The last slate of bye weeks is here and that means owners of Odell Beckham, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger and DeAngelo Williams are going to have to find replacements for the upcoming week if they haven’t done so already. If you’re a Gary Barnidge owner, he’ll need his shoes filled as well. Many trade deadlines have already passed in fantasy leagues, so if you don’t already have a backup plan, the waiver wire will be your friend.
On top of the bye week conundrum, owners of injured players such as Julian Edelman and dare I say, Peyton Manning, will need replacements as well. If you haven’t already replaced Manning weeks ago, your season may be too far down the drain, but I digress. The point is, when injuries and bye weeks take place, it’s about the next man up. In New England’s case, that’ll be Danny Amendola trying to do his best impersonation of Julian Edelman. If you’re looking at the waiver wire and are a bit unsure of who to go after, our Featured Experts will do their best to help guide you through it with their waiver rankings below.
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Featured Pros
R.J. White – CBS Sports
Alessandro Miglio – