🔥Tuesday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

Did you survive Kyle Pitts, Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, or Amon-Ra St. Brown in Week 15? Did they help you win in the first round of your fantasy football playoffs? Certainly, the hardest part of this game is winning the championship after all the work through 14 weeks to make the playoffs.

Imagine having a fine-tuned team over 14 weeks, only to have Kyle Pitts drop 45 points on you in his best game ever. Fantasy football can be a cruel, cruel game sometimes.

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inbox every Tuesday morning this season, and I will bring you the highlights, waiver wire thoughts, streaming options, and injury reports, all right here in one place.

Waiver Wire Additions for Week 16

J.J. McCarthy has actually been incredible the past two weeks. He has six total touchdowns and 500 passing yards against the Cowboys and Commanders the last two weeks, and now gets the New York Giants in Week 16, one of the easier defenses for quarterbacks in 2025. The Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs, so they have no reason not to let McCarthy go out there and prove he is ready to start again next season.

Michael Carter is the next man up for the Arizona Cardinals after they lost Bam Knight to an ankle injury last week and decided not to activate Trey Benson from IR. Carter played 80% of the snaps after the Knight absence and touched the ball 18 times, accumulating 94 total yards. Now the Cardinals get the Falcons and Bengals in Weeks 16 and 17, two matchups no running backs should be afraid of.

Audric Estime, being a waiver wire recommendation, shows just how bad running back injuries have been in 2025. After the New Orleans Saints lost Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller, Devin Neal could miss a game or two with an injury. Estime had six touches for 50 yards against the Panthers and would be, at worst, in a 50-50 time share with Evan Hull in Week 16.

Jayden Reed is firmly back on the fantasy radar after Christian Watson suffered a chest injury against the Denver Broncos. Reed has 108 total yards in the last two games and would be a major part of the offense against the Bears this week, assuming Christian Watson misses time. Last season, Reed was a top-20 wide receiver during the last third of the season when Green Bay had WR injuries.

Adonai Mitchell was dropped by a lot of teams after putting up just one catch for 24 yards in Week 14. But he stepped back up with six catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in Week 15, and is now a strong waiver pick-up as he is available in under 20% of leagues in most fantasy platforms. Mitchell was productive even with the Jets down to their third-string quarterback.

Colby Parkinson now has six touchdowns in his last six games and has an elite opportunity staring him in the face if Davante Adams misses Thursday’s massive game with a hamstring injury. In Week 15, even before Adams went down, Parkinson caught five balls for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Who to Stream in Week 16

Tyler Shough is a solid streaming option for Week 16 due to an excellent matchup against the New York Jets. Shough has scored over 20 fantasy points in three of his last five games, and the Jets' defense just allowed Trevor Lawrence to go nuclear on them in Week 15. His added rushing yards upside, especially with injuries to Saints running backs, makes him a viable starter in deeper leagues.

Kirk Cousins has some decent upside in Week 16 when he faces the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals' defense has allowed over 23 fantasy points to four of the last five opposing quarterbacks. Cousins had a 32.9-point performance in Week 15, where he threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Against Arizona, he could produce another high-scoring effort, potentially with the return of injured wide receiver Drake London.

Theo Johnson has recorded at least three catches in seven straight games and has topped 70 receiving yards in three of his past five, showing a strong rapport with Jaxson Dart. While his Week 16 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings is not the possible spot, his consistent volume and role as a primary target in the Giants' passing game make him a playable option for fantasy managers who are fed up with guys like Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, or Dalton Kincaid.

Dawson Knox has emerged as a high-upside dart-throw option for Week 16, thanks to a recent bump in production and usage. He has produced back-to-back double-digit fantasy performances, including a two-touchdown game in Week 15, and is seeing increased snap counts and red-zone targets from Josh Allen.

Fantasy Football Injuries to Monitor

Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL just as the Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated from the 2025 NFL playoffs. Despite a rushing touchdown, it was another disappointing performance from the former MVP, with just 189 passing yards and an interception, plus no touchdowns. Garnder Minshew now takes over for Kansas City, and there is a chance Mahomes is not ready for the start of 2026.

Davante Adams left Sunday’s game after suffering what appeared to be a clear hamstring injury. Coach Sean McVay said it “didn’t look good,” but added that we shouldn’t rule out Adams from games yet. With a Thursday game up next, this would be a minor miracle if he played, but we will have to watch early injury reports. He still had nine targets and 71 yards before departing.

Christian Watson was just starting to break out again when he suffered a chest injury on Sunday against Denver. He actually went to the hospital but was released to go home. Watson had five targets, but players like Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden would need to step up if Watson must miss time for another injury.

Rome Odunze burned a lot of fantasy football managers on Sunday when he reaggravated a foot injury and was ruled out right as rosters locked for Week 15. Considering the injury to Luther Burden that also happened this week, it might be just D.J. Moore (who scored twice this week) and Olamide Zaccheus as reliable wide receivers or Caleb Williams. Odunze is currently considered week-to-week

Luther Burden was having a marvelous game with six catches for 84 yards before he suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter. His seven targets and six catches were season-highs for Burden, and now we wait for the result of the tests this week to see if he can immediately go back to a potential top option.

Bam Knight rushed one time for negative two yards and then suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the rest of the game. With the Cardinals’ season essentially over and Michael Carter and Emari Demercado available, we may not see a lot of Bam Knight over the rest of the season.

Woody Marks was injured in the same game as Knight and had to leave with his own ankle injury. He carried the ball seven times for 30 yards and scored a touchdown before leaving, so he didn’t totally let fantasy managers down. With the Raiders coming up next, I wouldn’t be surprised if Marks gets some rest ahead of the playoff run.

Devin Neal was on his way to a nice game with 32 total yards and a touchdown before he suffered a hamstring injury that forced him out of the game against Carolina. He had been playing a workhorse role for Alvin Kamara, who is out injured, but now that is in jeopardy.

Javonte Williams left the Sunday Night Football game against Minnesota three different times with injuries, but he still was able to pile up 91 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. He had more rushing attempts than all other Cowboys combined and appeared to be fine in the second half of the game. It will just be worth monitoring if something comes up on the injury report this week.

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There are also more articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 14 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.

Fantasy Football Week 15 Recap

Week 15 Injury Report

Week 16 Waiver Wire Watch