Week 11 Waiver Wire: Run, don’t walk, to pickup Darius Slayton and Derek Carr
By Bill Pivetz
With four teams on a bye and the fantasy football playoffs rapids approaching, making the right waiver wire move is crucial to your team’s success.
Week 10 is (almost) in the books, so it’s time for us to look ahead to Week 11. The fantasy football regular season is quickly finishing. At this point in the season, most leagues already have their playoff picture set, save for one or two spots. If you are a bubble team, this Week’s waiver wire recommendations are important.
Week 11 has four teams on a bye, not as bad as Week 10 but still impactful. The Packers, Giants, Seahawks and Titans will be off this Week. That means no Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Davante Adams, Daniel Jones (yes, people have him), Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Russell Wilson, Chris Carson, Tyler Lockett and Derrick Henry in your lineups.
If you need a replacement for any of those players I mentioned, I have a full list of players you can pick from for each position. There are two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end and a defense. All eight players have ownership percentages under 40 percent based on ESPN leagues. Any reference to points allowed is based on NFL.com’s fantasy scoring.
Sam Darnold
Darnold didn’t have the best passing game in Week 10, 19-for-30 for 230 yards and a score. He was able to add fantasy points by running the ball. Darnold had three rushes for 25 yards and another score.
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Darnold’s been average at best since returning and this was his best fantasy game of the season. He and the Jets face the Redskins in Week 11. Washington is ranked 16th in points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. With four teams on a bye Week, Darnold may make for a nice fill in.
Derek Carr
Speaking of bye-week fill-ins, Carr is another solid option for Week 11. He was okay on Thursday, scoring 13.1 fantasy points as he threw for just 218 yards and one touchdown. It is important to note that Carr has not thrown an interception in three straight Weeks.
Carr will get a chance to continue that streak against the Bengals. They allowed Lamar Jackson to run and throw all over them in Week 10. While Carr doesn’t have the same skill set as Jackson, he should still be able to find his receivers and rack up the passing yards.
Brian Hill
With Ito Smith on the IR, Hill took over the backup running back duties for the Falcons in Week 10. He was quickly thrust into the starting role when Devonta Freeman left the game with an ankle injury. Hill ended up with 20 carries, 61 yards and a 10-yard catch for a touchdown.
Should Freeman be out for Week 11, Hill becomes an interesting pick as the Falcons travel to Carolina and face the Panther’s poor running defense. He is available in 99.7 percent of leagues.
J.D. McKissic
The Lions planned on using two running backs in their Week 10 game but Ty Johnson left with a concussion, leaving McKissic to take all of the carries. He wasn’t that effective though, rushing for just 36 yards on 10 carries. He did have six catches for 19 yards, helping those in PPR leagues.
Johnson’s status for Week 11 is uncertain but if he’s out, McKissic will be the lead back with Paul Perkins behind him. The Lions face Dallas next week. By the way they are letting Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison rack up yards, McKissic should have a good game.
Darius Slayton
Slayton is the only player on this list who does not play in Week 11. That doesn’t mean he isn’t worth picking up for the future. The Giants receiving corps has been riddled with injuries all season.
While Golden Tate has looked great in the past three weeks, averaging eight targets per game, it’s Slayton that’s seeing an increased role. He has four touchdowns in the last three games, including his big 10-catch, 121-yard, two-touchdown game in Week 10.
The Giants have an extra week to get Sterling Shepard and Engram ready for their Week 12 matchup against Chicago. Even if they are back, Slayton is worth adding as a flex play in deep leagues.
Cole Beasley
Beasley has been a solid flex play for those in PPR leagues. He is ranked as the 41st wide receiver this season but has looked better in recent weeks. Beasley averages 11.1 points per game over the last four weeks.
The Bills will look to avenge their loss to the Browns as the face the Dolphins in Week 11. Miami’s defense ranked 16th in points allowed to opposing wide receivers. With Devin Singletary getting more playing time and Josh Allen‘s ability to extend plays, Beasley can find some soft spots in this Dolphins defense.
Kyle Rudolph
Rudolph had his best fantasy game of the season Sunday night as he caught four passes for 14 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t used in between the 20s but was Kirk Cousins‘ red-zone target.
Rudolph has scored a touchdown in three of the last four weeks. The tight end position has been a roulette wheel outside of the top four or five names. Rudolph plays against Denver in Week 11. If Adam Thielen is out again, expect Rudolph to see a few more targets.
Jets D/ST
The Jets offense isn’t the only part of the team that has a good matchup in Week 11. The defense gets to feast on Washington’s offense as well. Despite allowing 27 points to the Giants, they were able to finish with 18 fantasy points by racking up six sacks, two fumble recoveries and a touchdown.
The Jets defense averages 13.89 points to opposing quarterbacks, best in the league. They will get to face Dwayne Haskins in his second career start. Outside of Terry McLaurin, the passing game is a wasteland and the running backs have not been productive. The team activated Derrius Guice ahead of this game, so he may get his first taste of action this season.
If you stream defenses on a weekly basis, the Jets defense should be your top priority this week.
With the regular season winding down, making sure you have players who will perform on a weekly basis is important for the playoff push. These eight players should help your team in Week 11. I will have another post with a list of players you should stash for the fantasy football playoffs.