November 16, 2015

Ed Gorelik analyzes Week 11 sleepers available on your 2015 fantasy football waiver wire. These NFL running backs (RBs), wide receivers (WRs), tight ends (TEs) and quarterbacks (QBs) are fantasy football sleepers.

Waiver Wire Adds for Week Eleven

The tenth Sunday of the season is through, and once again we're dealing with a potentially perfect season from the Patriots. In brighter news, we might also be dealing with one from the Panthers.

Week 10 saw Ben Roethlisberger come off the bench to completely destroy the Browns, one of the quietest breakout games ever in primetime as Michael Floyd killed the Seahawks, and had rookie Jeremy Langford and the rest of the Bears completely destroy the St. Louis Rams.

Below are some waiver wire pickups and sleepers for Week 11 who can have a potential impact for your teams. My piece won't cover all waiver wire adds and targets each week, as there are just too many with all the league types out there, but I'll be highlighting and prioritizing the biggest impact players. Additionally, be sure to check out many more great RotoBaller articles and waiver wire analysis pieces at each position throughout the week, including risers/fallers, deeper league sleepers, rankings and more.

Week 11 Quarterback Waiver Wire Pickups

Jay Cutler (QB, CHI)

46% Owned on Fleaflicker

It's been a long time since we've all been on the Cutler bandwagon. Now, it's looking like maybe Jay Cutler is ready to become a fraction of the Quarterback everyone's been hoping he would become for years. Cutler has managed to be the 9th highest scoring QB over the last 5 weeks and a few of those included missing his #1 and most reliable wide receiver, Alshon Jeffery. With Adam Gase at helm, Cutler is finally starting to turn a real corner and this upcoming week he faces the Denver Broncos.

That seems like a bad matchup - and well, it is a bad matchup. But this is a huge revenge game brewing between two teams heading in completely opposite directions. John Fox and Adam Gase were just let go by the Broncos this last season and will be given the chance to shove it in their face - the struggling QB they've inherited is playing great football, while the declining QB they've left behind might be sitting on the bench. Cutler seems like a mid-QB2 streaming option this week, but momentum and narratives gives him a solid chance of pulling out a top 12 finish.

Marcus Mariota (QB, TEN)

50% Owned on Fleaflicker

Marcus Mariota is likely to see a drop in his ownership after a complete bomb against the Panthers, but that should've been expected. The Panthers have returned to one of the NFL's prime defenses, and Mariota is a rookie on a bad football team. However, this week Mariota gets to face a different bad football team - the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are allowing the 4th highest points per week to QBs and aren't particularly doing much better recently, still allowing a top 10 amount in the last four weeks. Mariota's looking like he's about to hit another one of his streaky games, especially since the Jags pass defense is ranked 29th in DVOA.

Other Quarterback Options: 

• BUF QB Tyrod Taylor - 48% owned - Tyrod isn't very "good" but he's good enough to be a strong every-week option. He will be seeing the Patriots for the second time this season, who's defense is playing way better than they did the first time he saw them.
• NYJ QB Ryan Fitzpatrick - 30% owned - As everyone saw in primetime, Fitzpatrick is a struggling quarterback. However, he's a struggling QB playing with an offense that has a lot of talent. If you're desperate for a QB play, Fitzpatrick is facing his second revenge game this week - this time against the Texans, an average pass defense while continuing his two-touchdowns-per-game streak.
• DEN QB Brock Osweiler - 5% owned - Alright, disclaimer is that Osweiler probably isn't going to be very good. However, let's look at the facts: Osweiler's receivers are Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Vernon Davis, Owen Daniels. He also has Gary Kubiak as his head coach, who got a QB1 season out of Joe Flacco when his #1 receiver was a 35 year old Steve Smith. Osweiler might be worth the risk.

