Week Eleven Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Options
Week 11 could potentially become an interesting one for many fantasy football owners. Four teams are on a bye: Colts, Texans, Saints and Steelers. That means there are quite a few stud players such as Arian Foster, Jimmy Graham, Drew Bees and Mike Wallace that won’t be available for line-ups this week.
And that’s when the waiver wire becomes an important factor to any serious owner. The bye week coupled with injuries to fantasy starters such as Matt Schaub, Matt Cassel, Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Vick and Frank Gore makes this an even more important week. The Schaub injury doesn’t hurt any Schaub owners this week as the Texans are on a bye but reports state that he might be out for the season.
Whether you need a long term Schaub replacement or a one week Wallace replacement keep on reading…
QUARTERBACK
Matt Leinart. Schaub is going to miss Week 12 for sure, possibly the rest of the season. The Texans have a great run game and offensive line. As long as Leinart can game manage properly he should do fine. Don’t expect a whole lot from him though and only pick him up in 2 QB leagues.
Vince Young. The Giants aren’t a great pass stopping team and if Vick is out after breaking two ribs on Sunday against the Cardinals then Young could be a sneaky play with his ability to run and, I guess, throw.
John Skelton. If Kolb is out then Skelton gets another start and a chance to win three straight games. Not the greatest QB in the league but when you have the luxury of throwing to Larry Fitzgerald then things are good. San Fransisco is a good defense but only rank 18th against the pass. If you have the guts to start Skelton then you might be handsomely rewarded.
Tyler Palko. I wouldn’t pick him up unless you’re in a league that starts three quarterbacks. But he’s the man in charge now with Cassel out for the season. I imagine Scott Pioli wishes he had kept Tyler Thigpen around now.
RUNNING BACK
Kendall Hunter. If Frank Gore starts this week after suffering an injury then Hunter shouldn’t be much of a Week 11 consideration. However, if Gore is out then Hunter could be a borderline RB1 candidate as the 49ers go up against the Cardinals. In Sunday’s victory over the Giants, Hunter ran the ball six times for 40 yards and a touchdown in relief for Gore.
Kevin Smith. Kind of a dark horse sleeper pick. Smith is better than the running backs filling in for Jahvid Best and the Lions go up against the atrocious Panthers’ rush defense. If you’re out of options, what’s there to lose?
WIDE RECEIVER
Denarius Moore. With Jacoby Ford more than likely out and Carson Palmer not caring at all about DHB that makes Moore the default #1 WR on the Raiders and going up against the Vikings this week could mean that Moore repeats his 123 yards, 2 touchdown performance Thursday night against the Chargers.
Vincent Brown. Malcolm Floyd could be out yet again and even if he is able to play Brown has shown that he has much more chemistry with Philip Rivers and that could lead to another big game for Brown.
Damian Williams. Nate Washington may be the number 1 receiver in Tennessee but it’s the second year player out of USC that’s become Hasselbeck’s go to guy recently.
TIGHT END
Brent Celek. In his past three games he has averaged 8 targets and 69 yards. Even if Vick can’t go he’s a strong pick up for a bye week fill-in because Vince Young will probably check down a lot to him.
Ed Dickson. Yes, he’s in a two tight end system with Dennis Pitta but he outshined Pitta this past Sunday, hauling in 10 catches for 79 yards and 2 scores. The Ravens play the Bengals this Sunday but they just lost top CB Leon Hall for the season, which makes Dickson an interesting play.
DEFENSE
Jacksonville Jaguars. Picking up the defense going up against the Colts tends to pay off well in fantasy and the Jaguars didn’t disappoint last week. This week they play the Browns, a team that is also pretty pitiful offensively.
New England Patriots. The Patriots handled the Jets offense pretty well this past week and now go up against the Matt Cassel-less Chiefs on Monday Night Football. This game could get pretty ugly.
Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are on a roll right now and can be considered a top ten fantasy defense. If you are willing to bet on the potential of a lot of sacks and a pick-6 then the Cowboys are your best bet.