The draft might be the most alluring thing to fantasy football, but the waiver wire is a close second.
In a way, the waiver wire is a season-long draft owners must hit out of the park each week to stay in contention. The right move will help owners survive injuries, tough matchups and more—look at Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford, who now has 22 or more points in two straight games playing in place of starter Matt Forte.
Such chances at elite production can keep a strong team in the running and help a struggling team claw back up the standings. Below, let’s outline a few of the players who tout similar potential going into Week 11.
Week 11 Waiver-Wire Pickup Targets
Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington (35.5 percent owned)
Fantasy owners might tire of hearing about Kirk Cousins, but he’d have three elite games if his receivers could catch the football consistently.
That requires context, of course. Cousins posted 29 points in Week 7, took rest on a bye and then managed only 10 in what should have been a shootout with the New England Patriots as his receivers struggled with drops.
This past weekend, those issues evaporated and there was Cousins, throwing for four touchdowns and 28 points.
This production isn’t an accident. Washington quietly has one of the league’s better offensive coaches in Jay Gruden and a wealth of skill players defenses have a hard time covering.
Cousins has it rough next weekend with a trip to Carolina, but he’s worth a streaming add for owners in need, because it’s clear when the matchup’s right he can post elite production.
Matt Jones, RB, Washington (58.9 percent owned)
Just stick with Washington after the team’s major offensive day in a 47-14 win against the New Orleans Saints and look at running back Matt Jones. He posted 24 points, his second such outburst of the season. The problem owners will have with Jones, of course, is the fact that those are his only trips to double digits this season.
Still, it’s a anemic week for running back adds for owners who missed out on the Langfords of the world. At the least, Jones is an explosive back who has received 11 or more carries in a game five times this year, including the last two in a row.
Considering he’s also a major threat through the air, as evidenced by his 78-yard play, owners could do much worse. With any luck, Washington will realize what it has on its hands with the rookie from Florida and shift more of the workload his way.
If not, Jones is still good for the massive outburst in the right situation and worth rostering.
Kamar Aiken, WR, Baltimore Ravens (45.8 percent owned)
Most owners don’t want to associate with poor offenses, but the ones who do it well often win leagues.
One such situation is Kamar Aiken of the Baltimore Ravens. With Steve Smith out for the season, Aiken has six or more catches in each of his last two outings and now leads the team in targets among active players.
Aiken hasn’t scored since Week 6 and has just two on the year, but he’s the No. 1 target on a pass-heavy offense that is sure to gun it often while playing from behind. In this case, opportunities certainly equal production.
Aiken looks like a solid flex play each week, starting next week against the St. Louis Rams, a defense that just allowed three receiving touchdowns this past weekend.
Again, it’s not the most high-profile add in the world, but sometimes those can do the most damage.
Clive Walford, TE, Oakland Raiders (0.9 percent owned)
Sometimes getting ahead of the curve is the best thing an owner can do.
Clive Walford of the Oakland Raiders won’t ring a bell in most owners’ minds, but understand that he has scored six or more points in three of his last four outings, with a trio of touchdowns alongside those high-point outings.
Surprised? There’s no reason to be—Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle hinted at the end of October that the coaching staff wanted to get the rookie more involved:
The Raiders don’t have anyone who can challenge Walford on the depth chart, but the staff seems to agree that the offense misses a big-bodied player who can do the dirty work over the middle or break free for a big play.
Walford seems to be the guy, and he’s a good pickup right away, especially with a matchup against the Detroit Lions on deck, a defense that has given up six scores to the position in eight weeks.
There seems to be a breakout game bubbling, so get there before the explosion.
All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats as of November 16. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com.
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