RADIO
In fantasy football leagues that use FAAB (free agent acquisition budget), it can be hard to know how much money to spend on key players at QB, RB, WR, or TE. Nick Mariano gives fantasy owners his recommendations on how to spend FAAB for Week 11.
Assisting our famous waiver wire pickups list, and our weekly waiver wire columns by position, this column focuses on suggested waiver wire bidding percentages for fantasy football owners in leagues using a Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB).
As a caveat, these prices do not by any means indicate how much these free agent players will go for. Each league values players differently and will continue to do so. These values are here to provide a baseline to understand roughly how much you should be targeting to spend on a particular player. You only have so much FAAB money, spend it as wisely as possible.
There are only a handful of weeks remaining in most of your fantasy regular seasons. You should have an idea of how many wins you'll need to make the playoffs and how thick your opponents' FAAB wallets are. Be conscious of other team's needs and prioritize accordingly. Without further ado, here are our FAAB auction bidding recommendations for Week 11 below.
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FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Quarterbacks
Sam Darnold (QB, NYJ) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
22% owned
Darnold showed some life in Week 10 against the Giants, tossing for a TD alongside 230 yards and zero interceptions. He’d been picked off nine times in the four games since returning from injury, so that’s my green light signal for him ahead of Washington, Oakland, Cincinnati and Miami matchups in Weeks 11-14. It doesn’t hurt that he scored on a designed run from the two-yard line and notched 25 rush yards in the win.
Jacoby Brissett (QB, IND) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
38% owned
Brissett missed Week 10 and isn’t cleared for Week 11 yet (keep an eye on Wednesday’s practice) but optimism looms from Frank Reich and regardless, you’re eyeing this for the playoffs. Weeks 14 and 15 against Tampa Bay and New Orleans should be top-12 matchups that you can scoop for free now, or at least be made aware of.
Nick Foles (QB, JAC) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
21% owned
Foles is the Jags’ confirmed starter for Week 11 at Indianapolis after Gardner Minshew’s flame fizzled out. Road dates with Indy and Tennessee are tough “welcome back” parties, but Week 13 against Tampa, Week 15 at Oakland and Week 16 at Atlanta should be plus matchups. Foles should get Dede Westbrook back as well, which will help flesh out Jacksonville's passing attack down the stretch.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Running Backs
Brian Hill (RB, ATL) - FAAB Bid: 50-60%
4% owned
Devonta Freeman has a foot injury that requires further testing and Ito Smith is on the IR, meaning Hill is the leading RB for Atlanta. That O-line won’t do him any favors, as evidenced by 20 carries for 61 yards on Sunday, but he mixed in a 10-yard TD reception to lift his day. Kenjon Barner is behind Hill, but it should be the Wyoming alum’s show in Week 11 against a softer Panthers front should Freeman be out.
J.D. McKissic (RB, DET) - FAAB Bid: 20-25%
21% owned
McKissic doesn’t fit the mold of “lead back,” yet here we stand. Ty Johnson suffered a concussion in the first half on Sunday, Tra Carson is gone, Paul Perkins is Paul Perkins. McKissic only totaled 55 yards on 16 touches (10 carries, six catches) but the offense was severely limited with Jeff Driskel at the helm. PPR owners still walked away happy, but everyone should still throw bucks at the versatile back. I thought perhaps Detroit would sign Mike Davis, but for now, J.D. is the guy.
Derrius Guice (RB, WAS) - FAAB Bid: 5-6%
37% owned
One last time, Guice is set to return in Week 11 for Washington and should join Adrian Peterson as a sort of one-two punch that is meant to ease the burden on rookie Dwayne Haskins. I cannot fathom this going particularly well without an elite offensive line to pave the way, but the opportunity should be there with Washington playing for the future and needing to evaluate their young talent.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Wide Receivers
Deebo Samuel (WR, SF) - FAAB Bid: 10-12%
15% owned
Samuel stepped up when Emmanuel Sanders left Monday night’s game early, posting five catches for 78 yards. He’s had at least six targets in back-to-back games and would be the best WR to own should Sanders miss extended time. Do note that Kendrick Bourne also stepped up with 4-42-1 (and a two-point conversion) on eight targets, but Samuel’s fantasy ceiling is higher. Samuel (and Bourne) would see even more work if George Kittle couldn’t return ahead of Week 11’s date with Arizona’s shaky defense.
Allen Lazard (WR, GB) - FAAB Bid: 8-12%
8% owned
Lazard’s six targets were second behind Davante Adams, with the quiet 3-27-0 line keeping his cost low. Marquez Valdes-Scantling went without a target, which sends a clear message. Green Bay still goes through Adams and its two running backs at this time, but Lazard was talked up by Aaron Rodgers and may offer profits in Week 13 against the Giants and Week 14 versus Washington. You know how savvy your fellow fantasy owners are, but you should be able to get Lazard without much fanfare.
Josh Reynolds (WR, LAR) - FAAB Bid: 4-5%
10% owned
Reynolds is far from the premier option in a star-studded Rams offense, but he played on 95% of snaps with Brandin Cooks sidelined. He saw five targets and now has 13 in his last two games, resulting in six catches, 122 yards and a touchdown. Facing the Bears and Ravens over the next two weeks is suboptimal, especially with Jared Goff slipping, but Reynolds remains a fixture in their oft-used three-wide sets and is therefore a solid add.
