing six of his seven targets for 65 yards and a score. His fantasy value is primarily dependent upon either Torrey or Steve Smith being absent from the Ravens' lineup or game plan. If Torrey's able to return to the field next week, Aiken's utility will be limited. But if Torrey needs more time off, and Aiken winds up as Baltimore's No. 2 WR versus the Jaguars in Week 15, the University of Central Florida product will hold some fantasy potential in deeper leagues.

WR Chris Hogan, ---

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Hogan is another player who has been mentioned in this space previously, and he recorded yet another nice performance Sunday, catching seven passes for 54 yards and a TD. The 6-foot-1 WR has become an important red-zone presence for the Bills and has scored in three of his last five games. His upside is somewhat capped by his low yards-per-catch average, but Hogan is seeing a decent amount of targets and scoring chances and is just outside of the WR3 tier in fantasy. He's worth owning in very deep leagues.