More Options: Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, Mark Sanchez

Week 11 Running Back Waiver Wire Pickups

Matt Jones (RB, WAS)

52% Owned on Fleaflicker

It's a weak RB waiver roundup when the all the top RBs on the market are going to be in a timeshare. Matt Jones led the Redskins through the first half of the game, essentially playing as the starter, until they had a big enough lead for them to put in Alfred Morris who ran down the clock. Although this is still a timeshare, it's a share that should be heading in Jones' direction - he's shown much better week-to-week playmaking abilities, and far more versatility in his game than Morris has in his career.

Jay Ajayi (RB, MIA)

29% Owned on Fleaflicker

One of the bright spots of these weak, weak RB waiver wire options might be Jay Ajayi. Unfortunately stuck behind Lamar Miller, Ajayi's going to take an injury or a huge coaching decision in order to become fantasy relevant. But over the past two weeks, he's been able to post eight yards per carry while showing plenty of skill in breaking tackles, finding holes, and creating yards. Ajayi was, without any doubt, one of the best backs in the 2015 class and only saw his stock fall as far as it did because of an injury concern. The Dolphins seem to be slowly adding him into their offense, and I'd be more than willing to stash him in a 12 team league in case his role expands.

Theo Riddick (RB, DET)

29% Owned on Fleaflicker

Riddick's just an every week feature here at this point, continuing to show PPR value even in weeks where his yardage is weak. He's a low-end RB2 in PPR leagues, and should be owned in every single one.

Other Running Back Options: 

• SF RB Shaun Draughn - 7% owned - Looks like Draughn will have his chance to become fantasy relevant, as he was the main back for the 49ers. Although Gabbert is really unlikely to keep this offense moving, anyone starting has some value. Keep an eye out for the return of Carlos Hyde.
• IND RB Ahmad Bradshaw - 13% owned - We're still waiting for Bradshaw's role to truly open in this offense, but we're already seeing flashes of the same 2014 player who was surprising fantasy owners last year.
• DET RB Joique Bell - 52% owned - Bell split time with Abdullah against the Packers, but was still asked to close out the game. The plodder has minimal value, but offers bench depth for a team needing some.
• DET RB Ameer Abdullah - 56% owned - Dropped by many owners at this point, like mentioned above, Abdullah actually got some opportunities last week while splitting work with Bell. Maybe he comes back into relevance?
• SEA RB Thomas Rawls - 28% owned - With Lynch seeing an injury and now healing, it's time to pickup Rawls again - just in case.
• TB RB Charles Sims - 58% owned - Perennially overrated by the fantasy community, Sims is a decent back playing behind a far better back. He offers some low-end PPR flex value, and minimal standard value outside of a handcuff.
• WAS RB Chris Thompson - 10% owned - Low volume, but highly efficient, Thompson has gotten good PPR work in games where the Redskins fall behind.
• CHI RB Ka'Deem Carey - 4% owned - Everyone's in love with Langford right now, but Carey hasn't been looking too bad himself - and might even be a better runner than Langford when it comes to sticking between the tackles. A long-shot for value, he's got upside as a bench stash.
• TEN RB David Cobb - 40% owned - I've been listening to coaches blow smoke about their players long enough to know that an endorsement is temporary. Cobb is still, in my eyes, the best option for downfield between the tackle running for the Titans - and might be able to gain that role once he returns to the lineup.

More Options: Rod Smith, Denard Robinson, Spencer Ware, Chris Polk, Rod Smith, Tim Hightower, Dexter McCluster, Jamize Olawale, Orleans Darkwa

Week 11 Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups

Danny Amendola (WR, NE)

28% Owned on Fleaflicker

Amendola is a far cry from Julian Edelman, but he's the only player on their team that's capable of replacing his role. Although there's still the chance that Amendola just goes on the back-burner behind Rob Gronkowski and Brandon Lafell, he's likely the highest upside wide receiver that'll come off the waiver wire for the rest of this season. People might be looking at his statistics and seeing "inconsistency", but if you really take a look at Danny Amendola's previous breakout year (2012) the numbers aren't any different. He's a hopeful WR2 in PPR formats and a FLEX play in standard leagues.

