Week 11 Waiver Wire Wonders

Here we are again LAFB Network fam! We’re back giving you the best waiver options this week has to offer. Week 10 has come and gone and I hope all of your teams won. Naturally, half of them most likely didn’t but it’s okay homie, there’s always this week.

This week the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers are on a bye so you may need to adjust accordingly. Yeah, I’m talking to you Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Allen Robinson, and whoever you might have on the 49ers roster. With that in mind, let’s get down to business.

Week 11 Waiver Wire Wonders

Quarterback

(MIN) Kirk Cousins vs Dallas Cowboys

owned in about 30% of fantasy leagues

Would it surprise you if I said the Cowboys have the 11^th best passing defense in the NFL? Of course, it would, it surprised the hell out of me but that’s because the Cowboys’ most prolific news is their QB troubles. Their defense has been mediocre at best but with all the drama on the offense, the heat has been adverted from their lackluster D.

Why start Cousins? Well, their defense has been alright in passing yards but when it comes to turnovers and TDs scored, those stat-lines might change your mind. As it stands, the Cowboys have three picks on the year. Houston has two so I suppose it could be worse but they have also had 21 passing TDs scored on them this season.

If I were to put Cousins in a box and tie a bow on it, I would have to say Cousins is a safe play this week. Just on stats alone, he is projected to have a 22.2 fantasy point game. Not too bad for a stream-start play.

(NO) Jameis Winston / Taysom Hill vs Atlanta Falcons

Winston owned in about 3% of fantasy leagues

Hill owned in about 2% of fantasy leagues

Admittedly, either one of these players would give the strongest fantasy manager anxiety but both men should at least be looked over for a roster spot.

– Winston looks to be the obvious starter because of Drew Brees’ injury, yet he is known to pass the ball to the other team, A Lot.

– Hill is technically a QB even though he catches the ball and runs plays out of the wildcat, but some fantasy mangers might have noticed that Taysom Hill has a special asset about him. On the ESPN Fantasy App, Taysom Hill is listed as a TE. That means on the super slight chance Sean Payton calls Hill to be the QB, he could be a QB in your TE slot. He basically has the opportunity to “break” the game.

Running Back

(IND) Nyheim Hines vs Green Bay Packers

owned in about 42% of fantasy leagues

It is clear that it’s unclear who needs to be owned in the Indianapolis offense. Talented rookie Jonathan Taylor is the “starter” but then Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins steal game time away from him.

So far this year each RB has had plenty of playing time:

Taylor has 113 rushing attempts and 24 targets

Hines has 45 rushing attempts and 41 targets

Wilkins has 68 rushing attempts and 7 targets

Currently, Hines is in the lead with 113.2 fantasy points, Taylor has 109.1, and Wilkins is left with 40.5. Now, these numbers aren’t too shabby for an Indy RB but we have to realize Taylor started off hot and cooled down. Recently Wilkins has been getting his feet wet in the offense. But Hines has been the RB with the hot hand.

In the last three weeks, Hines has produced 55.5 fantasy points, almost half of his season total. Now if you don’t need nor want to play Hines I would understand. He is a very high risk, high reward, but I would like to implore you to at least consider his value to someone else. You might block a future opponent from using that hot hand against you.

(LAC) Kalen Ballage vs New York Jets

owned in about 21% of fantasy leagues

I believe I brought up Mr. Ballage in last week’s article so I’ll keep it short and sweet, yes? Yes. In the two active weeks for Kalen Ballage, he has accumulated 33 rushing attempts for 137 yards and one score. Not to mention nine targets and seven receptions for 49 receiving yards. In total that’s 31.6 fantasy points straight off the street.

(MIA) Salvon Ahmed @ Denver Broncos

owned in about 9% of fantasy leagues

The Miami Dolphins have been making quite a bit of waves in the AFC conference this year. Tua Tagovailoa has been perfect since being named the starter. And it was just announced that Jordan Howard was released this week, bumping our guy Ahmed up in the ranks. For the time being Matt Breida is still technically the RB1 but after Ahmed’s Week 10, 21 attempts for 85 rushing yards and a TD, it might be hard to wait for Brieda to return 100% healthy.

