Staying active on the waiver wire is an important way for season-long fantasy owners to improve their teams and get an edge on the competition. Shifts in opportunities for players due to injuries or performance cause value spikes that owners can take advantage of to fill in roster holes to build a championship lineup.
Each week, we will discuss waiver wire targets at each position to consider for both the week ahead and the rest of the fantasy season.
Week 11 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds
* Current roster % in home leagues is noted in parentheses (from Sleeper)
Russell Wilson, QB (Pittsburgh Steelers) (29%)
It looks like Pittsburgh may have chosen correctly to replace Justin Fields with Russell Wilson behind center mid-season despite a winning record at the time. Wilson led the Steelers to a huge win over the Commanders on Sunday by throwing three touchdown passes for the first time since Week 8 of 2023.
Wilson got a new deep threat in Mike Williams at the trade deadline to give George Pickens a running mate down the field. Williams caught a touchdown in his first game with the team.
Even with a 50% completion rate on 14-of-28 passing, Wilson landed in the top 12 of fantasy quarterbacks for the second time in his three weeks as a starter. A 10.7% touchdown rate is likely not sustainable, but Wilson will likely need to air it out again this week against the high-scoring Ravens. Baltimore is 31st against fantasy quarterbacks this season.
Looking for more fantasy football content? Make sure to check out Sean Koerner’s and Chris Raybon’s weekly fantasy football rankings by subscribing to FantasyLabs’ 2024 fantasy football kit to see how other waiver wire candidates look this week.
Audric Estime, RB (Denver Broncos) (7%)
The Notre Dame product finally earned a bigger workload last Sunday with 14 carries against the Chiefs. Audric Estime turned those carries in 53 yards against a tough Kansas City front seven. Sean Payton said he was encouraged by Estime’s performance and plans to continue increasing his opportunities.
Estime has averaged a healthy 5.1 yards/attempt on the season but will need to turn those carries into touchdowns to be a strong fantasy option. He has not factored into the Broncos passing game with zero targets on the season.
Atlanta is up next for the Broncos with a top-10 defense against fantasy tailbacks. Hopes are high for Estime to continue seeing more carries, but his ceiling remains capped until he can earn some air targets as well.
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Ricky Pearsall, WR (San Francisco 49ers) (56%)
The 49ers rookie found the end zone for the first time in his young career this past Sunday against the Buccaneers with an impressive 46-yard catch and run. Ricky Pearsall caught four of six targets in total for 73 yards.
After overcoming a pre-season shooting, Pearsall is gaining more and more confidence in the offense as the team’s third receiver. With the creativity of Kyle Shanahan’s play calling, Pearsall’s first-round talent makes him an awesome complement to the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle.
The ceiling is still relatively low with his current 16-18% target share over the last three weeks, but Pearsall is headed in the right direction for an expanded role. This may be the last opportunity to grab him this season.
Mike Gesicki, TE (Cincinnati Bengals) (56%)
Another week, another big batch of targets for Mike Gesicki in a Bengals shootout. The Cincinnati tight end only produced four catches for 40 yards but saw a healthy nine targets in the thrilling loss to the Ravens.
Start-worthy tight ends are difficult to find on the waiver wire this season. Gesicki has at least six targets in each of the last three weeks. He saw his highest snap share (71%) in Week 10 and attracted multiple red zone throws from Joe Burrow for the first time this season.
The Chargers defense has been stout this season and is 10th against fantasy tight ends. That said, what better options are there with the target consistency of Gesicki?
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Detroit Lions, D/ST (62%)
The Lions somehow managed to pull out a victory in Houston with Jared Goff tossing five interceptions. Detroit notched two picks of their own and four sacks to finish with the sixth top-12 fantasy finish on the season.
Jacksonville comes to town this week after one of the worst offensive performances in recent years, as they managed just 143 total yards and 17:41 in time of possession in their 12-7 loss to the Vikings last Sunday. Mac Jones threw three crucial interceptions and could be in line to start again with Trevor Lawrence nursing an injury.
Expect Detroit to keep its turnover streak alive. They have at least one interception in every game this season and two defensive touchdowns in the last three weeks. They should be the top defensive waiver wire pickup if available.
