The Desai Guys continue their Waiver Wire Fantasy Football coverage this week with injury updates and replacements.
Fantasy Football Updates: Week 11 Injuries And Waiver Wire Week 12
Justin Fields, QB – Chicago Bears
- Fields suffered a hamstring injury along with a shoulder injury in the 4th quarter of the game against the Lions
- There’s speculation that he could be held out until after Week 14 when the Bears have a BYE.
- He’s considered day-to-day right now, but there is some chatter going around that the Bears might just shut down his season with their record where it is.
- The Bears are currently 3-8 and are dead last in the conference for a potential playoff spot
- Trevor Siemian would step up in Fields’ place and his fantasy stock is non-existent
- In fact, the entire Bears offense would take a hit if Fields misses any games…
- Grab guys like Kenny Pickett, Jimmy Garoppolo, Taylor Heinicke, or Marcus Mariota
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Matthew Stafford, QB – Los Angeles Rams
- Left the game against the New Orleans Saints in the third quarter with an apparent concussion
- It was determined to be a concussion and this is now his second concussion in the last three weeks
- Stafford will have to go through the five-step concussion protocol, but it’s likely he might miss some time
- This would be an interesting quarterback situation if Stafford misses the game because his backup John Wolford is dealing with a neck injury
- There’s a chance that Wolford may not be able to go, so the starting quarterback duty would go to Bryce Perkins
- This situation in Los Angeles is getting dire with every week and it seems like they may be playing for a high draft pick instead of a playoff spot
- The Rams don’t have a 1st round pick because of the Stafford trade but do own both of their Day 2 picks in 2023
Joe Mixon, RB – Cincinnati Bengals
- Similar to Stafford, Mixon left the game against Pittsburgh in the third quarter with a concussion
- He will also need to clear the concussion protocol in order to play in Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans
- In his place, Samaje Perine had a whale of a game dominating the Steelers
- Perine totaled only 82 scrimmage yards, but he scored three times
- Clearly if Mixon can’t go this coming week, the Bengals are going to be fine with Perine and also Trayveon Williams
- One thing to note about the Bengals offense is that Ja’Marr Chase could return this week as well, depending on how his practice week goes
- If you need to look at other teams for running back options, try to grab Isiah Pacheco, Gus Edwards, Cam Akers, and Latavius Murray
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB – Kansas City Chiefs
- Edwards-Helaire injured his ankle in the first quarter of the Sunday night game with the Los Angeles Chargers
- It’s looking like a high-ankle sprain and he could miss anywhere between 3-6 weeks
- Through the first four weeks, Edwards-Helaire was one of the top-scoring running backs in fantasy football
- He scored 75.5 fantasy points through the first four weeks, which was the fourth-best in the league
- Since then, he has only scored 22.8 fantasy points and which is ranked 59th among fantasy running backs
- This is a great opportunity for Pacheco to claim this backfield and cement himself as the lead back for the Chiefs
- Jerick McKinnon might see some action on passing downs, but he doesn’t hold a ton of fantasy value
- Claim Pacheco if you can, but otherwise, grab one of the guys listed above
Mike Williams, WR – Los Angeles Chargers
- Talk about bad news for Williams; he returns from injury just to be injured again
- He re-injured his ankle in the game against the Chiefs and is expected to miss a few more weeks
- This is tough for the Chargers who were looking to get healthy to possibly make a run at a playoff spot
- Thankfully the Chargers offense got Keenan Allen back and he avoided getting re-injured
- Without Williams though, Josh Palmer stepped up in his place and had a nice game to pair up with Allen on the other side
- Palmer went for 106 receiving yards off of eight receptions and he also scored twice
- Palmer will be a great waiver wire pickup. DeAndre Carter holds some value as well being another supplementary piece
- If you happen to lose out on either of those guys, there are a few other options you can snag off the waiver wire
- Look to scoop up guys like Donovan Peoples-Jones, Treylon Burks, Christian Watson, or Darius Slayton
Kadarius Toney, WR – Kansas City Chiefs
- In the second quarter, Toney left the game against the Chargers with a hamstring injury.
