Week 11 Waiver Wire: Reviewing Top Pickups and Drops Likely Available
It's mid-November, and the playoffs are right around the corner, at least for fantasy football players.
With the last two to four weeks of the regular season devoted to trash-talk-heavy elimination tournaments in many leagues—all dependent on league size and format, of course—fantasy owners are running out of time.
It's late enough in the season that the early fantasy sleepers and out-of-nowhere starts are all on rosters, while at the same time injuries continue to mount and leave fantasy owners scrambling to make up for the deficits. Hence, the deep, desperate dives into the waiver wire to hopefully find the late-season gem that might propel a squad from the loser's bracket to the winner's.
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Here are the top pickups and drops in both ESPN and Yahoo Sports fantasy football leagues heading into Week 11.
In order to account for the larger 12- and 14-player leagues, players owned in more than 50 percent of leagues are not included in the tables, save for a couple of particularly notable cases related to performance or opportunity for more playing time.
| Player | % Owned | No. of Monday Adds |
| Danny Amendola, WR, New England | 31 | 34,959 |
| Cecil Shorts III, WR, Houston | 9 | 16,449 |
| Brock Osweiler, QB, Denver | 2 | 14,873 |
| Brian Hoyer, QB, Houston | 17 | 14,375 |
| Matt Jones, RB, Washington | 48 | 8,106 |
| Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle | 24 | 8,035 |
| Jacob Tamme, TE, Atlanta | 19 | 5,668 |
| Nate Washington, WR, Houston | 33 | 5,571 |
| Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Indianapolis | 4 | 4,905 |
| Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami | 18 | 4,890 |
| Player | % Owned | % Change last 7 days |
| James White, RB, New England | 36.8 | +35.3 |
| Nick Novak, K, Houston | 40.0 | +29.3 |
| Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington | 35.5 | +26.7 |
| Richard Rodgers, TE, Green Bay | 52.0 | +22.3 |
| Kamar Aiken, WR, Baltimore | 45.8 | +17.2 |
| Brandon Bolden, RB, New England | 13.7 | +13.5 |
| Wes Welker, WR, St. Louis | 12.4 | +12.3 |
| Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Tennessee | 19.5 | +10.4 |
| Joique Bell, RB, Detroit | 39.9 | +9.8 |
| Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle | 25.7 | +9.3 |
| Player | % Owned | No. of Monday Drops |
| Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle | 28 | 12,224 |
| Brandon Bolden, RB, New England | 19 | 8,700 |
| James White, RB, New England | 39 | 7,832 |
| Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington | 33 | 5,964 |
| Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia | 51 | 5,336 |
| Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Tennessee | 26 | 5,275 |
| Antonio Andrews, RB, Tennessee | 56 | 4,756 |
| Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo | 46 | 3,433 |
| Brian Hoyer, QB, Houston | 17 | 3,258 |
| Malcom Floyd, WR, San Diego | 38 | 2,882 |
| Player | % Owned | % change last 7 days |
| Malcom Floyd, WR, San Diego | 44.8 | -25.8 |
| Heath Miller, TE, Pittsburgh | 43.8 | -10.7 |
| Pierre Thomas, RB, FA | 3.3 | -10.6 |
| Larry Donnell, TE, New York Giants | 28.7 | -8.6 |
| Ladarius Green, TE, San Diego | 20.5 | -8.2 |
| Christine Michael, RB, Dallas | 14.4 | -8.1 |
| C.J. Spiller, RB, New Orleans | 64.5 | -7.6 |
| Dolphins D/ST | 31.5 | -7.3 |
| Andre Johnson, WR, Indianapolis | 52.9 | -7.2 |
Reviewing Top Pickups and Drops
Danny Amendola, WR, New England
Patriots wideout Julian Edelman picked up a foot injury in his side's 27-26 win over the pseudo-rival New York Giants on Sunday. Per NFL Network's Albert Breer, he's facing a significant spell on the sideline after undergoing surgery on Monday:
Edelman is the terrific Tom Brady's favorite target this year—his 88 targets lead the team, while Rob Gronkowski is a distant second with 75—so it stands to reason that some of the other Patriots pass-catchers stand to benefit from his absence. Danny Amendola was the first Pat to come to fantasy players' minds.
Amendola reeled in 10 catches for 79 yards on Sunday, the former number a season-high. The diminutive wide receiver would've had a touchdown on a punt return, but a fellow Patriot went accidental-Benedict Arnold on him and ruined his run to paydirt, via the NFL:
He does most of his work from the slot; his size and speed aren't well suited for the outside. Amendola could see more targets on third downs as the short-to-intermediate route-runner while Brandon LaFell, Gronkowski and others run the more complicated patterns.
If there's a threat to Amendola's fantasy status, other than the distinct possibility that the offense just might not function as well with Edelman out, it could be Keshawn Martin. ESPN's Mike Reiss has more on how Martin might actually be the player to benefit from Edelman's absence:
"That Brady mentioned Martin first wasn’t a coincidence, because the 5-foot-11, 194-pound fourth-year pro was coming on strong before injuring his hamstring on Oct. 18. Martin, who was acquired in a trade from the Texans on Sept. 17, hasn’t played in the past four games and has six receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown in three games with the club.
In the Oct. 18 game against the Colts, Martin played in the majority of two-receiver packages alongside Edelman as they were the primary combination -- 51 snaps for Edelman, 50 for Martin, followed by 36 for Amendola.
That could be a preview of what is to come on a more regular basis, although it’s also important to note that the Patriots alter their approach weekly and that can lead to a fluctuation in playing time for those who don’t fall into the category of someone like Edelman or Gronkowski.
