2025 Waiver Wire for Week 16

Photo of Aidan Weingartner Aidan Weingartner Follow on X Send an email December 16, 2025Last Updated: December 16, 2025
287 7 minutes read
2025 Waiver Wire for Week 16 | FANTASY IN FRAMES

Welcome to the 2025 Waiver Wire for Week 16!

Congratulations on reaching the second round of the 2025 fantasy football playoffs! You worked hard for this, so soak it all in while you still can. I’m structuring today’s discussion a bit differently than usual. I’m going to give you one or two UPSIDE players at each position that you can pick up off the waiver wire solely for starting THIS WEEK to help you advance to your championship in Week 17.

Disclaimer: Waiver Wire Rostership Percentages from Sleeper, ESPN, & Yahoo, as well as the Combined Rostership Percentages, will not exceed 50%. Also, fantasy point scoring will be represented from a Half-PPR perspective.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (41%), ESPN (51.7%), & Yahoo (48%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 46.9%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 76 percent completions, 260 paYDS, three paTDS, 23.4 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 88% Adjusted Completion Rate in week 15 (4th amongst QBs)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

People are still sleeping on C.J. Stroud right now for fantasy for some reason, and to me, they shouldn’t be. If you’ve dealt with injuries or disappointment at the position and need a streaming QB to pick up, this is an absolute DREAM matchup for you this week.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ secondary, per PFF, ranks last in the league in coverage grade and surprisingly 10th-worst in pass rush grade this season. Arrows are pointing up for C.J. Stroud this week.

Next 2 Opponents: Las Vegas Raiders & Los Angeles Chargers

J.J. McCarthy

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (26%), ESPN (30.5%), & Yahoo (35%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 30.5%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 63 percent completions, 250 paYDS, two paTDs, one INT, 15 ruYDS, one ruTD, 24.5 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 20.8% Deep Throw Rate in week 15 (6th amongst QBs)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

J.J. McCarthy shows out in good matchups. Very cut and dry. McCarthy plays the New York Giants this week, whose defense has been much worse than expected this year. The unit gives up a TON of passing yards (9th most passing yards allowed per game this season), and McCarthy has shown that every time he starts, he provides a very good amount of rushing upside as well. Start J.J. McCarthy with confidence this week.

Next 2 Opponents: New York Giants & Detroit Lions

Running Backs

Michael Carter

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (10%), ESPN (9.1%), & Yahoo (5%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 8%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 14 ATT, 56 ruYDS, 4 tgts/4 recs, 38 recYDS, 11.4 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 100% of the team’s inside the five carries in week 15 (3rd amongst RBs)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

The Arizona Cardinals’ RB situation has been an absolute MESS this season. First, James Conner got injured for the year; then Trey Benson did; then Emari Demercado did for a few weeks; and now here we are with Bam Knight and Michael Carter. Speaking of Bam Knight, he also got injured this past week, reportedly spraining his ankle, so he will most likely miss this week. But I’d say he misses the final three games of the season even, because what is there to come back for at this point, with where the Cardinals are as a team right now?

The Cardinals face the Atlanta Falcons this week, and Carter will be the lead back for Arizona. The Falcons’ defense is very good, but their one weakness is their run defense (13th in fantasy points per game given up to opposing RBs over last four weeks). Volume is king in fantasy, so there is value with Michael Carter this week for that reason alone.

Next 2 Opponents: Atlanta Falcons & Cincinnati Bengals

Wide Receivers

Darius Slayton

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (31%), ESPN (22.2%), & Yahoo (41%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 31.4%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 10 tgts/4 recs, 53 recYDS, 7.3 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 27% target share in week 15 (13th amongst WRs)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

The New York Giants play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16, who have a defense that can be very hot and cold. One week they’ll be great, and one week they’ll be average at best. But either way, Minnesota’s secondary is not the greatest, and they give up a lot of air yards to opposing offenses (20th in fantasy points per game given up to opposing WRs over last four weeks). We know Jaxson Dart’s propensity to want to throw the deep ball, which is where Darius Slayton excels, so he should be able to beat these Minnesota corners for a few deep balls at least.