- This is a recurring injury for Toney and there was hope he could put this behind him but he looks to miss some time with this injury
- After leaving New York, Toney looked to be an emerging receiver for the Chiefs offense.
- This injury will be a setback of course for Toney and a small setback for the Chiefs passing attack.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster should be on his way back in Week 12 and the Chiefs still have the dominant receiving threat in Travis Kelce
- Besides Kelce, the receiving options in this Chiefs offense could be very hit-or-miss at times
- Smith-Schuster holds good value once he returns, but other than that it’s hard to trust anyone else
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR – New York Giants
- Robinson left the game in the fourth quarter, with a serious knee injury, during the game with the Detroit Lions
- He’s undergoing some more tests, but it’s looking like Robinson could be done for the season with a torn ACL
- The Giants need options in the passing game and losing Robinson is a big loss.
- New York still has Darius Slayton in the passing attack and should be added in all leagues
- When healthy, Slayton is a great option in any offense and he could generate a lot of fantasy points now being the main option in the passing offense
- The Giants are not a pass-first team, as they have the 5th fewest pass attempts in the NFL.
- Still, the sheer volume that Slayton will get will make him a great fantasy addition to your lineup down the stretch
Kyle Pitts, TE – Atlanta Falcons
- Suffered a big knee injury in the third quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears
- Pitts has been placed on injured reserve and will miss a minimum of four weeks, but most likely the rest of the season.
- The Falcons are in the thick of things in the NFC South, but the loss of Pitts could amount to the team missing the playoffs.
- Without Pitts in this offense, you have to expect rookie Drake London to pick up the slack but he’s been non-existent in this offense in recent weeks.
- You could look at this situation as a very collaborative effort as there may not be one guy to be the leading receiver every week
- With Pitts out, the next man up at the tight end position would be MyCole Pruitt
- It is best to avoid the Falcons passing offense now. It was hard to trust it even when Pitts was healthy.
- Look to claim tight ends like Greg Dulcich, Trey McBride, Cade Otton, or Evan Engram off the waiver wire instead
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 11 Picks
Waiver Wire Week 11 Quarterbacks
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. IND (ESPN Roster Percentage – 7.4%)
- Pickett looks like a capable starting quarterback in this league
- The biggest thing is that he lacks protection and the overall roster is about average.
- There’s a lot of promise for Pickett and he can showcase that against the Colts on Monday Night Football
- This Colts defense isn’t great, but they also aren’t bottom-feeders so they will provide some resistance
- It’s not going to look pretty for all four quarters, but if you need a streaming option this week, Pickett could be the answer off the waiver wire
- Has scored more than 15 fantasy points in back-to-back games coming off the BYE week as well
Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders vs. SEA (ESPN Roster Percentage – 55.5%)
- That dude is one inaccurate QB but, hey, the actual play on the field doesn’t matter, it’s all about how many points he gets you.
- He’s scored 17+ points in all three of his most recent games and the Raiders are always going to be down or close in the game. The amount of passing he’s going to add just helps his chances.
- A large reason for this is that he’s finally realized he has one of the best receivers in the game on his team.
- Davante Adams hasn’t seen less than 10 targets since Week 8. And shocker: Adams’ better performance directly correlates with Carr’s.
- So while he’s not the QB you want to win a game on the field, he’ll almost certainly help you win in fantasy
Waiver Wire Week 11 Running Backs
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs vs. LAR (ESPN Roster Percentage – 43.7%)
- This was brought up earlier in the article, but Edwards-Helaire is going to miss some time with an ankle injury
- Pacheco was all the talk during the preseason, but he just didn’t get a lot of carries
- This backfield situation has presented a situation for Pacheco to grab a stranglehold on.