"
The Amendola experiment is worth testing out right away in Week 11 against Buffalo, even if Martin does return to action. The Patriots offense is the best in the league, and it could take some time for Martin to get back into the swing of things, especially if New England has him come back before he's 100 percent.
Consider Amendola a solid flex play for the next couple of weeks while keeping an eye out for signs the offense is slowing or if the likes of Martin, Aaron Dobson or LaFell cut into Amendola's potential targets.
Cecil Shorts III, WR, Houston
It's pretty obvious from the 10-6 scoreline that Houston's shock win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night didn't produce too many superlative fantasy performances. Owners who took a flyer on Cecil Shorts III, playing in his first game since October 18, were especially dismayed, as the veteran wide receiver managed just 16 yards from three receptions.
Even with the anonymous performance, Shorts appears a popular addition in fantasy leagues, even though he's only had one day worth celebrating by fantasy owners, his six catches for 87 yards and a score against Atlanta on October 4.
Those who picked him up might be inclined to turn right around and drop him. Wide receiver Nate Washington is healthy, and although he too struggled against Cincinnati, he could be seen as the No. 2 going forward after scoring against both Miami and Tennessee in Weeks 7 and 8.
There's also a chance that Brian Hoyer might not play in Week 11. Hoyer suffered a concussion in the third quarter against the Bengals, according to the Texans via Twitter. If he's out for any length of time, T.J. Yates will get the call as he did on Sunday.
Yates has a career 71.9 rating, won't be able to rely on a consistent running game with Alfred Blue struggling and will likely spend most of his time throwing to DeAndre Hopkins.
Chucking it Nuk's way has been about the only reliable option Houston's had all season—look no further than his brilliant game-winning catch in the fourth quarter for evidence—so the likes of Shorts and Washington will be splitting whatever targets are left over, no matter who is at quarterback.
On a Texans team that has struggled for much of the season—and yet is somehow tied for first in the 4-5 AFC South—Shorts will likely be a highly volatile player with only a moderately high ceiling.
Brock Osweiler, QB, Denver
Fourth-year quarterback Brock Osweiler will finally make his first NFL start in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears. Peyton Manning imploded against Kansas City—set a record, then got benched (go ahead and sing that to the tune of the Nationwide jingle)—and then word came that he had a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Osweiler saw the most significant action of his career versus the Chiefs, completing 14 of 24 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Prior to Sunday, Osweiler was pretty much just a human victory cigar for Denver. Now, he's a player who will face intense scrutiny, starting on the road for a division-leading team that's on a two-game losing streak and appears to have lost some of its edge.
Head coach Gary Kubiak expressed confidence in Osweiler despite his lack of experience.
“He’s basically had the football team on Wednesdays [when Manning typically rests],” Kubiak said, via Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke, “and throughout the offseason he had the football team one out of every three days. He’s grown from that. He went in there and played with a lot of confidence the other night.”
The Bears have several young, inexperienced defenders and have generally not looked like a very good team before Sunday's 37-13 beatdown of the St. Louis Rams. Despite the fact that they appear to have finally driven Nick Foles to the bench, quarterbacks have a collective 94.8 QB rating against Chicago, per ESPN.com.
Osweiler will have plenty of excellent players around him on Sunday. Demaryius Thomas is always a threat, a hobbled Emmanuel Sanders has another week to get to full strength and Ronnie Hillman has been mostly decent in the backfield and should find running room against the Bears. There's also every nervous, unsure quarterback's best friend, a good tight end, this one by the name of Vernon Davis.
The talent is there, Osweiler just needs to capitalize. Denver might also be able to surprise Chicago by adding another dimension to its play-calling with the youthful Osweiler under center, per USA Today's Lindsay H. Jones:
"Not only is he far younger (Osweiler will turn 25 this week), but he’s seems to be a far better fit athletically for Kubiak’s offense. Though Osweiler was sacked three times on Sunday, he displayed his mobility multiple times, throwing on the run or scrambling and sliding. The naked bootleg, a longtime staple of the Kubiak offense, should be a strength for Osweiler, where it was a weakness for Manning, and Osweiler’s arm strength far exceeds Manning’s at this point, which could open up a different range of down-field pass options.
"
Osweiler is worth a start in two-QB leagues and definitely worth rostering for those who are in larger leagues and looking to backup Manning, or just outright replace him. Save for those in 14-player leagues with nowhere else to turn, Osweiler should stick to the bench for the time being.
James White, RB, New England
With Dion Lewis out for the season, fantasy owners were hoping that either one of James White or Brandon Bolden might fill the void and pick up some of the points that might've gone Lewis' way in New England's high-octane offense. While White did manage more playing time than Bolden and saw a decent amount of snaps on Sunday against New York—27 to Bolden's 10, per ESPN's Mike Reiss—there was little of his work to be found in the box score.
White carried the ball once for five yards and caught one pass for six more. Bolden did absolutely nothing with his opportunities, while LeGarrette Blount saw the most activity and rushed for 66 yards and scored a touchdown.
It seems the Pats are willing to hand even more responsibility to LeGarrette Blount in the backfield. He was already the go-to guy on the ground, and he popped up for a couple of catches in Week 10. Those who picked up White in deeper leagues shouldn't be so quick to ditch him. With Edelman out, there should be a few more targets to go around.
Plus, White may further separate himself from Bolden and earn even more snaps in the coming weeks. White is a fantasy benchwarmer with Buffalo coming up, but he's still worth keeping on the roster in 12- and 14-player leagues.
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