Targeting weekly waiver picks is a completely subjective business,
but this column hopes to point out some obvious and not-so-obvious
selections to help your team from week to week while you strive
to collect fantasy wins, reach your league playoffs and win the
elusive title that your friends say is out of your grasp. While
I’m a big proponent of making trades to bolster your roster,
the waiver wire can be an almost limitless resource when it comes
to discovering fantasy value in strange places. Each week, I’ll
highlight some of the popular (and not-so-popular) players who can
help your squad and may still be available in your league.
Kyle Allen, CAR – I know Atlanta looked tough on Sunday,
but they still offer a favorable matchup, and Allen (10-20 percent
owned) gets them in Week 11. He’s the starter in Carolina
now and he’s coming off a 307-1-1, lost fumble game that
could have been better. Expect big things (and some big fantasy
days) for him moving forward.
Jimmy Garoppolo,
SF – I’ll update again after the MNF game, but for now he’s just
50-60 percent owned in fantasy leagues and has a great matchup
vs. the Cards in Week 11. Jimmy G makes for a fine bye week replacement
for the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson.
UPDATE: Garoppolo struggled on
Monday night, completing just 24-of-46 passes for 248-1-1 in the
overtime loss to the Seahawks – and his numbers could have
been much worse as several would-be interceptions were dropped
by Seattle defenders. He’s got a much better matchup this
week since the Cards defense could open things for the running
game and give Garoppolo more time to throw, which he didn’t
have on Monday.
Daniel Jones,
NYG – He didn’t have a perfect passer rating like Lamar Jackson
did yesterday, but Jones (40-50 percent owned) did throw for 308-4-0
with his only blemish being the “L” against the Jets and a lost
fumble. He’s not an option for Week 11 (bye) but there’s obviously
some upside here.
Dwayne Haskins,
WAS – UPDATE: Haskins has
been named the starter for Week 11 and gets a favorable matchup
against the Jets. He’s far from viable in standard fantasy
leagues and there are likely better options out there, but deeper
formats that require two QBs may force someone to play him this
week, and it’s not going to get much better for Haskins.
Drew Lock,
DEN – UPDATE: Lock returns
to practice from IR this week after missing the first 10 weeks
with a sprained thumb he suffered during an August preseason game.
He’s no “lock” to draw the start over Brandon
Allen on Sunday against the Vikings, but the Broncos would like
to get him under center ASAP. They drafted Lock in the second
round of the 2019 draft, and while his preseason performance was
somewhat pedestrian, he’s their future at QB. He’s
worth adding in dynasty leagues if he was dropped earlier in the
season and there’s an outside chance he makes in DFS and
two-QB redrafts.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, MIA – Fitzpatrick completed 21-of-33
passes for 169-0-1 in the Dolphins’ 16-12, Week 10 win over
the Colts, adding an 11-yard touchdown on the ground. He briefly
left the game in the fourth quarter to go through the concussion
protocol and later returned – but isn’t much of a
fantasy option ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the Bills.
Philip Rivers, LAC – The Chargers offense was dealt a tough
blow when they lost LT Russell Okung to a groin injury on the
opening drive, and Rivers didn’t have much time to throw
after that. He completed 17-of-31 passes for 207-2-3 and his stock
goes down despite a favorable matchup with the Chiefs in Week
11.
Derek Carr,
OAK – Carr did enough to win a bizarre game on Thursday night,
completing 21-of-31 passes for 218-1-0, and got some extra time
to rest ahead of his dream matchup with the Bengals in Week 11
– where he’ll be on the QB1 radar.
Running Backs
Brian Hill,
ATL – Likely one of the most coveted adds of this week, Hill rushed
20 times for 61 yards in the Falcons’ Week 10 upset win over the
Saints, adding one reception for 10 additional yards and a touchdown.
He’s worth adding in all formats due to Devonta Freeman’s foot
injury and the fact that Ito Smith (neck) is already on IR.
Kareem Hunt, CLE – Hunt (70-80 percent owned) rushed four
times for 30 yards and hauled in 7-44-0 as the pass-catching back
in the Browns offense on Sunday. He could see lots of involvement
moving forward, making him relevant to mention for those leagues
(especially PPR) where he hasn’t already been scooped up.
Tarik Cohen,
CHI – The waiver wire pickings are slim at RB, so we’ll have to
unearth Cohen (owned in just 2/3 of ESPN leagues), who compiled
14 yards on three carries Sunday and added 4-23-1 in the win over
Detroit. He could see some usage next week against the Rams.
Raheem Mostert,
SF – UPDATE: Mostert (5-10
percent owned) rushed six times for 28 yards and caught one pass
on one target for 7 yards on Monday night, when he was forced
into action after Matt Breida’s ankle injury. If Breida
is forced to miss Week 11, we could see Mostert’s usage
increase against significantly against the Cards.
