Waiver Adds, Avoids, and Trade-Targets for Week 11
Waiver Players You Should TRUST:
Broncos RB, Audric Estime
Well for some reason Sean Payton decided to push Estime and effectively bench Javonte Williams in the Broncos biggest game of the season. I don’t see anything with Estime but he’s good to hold and I’d even pick him up just to trade him. The average fantasy player loves rookies, and they love runningbacks. Estime checks both of those boxes. I’m a firm believer that Javonte is better than Estime… by a lot… and who was excited about Javonte week in and week out?
Broncos QB, Bo Nix
Doubling up on the Broncos here, Nix is criminally underappreciated and can now stake his claim as a top-12 fantasy QB, ahead of Mahomes, Goff, Herbert, etc. Nix has been improving every single game and he’ll continue to grow. How has no one else caught on to this?
Lions Kicker, Jake Bates
Jake Bates hit another game-winner, and two 50-yard field goals, effectively winning the game for Detroit by himself. He’s an accurate kicker that bombs the ball and kicks in a dome. What’s not to love?
Steelers QB, Russell Wilson
I hate that I’m putting him on here, and I’m not even sure I trust it… but it’s working. On a ppg basis, Russ is in 7th place where he’s barely behind Jayden Daniels, just ahead of Justin Fields and Brock Purdy. Russ figured out how to win games in Pittsburgh, Fields started to get it, but many other QBs couldn’t figure it out… you win games in Pittsburgh by throwing to one of the best weapons in the NFL, George Pickens.
Cardinals D/ST:
The Cardinals defense is toughening up lately, and what’s more important than the quality of players when evaluating a D/ST is who they play.
Arizona is on BYE Week 11 but then goes up against:
Seattle (Geno Smith)
Vikings (Sam Darnold)
Seattle
New England (Drake Maye)
Carolina (Bryce Young)
This isn’t a killer schedule of offenses or quarterbacks, and even if you have the LAC or DEN defense you can use Arizona on their less favorable matchups. NE and CAR in the playoffs is an ACE defensive pickup.
Waiver Players to DISTRUST:
Steelers WR, Mike Williams
Just the one target for Big Mike all game and it happened to be for a long touchdown. Williams isn’t that great of a receiver anymore, killed by age and injury, and the final blow to his FF production is being a WR in Arthur Smith’s offense.
Ravens WR, Rashod Bateman
Bateman is one of those guys people think about because they remember his name and he plays for the best offense in football, what people tend to forget is he’s not that great of an NFL player and is worse for Fantasy Football. Now that Baltimore brought in Diontae Johnson, and now that Diontae Johnson is complaining about not getting targets, Bateman is effectively dead for Fantasy.
Ravens WR, Tylan Wallace
A perfect combination of Mike Williams and Rashod Bateman. I hadn’t even considered putting him on here until the end of the Bateman piece.
Players to BUY-LOW:
Browns RB, Nick Chubb
People think Chubb’s career is done because of his injuries, but I don’t think so. Chubb owners hate him so he’s the ultimate buy-low. Cleveland has a meh-schedule going forward, but it’s Nick Chubb so you know he’ll get his totes. In a dynasty this a great pickup. Remember when Derrick Henry and Austin Ekeler were old and washed?
Lions QB, Jared Goff
Goff has had several low-output games the last few weeks, and after the 5 INT game, he might be cut in some leagues. Goff is better in 6 PPTD league but is a nice #2 with upside in 4 PPTD.
Titans RB, Tony Pollard
The only thing anyone likes about the Titans offense is Calvin Ridley, and that wasn’t until this week. Pollard didn’t have a great game, and Tyjae Spears is back which will cause even more doubt. Tennessee has two tough games against Minnesota and Houston, but then he’s good to rock with through the playoffs.
Players to SELL-HIGH:
Cowboys WR, Ceedee Lamb, and TE Jake Ferguson
The Cooper Rush era is already over in Dallas, and it may come back in a few weeks, but I doubt it. With Trey Lance at QB, both of these players are FF-ruined for the rest of the season. Maybe you can find someone who still believes CeeDee is a low-end WR 1. Ditto for Ferguson.
Colts WR, Josh Downs
Indy is going to go back to Richardson soon, which is not good for Downs or Pittman. If it’s not this week and Flacco drops another dud then AR is coming in. I wouldn’t go for some big package deal but it’ll be easier to just flip him for something comparable like Jakobi Meyers, Pickens, McConkey, Jauan Jennings, etc.
Chargers WR, Quentin Johnston
Johnston has been hot lately but he isn’t getting enough targets for this to be sustainable, and defenses would rather give up a 10-play touchdown drive than a 75-yard TD on one play. The big play has been Johnston’s production and teams won’t let it continue.
Panthers RB, Jonathan Brooks
If you have Brooks but not Chuba, this is a great move to make. Brooks still hasn’t played but his time is coming, and the Hubbard owner might be nervous about it. Trading Brooks to them for an RB 2 is a fair deal.
Deep League/Dynasty Targets:
Colts QB, Anthony Richardson
The Colts playoff hopes are effectively dead and Flacco hasn’t been playing well since the coup. If the Colts want to beat the Jets and try to compete against Detroit, a non-classic QB like Richardson is your best bet.
Panthers WR, Jalen Coker
Coker is the best receiver on the Panthers but Bryce Young holds him back.
Titans WR, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
The Titans are in an evaluation period with Levis, so logically they’ll start to throw more, and NWI is a quality WR who will see less coverage as Ridley starts to play well again.
