Fantasy Football 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 rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford, Rams (41% Rostered): Stafford is the best widely available option this week, which means it seems fantasy managers are pretty prepared at the position across the board. Stafford has graded well this season and, when healthy, supported both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. His own stats have been middling, mostly due to a lack of touchdowns, but that can always regress positively. He’s got two good matchups – vs. Seattle, at Arizona – before you’ll need to hunt for a QB again.
Jordan Love, Packers (43% Rostered): Love can be deployed as a one-week desperation option with the Chargers and their weak pass defense which is ranked eighth-worst in the NFL per FTN Fantasy, and that’s after they got to pad their ratings vs. Zach Wilson.
Running Backs
Keaton Mitchell, Ravens (47% Rostered): If you didn’t get Mitchell last week, it’s going to be even more competitive now. Mitchell followed up that initial eye-opening game with three carries for 34 yards and a touchdown, as well as one reception for 32 yards. This guy is a walking chunk play, and while his snap rate has been below 25% in both of these games, he’s making the strongest possible case for the Ravens to mothball Justice Hill and get Mitchell more work. There’s certainly risk here because of the veterans in front of him, but the upside is well worth a huge swing. With FAAB budgets likely dwindling for many managers, a big bid might secure you a locked-in RB2 rest of season which is very difficult to come by on waivers.
Ty Chandler, Vikings (8% Rostered): The Vikings’ moves this year tell you all you need to know about Chandler, from allowing Alexander Mattison to be an unquestioned workhorse early, to trading for Cam Akers to play in front of Chandler in-season. But, Akers and Mattison are on the shelf, and Chandler saw 15 carries on Sunday. He wasn’t particularly efficient, but he found the end zone and will dominate touches going forward until Mattison is back on the field. Maybe it’s only one week, but every W is important and Chandler can help get you one in Week 11.
Tyjae Spears, Titans (40% Rostered): Spears was on the field a bunch with Tennessee playing from behind and struggling to run on Tampa Bay’s stout front, and he put forth a useful game with 60 yards from scrimmage and four receptions. Right now, his standalone role is not start-worthy outside of massive bye week/injury crunches, but should Derrick Henry go down, Spears will be worth emptying the budget. Why not just add him for free now?
Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (26% Rostered): Is D’Andre Swift on your team? Congrats! If so, add Kenneth Gainwell, since Swift gets hurt a bunch and Gainwell is locked in as the backfield leader in that scenario. He’s not talented enough to match what Swift gives managers, but he’d be running through Mack truck-sized holes, and is trusted near the goal line.
Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks (45% Rostered): Everything I wrote about Gainwell applies to Charbonnet, minus the truck-sized holes. Charbonnet is a good RB. He’s not great, and he’s well behind Kenneth Walker, but he sees the field a ton when the Seahawks are playing from behind, and he has the size to punch it in from close if given the opportunity.
Darrell Henderson, Rams (32% Rostered): Henderson will be useful for one more week, and he’s got a pretty good matchup vs. the Seahawks. A lot of teams need help right now at RB, and Henderson, while not an exciting play, is certainly capable of delivering a solid fantasy day in Sean McVay’s scheme.
Wide Receivers
Noah Brown, Texans (25% Rostered): Brown has been going crazy in the last two weeks, popping for over 150 yards in back-to-back games with C.J. Stroud and rendering the absences of Robert Woods and Nico Collins moot. Now, Brown’s role will be in flux when Collins returns and is in the lineup with Tank Dell, but Brown’s recent performances have to keep him on the field. It’s very possible his emergence simply submarines Robert Woods’ value going forward. As long as Brown is getting snaps, he’s playable because right now it’s easy to see Stroud supporting all of his receivers and Dalton Schultz at TE. He can’t support them all consistently each week of course, but Brown has proven that his spike weeks can be massive.
