Fantasy Football 2020 Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers, Colts (22% Owned): Rivers is a very high-risk player. He has zero mobility, so if he has a turnover-filled outing, or if the Colts are succeeding on the ground, Rivers does not have many avenues to make up the points. With that said, he put up back-to-back three-touchdown games in Weeks 6 and 8, and topped 300 yards on Thursday against Tennessee. Rivers is pretty shot, but he’s still capable of big fantasy games with cake matchups, and those are plentiful for him. Rivers’ upcoming slate includes home dates with the Packers and Titans, as well as a road game vs. the Texans. All of those teams entered Week 10 in the bottom third of the NFL against the pass, so he makes sense for teams looking to replace an injured QB or have a bigger name with bad matchups.
Kirk Cousins, Vikings (28% Owned): Cousins actually exceeded expectations in a primetime game against a tough defense, hitting up the Bears for 292 yards and two touchdowns. Cousins is always at risk of low production simply because Dalvin Cook is eviscerating an opponent, but now that he’s through the Bears, the Cowboys, Panthers and Jaguars are next up. You can settle in with Cousins all the way into the fantasy postseason and feel pretty good about it.
Jameis Winston, Saints (1% Owned): We don’t know yet if Drew Brees will be able to play in Week 11, but if not Winston gets to feast on Atlanta with Michael Thomas back and without any setbacks. Winston entered the game and went 6-10 for 63 yards, and rushed four times. The rushing didn’t amount to much this week, but Winston does have enough rushing ability to pick up touchdowns on scrambles or account for a low-yardage game if Alvin Kamara is tearing it up on the ground. We don’t know how much time Brees may miss, but the Saints have two matchups with the Falcons in the next three weeks.
Running Backs
Wayne Gallman, Giants (50% Owned): Gallman has improbably become a high-volume back, and the Giants’ sudden transformation into a good offensive line makes him a solid RB2 moving forward. Gallman has hit double-digit carries for four consecutive games, and he’s scored in all of them, striking paydirt twice on Sunday against the Eagles. If available, he should be a cheap add with the Giants’ on bye in Week 11. He’s an outstanding stash if you can afford the roster spot with three straight plus matchups – at Bengals, at Seahawks, vs. Cardinals – on the horizon.
Nyheim Hines, Colts (41% Owned): Hines went off on Thursday, scoring twice and leading the Colts backfield in touches and snaps. He also looked like the best RB on the team by a wide margin, but that’s fool’s gold. The truth is that Hines could easily find himself well behind Jonathan Taylor or Jordan Wilkins next week. Hines cannot be trusted as an RB2 for the rest of the way, even in half or full-PPR formats, but he should be rostered in all leagues because his baseline role is cemented. Hines is the obvious choice on passing downs for Indianapolis, and he has upside for big games if he runs hot early like he did this past week. I’d prefer to not have to roll him out there, but he’s at the top of the list as far as desperation options go.
Kalen Ballage, Chargers (19% Owned): Ballage led the way in touches, getting much more work than Josh Kelley, and relegating Troymaine Pope to a non-factor. The Chargers have beautiful upcoming matchups – vs. Jets, at Bills, vs. Patriots – but we do not know exactly when Austin Ekeler will be back. As soon as Ekeler returns, Ballage becomes waiver wire fodder, so only those who need a RB to plug in right away should bother with him.
Malcolm Brown, Rams (25% Owned): Brown scored twice on Sunday as the Rams’ revolving RB rotation spun. Darrell Henderson has been battling an injury, so playing Brown was a bit more advisable than usual, and he cashed in on his high-value touches. Brown was third on the team in rushing attempts, but he remains preferable to rookie Cam Akers because of where on the field his carries come. Brown is a trusted option near the goal line, and with an injury he has a role that can expand. Consider him like an upgraded version of Gus Edwards.
La’Mical Perine, Jets (24% Owned): There are reports that the Jets are finally realizing that Perine should get the full workload as they play out the string on this abysmal season. While we don’t know yet if Perine is any good, he should see a ton of volume if these reports are true, as the Jets don’t have a passing game to speak of. Gang Green’s upcoming schedule – at Chargers, vs. Dolphins, vs. Raiders – put Perine in position to face the 23rd, 29th and 32nd ranked rushing defenses entering Week 10. Perhaps fantasy owners will wait and see the usage vs. the Bolts, but if he does have the lion’s share Perine is probably a safe RB2 for at least the ensuing two weeks.
Alexander Mattison, Vikings (35% Owned): The Vikings stating RB position is a valuable role, and Dalvin Cook owners need to continue to own Mattison. He has no standalone value at the moment, but anytime Cook goes down he immediately becomes the top add.
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr., Colts (9% Owned): Pittman is a big reason Rivers is a viable fantasy option for the next few weeks. Pittman had an opportunity to seize the lead role in Indianapolis’ passing game, and he passed the test against a soft defense, burning Tennessee for seven catches and 101 yards. It was Pittman’s second straight game with seven or more targets, and he has obviously taken the torch from T.Y. Hilton. He should be a high-volume WR2 moving forward, and due to his size, he should become a favorite of Rivers in the red zone.
Jakobi Meyers, Patriots (48% Owned): Meyers has filled the void for the Patriots in Julian Edelman’s absence, drawing 31 targets in the past three games, and exploding for 12 grabs and 169 yards vs. the Jets in Week 9. Cam Newton doesn’t inspire confidence as a passer, but upcoming matchups with the Texans, Cardinals and Chargers should be positive game scripts for the New England passing game, and that level of target share will inevitably produce fantasy relevance, even if he’s simply FLEX-caliber.
Sterling Shepard, Giants (50% Owned): Darius Slayton is the Giants’ highest-upside WR, but Shepard has clearly become the safest. Since returning he has not seen fewer than six targets, and has seen eight or more in three of his last four. The yardage is underwhelming, and he has not scored since Week 7, but in half or full-PPR leagues especially Shepard offers the comfort of not getting goosed. If available, he should be a cheap add as well since the Giants are on bye in Week 11.
Cole Beasley, Bills (50% Owned): Beasley, like Shepard, is underrated for how many targets he receives, and should be cheap since he’ll be on bye this week. Beasley has seen double-digit targets twice in the last five weeks, and has a pretty high ceiling. Beasley has eclipsed 100 yards three times, which might be surprising to some, and he’s in for a more consistent target share if John Brown’s injury causes him to miss significant time. The floor is low here as well, and I don’t want to undersell the risk; by the same token, if he becomes the No. 2 target in the passing game, he’ll be busy and a solid bet for touchdowns as teams focus on limiting Stefon Diggs.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (24% Owned): In an ugly game in which Drew Lock was picked off four times and Patrick was ejected early, he still drew six targets and caught four of them for 61 yards. Patrick’s yardage hasn’t hit triple-digits since Week 6, but he is still seeing big play opportunities, and his schedule softens up in the next two weeks with Miami and New Orleans coming to visit. He’s not super exciting, but like Shepard he offers safety.
Tight Ends
Jordan Reed, 49ers (19% Owned): It seems like fantasy owners have mostly figured things out at TE, but if you are searching Reed is one of the few widely available and viable options. Reed is still a playmaker when healthy, and he caught five passes for 62 yards on Sunday showing for now he’s intact. If you are relying on him you might want to swing a trade if your deadline hasn’t passed. Otherwise, he does have two plus matchups coming up - -at Rams, vs. Bills.