Fantasy Football Week 11: Waiver wire pickups

Each week around here, we highlight the top potential waiver pickups who remain available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. Add as needed. We have another challenging week ahead, with the Giants, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Panthers all on bye.

Quarterbacks

Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (21% rostered)

Wilson directed a comeback win against Washington on Sunday, his third victory in as many starts for the Steelers this season. He tossed three touchdown passes, two of which were flawless downfield shots. Have a look at this perfect ball to new arrival Mike Williams:

Pittsburgh is heading into a stretch of four straight division games against user-friendly pass defenses, beginning with a home matchup with Baltimore. The Ravens allow a league-worst 294.9 passing yards per game, so expect Russ to continue cooking. He’s an ideal multi-week streaming option, and he might just turn George Pickens into a league-winning receiver.

Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): $8

Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns (9%)

Winston is coming off a messy three-interception performance against the Chargers, which served as an important reminder that he is not, in fact, a matchup-proof QB. He remains one of the most aggressive downfield bombers in the game, however. His average depth of target (10.9) ranks second among all quarterbacks, behind only Anthony Richardson (13.3) and just ahead of Brock Purdy (10.0).

Winston has clearly been asked to function as something more than a game-manager for Cleveland, as he’s put the ball in the air 87 times in his two starts. It hasn’t been a masterclass at all times, but he’s turned Cedric Tillman into a fantasy star while averaging 284.5 passing YPG. Winston can definitely be trusted in the matchup ahead with New Orleans, his former employer, a reeling team that dealt away one of its most impactful defensive players (Marshon Lattimore) at the deadline.

FAB: $4

Additional QB options:

• Bo Nix delivered a useful fantasy total on Sunday against an excellent Kansas City defense, and he did it without significant rushing production, a new wrinkle for the rookie. He’s in a favorable spot against Atlanta in the week ahead.

• Drake Maye wasn’t actually at his best in the win at Chicago, but he’s demonstrated his dual-threat ability in previous weeks. New England will host a beatable Rams defense next Sunday, so keep Maye in your deep league plans.

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Running backs

Audric Estimé, Denver Broncos (3%)

Just in case you thought Sean Payton’s mid-week comments on Estimé were misdirection and lip service … well, nope. Payton was giving it to us straight. Estimé out-snapped, out-touched and out-gained all other Denver backs in Sunday’s near-win at Kansas City, finishing with 53 yards on 14 carries. Notably, he was on the field in the closing minutes, handling the most important touches for the Broncos.

After the game, Payton seemed pleased with the Notre Dame rookie:

Estimé is coming off a collegiate season in which he averaged 6.4 YPC and reached the end-zone 18 times. He is, in fact, a handful. He’s been a more explosive and efficient runner than Javonte Williams this season, so we should expect Sunday’s usage to continue moving forward. Five of Estimé’s 29 carries have gone for 10 or more yards this year per PFF, whereas Williams has only eight such gains on 103 attempts.

FAB: $17

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (43%)

This will simply serve as your weekly reminder that Allgeier is a verifiably good back with a healthy role behind Bijan Robinson in Atlanta’s offense. On Sunday, he carried 11 times for 59 yards. Allgeier was stonewalled on multiple goal-line carries, but it’s notable that he’s seeing opportunities inside the 5-yard line. If Robinson were to miss time at any point, Allgeier would have obvious RB1 upside.

FAB: $5

Various other RB adds:

• Officially, Jaylen Warren just misses the roster-percentage cutoff for the waiver wire feature because he’s found a home in 51% of leagues. But just in case you’re playing in the other 49% of the Yahoo universe, we will give him a bulleted mention. He’s now as healthy as he’s been all season and coming off a season-high 16 touches for 95 total yards.

• Tyjae Spears returned from his hamstring injury with a 10-touch, 51-yard performance against the Chargers, breaking off multiple big gains. He remains a backup RB in a Will Levis-led offense, however, so no need to get too aggressive in pursuit of his fantasy services.

• Trey Benson is headed into his bye so he can’t help you in Week 11, but please note that he just set season highs in touches (12) and total yards (87) in Sunday’s low-stress win over the Jets. He’s clearly not a threat to James Conner, but he’s carved out a meaningful role in Arizona’s backfield.

• Gus Edwards returned from injury on Sunday and immediately relegated Kimani Vidal to the inactive list. Edwards rushed 10 times for a respectable 55 yards against the Titans, reestablishing himself as his team’s unrivaled No. 2 rushing option.

• Any fantasy journey you might take with Cam Akers will only lead to disappointment. But we should note that Akers is clearly running ahead of Ty Chandler at the moment, which means he’s an Aaron Jones injury away from once again becoming a popular waiver add.

Wide receivers and tight ends

Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers (37%)

Pearsall made his first visit to the end-zone as a pro on Sunday, and it was an absolute gem of a play:

The rookie finished with four catches for 73 yards on six targets, demonstrating why the Niners judged him worthy of a first-round pick. His arrival may have been delayed this season, but he showed up when desperately needed, following Brandon Aiyuk’s season-ending injury.

