We have made it to week 11 of the fantasy football weekend, and if you are one of the lucky few that are still in the playoff hunt, good job! However, a couple bad weeks could turn that around so you still have to be diligent. With top players on bye from the Seahawks, Packers, Giants, and Titans this week, you may need a little help to plug in and get you through this week. So here are some fantasy football waiver wire pick-ups to target this week.
Quarterbacks
Derek Carr – Oakland Raiders
Carr has had an up and down season, but has shown the ability to put up good numbers against lesser defenses. Que up the Cincinnati Bengals, who appear to be in the drivers seat for the number one pick next year and still have not won a game. Derek Carr is only owned in 45% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues, so if he is available and you have Russel Wilson sitting on you bench this week you need to try to get him.
Kyle Allen – Carolina Panthers
Kyle Allen has not exactly been putting up great numbers this year even though he has led the Panthers to a 5-2 record in games he has started. In fact there were a couple games that he had less than 4 points in traditional fantasy football scoring! Yet most of his games have been average, between 11 and 17 points, with one break out game against Arizona in his first game taking over for Cam Newton after his injury.
While Atlanta played very well against the New Orleans Saints last week, I wouldn’t count on them to recreate that success every week. The Saints have been known to lay a clunker against easier opponents during the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era, plus Atlanta is a big rival. You could do worse than Kyle Allen if you are in a pinch. He is only owned in 16% of Yahoo leagues.
Sam Darnold – New York Jets
Don’t leave yet! Yes I know I am talking about the same Sam Darnold that was “seeing ghosts” in the game against the New England Patriots a couple of weeks back. But the Washington Redskins are not the Patriots, and in every game against a team not coached by Bill Belichek, Darnold has at least 13 fantasy points including an opening week game against the Buffalo Bills who have proven to be a good team this year. Only owned in 22% of leagues, Darnold may be the one to put you over the top this week.
Running Backs
Duke Johnson – Houston Texans
The running back market is a little more difficult to just pick up players lying around week to week. That being said, Duke Johnson is a touchdown dependent option that has had at least 13 fantasy points in standard PPR leagues in 3 of his last 4 games. Unfortunately he is facing a stout Baltimore defense, but if you are in a bind with Barkley, Aaron Jones, or Chris Carson out you should look at Johnson as a possible bye week replacement.
Brian Hill – Atlanta Falcons
This pick is solely dependent on whether Devonta Freeman is able to suit up Sunday. If not, then he won’t get much playing time, but if Freeman is not playing look for Hill to get a lot of touches against Carolina this weekend. Hill is only owned in 6% of fantasy leagues so pick him up in case he becomes the starting back this week.
J.D. McKissic – Detroit Lions
With only 21% of the leagues having McKissic on their roster, this may be the player to pick up this week. With Ty Johnson possibly out while he goes through concussion protocol, McKissic will have lots of opportunities to carry the ball against Dallas on Sunday. McKissic also poses a threat catching the ball out of the backfield, so if you are in a PPR league he is even more intriguing.
Wide Receivers
Jamison Crowder – New York Jets
I have Crowder in one of my leagues, and he has had a few great weeks for me throughout the season. Only owned by 69% of leagues, definitely somebody to pick up with a match up versus the Redskins coming up Sunday.
Mecole Hardman – Kansas City Chiefs
Hardman had a highlight reel touchdown catch this past week against the Titans, showing off his speed. Even with many options on that offense for Mahomes to throw too, Hardman would be a good flex option this week if you are needing receiving help. He is only owned in 27% of Yahoo fantasy leagues, so should be available on waivers for you to pick up.
DaVante Parker – Miami Dolphins
I know, I spent a lot of weeks basically picking anybody facing the Miami Dolphins. And I still might against that defense, but the offense has been quietly starting to work with Fitzpatrick running the team. Throw in the fast that Davante Parker has had double digit fantasy points in every game except two, and I do not understand why he is still available in 41% of Yahoo leagues. Pick him up if he’s available, even against a tough Buffalo Bills team.
Tight Ends
Darren Fells – Houston Texans
Obviously the tight end position is not as deep as others, but if you are hurting this is a good quality tight end to fill in for the rest of the season. Although there are lots of options in this offense, Darren Fells has been getting his share of targets the last four games and looks to continue his success against Baltimore Sunday, he is surprisingly available in 57% of leagues.
Kyle Rudolph – Minnesota Vikings
Good news is that ol’ reliable Kyle Rudolph has seen an uptick in usage the last month or so. The bad news, the Vikings are going against what is finally becoming a good defense in Denver. While he is available in 66% of Yahoo fantasy leagues, Tread with caution here. If Adam Theilen misses another week though he may get enough targets to help your team win this week.
Jack Doyle – Indianapolis Colts
I have had to use Doyle the past few weeks in a league where I just had very little production from the tight end position, and he has rewarded me with 3 straight double digit fantasy weeks (it is a PPR league). Still on the waiver wire in 48% of Yahoo leagues and a match up with Jacksonville this week, definitely worth the risk.
Defenses
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders have been better than many expected this year, sitting at 5-4 and in the hunt for a playoff berth in the AFC. A lot of that is because of a running game in Josh Jacobs and a defense that has been very opportunistic, such as in last weeks game against the Chargers with 3 interceptions. Next up is the Cincinnati Bengals, who have taken the spot of the Dolphins as worst team in the NFL
New York Jets
First Sam Darnold, now the Jets defense? Yes I know, who would have thought? But when the Jets face sub par teams they have been able to put up good fantasy games, including 16 fantasy points against the Giants last week with 6 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries, plus a touchdown. This week they have the Washington Redskins and rookie Dwayne Haskins coming up, so you may get good numbers out of the Jets, who are only owned by 22% of Yahoo leagues.
