Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 11 Waiver Wire pickups where we give you the players to start right away, stash at the end of your bench, or stream for a week or two.
Let’s look back at Week 10 and dissect the future prospects for the disgusting fantasy football Week 11 waiver wire.
Week 11 Bye Weeks: Dolphins, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Jaguars
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo leagues and should hover around 55% or less
WEEK 11 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
START
- Rachaad White, RB Tampa Bay Buccaneers (44% rostered)
- Isiah Pacheco, RB Kansas City Chiefs (24%)
- Christian Watson, WR Green Bay Packers (9%)
- Kadarius Toney, WR New York Giants (51%)
- Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR Cleveland Browns (35% rostered)
Likely to be the star of the waiver wire this week, Rachaad White could be in line for a massive RB1 workload with the injury to Leonard Fournette. It’s believed to be a hip pointer for Lombardi Lenny, but White was already getting a significant share of touches even before Fournette exited Week 10. White ended this week with 22 carries for 105 yards in a Bucs offense that’s finally finding its groove. With the Bucs’ RB1 job in sight, he could end up being a league winner.
Another rookie running back getting increased usage, Isiah Pacheco led his team with 56% of the backfield reps. Darling CEH saw four (!) snaps this week in a very surprising result, meaning the scales are tilting in Pacheco’s favor. We know Jerick McKinnon is the preferred receiving back, but we’d expect the Chiefs to be in game scripts where they’re often more ahead than behind.
We know the struggles this year from the young Packers receivers, but rookie Christian Watson seems to have broken through in a big way. He played a season-high 84% of snaps which resulted in a 4-107-3 eye-popping line. Watson was drafted as a big play threat that Aaron Rodgers needed to help the offense and this game highlighted his skill set. With such little talent among pass catchers, Watson could be in line for a valuable run to end the year run in Green Bay.
Kadarius Toney could be thrown into the fire soon for the Chiefs’ offense. He only played 44% of snaps in Week 10, but he still caught four balls for 57 yards and a score on five targets. The game also saw JuJu Smith-Schuster get annihilated and knocked out of the game so there’s a solid chance Toney gets a snap increase moving forward. He’s too talented not to be used, and Andy Reid has to be licking his chops thinking of all the things he could do with Toney’s talent.
In one of the more interesting splits, Donovan Peoples-Jones becomes the Browns’ WR1 in road games while taking a back seat to Amari Cooper at home. Peoples-Jones has put himself on the radar enough to be a weekly WR3 or flex play. What he might lack in targets, he makes up for with chunk yardage numbers. The Browns are on the road against the Bills this week and Deshaun Watson will return in Week 13.
STASH
- Gus Edwards, RB Baltimore Ravens (49%)
- Deshaun Watson, QB Cleveland Browns (37%)
- Parris Campbell, WR Indianapolis Colts (18%)
- Nico Collins, WR Houston Texans (13%)
- Trey McBride, TE Arizona Cardinals (1%)
- Juwan Johnson, TE New Orleans Saints (12%)
- Darius Slayton, WR New York Giants (6%)
- Zay Jones, WR Jacksonville Jaguars (22%)
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR Tennessee Titans (0%)
With a week off to heal his hamstring, Gus Edwards should be back in the lineup this week against the Panthers. Kenyan Drake has earned his spot in this offense, but John Harbaugh clearly trusts Edwards and he will have a significant snap share if he’s healthy enough to play. Edwards could be a starting candidate for those who are impacted by the bye weeks, but he should definitely be rostered either way.
As noted above, Deshaun Watson is back at practice and set to return from suspension in Week 13. It’s better to stash the quarterback now before it’s too late, as he gets the Texans of all teams in his return to action. He will of course have to shake off some rust, but Watson is a bonafide QB1 when he’s not laying on massage tables. He’ll also give a boost to the rest of the offense, as he’s put up MVP-type numbers throughout his career.
The return of Matt Ryan under center gives life back to Parris Campbell and the rest of the Colts’ offense since Ryan can actually throw the football and has strong chemistry with Campbell. He’s been out there for over 80% of snaps most games and saw nine targets in Ryan’s return, resulting in a 7-76-1 day.
