Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

With the fantasy football playoffs a little over a month away for many leagues, the stretch run begins now. If your team is hovering around .500 then now is the time to make the necessary moves to steal some wins from the hands of your fellow playoff contenders. While many waiver wire additions at this stage in the season should be preemptive due to a player’s upside for the stretch run (i.e Jordan Reed) there are also a handful of short-term pickups who can seal victories in the present for your squad. That being said, this week’s list of targets is a mix of both stashes and streamers, with some toeing the line between both labels.

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Quarterbacks

Tua Tagovailoa

Miami Dolphins | Rostered in 32.6% of ESPN leagues

The Dolphins are 3-0 since the former Alabama star took over the starting role from Ryan Fitzpatrick. While Miami’s offense hasn’t asked Tagovailoa to do much heavy lifting since his ascension (he’s thrown for less than 250 yards in each of his starts), the rookie has sported a sterling 5:0 touchdown to interception ratio during that stretch. The Dolphins face a trio of exploitable defenses in their next three games, with visits to New York and Denver on the slate followed by a home game against the Bengals. The young lefty should have a solid floor during this period, making him a solid streaming option for anyone in need of a bye week replacement at QB.

Kirk Cousins

Minnesota Vikings | Rostered in 13.5% of ESPN leagues

Cousins and the Vikings will take on the defeated Dallas Cowboys defense in Week 11. If there was ever a week to stream Captain Kirk it’s this one, as Cousins — who ranks fifth among qualified passers with a 7.2% touchdown rate — will have a great chance to stretch the field with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen running circles around the Cowboys secondary. Though Minnesota’s offensive philosophy tends to focus heavily on the run game, Cousins currently ranks first in the NFL in air yards per attempt thanks to the presence of Jefferson and Thielen, a testament to the upside of the Vikings passing game in a matchup as favorable as this one.

Jameis Winston

New Orleans Saints | Rostered in 0.6% of ESPN leagues

With starter Drew Brees expected to miss some time due to a collapsed lung and several fractured ribs, Winston (the NFL’s leading passer from last season) will likely be tasked with filling his shoes. Winston’s upside in the Saints offense is truly limitless, as he — unlike Brees — has the arm strength to push the ball vertically downfield. With juicy matchups against the Falcons (twice), Broncos, and Eagles in the next month, Winston has QB1 potential in Brees’ stead.

Running Backs

Nyheim Hines

Indianapolis Colts | Rostered in 41.1% of ESPN leagues

I’ve been banging the drum for Hines since the offseason, as the former NC State star is the exact type of receiving back who we’ve seen thrive alongside Philip Rivers time and time again. In the Colts’ victory over the Titans on Thursday Night Football, Hines proved to be capable of carrying the load as the lead back as well. The third-year ball carrier tallied 115 yards from scrimmage on 17 total touches, scoring a pair of touchdowns. A weapon on play-action in particular, Hines has drawn a light box on 69.7% of his rushing attempts. Likely due to the threat of him catching the ball out of the backfield, Hines has managed to elevate the Colts offense as a whole when he’s on the field and he should continue to see an uptick in his usage following their landmark win this past week. As talented as rookie Jonathan Taylor is, Hines simply elevates this offense in a manner that the former Wisconsin star simply hasn’t been able to.

Salvon Ahmed

Miami Dolphins | Rostered in 7.0% of ESPN leagues

With Myles Gaskin, Matt Breida, and Jordan Howard missing in action on Sunday, the undrafted rookie Ahmed stepped up as Miami’s lead back in their victory over the Chargers. Ahmed thrived in this expanded role, toting the rock 21 times for 85 rushing yards and a touchdown. Some would call Ahmed a perfect understudy to Breida, as his pure speed as a runner is easily his best trait. With the Broncos and Jets on their slate for the next two weeks, the Dolphins could have some success moving the ball on the ground. Should Ahmed remain the lead back during this time he could be an excellent streaming option for those in need of flex help.

