Are we having fun yet?! Looks like the Thursday night matchup between the Bengals and the Ravens gave us false hope for an exciting Week 10… and they took all the points too! It just seemed like a lackluster day in most fantasy box scores, especially in the early window — unless you played Marquez Valdes-Scantling??? Or Bijan Robinson…

Anyway, there are another four teams on a bye this week: the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants. As always, the players listed are in order of priority and are less than 40% rostered. Good luck!

Injury Roundup

Before we jump in, I want to point you in the direction of our waiver wire tool, which is an awesome way to visualize what I have below AND take advantage of some “wisdom of the crowd”-ing, as you can drop your FAAB bids in and see what other people are thinking of spending. Well worth a visit!

FANTASY FOOTBALL WAIVER WIRE ADDS FOR WEEK 11

Audric Estime, RB, Broncos (3% rostered)

I feel like Sean Payton has been hinting at an Audric Estime shift for a while now, but we may have finally seen it when they faced the Chiefs. On Sunday we saw Estime essentially take over Javonte Williams' role — he had 64% of the rushing attempts and Williams only had 5% (woof). 

Estime finished with 14 carries for 53 yards while leading the team in snaps and rushing attempts. He only gave us 5.3 fantasy points, but there is utilization here that we have to pay attention to (Estime jumped up to a 4.2 UR Score in Week 10). The one concerning thing is that he did not get a ton of the passing work — which we have seen Williams get in the past, and this Broncos offense does not have a high ceiling week in and week out. Estime could be a low-end RB2 if everything breaks right, so he is worth a pick up and stash on your bench. 

Noah Brown, WR, Commanders (13% rostered)

Death, taxes and Noah Brown being in this waiver wire article. On Sunday he had a 97% route participation with a 22% target share and we've really seen things come together for him over these last few weeks. He is the WR2 in this offense and over the last four games he actually has an 80% route participation and 18% target share which makes us believe they have moved away from a big rotation. Continue to stash Brown with the utilization trending up! (We are never wrong, just maybe a few weeks too early lol).

Cam Akers, RB, Vikings (14% rostered)

The injury bug got to Aaron Jones on Sunday as he exited the game with a chest injury, though he did return to the game. If we're looking for the next man up in this offense then we have to turn to Cam Akers, who had 32% of the rushing attempts compared to Ty Chandler's 10%. Akers needs to be the priority add, but if you miss out on him, Chandler isn't a bad second option with the chance we see a split from the two running backs. 

Akers could project as a low-end RB2 heading into Week 11 if the Vikings are without Jones, but he's a worthwhile stash play regardless. 

Ricky Pearsall, WR, 49ers (37% rostered)

This offense is loaded with offensive weapons, and it may be hard to predict when to start Ricky Pearsall every single week, but if you are hit with some tough decisions due to the bye weeks then Pearsall is a solid target on the waiver wire. He notched 17.3 fantasy points and a touchdown in Sunday's matchup against the Buccaneers, but had a smaller role to Jauan Jennings. Pearsall finished with 73% route participation and 18% target share, but could be a boom-bust WR4 in this offense. We all know the wide receiver injuries have been brutal, so it's understandable to need a little magic from Pearsall coming up.

Russell Wilson, QB, Steelers (22% rostered)

The Russell Wilson moon ball is back… and he is now back on our waiver wire list! Wilson completed 14 of 28 passes for 195 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and he looked much better in the second half of this game. 

You can tell that his connection with George Pickens is continuing to get stronger, and the team added another weapon in Mike Williams, who came down with a touchdown on his first catch with the Steelers. Wilson has averaged 19.3 fantasy points per game this season and is a solid streamer in Week 11 when the Steelers face the Ravens at home. 

Adonai Mitchell, WR, Colts (8% rostered)

Yes, the Indianapolis Colts are sticking with Joe Flacco. No, I do not know why. ANYWAY, Adonai Mitchell had six receptions for 71 yards which also helped set new career highs in receptions and receiving yards that led him to 13.1 fantasy points. I think the connection Mitchell has with Flacco is obvious, but it did help that Michael Pittman was out due to his back injury for this matchup. He had a full time role with Pittman out — 95% route participation and 17% target share and has been so solid when given the opportunity.