Second-year receiver Nico Collins saw his best game of the season, racking up 10 targets and going for 5-49-1 on the day. Brandin Cooks has already expressed his frustration with the team and not being traded, meaning Collins could be looked up for a bigger role moving forward in the offense. He’s got the size and skill to be a playmaker on a team often playing from behind.
Rookie TE1 Trey McBride will get his shot to be the rest of season starter after Zach Ertz’s season was cut short due to a devastating knee injury. McBride played a season-high 91% of the snaps after Ertz departed and although he was only targeted once, he has an elite pass-catching skill-set that should earn him more targets moving forward. He’s a high-upside stash at the tight end position.
Saints tight end Juwan Johnson has four touchdowns in his last three games while stepping up as a reliable pass catcher in New Orleans’ depleted receiving core, especially in the red zone. Outside of Chris Olave, the Saints aren’t getting much production so Johnson has stepped into a more significant role for the team. New Orleans could also potentially go back to Jameis Winston, which would give a boost to the offense as a whole.
All Darius Slayton does is put up numbers despite the limited target share in New York’s offense. The Giants aren’t exactly throwing the ball like crazy, but Slayton has scored in two of the last three games while arguably being the Giants’ WR1. Nobody else is really doing anything from a pass-catching role so Slayton has value based on his sheer usage with the Giants.
The clear WR2 in an offense usually behind and having to throw the ball, Zay Jones has seen a solid target share in Jacksonville’s offense. He had 10 targets this week resulting in eight catches for 68 yards. The Jags have a bye next week, but Jones has WR3 potential for those in need.
Nick Ikhine-Westbrook plays in a run-heavy offense and prior to Week 10, his best performance was two catches for 72 yards. I’m not a believer in the Titans’ receiver, especially with the return of Treylon Burks, so I would not waste a top waiver claim on Ikhine-Westbrook. Still, going 5-119-2 against a top defense is impressive and it needs to be included in this article.
STREAM
- Foster Moreau, TE Las Vegas Raiders (17% rostered)
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR Kansas City Chiefs (41%)
- DeAndre Carter, WR Los Angeles Chargers (30%)
- Ben Skowronek, WR Los Angeles Rams (1%)
- Jerick McKinnon, RB Kansas City Chiefs (16%)
- Marcus Mariota, QB Atlanta Falcons (33%)
- New York Jets D/ST (20%)
With Darren Waller on the IR, Foster Moreau has claimed the TE1 spot in Las Vegas. This week he caught three balls for 43 yards and a score while playing nearly every snap. Moreau should keep up this high usage if/until Waller returns.
While Kadarius Toney is the sexier pick among Chiefs receivers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has experience on his side. He’s good for a random explosion here and there, but now with JuJu hurt, his odds of breaking through have only gone up. I’d feel comfortable streaming him over calling him an every-week starter due to his boom/bust appeal.
DeAndre Carter had a solid day on SNF thanks to the absences of both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. With four catches for 64 yards and a score, Carter played a prominent role in the offense and could continue to see more work should the two star receivers remain out of the lineup.
Cooper Kupp landed on injured reserve after suffering a high-ankle sprain. Allen Robinson really hasn’t worked out as expected and perhaps once Matthew Stafford comes back he’ll think Ben Skowronek is actually just Kupp but with a number change and targets him heavily.
Pacheco is the preferred piece of the Chiefs’ backfield, but Jerick McKinnon continues to put up 8-10 points per game in half-PPR scoring leagues. McKinnon saw eight targets last game and should get a boost as long as Smith-Schuster is out of the lineup. The Chiefs could be in for a shootout with the Chargers this week.
Marcus Mariota is a top quarterback streaming option this week with the Falcons hosting the Bears. Mariota has rushed for at least 40 yards in four of his last six games and although he could be benched at any moment, he has some upside in a game that could produce some points.
The Jets DST comes off a bye with a game against the New England Patriots. The Jets have been very good defensively and will for sure be super hungry to avenge a prior loss to their divisional rival. It also helps that New England’s offense has been utter shit.