Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups Week 11

[the_ad id=”63198″]Week 10 showed every Fantasy Football and regular football fan just how unpredictable the NFL can be. Just like last week, there are four teams on byes Week 10 and the teams on byes this week have major impact players on them.

With this being the trade deadline in most leagues, the waiver wire is about to get way more competitive, especially with the fantasy playoffs around the corner. This is the time of the year where fantasy veterans find that diamond in the rough that propels them to a title.

Here are the top players under 50% owned to target at each position on the waiver wire for Week 11.

Week 11 Byes:

New York Jets

San Diego Chargers

Denver Broncos

Atlanta Falcons

Waiver Wire Pickups: Quarterbacks

Alex Smith

Alex Smith isn’t a sexy pick for fantasy owners but this week he has a great matchup against the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers made Cutler look awful in Week 10 but he doesn’t need help looking like a terrible quarterback. Before last week the Buccaneers surrendered 857 yards and eight touchdowns in Weeks 8 and 9. Expect Smith to be a solid QB1 this week scoring around 20 points.

Joe Flacco

In Week 10, Flacco was not impressive against the Browns with 296 passing yards three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Even though he wasn’t impressive, he still managed to deliver good fantasy production. Flacco this week will face the Dallas Cowboys who have a very banged up secondary and just gave up 408 yards and three touchdowns to Ben Roethlisberger. Now I don’t expect that kind of game but I do expect the Ravens to be losing which means more pass attempts and likely garbage points for Flacco.

Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs

C.J. Prosise

[the_ad id=”66786″]The C.J. Prosise hype train is ready for boarding. Prosise totaled 153 total yards of offense against the Patriots, in New England. That’s impressive. He showed great vision and gave the Seahawks a spark on offense that they were missing. With Prosise dominating running back touches he should be the top priority pick in Week 11, especially in PPR leagues

Rob Kelly

In Washington, it is the Robert Kelly show at running back. Matt Jones is an afterthought and Kelly is the new man in town. A tough between the tackles runner, who gives the Redskins a sense of toughness and can grind down a defense at the end of games. The Redskins trusted Kelly with 22 carries and if you can pick up a running back getting that kind of work, he is a must add. A tough matchup this week against the Packers who have been one of the best run defenses all season but were just gashed by the Titans running backs for 154 rushing yards.

Kenneth Dixon

Dixon had 80 total yards against the Browns, showcasing his ability to be an every-down running back. He looked more explosive and more dynamic than Terrance West and I believe it is only a matter of time before the Ravens go to Dixon. Dixon averaged 6.3 yards per carry to West’s 3.1. He is a more talented running back who is slowly starting to get more playing time.

Paul Perkins

The Giants have already said they want to get Perkins more playing time in the Monday night game against the Bengals. Now obviously I am writing this before the Monday night game so hopefully, this is a great call for Week 11. He earned a career-high 14 touches coming out of the bye week which is great news and the Giants have to get a running game going since they are dead last in the league in rushing yards.

Waiver Wire Pickups: Wide Receivers

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Rishard Matthews

Another productive week for Matthews. This week he had three catches for 63 yards and one touchdown. It is his third game in a row with a touchdown and in his last six games, he has six touchdowns. Mariota shows his trust in Matthews and the Titans offense seems to be clicking now which makes Matthews a great Flex play with WR2 upside against a very bad Colts defense.

Eli Rogers

For the second week in a row, Rogers had 10 fantasy points. This week he was able to find the end zone and add four catches for 42 yards. He has stepped up to be a reliable option for the Steelers and is the third option behind Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell for the Steelers passing attack. This week the Steelers play the Browns which should mean plenty of scoring chances for Rogers and the Steelers.

Robert Woods

Even though the Bills were on a bye in Week 10, let’s not forget how Robert Woods absolutely torched the Seahawks with 10 catches for 162 in Week 9. He is the main target in the passing game and a great deep threat for Tyrod Taylor who throws one of the best deep balls in the NFL. Still no word on when or if at all Sammy Watkins will return this season which means Woods is still the number one option in Buffalo. The Bills will play the Bengals on a short week for the Bengals, he has great upside but has shown a low floor, and if you are willing to take the risk on him, the payoff could be great.

Buyers Beware: Cameron Meredith

Alshon Jeffery’s four-game suspension does open up an opportunity for Cameron Meredith, but you shouldn’t overthink his fantasy value. Meredith hasn’t shown much production since his consecutive 100-yard performances back when Brian Hoyer was under center. Meredith did catch a Hail Mary pass to get his lone catch/ TD in Week 10, but it was a total fluke. He clearly wasn’t Cutler’s favorite target on the field. If you have the bench room or need to gamble with the off chance that Cutler and Meredith can become overnight buddies, pick him up, otherwise we say pass.

Waiver Wire Pickups: Tight Ends

Julius Thomas

Thomas had six catches for 24 yards and one touchdown in Week 10 against the Texans. This week Thomas will get the pleasure of playing the Detroit Lions who have given up 10 tight end touchdowns in nine weeks. Thomas is a red zone threat and with this great matchup, he has great upside to not only score one touchdown but possibly multiple touchdowns.

C.J. Fiedorowicz

Fiedorowicz did only manage to catch three passes for 26 yards against the Jaguars in Week 10 but before that was averaging 8.6 points per game in his last five. He has been a safety blanket for Osweiler who has shown he desperately needs one. A reliable red zone option with a favorable matchup against the Raiders and an easy schedule for the fantasy playoffs.

Ladarius Green

Well, Green is finally back. He had three catches for 30 yards which are not very impressive stats but he did manage a red zone target and if he were able to bring that ball in, it would be a much different game. Green is a very big and athletic tight end, who will be a great middle of the field and red zone presence for the Steelers. With tight ends being so thin and Green facing the Browns this week, he has a chance to be a TE1.

Deep Sleeper Adds

Quarterbacks: Brock Osweiler, Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch

Running Backs: Fitzgerlad Toussaint, Wendall Smallwood, Damien Williams

Wide Receivers: Cameron Meredith, Taylor Gabriel, Tyreek Hill

Tight Ends: Vance McDonald, Lance Kendricks, Dennis Pitta

Waiver Wire Rankings: Week 11

Player Team Pos. Own % FAAB C.J. Prosise RB 30.7 28% Robert Kelly RB 45.3 26% Rishard Matthews WR 35.1 21% Kenneth Dixon RB 10.5 19% Paul Perkins RB 35.7 17% Julius Thomas TE 47.5 11% Alex Smith QB 27.9 7% Eli Rogers WR 20.9 6% C.J. Fiedorowicz TE 25.2 6% Robert Woods WR 16.3 5% Joe Flacco QB 31.5 4% Ladarius Green TE 7.8 3%

According to ESPN Standard Leagues

Mitchell is working full-time as Senior Writer & On-Air Talent at Chat Sports in Dallas, TX. Mitchell is a Head Writer at Gridiron Experts and Co-Host of the Empire Fantasy Podcast. He also is a featured fantasy writer for the Fantasy Footballers and FantasyPros. Mitchell has a Ph.D. in Fantasy Football so give him a follow on Twitter @MitchellRenz365.

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