I think his role could grow in the coming weeks, but the upside is better when Flacco is the quarterback, so if this team does decide to switch things up we would need to downgrade Mitchell until Anthony Richardson proves us wrong. But for now go get him!

Xavier Legette, WR, Panthers (36% rostered)

The Carolina Panthers are on a bye in Week 11, but looking ahead to some of their upcoming games it is clear that Xavier Legette should not be left on any waiver wires. If he is dropped this weekend because of their bye week, go and get him! He has a touchdown in four of the last seven games and while his fantasy box scores don't jump off the page the Panthers face the Buccaneers in Weeks 13 and 17. Stash him for solid spot-starts depending on what your receiver room looks like.

Calvin Austin, WR, Steelers (1% rostered)

Now this may be a little bit surprising, but Calvin Austin (against the Commanders) had an 18% target share and 66% route participation — and you could tell they were trying to get him involved. He's averaged 10 fantasy points per game, and Russell Wilson wants this to happen! Of course Mike Williams getting more integrated into the offense could change things, but Austin could eat into more of Van Jefferson's role while Austin continues to operate out of the slot. 

He's not a waiver wire pickup you can start immediately because he isn't getting enough routes yet, but keep an eye on Austin as a dart throw. 

John Metchie III, WR, Texans (1% rostered)

Since losing Stefon Diggs for the season, John Metchie III has really stepped up and now he should be on more rosters moving forward. According to the Utilization Report, over the last two games, Metchie has notched a 69% route participation and has taken over the primary slot duties. He exploded in Week 10 with 18.4 fantasy points and now he upgrades to WR5 status moving forward. 

Gus Edwards, RB, Chargers (17% rostered)

The Chargers were able to get Gus Edwards back after an ankle injury in Week 4 landed him on IR. He was a contributor on Sunday against the Titans — with 10 carries for 55 yards and three red zone carries in a run-heavy game for the Chargers. 

JK Dobbins has to be downgraded with Edwards back, especially when Edwards averaged 5.5 yards per carry vs. 3.3 for Dobbins. Target Edwards on the waiver wire if he is available, especially if we see some regression in Justin Herbert's passing stats. 

Dawson Knox, TE, Bills (1% rostered)

The Bills lost Dalton Kincaid to a knee injury in Week 10 and if he isn't good to return in Week 11 against the Chiefs then Dawson Knox could get a boost. The Bills are already banged up on offense, with Keon Coleman and Amari Cooper missing Sunday's game; plus in their nine games this season the Chiefs have allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends. If you're stuck in Week 11 with key tight ends out then it's a good idea to target Knox on waivers. 

Mike Williams, WR, Steelers (18% rostered)

The moon ball is back for Russell Wilson — and Mike Williams could be back on our fantasy radars, as well! We have to be careful with Williams because he could very much have little value in fantasy the rest of the way, but if we see him take over Van Jefferson's role then we will be forced to pay attention. This is only a stash play, but if Williams sees the field more and continues to build a connection with Wilson then he could help some fantasy teams down the stretch. According to PFF, the Steelers have the fourth-best fantasy schedule for wide receivers over the rest of the season.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Saints (1% rostered)

Yeah, I also don't know what weird, messed up world we are living in to be highlighting Marquez Valdes-Scantling in a waiver wire article, but here we are. The Saints are beyond banged up — Chris Olave is on IR, but reports from Ian Rapopport suggest that he could miss the remainder of the season and they are also missing Bub Means and Rashid Shaheed so that opened the door for MVS. He finished the game with three receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. 

He had a 14% target share and a 67% route participation, but this was a huge rotation for the Saints on Sunday. Could we get excited about this? Sure, I'm definitely desperate enough in some of my leagues. This offense revolves around Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara, but MVS could give us some deep (deep) flex consideration.

Keep Stashing