Derrius Guice, WAS – He was included here two weeks ago,
and his ownership is about 35-40 percent – so he’s
still out there. He should be ready to play when the Redskins
face the Jets in Week 11, and he’s got some upside in that
matchup if he gets a workhorse role.
Damien Williams,
KC – LeSean McCoy was a healthy scratch, and Williams rushed 19
times for 77 yards, adding 5-32-0 in the Week 10 loss to the Titans.
Damien also out-carried Darrel Williams 19 to 2 and caught four
more balls than rookie Darwin Thompson. He remains a low-end RB2
with Mahomes healthy for the second half of the season.
Ronald Jones, TB – Jones rushed 11 times for 29 yards and
a TD in a Week 10 win over the Cardinals, catching 8-77-0 in what
became one of the top days for value RBs. He’ll be worth
exploring as a FLEX option against the Saints in Week 11.
J.D. McKissic,
DET – McKissic rushed for 36 yards on 10 carries, adding 6-19-0
on seven targets Sunday in the loss to Chicago. He was thrust
into a much larger role than expected (a season-high 57 snaps),
after Ty Johnson left the game due to a concussion. McKissic's
role in Week 11 hinges on Johnson's availability, though he will
remain a fixture in the passing game.
Kalen Ballage, MIA – Ballage rushed 20 times for 43 yards
on Sunday, adding four receptions for just 2 additional yards.
He was not effective, but remains locked into a three-down role
in Week 11 against the Bills, since they don’t really have
anybody better, except maybe Patrick Laird.
Gus Edwards, BAL – Edwards rushed four times for 17 yards
in the Ravens’ Week 10 win over the Bengals, but didn’t
see as much “quality” garbage time as we expected.
Still – he’s a TD vulture and worthy handcuff to Mark
Ingram.
Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
Marquise Brown,
BAL - UPDATE: It's amazing to me
how many leagues have Brown available, though his injured stretch
is an easy thing to blame that on. He's just 60 percent owned
in ESPN leagues (crazy, right?) and should be rostered in every
format moving forward. The Ravens offense makes Brown a high-upside
play, he's coming off a 4-80-1 game in the win over the Bengals,
and his matchup against the Texans in Week 11 is favorable. Get
him before it's too late.
Darius Slayton,
NYG – We got another two-TD effort from Slayton (10-121-2), who
made his way into some of my DFS lineups after the news that both
Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard would miss Sunday’s contest.
He’s a solid add in all formats but his reliability depends on
the health factors of the entire group.
Christian Kirk, ARI – He went for 6-138-3 this week but
is still under 80 percent owned in ESPN leagues. I don’t
need to tell you to pick him up, but this is your reminder to
check the waiver wire and see if he’s available.
TE Greg Olsen, CAR – Maybe it was just the opponent, since
GB gives up a bunch of points to TEs, but Olsen looked amazing
on Sunday, catching 8-98-0 in the loss to the Packers. He’s
another option who’s about 80 percent owned in ESPN leagues
and may be available following the bye week crunch – when
backup TEs and defenses often head to the wire.
James Washington, PIT – Washington caught 6-90-1 on seven
targets in Sunday’s 17-12 win over the Rams and was easily
Mason Rudolph's most trusted option among his receivers, leading
the Steelers in catches and yards and hauling in the only non-defensive
TD of the game for either team. He should get 5-7 more targets
in Week 11 against the Browns.
Cole Beasley, BUF – Beasley hauled in 4-74-0 on six targets
for 74 yards during Sunday’s 19-16 loss to the Browns, finishing
second on the team in catches and receiving yards and generating
the team's longest play from scrimmage on the day. I really like
his chances of finding paydirt in Week 11 against the Dolphins.
Jamison Crowder, NYJ – Crowder finished with 5-81-1 in
Week 10 against the Giants and has a nice revenge narrative going
in Week 11 with a matchup against the Redskins.
Mohamed Sanu, NE – On a bye in Week 10, Sanu will face
some competition for targets when N’Keal Harry gets acclimated,
but he’s been playing just about all the snaps for the Patriots
and will be on the WR2 radar for a matchup with the Eagles in
Week 11.
TE Vance McDonald, PIT – McDonald was quiet in a game lacking
much offensive output. He should in 3-11-0 on seven targets and
should continue to see targets come his way against the Browns
in Week 1.
TE Noah Fant,
DEN – The Broncos were on a Week 10 bye, but Fant has taken on
a larger role in the wake of Emmanuel Sanders heading to San Fran.
DeVante Parker, MIA – Parker caught 5-of-10 targets for
69 yards in the Dolphins’ Week 10 win over the Colts and
looks like he’s becoming a solid WR3 option.
TE Kyle Rudolph, MIN – I had him in my players to consider
because of the good matchup against the Cowboys, and he responded
with 4-14-2 on Sunday night. He’s got a tough Week 11 matchup
with Denver but he’s back on my radar after his most recent
performance.