Kamar Aiken (WR, BAL)

30% Owned on Fleaflicker

Third appearance here, Aiken's value continues to show through his FLEX floor. Still putting up a six point game on any week he has at least 6 targets, Aiken is just a touchdown away from having a WR2 week in any given matchup. He's going to be heavily depended upon in this offense, and volume like the 14 targets he got against Jacksonville should result in fantasy value.

Jamison Crowder (WR, WAS)

11% Owned on Fleaflicker

I've been talking up Jamison Crowder for weeks and weeks, and finally with the return of DeSean Jackson and a capable looking Washington offense, Crowder showed up in both standard and PPR formats. Although he's much less valuable in standard leagues, Crowder is still worth a bench stash since he sees eight to nine targets on average. In PPR however, he's a startable FLEX every single week with a high floor.

Other Wide Receiver Options: 

• SEA WR Doug Baldwin - 29% owned - Baldwin just had his random one big game that he always has every season. I won't be buying in, but if you're desperate, he's out there with momentum.
• CIN WR Marvin Jones - 60% owned - Jones is a fantastic player, but he is not getting the volume he needs as the third option in this passing game. He's a good bench stash simply in case of injury to either Eifert or Green, but he only offers some very low end FLEX play as a fill-in. The talent is there, but the situation just isn't right for him.
• HOU WR Nate Washington - 33% owned - Washington has had two big games the last two times he's seen the field. Can that continue? Probably not. But stranger things can happen. Riley Cooper was a WR2 once.
• NYG WR Dwayne Harris - 14% owned - The Giants seem to be committed to getting Harris involved in the passing game, even if it means ignoring Odell Beckham somewhat to do so.
• BAL WR Chris Givens - 5% owned - One player isn't enough to run an offense, and Givens is mainly a low volume/big play deep threat that could be worth a bench spot in some deep, deep leagues.
• ATL WR Justin Hardy - 4% owned - More super deep league sleepers, Hardy is slowly getting worked into this offense and has even been getting targeted in the red zone the last two weeks. This team needs more reliable pass catchers outside of Julio Jones.

More Options: Cecil Shorts, Leonard Hankerson, Rueben Randle, Bryan Walters, Albert Wilson, Nelson Agholor, Tyler Lockett, Marquess Wilson, Lance Moore, Ted Ginn

Week 11 Tight End Waiver Wire Pickups

Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE, TB)

50% Ownership on Fleaflicker

The hardest market to find waiver pickups is always at tight end. ASJ should be returning to the lineup next week (or soon), and should have the highest upside of any tight end you can find on the waivers.

Eric Ebron (TE, DET)

41% Ownership on Fleaflicker

Ebron couldn't manage to find a lot of space to work with against the Packers, but still presents better pickup potential than most of the other TEs on your waivers. He's still at a noticeably low ownership for a player that's just outside of TE1 range.

Other Tight End Options: 

• GB TE Richard Rodgers - 42% owned - Finally getting a touchdown, Richard Rodgers may see his value increase with Davante Adams returning to the lineup to add another outside threat onto the field.
• CHI TE Zach Miller - 0% owned - I have no idea what's going on with Zach Miller or how he's putting up points at this point in his career. But if you're desperate, here's your hail mary.

More Options: Vernon Davis, Owen Daniels, Coby Fleener, Jared Cook, Troy Niklas, Garrett Celek

Week 11 Defense (D/ST) Waiver Wire Pickups

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

27% Owned on Fleaflicker

If there's anything that's sure to boost a defense's value, it's facing Mark Sanchez with a struggling offense. The Bucs will unfortunately be on the road against the Eagles, but still present a good shot at ruining their day as their defense has gotten better and better as the season has gone on.

Chicago Bears

9% Owned on Fleaflicker

Now here's an upside play - backup QB Brock Osweiler is set to start against the two coaches that formally ran the Broncos while on the road. The Bears defense has not been any good at all this year, but neither has the Broncos offense - and playing against a quarterback who's never seen real playing time before is a great way to put up fantasy points.

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