Welcome to my breakdown of the best Week 11 waiver wire pickups.
This breakdown is not a “one size fits all” kind of thing. Every league is different, and I don’t know the situation you’re in. I can’t tell you how much you should bid on any given player.
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If you’re 8-2 and stacked at running back, you don’t need to spend big on a player who might only be relevant for a few games. If you're 4-6 and fighting for your life, go get him!
The point of this breakdown and my analysis is to give you the tools to make the best decision possible. I’ll provide as much detail as I can and encourage everyone to subscribe to my weekly rankings and check those on Wednesday night.
Most importantly, use my initial ranks for the week to see where I have everyone ranked. It’s 100% the best way to see how I view their short term value.
Here's a link to my fantasy rankings, which are being updated daily throughout the week. If you have a specific question for Week 11, that's the best place to get the answer you're looking for.
We're debuting a new system this week so I can cover move players.
If he's available in your league, Dobbs needs to be added. He opens Week 11 as my QB11 in my rankings. He also could get Justin Jefferson back soon, which would enhance his value.
Running Backs
I'd rather stash guys with long-term injury upside instead of the ones who pop up on any given week that everyone will want to go after. Here's a list of names who will be hot this week.
Chandler was the RB I originally thought (in my RB Upside Ratings) post who could push Alexander Mattison this season. It’s taken nine weeks, but that finally came to fruition after Cam Akers' season-ending injury, followed by Mattison being forced out of action due to a concussion.
Chandler took over as the Vikings' the lead back on Sunday and would be the lead back in Week 11 if Mattison is out. It typically players miss at least one game after a concussion.
Chandler is capable of playing on all three downs, but he’s probably not capable of handling 25+ touches, so we could see Kene Nwangwu and/or DeWayne McBride mix in quite a bit on early downs and cap Chandler’s upside.
Either way, he opens the week as my RB19 and will be a nice one week rental for a potential RB2 value and a back who will have injury upside going forward.
I've already spoken and written about how Singletary and Chuba Hubbard are must-add RBs given their upside, and we saw that pay off with Singletary in Week 10. He was so good that he could remain Houston's lead back even if Dameon Pierce returns in Week 11.
Dowdle is worth a stash as Tony Pollard's clear handcuff, and he could start eating into Pollard's workload soon if his struggles continue. The Cowboys have a great Week 11 matchup in Carolina, and Dowdle could be a sneaky roll of the dice.
I have the same take as I did last week on Mitchell. He should be added when possible.
Williams is the clear Joe Mixon handcuff in Cincinnati, if that wasn't clear already.
I've included Charbonnet here as a weekly reminder that he will be a low-end RB1 if Kenneth Walker III misses time.
Get my updated fantasy rankings right here for any start/sit questions in Week 11,
Wide Receivers & Tight End
Brown followed up last week’s massive game with another one in Week 10. Initially, I was projecting him a tad lower to begin the week due to the potential return of Robert Woods. However, Nico Collins ended up getting ruled out, which made Brown a WR4 play for me.
The Texans' WR room could be the most crowded it’s been all season if Collins returns (and we don’t have another Texans WR end up getting ruled out), but at this point I think it’ll be Robert Woods who ends up losing the most snaps when Collins is back.
C.J. Stroud has proven himself good enough to support multiple fantasy assets so Brown will have more good weeks ahead, but he’s going to carry a wide range of outcomes most weeks. I still view him as a fringe WR3/4 option going forward, so don’t break the bank for him. It’s uncommon to be landing WR2+ types off the waiver wire at this point in the season, though, so he is a decent add for WR-needy teams.
Cooks is coming off a massive 9/173/1 game. It was bound to happen at some point and came in a game that saw Dak Prescott throw for more than 400 yards. We can’t be banking on that type of production every week, especially considering he’s still going to be the No. 3 target (at best) behind WR CeeDee Lamb and TE Jake Ferguson.
Cowboys probably won’t have to throw much to beat the Panthers, so Cooks' upside is limited in Week 11 and I still only view him as a WR4 option who will offer spiked weeks, but he can’t be trusted as a high-floor option yet.
I mentioned on the Fantasy Flex podcast last week that Guyton could emerge as the WR2 over rookie Quentin Johnston. At worst, he's the Chargers' WR3 moving forward.
Guyton had sneaky good underlying usage in Week 9, and it paid off with a strong 4/41/1 performance in Week 10.
It sounds like Tee Higgins is unlikely to suit up on Thursday Night Football for the Bengals, which means Irwin should get another start in Week 11.
You might want to stash Freiermuth on your injured reserve if he's available. I'm not sure he will be if your league has an IR spot, but it's worth noting.
