NFL Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups And Adds, Latest Injury Buzz
The latest NFL Fantasy football rankings ahead of Week 11 are settling after another busy weekend in the league. That has led to fantasy owners looking ahead to the upcoming week’s slate which will include bye weeks for several teams. They’ll include the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and San Diego Chargers. From those squads, the most obvious players that will be missing in action for their owners are quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones, both of them Falcons. However, there are other players from around the league that might be available as replacements.
Before diving into the best waiver wire pickups, adds, and streaming defenses to target, it’s good to keep an eye on the fantasy football player rankings courtesy of Fleaflicker website, as well as some of the best performances. As of Week 10, the top five quarterbacks were Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees. As mentioned, Ryan will have Week 11 off. Brady had a lackluster performance amongst QBs this past weekend, finishing with about 14.5 fantasy points, depending on league format. He could be back in form for the coming week against San Francisco.
In terms of running backs, Ezekiel Elliott not only ruled the player category, but he ruled all players with 42.9 fantasy points. Elliott went off for 114 yards on 21 attempts on the ground. He finished with three touchdowns and also had 95 yards receiving. Most fantasy rankings have Elliott right up there with David Johnson, as well as Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell, the Titans’ DeMarco Murray, and Patriots’ LeGarrette Blount. As seen in the clip below, Elliott not only had some impressive runs, but he was the deciding factor in the final seconds of the game.
"Up the middle he’s gone! Zeke’s Gone! Goodbye Zeke!"
Home and away radio calls of the #DALvsPIT amazing ending. ? https://t.co/36aBu4LvbR
— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2016
The final player rankings to look at are those for tight ends and wide receivers. Often it’s the receivers who lead all players in scoring, but that was not the case with Elliott’s monster performance. However, Antonio Brown is always right up there in the rankings and finished seventh amongst backs, receivers, and tight ends for his Week 10 performance with 23.4 fantasy points. Brown is considered No. 1 overall in the receiver category, followed by Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, Atlanta’s Julio Jones, Cincinnati’s A.J. Green, and New York’s Odell Beckham Jr.
In the tight end category, it’s the Pats’ Rob Gronkowski, Washington’s Jordan Reed, Carolina’s Greg Olsen, Cincinnati’s Tyler Eifert, and Seattle’s Jimmy Graham. Owners will want to monitor the latest injury updates for Rob Gronkowski, as he may be out of the Patriots’ next game with a punctured lung. That could mean looking to the waiver wire for some help or simply hoping other players on the roster come up big in Week 11.
The Fantasy Pros website offers up some potential waiver wire pickups to consider in the coming week of football action, though. Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford is the top overall suggestion. He’s followed by Buffalo’s Robert Woods, Chicago’s Cameron Meredith (more on him later), Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill, and Baltimore’s Kenneth Dixon. Washington’s Pierre Garcon, San Diego’s Hunter Henry, Pittsburgh’s Eli Rogers, Houston’s C.J. Fiedorowicz and Tampa Bay’s Adam Humphries give owners a total of 10 players to contemplate for picking up if available right now.
Fantasy football analyst Matt Camp of Bleacher Report is recommending four players in particular from the waiver wire. They include Tyreek Hill (16 percent owned), Cameron Brate (52 percent owned), C.J. Prosise (35 percent owned), and Jeremy Langford (26 percent owned). Each of these four players can make smart additions to fantasy owners’ rosters in need of some help for the coming week.
Another big story heading into the Week 11 action is a four-game suspension for one of the better receivers in the league. As ESPN noted, Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey was reportedly suspended for four games with no pay due to his use of PEDs. Jeffrey won’t be back in the Bears’ lineup until their December 11 matchup with the Detroit Lions.
That means owners who have Jeffrey may be searching for a good option. That option could be none other than Cameron Meredith. He’s now playing in his second season in the league and has racked up 381 yards and two touchdowns on 29 receptions this season. He’ll look to benefit from Jeffrey’s absence over the course of the next four games, and should see a stats improvement. That definitely makes him worth a look as an add to teams with an issue in their receiver spot.
Speaking of the Bears, they haven’t been making much noise in the league this season. With that in mind, NFL is reporting that their opponents for Week 11, the New York Giants, make a wise potential choice for a streaming defense. They note that Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler has the third-highest interception rate in the league, making almost any team Chicago faces an option for D/ST choice. A few other defenses to consider are the Pittsburgh Steelers who will play at Cleveland, the Miami Dolphins (at the L.A. Rams), and the Dallas Cowboys (at the Baltimore Ravens).
[Featured Image by Brian Blanco/Getty Images]
