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Waiver Wire Week 11: Fantasy Football Pickups

With the fantasy football playoffs quickly approaching, now is the time for fantasy managers to load up on depth and grab emerging players to help push toward the postseason.

Bill Enright

There are three more weeks until the start of the fantasy football playoffs. Now is the time for fantasy managers to add depth to their rosters, secure their key players' handcuffs, and grab emerging talents to help make a push to the fantasy postseason. 

Let's get to it.

Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees is out for about three weeks, possibly more with cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. Winston takes over a potent offense and we saw last year when Brees went out with an injury, Teddy Bridgewater stepped right in and played well. Winston can do the same given the weapons, including Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, at his disposal. Factor in the Saints upcoming schedule with two games against the Falcons, Eagles, and Broncos and Winston could flirt with low-level QB1 stats.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins rookie quarterback is still available in more than half of fantasy leagues despite two very strong back-to-back performances. Perhaps his upcoming schedule will help fuel people to grab the No. 5 overall pick from the 2020 NFL Draft. The Dolphins take on the Broncos in Week 11, the hapless Jets in Week 12, the Bengals in Week 13 and the Chiefs in Week 14. All four of those games are projected to be high scoring with the exception of the Broncos game, but Denver has a weak pass defense, so the matchup for Tagovailoa is still promising. The Dolphins signal-caller can help vault fantasy teams into the playoffs.

Alex Smith, Washington Football Team: In his first start since his devastating knee injury nearly two full years ago, Smith had 55 attempts with 38 completions that amounted to 390 yards. He didn’t find the end zone but he now has 715 yards in the last two games. That’s reason enough to add him in two QB leagues or add as a bye week filler for Week 11 when Washington takes on the Bengals.

Other QBs to consider: Daniel Jones-New York Giants

Running Backs

Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts: A bit shocking to see Hines available in 60% of Yahoo leagues. Hines scored once on the ground and once through the air in the Colts’ win over the Titans. His led the team with 70 rushing yards and boosted his stats by catching five passes for 45 yards. It's certainly a committee approach in the Colts backfield when it comes to running the ball, but in terms of receiving, Hines is the car dump-off favorite for quarterback Philip Rivers.

Salvon Ahmed, Miami Dolphins: With Myles Gaskin still nursing a knee injury, Ahmed shined against the Chargers in Week 10. The undrafted rookie back scored his first career touchdown and rushed for 85 yards. Gaskin is expected to miss a few more weeks, and considering Matt Breida is also injured, Ahmed could remain fantasy relevant for Miami’s next few games.

Cordarrelle Patterson Ryan Nall/Lamar Miller, Chicago Bears: With a game on Monday night (we are writing this on Sunday) Nall could actually be a last-minute pickup for Week 10. David Montgomery is not playing, which opens the door for Nall and Miller to take over some of the action in Chicago’s backfield. Nall caught four passes for 35 yards and a score last week but didn’t have a rushing attempt. Miller was just activated from the Bears practice squad and could end up leading the Bears in rushing attempts for their matchup against the Vikings.

Other RBs to consider in deeper leagues: Devontae Booker-Las Vegas Raiders, Boston Scott-Philadelphia Eagles, Tony Pollard-Dallas Cowboys, Alex Collins-Seattle Seahawks

Wide Receivers

Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts: A primetime coming out party for the Colts rookie in Week 10. Pittman led the Colts with seven catches and 101 yards, which nearly doubled his previous best yardage output. The Colts have one of the easiest schedules for receivers the rest of the season as they take on the Packers, Titans, Texans twice, and Raiders in the next five weeks.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers’s deep threat is really heating up. He followed up his two-touchdown performance in Week 9 with 149 yards and a score in Week 10. Allen Lazard is due back in Week 11 but M.V.S. is earning the trust of Rodgers when he lets it rip downfield.

Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles: Philly’s first-round pick was forced out of action earlier in the year but he’s starting to emerge as Carson Wentz’s top option in the passing attack. He scored in Week 9 and led all Eagles receivers with 47 yards in Week 10. He finished with four catches against the Giants which is nothing special, but given his playmaking ability with the ball in his hands and the Eagles' upcoming schedule, the rookie is worth adding in 12-team leagues.

Other WRs to consider: Tim Patrick-Denver Broncos, Josh Reynolds-Los Angeles Rams, Keelan Cole-Jacksonville Jaguars, Jakeem Grant-Miami Dolphins

Tight Ends

Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team: Consistently targeted by whoever is under center for Washington, Thomas is putting up enough quality stats to consider him as a low-end TE1. He caught four passes for 66 yards in Week 10 and seemed to be in-sync with quarterback Alex Smith. Washington doesn’t have a lot of playmakers in their passing attack and Thomas is proving to be one of the more reliable receiving options on the team.

Other TEs to consider: Kyle Rudolph-Minnesota Vikings, Dalton Schultz-Dallas Cowboys

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Bill Enright
BILL ENRIGHT

Bill Enright is the Managing Editor of Sports Illustrated's Sports Betting and Fantasy division. He's an award winning fantasy football analyst and has a winning betting record on NFL Player Props since 2017. Follow Bill on Twitter: @BillEnright

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