RADIO
The fantasy football playoffs begin in Week 15 in most leagues. That said, it's time to start gearing up your fantasy roster to either stay atop the standings or begin to climb the standings over the next few weeks. Although the Week 11 waiver wire is as thin as ever, there are still players worth considering for Wednesday or Thursday's transactions.
The top waiver wire adds are often obvious for traditional 10 and 12-team leagues, but a larger pool of players is in consideration in leagues of 14 people or more. Some of these Week 11 deeper-league waiver wire suggestions will have value right away, while others are simply bench stashes that could help your fantasy team in the future. We won't cover chalk pickups like Trey McBride or Noah Brown for smaller leagues in this article.
Without further ado, here are the top deeper league waiver wire targets for Week 11, including Jordan Love, Rico Dowdle, Kenneth Gainwell, Quentin Johnston, and Trenton Irwin.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!
Running Back Waiver Wire Targets For Deep Leagues
Kenneth Gainwell has scored a touchdown in two of his last three games. He's far from a reliable starter now, but he'd become a must-start option if something happens to D'Andre Swift. Swift missed multiple games in each of his three seasons with the Detroit Lions.
Zach Charbonnet has outsnapped Kenneth Walker in each of the Seahawks' last three games. The rookie from UCLA saw a season-high five targets last week, so he could be carving out a receiving role that will give him deep league value.
Royce Freeman has outgained Darrell Henderson in each of their three games together. Kyren Williams (ankle) and Ronnie Rivers (knee) are not eligible to return until Week 12, so Freeman has one more chance to be fantasy-viable in Week 11.
Tyjae Spears has played on more than 50% of the Titans' offensive snaps in seven of his nine games. He continues to be a high-end handcuff stash as Derrick Henry's backup with some standalone value.
Joshua Kelley was disappointing in his handful of starts in the absence of Austin Ekeler early in the season. However, he remains a top-tier handcuff RB in an explosive Chargers offense.
Ezekiel Elliott posted a season-high 88 total yards on 15 touches in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Although his ceiling is limited in a bad offense, he can be utilized as a desperation flex play in standard formats when he returns from a Week 11 bye.
Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell should both be rostered in deep leagues. Christian McCaffrey has already been banged up this season, and there's a real chance he will miss a game or two down the stretch. Mitchell and Mason would compete to have RB2 upside.
Rico Dowdle remains an attractive handcuff running back, especially since the Dallas offense has a high ceiling when it's clicking. He posted 79 yards and a touchdown in Week 10 against the Giants, mostly in garbage time.
Note: Any direct backup running back, especially one in a good offense, should be considered a bench stash in deep leagues.
Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Targets For Deep Leagues
Quentin Johnston and Jalen Guyton both scored touchdowns in the Week 10 loss to the Detroit Lions. Joshua Palmer (knee) is on injured reserve, so one or both of them will see additional targets for a few more weeks.
Jameson Williams and Josh Reynolds aren't weekly fantasy studs, but in one of the best offenses in the NFL, both should be rostered. In even deeper leagues, feel free to give Donovan Peoples-Jones a look. All three players would have legitimate fantasy upside if Amon-Ra St. Brown had to miss any time. Consider them "handcuff" wide receivers
Robert Woods saw just three targets in his return to the Texans' lineup in Week 10. However, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has the Texans' passing offense looking elite, so Woods is still worth hanging on to.
Demario Douglas has earned at least six targets in each of his last four games and saw a career-high nine targets in Week 10. The Patriots are heading to a Week 11 bye, and they might make a quarterback change to Bailey Zappe. Will Zappe dramatically improve the offense? Maybe not. But he could give it a slight boost.
Odell Beckham Jr. scored a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown against the Browns in Week 10. Although it's tough to trust the veteran to stay healthy, he's at least entered the fantasy radar.
Jayden Reed posted a season-high 84 receiving yards in the Week 10 loss to the Steelers. He also secured the fourth touchdown of his rookie season. It looks like he and Romeo Doubs have more value than Christian Watson.
Trenton Irwin has caught 10 of his 14 targets for 114 yards in two games in which Tee Higgins was inactive. Higgins is looking doubtful for the Thursday Night Football bout with the Baltimore Ravens, so Irwin could be worth rolling the dice on in deep formats.
Mecole Hardman Jr. has caught the third-most touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes all time, trailing only Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. As Hardman gets reacclimated to the Kansas City offense, he could have legitimate deep-league value. The Chiefs need someone to step up behind Kelce and Rashee Rice.
Kyle Philips led the Titans in receiving yards against the Buccaneers, and he had seven catches for 129 yards over the last two weeks. Treylon Burks can't seem to stay healthy or play well when he's active, so Philips could become the Titans' clear No. 2 wideout behind DeAndre Hopkins. Hopefully, Will Levis bounces back from a rough Week 10 showing and ignites this Tennessee passing offense.
Tight End Waiver Wire Targets For Deep Leagues
Gerald Everett suffered a back injury against the Lions on Sunday. However, he remains on the deep fantasy football radar as long as he is in Justin Herbert's offense.
Luke Musgrave caught two passes for a career-high 64 yards last week. He has the athleticism to become an elite YAC tight end. That's all it takes to enter the fantasy radar in deep leagues.
Michael Mayer caught his first touchdown as a pro on Sunday Night Football against the Jets. Although he's far from a must-start option, he could begin to develop chemistry with rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell.
Tyler Conklin has 13 targets over his last two games -- catching all of them for 136 yards. Although Zach Wilson is struggling, he's clearly found a connection with Conklin that could yield PPR success down the stretch.
Quarterback Waiver Wire Targets For Deep Leagues/2-QB Leagues
Jordan Love hasn't been a great "real-life" quarterback. However, the first-year starter has posted at least 16.3 fantasy points in six of his nine starts. He has posted fewer than 13 fantasy points just once. He draws a favorable matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers passing defense in Week 11. Roster him.
Matthew Stafford is expected to return from his thumb injury in Week 11. With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua catching passes from him, he still has an upside in favorable matchups.
P.J. Walker is worth stashing since Deshaun Watson has been unable to stay healthy for more than a week at a time this season.
Bailey Zappe could become the Patriots' starter after the Week 11 bye. Although he'd have a low-end QB2 or worse outlook, all starters should be rostered in two-QB formats.
Mike White would be given the keys to the Dolphins' explosive offense if the oft-injured Tua Tagovailoa gets banged up this year. That makes him worth stashing in Superflex and two-QB leagues.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
Win More With RotoBaller
Be sure to also check out all of our other daily fantasy football articles and analysis to help you set those winning lineups, including this new RotoBaller YouTube video:
More Waiver Wire Pickups and Advice