Carolina Panthers
Don’t let recent games against the Packers and 49ers fool you, the Panthers defense has had an excellent season. Outside of those two games, the Carolina Panthers have double digit fantasy points in the other 5 games over the last 2 months. With an Atlanta Falcons team that played its super bowl last week against the Saints, and the Panther coming off of a loss, I see them taking control of this game early and putting up a good week for you. Available in 46% of Yahoo leagues.
Almost Playoff Time
Three more weeks in most leagues until the playoffs start, are you still in it? If you are, please comment below and tell us how your season is going. If not let us know where it went wrong. As always, if you have any questions please leave them below. Have a great week!
I am still very much in it and I have been having a couple of good weeks although the last week’s before that wasn’t so blissful in my fantasy. It is very nice to see you come up with some other players to look out for again. I will check them out and see who have I should pick for the next week. Play off soon. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to hear that you are still in the hunt! A lot of people aren’t, good luck in the playoff push!
The playoffs are about to begin so I and a few of my friends have already begun arguement on who will win the tournament this season. Although, I’m only a passive fan of football, my husband who is a die-hard fan of the Jets made me grow an interest in the game, and now I’m vestly invested in it. Sam Darnolds is a good inclusion in the fantasy football team above as he has proven to be a consistent player in position and I don’t see anyone better in the league, based on recent statistics.
The Jets have a bright future, they have a lot of young players that should help them grown next season. That is my favorite part of fantasy sports, the banter back and forth between me and my friends! Good luck in the playoffs!
Well! Luckily I have made it this far with the fantasy league for the first time. It is true that when you follow cues from the right people, you tend to develop more and more. This is really good and I would love for this to continue. The new picks here are my guide for the coming week. Since I have to go by you selectoonß, I figure I will just make a little more tweaks to the team. Thanks for always sharing the picks. They have been helpful
Glad these picks could help, good luck moving forward into the playoffs!
Wow, the fantasy football league is one that intrigues me a lot and I have always loved watching the games of the Oakland Raiders for a while now with my favorite players as Tim Brown. Lately I gave my been following up with the games and am I delighted to see some of the latest happenings from this post. I hope to start watching the game soon as i am have the chance to. Beat regards.
Tim Brown was a great receiver! He played the game the right way, not a bunch of dancing and crying to the refs, just hard work and skills. Do you like the Raiders moving to Las Vegas next Year? Should be interesting. Thank you for checking out the page!
I think I will just stick with Duke Johnson going by the past records so far. Hence, were him to have a bad day, I might just have to switch things up but then, I feel he would do well just like always. Besides, I have been planning on thanking you for the suggestions on picks here. You have been of big help to me and actually making Fantasy football more interesting to me week-in and out. Thumbs up
Duke Johnson has been doing very well this season, I was shocked to see that he was not picked up in more leagues. Good luck this week, hope you get the win and keep moving towards the playoffs!
Since I just started, I can’t say how long I will e here because I had a bad weekend but I guess thats just part of it all. Sometimes there will be bad days and sometimes, there will be good days as well. I think it will be very nice for me to try your recommendations for the new week. Nice one!
Bad weeks definitely happen, you may want to try out free leagues for awhile while you get used to the game and learn some of the intricate details of it. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with!
Hello there, the fantasy football league is has been my sons favorite and even though his dad is a big soccer fan, he still loves watching his games on his own. He became a fan of the sport after I got him a jersey with Julius Peppers on it and he has been a big fan since then. I also became a fan of the Carolina Panthers because of him, and I would love to read this post to him about the performance of our team. Cheers.
I was a big fan of Julius Peppers as well, he played for my favorite team the Chicago Bears for a few years there in the middle of his career. Please share with him, and if he ever has any questions just let me know!
I am not a fantasy football participator myself but my significant other is. This is the first season where I have actually continuously watched the football games throughout the week when he has them on. I was appalled at the behavior from the Browns player last night and even my S/O was in shock and said that he hasn’t seen a fight like that in quite some time from a player.
Anyway, he is still in the running because he is VERY good at this type of thing. I will have to get in touch with him and see what his picks are for the upcoming week and see how they aline with yours!
Yes that entire scene last night was a disgrace by multiple players, makes me sad when I see things like that because the game is better than that. Hopefully the NFL takes care of the problem. Good luck to your significant other in his league!
Well, my dad and brother are both big football fans. The fantasy is something they play with on paper and make their own ideas on who would work best with who. I tend to enjoy just listening to them go on about these things. They never argue seriously; it’s all in fun. Now I’m going to learn all about the ghost-seeing Sam Darnold of the New York Jets. I’ll make suggestions, and the looks in their eyes should be priceless!
That will be hilarious! They are going to wonder where you got your information from!
Yeah it was a very bad week for me on my fantasy because I dont really make a good progress this week but,its really nice seeing this post and the new players on am gonna look up to them try to add them to my team maybe some of them are gonna be on my team for the next week play off it’s really nice to have this post thanks so much
Hopefully they help! Yes it’s tough to win sometimes but you just have to keep trying and eventually some luck will land your way and help out!
Hello there,I am a big fan of football but my brother is a also a fan he love fantasy football,fantasy football league is has been his favorite for some time he love the game with passion and doesn’t allow anyone to watch the games with him,his favourite player is Julius Peppers and thanks for bringing this to the public is a very interesting topic and I would keep in touch with your blog for more updates.thanks alot
Glad you’re enjoying it, have your brother check it out too! If you ever need anything don’t hesitate to let me know!