- If Pacheco can deliver when he’s given this opportunity, this offense for Kansas City just got a lot more dangerous
Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams vs. KC (ESPN Roster Percentage – 43.1%)
- Alright, this backfield has been a disaster both fantasy-wise and in-game, that much cannot be denied.
- But what also can’t be denied is that Sean McVay is a smart coach and he knows he needs to just commit to a guy. Akers made a good case to be that player.
- 61 yards and 4.4 yards per carry showed that Akers is capable of carrying the workload for the Rams.
- Plus with Matthew Stafford continuing to get hurt and Cooper Kupp still out, it would make sense for LA to lean on their run game more.
- I don’t think he’s a must-start FLEX option but he would be an intriguing add from waiver wires to be a bench stash for sure.
Waiver Wire Week 11 Wide Receivers
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns vs. TB (ESPN Roster Percentage – 38.5%)
- The guy has seen almost 30 targets over the last 4 games.
- When a team focuses on Amari Cooper, he is the biggest benefactor of that.
- Also important to note that he averages 12+ yards per catch in most of his games so he gets those yardage points for you as well.
- And as always with the Browns, Deshaun Watson is about to return, increasing his value even more.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans vs. CIN (ESPN Roster Percentage – 22.7%)
- Burks has not scored a touchdown in the league yet, but he’s starting to look like a starting-caliber receiver
- He started the season slow and then unfortunately got hurt, which derailed his growth
- Now recovered, he is now looking to get more involved. He put together his first 100-yard receiving game last week against the Packers.
- Burks coming back into this offense will give Tennessee another dimension to couple with the punishing rush attack with Derrick Henry.
Waiver Wire Week 11 Tight Ends
Logan Thomas, Washington Commanders vs. ATL (ESPN Roster Percentage – 19.6%)
- This is the perfect under-the-radar target to help you out this week.
- Because the Commanders were up so big, he only had five catches but he is one of Taylor Heinicke’s favorite targets.
- The Commanders are always going to pass it a lot and Thomas will be one of the biggest benefactors from that.
- They play Atlanta and play the Giants twice over the next three weeks. These games are a great place to showcase his talent.
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos vs. CAR (ESPN Roster Percentage – 49.5%)
- Since Week 6, Dulcich is tied for 2nd on the team in targets in this Denver offense.
- While their offense is not nearly as explosive as most people predicted in the preseason, players are still getting involved enough to be fantasy producers.
- Dulcich is a great safety valve for Russell Wilson when the play can’t develop and this benefits your fantasy lineup.
- Dulcich also has a fantastic match-up this week against the Carolina Panthers
- Panthers just gave up 63 receiving yards to Mark Andrews last week
Waiver Wire Week 11 Defenses/Special Teams
Miami Dolphins vs. HOU (ESPN Roster Percentage – 32%)
- Houston is scoring the second-fewest points in the NFL currently
- Along with that, they’re ranked dead last in total yards gained on offense
- The Dolphins are coming off a BYE week and need to stay in a close race in the AFC East and need to rattle off some wins down the stretch
- Expect this Miami defense to bring it against a weak Texans offense
Kansas City Chiefs vs. LAR (ESPN Roster Percentage – 18.3%)
- This defense has put up 5+ points in their last two games.
- The Rams could be without Stafford and Kupp, opening up a prime opportunity for KC to thrive.
Waiver Wire Kickers
Greg Joseph, Minnesota Vikings vs. NE (ESPN Roster Percentage – 41.8%)
- This game on Thanksgiving night should be a closely fought match
- The Vikings will want to forget the disastrous performance they put together last week against the Dallas Cowboys
- Expect them to put together some good scoring drives and set up Joseph with some field goal chances
Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos vs. CAR (ESPN Roster Percentage – 46.2%)
- The Broncos offense seems to be finally hitting its stride.
- If this offense can finally get going, all of the sudden one of the highest-scoring kickers is yours to take