Malcolm Brown

Los Angeles Rams | Rostered in 40.9% of ESPN leagues

Brown was the hot hand for LA this week — in the red zone that is. The veteran back punched in a pair of scores, while totaling 33 yards on the ground. Brown’s usage near the goal line this week was intriguing, as the Rams seemed to trust him a bit more than Darrell Henderson in this area of the field. If you need a desperation RB2 this week, Brown could be an interesting streamer against the Buccaneers defense, a stout run-stuffing unit that could stifle the more explosive Henderson and force Sean McVay to turn to the plodding Brown as the lead back. Brown also happens to be out snapping Henderson too, with a 51.6% snap share compared to 35.9% for the second-year back. It’s possible that the veteran is the back to own in this backfield moving forward, as Henderson has cooled off significantly following a scorching hot start to the year.

Kalen Ballage

Los Angeles Chargers | Rostered in 29.9% of ESPN leagues

With Justin Jackson on IR and Joshua Kelley in the doghouse, Ballage has become the de facto lead back for the Chargers in the last couple of weeks. For a guy who was on the practice squad only a few days before his debut last weekend, Ballage has looked right at home in the Chargers offense. A fourth-round pick by the Dolphins in 2018, Ballage has long been seen as a high-upside back due to his great size (6’2, 230 lbs) and speed, with a speed score in the 96th percentile per PlayerProfiler. Ballage has carried the ball 33 times for 137 yards in his last two games and his role as the power back in this offense seems locked in for the time being. It remains to be seen what Ballage’s role will be once Austin Ekeler returns from IR. For now, he’s a solid streaming option for Week 11 against the lowly Jets defense.

Wide Receivers

Cole Beasley

Buffalo Bills | Rostered in 46.1% of ESPN leagues

Cole Beasley Bills.jpg If your league mates have continued to ignore Beasley to this point in the season — and that must include you, the reader, shame on you! — then now is the time to strike on one of the most consistent PPR assets you can find. Coming off of a game where he reeled in 11 of his 13 targets for 109 yards and a touchdown, Beasley’s status as the waiver wire’s best-kept secret may be in jeopardy. The veteran slot specialist has gone for at double-digit PPR points in seven of his ten games this season, and his usage should continue to climb as the Bills look to lock up the AFC East in the cold weather months of November and December, especially with John Brown now dealing with an ankle injury.

Josh Reynolds

Los Angeles Rams | Rostered in 3.4% of ESPN leagues

Reynolds has asserted himself as the unquestioned WR3 for the Rams offense in the last month. The fourth-year wideout has broken his season-high in targets in each of the past three games, culminating with an 8 catch, 94 receiving yard performance in Sunday’s victory over the Seahawks. If your team is in need of some wide receiver depth, look no further than Reynolds, who is finally breaking out in the midst of a contract year.

Curtis Samuel

Carolina Panthers | Rostered in 65.1% of ESPN leagues

There has been a concerted effort by the Panthers coaching staff to get Samuel involved in these past few games. Lining up as both a receiver and as a running back, Carolina’s new regime has embraced the gadget player in Samuel this season. The fourth-year wideout also checks as a top-five receiver in fantasy points per-target with 2.52, which bodes well in conjunction with his uptick in usage. While Teddy Bridgewater’s latest injury is a bit concerning for Samuel’s upside, it’s possible that he may thrive as a security blanket for backup P.J Walker, should the Panthers start him.

Michael Pittman Jr.

Indianapolis Colts | Rostered in 5.0% of ESPN leagues

Hot off the heels of his first career 100 yard receiving performance, Pittman is primed for a big second half for the Colts as they make their push towards the AFC South crown. Say what you will about the Titans defense, but the big-bodied Pittman looked like a young Mike Evans on Thursday night, with HC Frank Reich noting that Pittman “runs like he wants to hurt somebody”. Finally, at full health, the sky is the limit for the 2020 second-round pick down the stretch.

Tight Ends

Tyler Higbee

Los Angeles Rams | Rostered in 46.4% of ESPN leagues

Higbee reemerged as the go-to tight end for the Rams this week, hauling in three passes for a season-high 60 receiving yards. Seemingly over the hand injury that ailed him a couple of weeks ago, Higbee could be a solid streaming option in his Week 11 matchup against Tampa Bay.

Taysom Hill

New Orleans Saints | Rostered in 5.0% of ESPN leagues

Hill is listed as having tight end eligibility in ESPN leagues. Should Drew Brees miss next week’s game against the Falcons, Hill may be a sneaky streamer in formats where he retains tight end eligibility. Though Jameis Winston would presumably start in this instance, one has to imagine that we would be seeing more Hill packages with Brees on the sideline. We love a good loophole!

Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups