Every week, I help you find free-agent pickups that can be added and started after the initial waivers have run in your fantasy football league. There isn’t much left this week at running back, yet we feature several worthy wide receiver options if you are scrambling for a plug-in player.
The analysis is based on PPR scoring, and players are listed in order of preference for pickup and lineup usage. Rostered percentages are from CBSSports.com.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
Rashod Bateman, WR, BAL (48 percent rostered): Diontae Johnson may start to cut into Bateman’s production once he gets comfortable in the Baltimore offense, but Bateman is functioning as a downfield and touchdown threat for Lamar Jackson right now. The Ravens WR is averaging 16.2 yards per reception, and the Steelers rank 18th in fantasy points per game allowed to WRs over the last four weeks. Bateman has a 75.6 WR/CB matchup grade against the Pittsburgh corners for Week 11, which qualifies as “Good” on the Pro Football Focus grading scale.
Audric Estime, RB, DEN (73 percent): Usually I don’t include players with this high of a rostered percentage in the article. The free-agent list is painfully thin at RB in many leagues, though, and Estime might still be available in a few. Sean Payton is willing to ride with his young players, and Estime is his new lead RB. We told you to pick him up in this space last week, and he can post respectable totals against the Falcons, who rank 24th in FFPG allowed to RBs over the past four weeks.
If you already added Estime and plan to stream him as a starter this week, then enjoy this recent scouting report on him from the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, which includes a very nifty description of his physique.
“Every time Estime gets the ball, there is a sense something big might happen because of his strength and force. His speed surprises defenders, and he has the power to run through contact. It helps that he is a bedroom dresser in a jersey, listed at 5-foot-11, 227 pounds,” Renck wrote.
Christian Watson, WR, GB (52 percent): The Packers WRs can be unpredictable in terms of who will produce in any given week, but Watson was targeted 13 times in two games before Green Bay’s bye and might start to resurface as a key playmaker for Jordan Love. The Packers’ offensive line has the second-best pass-blocking matchup grade for Week 11 on Pro Football Focus, so Love will have time to find Watson.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, SF (57 percent): The rookie is healthy now and should continue to emerge as a quality contributor to the San Francisco passing game. Pearsall caught his first NFL TD pass last week. Seattle ranks 24th in fantasy points per game allowed to WRs and will be heavily concerned with containing the 49ers’ other top playmakers.
Elijah Moore, WR, CLE (19 percent): Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy are primary options for Jameis Winston, yet he will fling the ball enough to significantly involve Moore, who was targeted 21 times in the last two games. Cleveland doesn’t have much of a running game right now and the New Orleans pass defense ranks 29th in the NFL.
Mike Williams, WR, PIT (24 percent): Williams should fit well in the Pittsburgh passing game with Russell Wilson, who still throws a pretty and highly accurate deep ball. Williams will be much more relevant in the Steelers offense than he was with the Jets. He caught the game-winning TD pass in his debut with Pittsburgh. Baltimore has the lowest-ranked pass defense in the NFL, and Wilson now has a better No. 2 WR option to utilize in an exploitable matchup.
Jonnu Smith, TE, MIA (38 percent): Jaylen Waddle has been a disappointment this season, and Tyreek Hill is battling a wrist injury. Las Vegas ranks 28th in fantasy points per game allowed to TEs, and Smith has the fourth-best TE matchup advantage grade on Pro Football Focus for Week 11. Smith does a good job of catching passes in stride and then breaking tackles to gain extra yardage.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, NO (18 percent): Valdes-Scantling’s rostered percentage reflects the skepticism he elicits from savvy fantasy players. MVS caught two TD passes and totaled 109 receiving yards last week but compiled his stat line on three receptions and three targets. Even as a featured WR for the injury-riddled Saints, Valdes-Scantling is a historically erratic boom-or-bust type who could easily not make any fantasy noise for the next few weeks.
I stopped buying into any sporadic MVS spike performances much earlier in his career, and regardless of the matchup, he will often disappoint after a productive fantasy outing. If you are digging deeper for a WR streamer, plug him in and hope for more deep-shot heroics. This column is always full of risky plays by nature, and Valdes-Scantling is the model performer with no real floor and some occasional upside.
Gus Edwards, RB. LAC (48 percent): Monitor the status of Edwards’ ankle injury, but he is back in action and may see some goal-line TD opportunities. Cincinnati has allowed nine rushing TDs to opposing RBs, which is tied for 25th in the NFL, and Los Angeles may lean on its RBs to control the clock against the Bengals.
Dawson Knox, TE, BUF (23 percent): Dalton Kincaid is looking very iffy for the major matchup with the Chiefs, and Knox may have to step into his role. Kansas City ranks second in fantasy points per game allowed to TEs, so adding Knox and possibly starting him is highly recommended for those who roster Kincaid.
(Photo of Rashod Bateman: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