Pearsall is a cartoonishly skilled athlete, gifted with size (6-foot-3), speed (4.4) and unreasonable leaping ability (42-inch vertical). You might recall that he delivered a few outrageous highlights at the college level. A playmaker with a skill set like Pearsall’s has the potential to emerge as an unfair weapon in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

FAB: $11

Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (43%)

If you’re a fantasy manager who patiently waited through weeks of injury updates and modest production before finally launching Watson in Week 10 as he entered his bye … well, we get it. You tried to make it work, but it never quite happened.

This has a real chance to be one of those situations in which one manager’s trash is another’s treasure, however. Watson has drawn 13 targets over his last two games, generally appearing injury-free. He remains a rare athlete with size (6-foot-4) and uncommon speed (4.36), capable of turning any touch into a house call. If you’re a believer in Jordan Love and the Green Bay offense, then you should consider taking a flier on the best athlete in the team’s receiving room. Watson is likely to be a volatile fantasy contributor, but he definitely has a few big weeks ahead of him.

FAB: $6

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills (1%)

It’s been a quiet season to this point for Knox, who’s clearly behind Dalton Kincaid in the target hierarchy for Buffalo. But Kincaid picked up a knee issue in Sunday’s win, so Knox could be headed for an expanded role in the upcoming matchup with KC. The Chiefs defense has allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this year, for what it’s worth. Knox has caught 23 career touchdown passes from Josh Allen, so it’s not as if he lacks rapport with his QB.

FAB: $5

Additional WRs and TEs to consider:

• Jerry Jeudy is coming off a pair of games with 70-plus receiving yards and he drew 11 targets in his team’s Week 9 loss to the Chargers. Like every other receiving option in Cleveland, Jeudy is going to benefit from having Jameis Winston at the controls of the offense.

• Adonai Mitchell caught all six of his targets against the Bills for 71 yards, while Alec Pierce hauled in four balls for 81 yards and a late score on seven chances. Both Indy wideouts have big-play potential and each gets a value bump with Michael Pittman Jr. dealing with a back issue.

• Rashod Bateman caught a season-high six passes on Thursday night, converting them into 54 yards and one spike. He’s tied to an explosive offense with an MVP-level QB and playing 73% of the offensive snaps, so he’s a decent bet to cross the goal line in any given week.

• Marquez Valdes-Scantling has basically spent his entire NFL career playing with Hall of Fame quarterbacks, but he apparently needed Derek Carr to finally unlock his full potential. MVS converted three targets into 109 yards and two scores on Sunday, a stat line that you should probably just ignore. As ever, he’s a dart throw with a low likelihood of success.

• John Metchie III made the first end-zone visit of his pro career on Sunday night, finishing with five catches for 74 yards on six targets. Nico Collins seems likely to return for the Dallas matchup on Monday night, which is clearly a complicating factor, but Metchie has impressed in recent weeks.

• Another week, another busted coverage touchdown for Quentin Johnston. He only caught two passes in Sunday’s win, but he certainly made ‘em count. LA is headed into a friendly stretch of games against vulnerable pass defenses (Cin, Bal, Atl), so Johnston is likely to make additional trips to the end-zone in the month ahead.

• Mike Williams only caught one ball in his Steelers debut, but wow, was it a big one. Apparently, Sunday’s go-ahead touchdown reception wasn’t a route Williams had previously practiced with Russell Wilson, either. Pittsburgh is headed into a series of appealing matchups, beginning next Sunday at home against the Ravens.

• Mike Gesicki may have been a modest disappointment on Thursday night, but, well … c’mon. You had to know what you were getting yourself into. Gesicki has given us a few highlights (also lowlights) over the years, but reliability has never been his thing. He’s seen 23 targets over his last three games and volume should continue to flow his way for however long Tee Higgins (quad) remains unavailable.

Defense

Green Bay Packers (29%)

Green Bay entered the Week 10 bye with 22 sacks and a league-leading 19 takeaways, so this defense has been exceedingly fantasy-friendly throughout the season. The Packers are headed to Chicago this week for a date with a rookie QB who’s operating behind an overmatched offensive line. In all likelihood, Caleb Williams will be dropping back 40-plus times. It’s an ideal setup for this D/ST to reach double-digit fantasy points. Green Bay is likely to rank as a top-5 unit for Week 11. Williams was pummeled by the Patriots on Sunday, sacked nine times and harassed on nearly every attempt.

FAB: $2

Houston Texans (44%)

The Texans are coming off a 5-interception performance against Jared Goff, and the schedule ahead is simply loaded with sacks and takeaways. Over the next three weeks, Houston will face the Cowboys (Cooper Rush and/or Trey Lance), Titans (Will Levis) and Jaguars (possibly Mac Jones) before finally getting a bye in Week 14. It’s tough to believe there isn’t a pick-six (or two) ahead for Houston. Add ‘em this week and ride this group to the fantasy postseason.

FAB: $2