Demario Douglas, Patriots (36% Rostered): Douglas is on bye, so adding him will be free. He’s in one of the worst offenses the NFL has to offer, but since ascending to a higher usage role with Kendrick Bourne out Douglas has seen six or more targets in every game and gone over 50 yards in three of the four tilts. Finding the end zone is an issue, both because his size limits him in the red zone and because his QB play is abysmal, but he’s become a very safe, reliable FLEX play and even more dependable in half-PPR/full-PPR formats. If the Patriots move off of Mac Jones and get better play from Bailey Zappe, then there’s upward mobility for Douglas. And as is, he can be a useful cog.
Brandin Cooks, Cowboys (38% Rostered): Cooks ain’t no spring chicken, and he’s been terrible for fantasy in 2023, but he turned the clock back on the Giants last week and it was spectacular. Cooks put up nine receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown, and has now scored a touchdown in three of his last four games. Playing Cooks is very risky; we must remember that Sunday was his first game this year with more than 50 yards. But the touchdown connection is heating up, and Dak Prescott is playing as well as he has in a long time. If you’re throwing darts and trying to just roll the dice and get a big performance, Cooks is capable. Just know that he could definitely sink you too.
Odell Beckham Jr., Ravens (26% Rostered): Chasing touchdowns is never wise in fantasy football, and to be clear, that’s what adding Beckham would be. He’s scored in back-to-back weeks, but on Sunday his 40-yard touchdown, a vintage OBJ slant that he took to the house, was his only catch. The week prior was better, when he had five receptions for 56 yards and a score vs. Seattle. It was good, but nowhere near his prime form. He’s only caught five passes twice this season, and has five games with two or fewer receptions. He also saw just 33% of snaps, a season-low. He’s shown that the big play potential is there, but he’s also a legitimate donut risk.
Tight Ends
Luke Musgrave, Packers (23% Rostered): Musgrave keeps pulling me in! He’s dealing with crummy QB play and a bland, low-scoring offense, but he’s shown he can be highly efficient with his limited and low-quality targets. Musgrave has gone over 50 yards in back-to-back games, a big deal at TE, and he caught a TD vs. the Rams in Week 10. He’s got the Chargers on deck, who give up the second-most yards in the league to the position, so a big game is possible. He may goose ya, but a lot of guys can.
Tyler Conklin, Jets (11% Rostered): Heads are going to roll if the Jets don’t start looking better on offense, and that’s going to mean some kind of sorcery that gets Zach Wilson into a rhythm. Or, instead of black magic, they’re more likely to scheme up rollout throws which will end up leading to a number of targets for Tyler Conklin. He’s by no means an elite playmaker at the position, but Conklin is a solid receiver, a big body for Wilson to throw to, and a player who has done well in the past when hyper-targeted. He’s seen 13 targets over the last two games and been over 65 yards in both. This Jets receiving corps, Garrett Wilson excluded, is among the worst in the league, so that should continue and could lead to a TD this week. Surprisingly enough, Conklin has been targeted 5+ times in six of the Jets’ nine games. That’s a great usage rate, it’s just been from arguably the league’s worst starting QB.
Possibly Available
Joshua Dobbs, QB, Vikings (53% Rostered)
Baker Mayfield, QB, Buccaneers (52% Rostered)
Devin Singletary, RB, Texans (50% Rostered)
Romeo Doubs, WR, Packers (53% Rostered)
Logan Thomas, TE, Commanders (58% Rostered)
Drop Candidates – HODL or Say Goodbye?
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jaguars (95% Rostered): HODL. It’s been annoying, but the 49ers were a buzz saw. It’ll get better, especially with his high-end skill players.
Zack Moss, RB, Colts (69% Rostered): Say Goodbye. Crazy to say this about a player with his ranking, but Jonathan Taylor has assumed full control. Moss is a high-end handcuff, but his standalone role has disappeared.
Miles Sanders, RB, Panthers (66% Rostered): HODL. Glue him to your bench, but an injury to Chuba Hubbard thrusts him into a nice role.
Christian Watson, WR, Packers (70% Rostered): HODL. The talent is still really good. He wouldn’t last long on the wire, which means you should ride it out with him on the bench.