Week 11 Waiver Wire Targets for Fantasy Football

Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings
Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings
Nov 3 2013 Oakland CA USA Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings 27 carries the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles at Oco Coliseum The Eagles defeated the Raiders 49 20 Kirby Lee USA TODAY Sports

Week 11 waiver wire targets for standard scoring fantasy football leagues:

Oakland running back Rashad Jennings (owned in 49 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Though his first four years with Jacksonville yielded unimpressive results, the 6-foot-1 back has created 283 yards of offense in less than two games as Darren McFadden’s replacement. These games came against weak NFC East defenses, but Jennings has touched the ball 44 times in two weeks.

New York Giants running back Andre Brown (owned in 49 percent of Yahoo leagues)

So Andre Brown was going to be eased back into the offense. Head coach Tom Coughlin intimated last week that Peyton Hillis would be the starter and Brown would handle a lighter load. What happened Sunday could not have been more different. Brown was trusted with 30 rushes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also had one catch for four yards. This is a backfield in need of a savior, and Brown led all Giants with eight rushing scores last year.

Houston running back Dennis Johnson (owned in 21 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Texans starter Arian Foster is expected to be placed on injured reserve this week. Ben Tate assumed the starting role Sunday, rushing 15 times for 56 yards. Tate is struggling through broken ribs, and has been playing at less than 100 percent since suffering the injury in week seven against Kansas City. Enter Dennis Johnson, who steps up as the new number two in Houston. With a surging offense under Case Keenum, and a limited Tate starting, Johnson could be a valuable lottery pick to stash on your bench for a rainy day.

Chicago quarterback Josh McCown (owned in 7 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Josh McCown is a twelve-year veteran who recently made his first start since filling in for Jay Cutler in 2011. Cutler has been diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain and is considered week-to-week. Cutler has already been declared out for week 11, leaving McCown to make his second start of the year. In his first start during week nine, McCown completed 22-of-41 passes (53.7 percent complete) for 272 yards and two touchdowns. In three games of action this season, the backup has four scores, no interceptions, and a 60.0 completion percentage.

Buffalo tight end Scott Chandler (owned in 23 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Buffalo is a team suffering from several injuries to key members of the offense. Wide receivers Stevie Johnson (groin) and Robert Woods (ankle) are uncertain for week 11, leaving rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel very few options. Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller were largely ineffective against the Steelers on Sunday, combining for 20 carries, 78 yards rushing and no scores. E.J. Manuel threw for only 155 yards passing, with a touchdown and an interception. Tight end Scott Chandler caught three passes for 21 yards in the loss. He has 35 receptions for 388 yards and two scores this year. Expect more involvement from Chandler until Johnson and Woods are closer to 100 percent.

Buffalo wide receiver Robert Woods (owned in 12 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Robert Woods was the 41st player selected in last April’s NFL Draft. The former USC Trojan has 26 catches for 349 yards and two touchdowns in nine games this year. Woods missed Sunday’s loss to the Steelers with an ankle injury, and his timetable to return is uncertain. In three years of collegiate play, the young receiver caught 250 passes for 2,933 yards and 32 scores. His best year was as a sophomore in 2011 when Woods made 111 receptions for 1,292 yards and 15 touchdowns. Should fellow starter Stevie Johnson miss more time, and should Woods return sooner than later, the spotlight could be on this budding prospect. E.J. Manuel will need someone to catch his passes.

Green Bay wide receiver Jarrett Boykin (owned in 43 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Injuries have changed the landscape in Green Bay. First, when Randall Cobb and James Jones were eliminated from the picture, Jarrett Boykin became a valuable fantasy asset. In week six, the second-year veteran caught eight passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. In the two weeks without Jones in the lineup, Boykin earned 13 receptions for 192 yards and one score. Jones returned week eight, and Boykin was held to one catch against Chicago. Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of that game. And although Seneca Wallace couldn’t find Boykin, the backup passer pulled his groin on Sunday, and in came quarterback Scott Tolzien. Tolzien threw to Boykin 13 times for eight receptions and 112 yards. Maybe this latest chemistry will help the receiver’s value moving forward. With this small sample size, it’s not easy to say.

Tennessee tight end Delanie Walker (owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Eight year veteran Delanie Walker has never caught 400 yards, 30 catches or five touchdowns in a single season. He is on pace to break through his short ceiling this year. After nine games, he is projected to earn 51.6 receptions for 554.7 yards and 7.1 scores. This is only Walker’s second team, after spending his first seven years in San Francisco. In six games of significant play from starting quarterback Jake Locker, the tight end has averaged 2.8 receptions for 29.7 yards and 0.5 scores. During the three games of substantial action from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Walker’s numbers are slightly better with 4.0 catches for 44.7 yards and 0.3 touchdowns per game. Walker is going to have the Fitzpatrick for the rest of the year after Locker suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury Sunday.

Philadelphia wide receiver Riley Cooper (owned in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)

Riley Cooper is in his fourth NFL season, all with Philadelphia. The former Florida Gator has never had more than 23 catches, or more than 315 yards receiving. But the 6-foot-3 receiver has a new opportunity this year with Jeremy Maclin on injured reserve. Cooper is on pace for 44.8 catches, 888 yards and 11.2 touchdowns. During the five games in which Nick Foles has played significantly, Cooper has averaged 3.6 receptions for 89.8 yards and 1.2 scores. With Vick as the primary passer, Cooper’s numbers drop to 2.0 catches for 21.2 yards and 0.2 touchdowns per game. Foles has thrown 16 touchdowns and no interceptions so far this season, leading a logical assumption for who will be the starter moving forward. Keeping Vick on the sideline greatly improves Cooper’s value for the rest of the season.

Players still relevant from previous weeks include Shane Vereen, Percy Harvin, Keenan Allen, Nick Foles, Case Keenum, Andre Ellington, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Donald Brown, Jordan Reed, Tim Wright, and Montee Ball.  Catch some waives from past weeks (week 10, week 9, week 8, week 7, week 6, and week 5).

Stats and data courtesy of pro-football-reference.com, yahoo.com, and wikipedia.org.

author avatar
Dave Major
Senior Fantasy Analyst for @XNSports. While not wasting immeasurable time as a stand-up comic in New York, Dave Major can be found watching three football games at once and telling people how to live their fantasy lives. If you're out of ideas, use your one phone call on !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');