Week 10 is now in the books, and with six important bye weeks coming up (NE, CLE, BUF, SF, NYJ, MIA) along with several injuries, the waiver wire is slimming down. Here is a look at my top waiver wire adds for Week 11:
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield CLE (45%): Baker Mayfield and the Browns shredded the Atlanta Falcons Sunday in a game where the rookie quarterback had as many touchdowns as he did incompletions, throwing 17-20 for 216 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Mayfield has made the waiver list several times this season, and even with the Browns heading into their Week 11 bye, he is worthy of a waiver claim with the Browns set the face the Bengals in Week 12. The Bengals just allowed 51 points to the Saints in Week 10 and fired their defensive coordinator. I expect Baker and the Browns to take advantage of the great Week 12 matchup, making Baker a solid waiver add to stash on the bench for a week.
Marcus Mariota TEN (30%): Over the last two weeks, Mariota has looked great for the Titans, throwing for 468 yards, 4 touchdowns passes, and adding 53 rushing yards with an additional rushing touchdown. Early season struggles were a major concern for the Titans, as Mariota has just 7 touchdown passes on the season. His recent success has shown the Titans haven’t lost faith in the young quarterback, as they are contending for the division and are just one game back from the Texans. With 6 teams on bye week and the fantasy playoffs right around the corner, Mariota could prove to be a great quarterback claim as the Titans will face off against the Colts team that allowed 320 yards passing to Blake Bortles and the struggling Jaguars.
Running Back
Rashaad Penny SEA (14%): Rashaad Penny finally looked like the back the Seahawks thought he could be when they drafted him with the 27th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, rushing 12 times for 108 yards and his first career touchdown. Given the draft capital they spent on him, you have to imagine that the Seahawks will try and get the rookie running back more involved as the season is quickly coming to an end.
Derrick Henry TEN (48%): So far this season, Henry has been extremely disappointing. Sunday he had his best game of the season, rushing for 58 yards on 11 carries and 2 rushing touchdowns against the Patriots. Dion Lewis has been forcing the Titans to give him the ball more, but if Henry can continue to play like he did against the Patriots the Titans would be wise to continue feeding him the ball in goal line and short yardage situations. Henry is worth a waiver claim to try and help get your team into the fantasy playoffs.
Josh Adams PHI (13%): Although Adams only rushed 7 times in Week 10’s loss to the Cowboys, gaining 47 yards (6.7 YPC), he saw more carries than both Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood. Adams looked explosive on his limited touches, hopefully resulting in the Eagles giving the big back more opportunities to show the team he’s capable of being the lead back moving forward.
Wide Receiver
Josh Reynolds LAR (1%): Cooper Kupp’s strong 2018 season ended Sunday when the young receiver hurt his knee on a non contact play. The Rams have two very good recievers who can fill in for him in Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, but i’m looking at Josh Reynolds to pick up major production in the absence of Kupp. Reynolds hasn’t had much opportunity to catch passes in the Rams stacked offense this season, but is more than capable of having good production. The receiver has just 7 catches this season for 98 yards and two touchdowns. With Kupp missing the rest of 2018, Reynolds’ production can only increase, making him a top waiver wire add for Week 11.
Danny Amendola MIA (44%): Jakeem Grant and Devante Parker both left Sunday’s matchup against the Packers and were seen after the game in a walking boot (Grant) and a sling (Parker). It was a very unfortunate week for receivers in Week 10 across the NFL, seeing Dez Bryant, Cooper Kupp, Jakeem Grant, and Devante Parker all go down with injuries. The two Dolphins receivers leaving with injury forced Miami to rely on Danny Amendola to propel the struggling Dolphin passing game. In this more featured role, he caught 7 of 10 passes for 72 yards. Amendola should see a huge increase in targets if the injuries to Parker and Grant are as serious as they seem to be.
Brandon Marshall NO (7%): Dez Bryant occupied this spot last week but his season is unfortunately over before it even could begin as he will miss the rest of 2018 recovering from a torn achilles. The Saints are now turning to veteran journeyman Brandon Marshall after things didn’t work out for him in Seattle. Marshall had a small workload in Seattle, catching just 11 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown in 7 games this season. The Saints are hoping they can get something more out of Marshall in an almost unstoppable offense behind Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Marshall is worth the use of a waiver claim, especially if your fantasy team is lacking a receiver or has a bye week coming up.
Tight End
Jonnu Smith TEN (1%): Smith has now gotten a touchdown reception in back to back weeks. Although they were his first two touchdowns of the season, the Titans tight end replacement for Delanie Walker has finally caught on as he caught 3-3 passes for 45 yards and his touchdown score. With 6 teams on a bye week and fantasy playoffs quickly approaching, using a claim for Jonnu Smith could be a wise move if you have the space on your roster for him.
Thank you for reading and be sure to follow me on Twitter for more fantasy football advice throughout the week @LonskiWilliam
