Fantasy Football 2022 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 roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Quarterbacks

Matt Ryan, Colts (11% Rostered): The Colts came to their senses a bit this week thanks to new coach Jeff Saturday and returned Ryan to the starting QB. While Ryan hasn’t been particularly fantasy relevant or good this year, Ryan always helms pass-heavy offenses. This is good for Colts pass-catchers, and while he’s a suboptimal choice, pickings are slim at the position right now. Prior to an efficient game Sunday vs. the Raiders, Ryan had thrown 40+ passes in his previous three games.

Running Backs

Rachaad White, Buccaneers (44% Rostered): White has looked like the better player than Leonard Fournette for several weeks now, but a hip injury to Fournette gave White the opportunity he needed to possibly usurp Tampa Bay’s postseason hero. He rushed 22 times for 105 yards in Germany in relief of Fournette, averaging nearly five yards per carry for a team that has been the worst rushing offense in the NFL this year. He breathed life into a dead rushing attack, and the threat of damage on the ground clearly helped Tom Brady revive his own effectiveness in the passing game. He’s the clear top add of the week.

Gus Edwards, Ravens (48% Rostered): Edwards was likely dumped by fantasy managers who were dealing with injuries and bye weeks, but he should be snapped up ASAP in every league. While Edwards is dealing with a hamstring injury, the Ravens said it wasn’t serious, and he’s had two weeks to heal. Sure, Kenyan Drake went off with the role to himself, but we’ve seen that movie before. When Edwards is back, he’s going to lead the way and this is a prolific rushing offense. As Edwards is brought back from his horrendous 2021 knee injury, he has low-end RB1 upside.

Isaiah Pacheco, Chiefs (24% Rostered): Pacheco was named the “starter” weeks ago, but Sunday was the first time he crossed the 50% threshold of snaps. He rewarded the Chiefs with 82 yards on 16 carries, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire played just six percent of snaps. Pacheco has begun to bury CEH on the depth chart, and if this snap rate continues, Pacheco carries legit RB2 upside. He doesn’t seem involved yet as a pass-catcher, and he still has to deal with Jerick McKinnon for playing time, so the ceiling is capped a tad. But he is showing to be a quality rusher, and in a high-scoring offense like this there could be blowup games.

Latavius Murray, Broncos (26% Rostered): Murray led the Broncos in rushing attempts, and remains their best bet for rushing scores. But that only makes him a FLEX worthy option because leading the team was nine carries, and he only turned them into 24 yards. This offense is a complete dumpster fire, so Murray isn’t much more than a bye week/injury fill-in, but those players come in handy this time of year.

Kyren Williams, Rams (42% Rostered): Williams is a purely speculative add at this point, because like Denver, the Rams offense is an atrocity. Williams rushed three times for 30 yards in his return to action, but there’s a path for that role to increase rapidly due to the ineffectiveness of Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson. Granted, that ineffectiveness is likely due to a ravaged offensive line and a passing game teams don’t need to respect beyond Cooper Kupp, who is now injured. It’s possible Williams becomes a solid volume play, but he shouldn’t be more than a $1 add.

Alexander Mattison, Vikings (41% Rostered): Mattison should be snapped up by Dalvin Cook managers. He’s valueless at the moment, but when Cook inevitably gets banged up, Mattison will cost buku FAAB bucks. Why not grab the insurance now while it’s free?

Wide Receivers

Christian Watson, Packers (9% Rostered): Watson’s three-touchdown explosion on Sunday may very well be an aberration, but the second-rounder showed off the freak physical gifts that got him drafted at such a lofty position despite meager college production. Watson’s rookie season has been stilted by injuries and mistakes, and more mistakes are sure to come from an inexperienced player, but Green Bay is dealing with myriad injuries that are forcing Aaron Rodgers to trust him. Watson’s not going to be able to replicate what Rodgers had with Davante Adams by any means, but he does provide Rodgers with a big play threat. Give Watson eight targets a week like he got here vs. Dallas and he should at least be a FLEX with upside for more.

Julio Jones, Buccaneers (17% Rostered): Jones has gotten healthy, and while he is not going to have the impact Antonio Brown once did as the Bucs’ overqualified No. 3 receiver, Jones has been efficient, scoring twice in the last three weeks. When he is healthy, Jones is a massive mismatch in the slot, or against lesser CBs when defenses assign a top DB to shadow Chris Godwin. Jones is older and brittle, so he’s not really reliable, but when he does play he has become a major TD threat as defenses focus on Godwin and Mike Evans. Jones can be valuable in deeper, three-WR leagues.

DeAndre Carter, Chargers (30% Rostered): Carter is playing a lot with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams out of action, and he found the end zone last week against a tough 49ers D. The Chargers are not going to bring back Allen until he is completely healthy, and hamstrings are notoriously tricky on that front. Without Allen, Carter is filling that role, playing on 80%+ of Los Angeles’ snaps with one of the elite QBs in the NFL throwing him the ball. In full-PPR and deep leagues. Carter is a very nice play until Allen is back.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns (35% Rostered): Peoples-Jones isn’t a receiver I trust, due to Cleveland’s run-dominant attack and Jacoby Brissett’s limitations, but he has gone for over 70 yards in three straight games. Peoples-Jones has the ability to be efficient, and he will have Deshaun Watson throwing him the ball soon, making him a sneaky high-upside stash for teams with available roster spaces.

Tight Ends

Foster Moreau, Raiders (16% Rostered): Moreau is on the field for nearly every snap with Darren Waller shelved, and while he’s nowhere near the player Waller is, the TE is a key role in the Raiders’ offense. He won’t put up big numbers most weeks, but he’s very unlikely to goose his managers in those games.

Juwan Johnson, Saints (12% Rostered): Johnson is a more talented option than Moreau. But he’s also riskier. Johnson has proven his red zone chops, scoring four touchdowns in the last four weeks, but he also has exceeded five targets just three times this season. Johnson’s touchdown dependent, which is scary on a team with Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill, but in a pinch he does carry solid upside.