Russell Gage (WR, ATL) - FAAB Bid: 4-5%
2% owned
Gage has seen 14 targets in two games since Mohamed Sanu was traded, with snap counts hovering around 60% in each contest. Everyone is (rightfully) flocking to Brian Hill with Devonta Freeman’s status up in the air, but Austin Hooper’s injury may open the door for Gage in Week 11. I doubt Atlanta elevates blocking TE Luke Stocker or 2018 UDFA Jaeden Graham, but a heavy dose of three-wide sets against Carolina in Week 11 would do just fine. And if Hooper remains out for Week 12 versus the Bucs then we’ve really got a good target.
Ted Ginn (WR, NO) - FAAB Bid: 4-5%
12% owned
Ginn didn’t catch any of his three targets in Week 10, despite facing Atlanta’s subpar secondary and the return of Drew Brees. The matchup for Week 11 only gets better though, as New Orleans heads to Tampa Bay. Tre’Quan Smith’s own return from injury muddies the WR depth chart, but Ginn profiles similarly to Christian Kirk and could break off a long one (or three) against Tampa’s horrid secondary.
James Washington (WR, PIT) - FAAB Bid: 4-5%
6% owned
Washington secured six-of-seven targets for 90 yards and a touchdown, though he also had a critical fumble. This comes after he caught four balls for 69 yards in Week 9, prompting many to see this offense tilting his way. JuJu Smith-Schuster isn’t getting his and no James Conner has meant more passing, but Mason Rudolph is unlikely to float JJSS, Washington and Diontae Johnson with any reliability. You can throw a few bucks his way with @CLE, @CIN, CLE and @ARI upcoming on the schedule, but temper expectations.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Tight Ends
O.J. Howard (TE, TB) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
40% owned
Howard squarely “did” in his do-or-die date with the Cardinals in Week 10, catching four of his seven targets for 47 yards and a TD. If he didn’t deliver there then he was totally off fantasy radars for 2019. For now, he hangs on as a TE2 dart throw for Week 11’s game against the Saints. The Bucs defense is unlikely to hold an angry Saints team down like the Falcons did, making for another shootout with many points to go around.
Noah Fant (TE, DEN) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
15% owned
Fant comes out of the bye having just shown off with 115 yards and a TD in Brandon Allen’s debut. Fant needs to do better at securing the ball, but he’s a large, athletic man who will torment LBs with speed and DBs with size. He’s Denver’s second-best receiver behind Courtland Sutton and will be a top-12 TE against Minnesota in Week 11.
Dallas Goedert (TE, PHI) - FAAB Bid: 2-3%
17% owned
Zach Ertz reestablished dominance with a 9-103-1 line in Week 9, but Goedert still saw five targets and has had three red-zone opportunities over their last two games while Ertz has none. Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard are a solid RB duo but Alshon Jeffery is no longer a true No. 1 WR, DeSean Jackson is out, Nelson Agholor is unreliable and the youngsters aren’t stepping up. Perhaps Philly will take a page from Baltimore’s playbook against the Patriots and use their big-body TEs to beat them.
Mike Gesicki (TE, MIA) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
40% owned
Gesicki saw six targets for the second straight week, though his 3-28-0 line wasn’t nearly as impressive as Week 9’s 6-95-0 box score. Even with Preston Williams out, Gesicki’s snap count remained around 60% while it was Allen Hurns that stepped up in usage. Gesicki remains the next-best playmaker to Devante Parker, but Miami is too inconsistent to offer any surefire options.
Ryan Griffin (TE, NYJ) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
3% owned
With Chris Herndon’s rib fracture, Griffin remains the starting TE for a Jets offense with a soft schedule. Griffin had played between 84% and 95% of snaps up through Week 10, when he only totaled 65% with a measly -2 receiving yards. While that gives him six games with 10 or fewer yards, he surpassed 50 in his previous two games and is a low-end TE2 streamer.
FAAB Waiver Wire Bids - Defense/Special Teams
New York Jets D/ST (at WAS) - FAAB Bid: 1-2%
22% owned
The Jets get to pick on Dwayne Haskins next, who is 27-of-44 for 284 yards and four interceptions (zero TDs) across three NFL games. HC Bill Callahan has committed to Haskins for the rest of 2019, for better or worse, and the Jets just sacked Daniel Jones six times with two turnovers and a TD. The Jets facing Cincinnati and Miami in Weeks 13 and 14 make them a viable playoff add as well.
Oakland Raiders D/ST (vs. CIN) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
3% owned
The Raiders Defense delivered their best performance of 2019 against the Chargers last Thursday, recording five sacks and three interceptions in the win. They now welcome rookie Ryan Finley and the Bengals into town for Oakland’s third straight home game. I’d expect Joe Mixon to near 30 rushes again against Oakland’s vulnerable front, but hopefully, they force Finley to make plays and duplicate the pick-six he tossed to Baltimore’s Marcus Peters.
Atlanta Falcons D/ST (at CAR) - FAAB Bid: 0-1%
2% owned
Perhaps someone already scooped the Raiders, how about the...Falcons? Yes, the Falcons. It was announced on Sunday morning that HC Dan Quinn had surrendered defensive playcalling to Jeff Ulbrich, their LB coach, who held Drew Brees and the Saints to three field goals with six sacks. That’s strong momentum heading into a date with rookie Kyle Allen, and if that goes well then the Falcons host turnover-prone Jameis Winston in Week 13.