Next 3 Opponents: Minnesota Vikings & Las Vegas Raiders

AD Mitchell

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (36%), ESPN (29.6%), & Yahoo (16%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 27.2%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 9 tgts/6 recs, 58 recYDS, one recTD, 14.4 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 27.3% target share in week 15 (12th amongst WRs)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

No matter if it’s Tyrod Taylor or Brady Cook at QB for the Jets, AD Mitchell has shown over the last few weeks that he can produce with anybody. Mitchell is literally the only reliable weapon New York has at the moment. If you want a safe floor play, John Metchie fits that description perfectly. But if you want a big upside play, AD MItchell is your guy. Mitchell plays the Saints this week, and they have an average at best defense overall (16th in fantasy points per game given up to opposing WRs over last four weeks), so AD MItchell should be able to find success this week once again as he has been.

Next 2 Opponents: New Orleans Saints & New England Patriots

Tight Ends

Theo Johnson

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (37%), ESPN (46.9%), & Yahoo (46%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 43.3%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 4 tgts/3 recs, 72 recYDS, 8.7 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 66.7% slot rate in week 15 (8th amongst TEs)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

This week’s matchup between the Giants and Vikings is going to be very high-scoring, and both QBs are going to have to throw a lot because both defenses are average at best. So, in my eyes, that makes Theo Johnson a good upside play at the TE position this week, just like I said with Darius Slayton at WR for the Giants.

Next 2 Opponents: Minnesota Vikings & Las Vegas Raiders

Colby Parkinson

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (8%), ESPN (10.5%), & Yahoo (4%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 7.5%

Statistics of The Week:

  • 7 tgts/5 recs, 75 recYDS, 22.0 fpts

Advanced Statistics

  • 2.67 Yards After Contact per Reception (TE3 since Week 13)

Waiver Wire Analysis:

With Davante Adams likely out for Thursday Night Football versus Seattle, Colby Parkinson finds himself in a prime matchup versus a Seahawks team that has been giving up the 16th most fantasy points allowed to the TE position since Week 13. When looking at his advanced metrics, such as Yards After The Catch per Reception and Yards After Contact per Reception, Parkinson has been second in those categories on the Rams, just behind Puka Nacua.

In terms of Tight Ends overall, since Week 13, he has been the TE3 in 1D/RR, TE1 in Redzone Targets, TE4 in Receiving TD Market Share, and TE8 in receiving yards per game.

With Davante Adams week-to-week while he recovers from injury, Parkinson immediately becomes a cheat code at the TE position.

Next 2 Opponents: Seattle Seahawks & Atlanta Falcons

D/ST

Kansas City Chiefs

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (48%), ESPN (30.3%), & Yahoo (57%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 45.1%

Waiver Wire Analysis:

The Chiefs are playing the Titans this week. It’s that simple. Plus, Gardner Minshew is going to be playing QB for the Chiefs this week, so this is going to be a very low-scoring and ugly game anyway. For context, the Chiefs D/ST is averaging 4.0 fantasy points per game over the last three weeks, which might not seem very good on paper, but against the Titans, any defense can do well, no matter how good they may or may not be.

Next 2 Opponents: Tennessee Titans & Denver Broncos

Atlanta Falcons

Percent Rostered on Sleeper (16%), ESPN (23.1%), & Yahoo (21%):

Combined Consensus Rostership Percentage: 20%

Waiver Wire Analysis:

Even though the Cardinals may be a surprisingly fast-paced offense, that doesn’t necessarily translate into points. Jacoby Brissett can’t really move in the pocket anymore at this point in his career, so these young and athletic Atlanta pass rushers should be able to bring down Brissett multiple times and force a couple of turnovers, too. For context, the Falcons D/ST is averaging 2.7 fantasy points per game over the last three weeks, which might be a very underwhelming number to you when you first look at it, but it’ll improve this week against a Cardinals team that has literally nothing left to play for at this point in the season. I’m sure of it.

Next 2 Opponents: Arizona Cardinals & Los Angeles Rams

Those are our priority suggestions of players to bid for/put in a claim in your league’s 2025 Waiver Wire for Week 16! For more Waiver Wire articles this season, click here. I’m Aidan, and you can find me on Twitter/X at @aweingartner13. See you next week!

Tags
Photo of Aidan Weingartner Aidan Weingartner Follow on X Send an email December 16, 2025Last Updated: December 16, 2025
287 7 minutes read
Back to top button