November 15, 2016

Tony Peters identifies deeper 2016 fantasy football PPR sleepers & Week 11 NFL waiver wire pickups. These PPR RBs, WRs & TEs should be added off the waiver wire as fantasy football sleepers.

Welcome, welcome, RotoBallers. Please join me for my deeper PPR league sleepers column for Week 11 of the NFL season.

In this weekly article, we are going to take a look at some deeper waiver wire options for PPR leagues and target players who could help out your team in the upcoming week.

The following waiver wire suggestions for Week 11 of the NFL season are all owned in 18% or less of Fleaflicker leagues.

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 11 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

PPR Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Adds

Tyreek Hill (WR, KC) - 16% Owned

With veteran wide receiver Jeremy Maclin out Week 10 with a groin injury, the Chiefs made a conscious decision to plan around rookie Tyreek Hill. That decision paid off in a big way as Hill led the team in targets, receptions and yards on the day, pulling down 10-of-13 for 89 yards. Not only that, he pulled all that off despite the fact that he was behind Chris Conley and Albert Wilson in snap count. The Chiefs are excited at Hill's potential as a true receiver and with Maclin potentially unable to play for the second straight week, there's a lot to like here going forward. But back to the now: Week 11 brings the Buccaneers to Kansas City, a team allowing the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers on the year. Even if you don't believe, this matchup is too good to ignore.

Eli Rogers (WR, PIT) - 10% Owned

Talking about great matchups, the Steelers are set to face the pitiful Browns' in what is shaping up to be a Week 11 slobber-knocker. With the team's receiving core dealing with injuries behind Antonio Brown, second-year player Eli Rogers--the team's only slot receiver on the active roster at the moment--has seen his number come up a lot more the past two weeks, catching 10-of-15 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown. With injured receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey and Markus Wheaton hopeful that they'll be healthy enough to return Sunday, there's a chance Rogers disappears back into the jungle. But with the Steelers reeling from their fourth straight loss and facing a Browns' team that's allowing the most fantasy points to wide receivers this season, I'm willing to put some stock in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's recent praise of Rogers and expect to see him stay involved going forward.

Marqise Lee (WR, JAX) - 5% Owned

Despite playing behind two wide receivers owned in more leagues than they aren't--Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns--it is Marqise Lee who is quietly closing in on the team lead in receiving yards. Yep, that's right. Lee currently sits second on the team with 492, ahead of the Allens, ahead of Julius Thomas, ahead of T.J. Yeldon. Having yet to connect for a touchdown catch is why Lee's ownership is so low, but this is a PPR column. We care not for such silly things as touchdowns here...wait, no, we still care. Just not as much. Anyhow, with quarterback Blake Bortles constantly having to just chuck-and-pray with the Jaguars seemingly always playing from behind, Lee's average of six targets a game isn't going anywhere Week 11 against a Lions' team allowing the fifth-most receptions, sixth-most yards and 11th-most targets to wide receivers over the past four weeks.

Pierre Garcon (WR, WAS) - 15% Owned

After wide receiver Pierre Garcon excelled Week 10 in the absence of top passing threat DeSean Jackson, it is time to double down on him Week 11. With Jackson already ruled out for this weekend's matchup against the Packers, expect Garcon to see another 10 or so targets. The Packers have been slowly improving a pass defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season, but all that has does is slightly chill an otherwise warm matchup. This is in stark contrast of Week 10's game against the Vikings, one of the season's toughest defenses on receivers yet Garcon caught 6-of-10 targets for 81 yards, leading the Redskins in targets, yards and receptions. Fellow receiver Jamison Crowder is too good to give Garcon free range of this offense again, but he should have no problem delivering PPR gold two weeks in a row.

Others: Robert Woods (15% owned) was a PPR golden ticket back in Week 9 before the Bills' bye week, a feat he is going to struggle to repeat Week 11 against the Bengals. But with the team still without Sammy Watkins, there's not really anyone else for quarterback Tyrod Taylor to look for in this tough matchup. Tedd Ginn Jr. (18% owned) has exactly five catches in each of the past four games, something he'll have no issue pushing to five games Thursday against a Saints' passing defense that is very much a middle-of-the-road fantasy opponent to wide receivers.

PPR Running Back Waiver Wire Adds

Benny Cunningham (RB, LA) - 2% Owned

While this isn't the place to discuss the hows and whys running back Todd Gurley hasn't been living up to expectations this year, it's safe to say that he's been a bummer. This hasn't been lost on the Rams, as backup Benny Cunningham has been sneaking his way into the team's offensive plans more recently like a little fantasy ninja. After averaging nine snaps a game over the first six weeks of the season, he's seen that increase to 26 per game since Week 7. With that extra playing time, Cunningham has mostly been used as a receiver, catching 11-of-14 targets for 58 yards over that time to go along with 14 rushes for 63 yards. If the Rams know what is good for them when they face the Jets' in Week 11, they'll exploit Cunningham against a defense that ranks within the top-eight in receptions (eighth), targets (sixth) and receiving yards (third) allowed to running backs over the past four weeks.

PPR Tight End Waiver Wire Adds

Vernon Davis (TE, WAS) - 6% Owned

This feels very silly to write considering how many fantasy no-shows tight ends have been making this season, but the Redskins have found a way to keep two of them fantasy relevant for PPR players. Though there's a huge difference in ownership between starter Jordan Reed and backup Vernon Davis--92%, to be exact--the difference between their production isn't much on the season. It is even less over the past two games, with Reed catching 11-of-17 targets for 140 yards and a touchdown and Davis catching 8-of-8 targets for 159 yards and a touchdown. The Redskins will face a Packers' defense Week 11 that has been very weak against tight ends all season and coming off a Week 10 where they allowed 10 receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns to the Titans' ends.

Ladarius Green (TE, PIT) - 10% Owned & Jesse James (TE, PIT) - 11% Owned

It is impossible to bet against the Browns' defense giving up fantasy points to opposing players like candy canes during the holidays, and the tight end position is no different. This is fantastic news for the Steelers who just added tight end Ladarius Green from the PUP list last week to join Jesse James. The Browns are allowing the second-most fantasy points to tight ends on the season, leading the league in receptions and receiving yards allowed. The only quandary here lies in which of Green and James is the one to start. For this matchup alone, both will have PPR potential considering the opponent. But the Steelers didn't sign Green to a four-year, $20 million deal just to start James over him going forward.