Wide Receiver

(PHI) Jalen Reagor @ Cleveland Browns

owned in about 26% of fantasy leagues

If it wasn’t hard already to figure out who Carson Wentz was going to throw it to, Jalen Reagor has been doubling the effort it takes to select a WR for your roster than it needs to be. Greg Ward and Travis Fulgham have been better than expected in Alshon Jeffery’s absence, but ever since Reagor came back from an injury of his own, he has been getting more and more integrated into this Philly offense.

With four games under his belt, Reagor has compiled 21 targets and 12 receptions for 159 receiving yards and a single score. It might not be as impressive as Fulgham or Ward exploding into fantasy relevancy out of nowhere but it should be noted that the Eagles drafted Reagor to be a big part of this offense and it shouldn’t shock you if he snowballs into a playmaker.

(DEN) Tim Patrick vs Miami Dolphins

owned in about 24% of fantasy leagues

Alright, it’s time to just call it like it is. Tim Patrick is a solid WR2 for the Denver Broncos. Not only that, he’s been a reliable fantasy asset five out of eight weeks of the season. Sure it might not sound like the best ratio but you have to consider this, Courtland Sutton was sidelined then returned, then again sidelined but placed on IR which all happened at the beginning of the year.

If we were to take that into consideration, then Patrick’s ratio instantly boosts to five out of six weeks of the season. Which in turn feels much better. Not only for sanity’s sake but for your fantasy team’s as well. Let Jerry Jeudy be the No.1 WR for the Broncos, it’ll clear up the coverage for Patrick and your roster.

(LAR) Josh Reynolds @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

owned in about 5% of fantasy leagues

Looking for a stream-start for your bye players? Of course, you are. Well lucky you, Josh Reynolds looks to be available in practically all of your leagues. Now, I’m not saying Reynolds should take over for the players on bye because after all, he is the No.3 WR in the Rams’ offense. But if I had a couple of players on bye or hurt, I am positive I would pick up Reynolds to slide in for the time being.

In the last three weeks, Reynolds has seen 27 targets and 16 receptions for 190 yards and a score. Not only that, but Reynolds has also only had four games where he didn’t have at least five targets in the game. Naturally, he doesn’t have fruitful numbers like Robert Woods or Cooper Kupp but he does have two things working in his favor for the time being.

1. He’s been a reliable target for Jared Goff
2. The Rams like to feed the hot hand.

And of course, if that’s not enough to persuade you, then pick him up for the possibility of blocking a future opponent that might be WR desperate.

Tight End

(WAS) Logan Thomas vs Cincinnati Bengals

owned in about 36% of fantasy leagues

Oh, Logan, why must you be dismissed so much because of your team. Sure the Washington Football Team doesn’t score a bunch of points. Nor do they have an identity to stand on when in distress. I’m not saying Logan Thomas is the guy you want to lean on when all the chips are down but you have to give the man his dues.

Logan Thomas was 6^th in targets for TEs this week. On the season he is 11^th with 52 targets. That’s more than players like Marvin Jones, Curtis Samuel, Christian Kirk, or even Chris Godwin. It is even more than all the players I mentioned in the WR column above. You can’t deny the man gets work. Don’t be ashamed to rely on a Washington player, embrace it, own it, bench it, do whatever to get the targets on your team.

(DAL) Dalton Schultz @ Minnesota Vikings

owned in about 16% of fantasy leagues

Would you like to know another TE that gets fed targets as much as, actually three more than Logan Thomas? It’s Mr. Dalton Schultz. He, like Thomas, has had some QB swaps during the season but it has yet to affect the offensive scheme directed toward them. If anything, the fact that the QB situation in Dallas is so messed up should give you some relief.

Would a new QB starter be able to just sit in the pocket to let a play develop? I don’t think so. I think they would like to get the ball out of their hands as quickly as possible. That leaves either the RB or TE to dump it off too. He isn’t the sexy TE like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews but he’ll get his targets and get the job done.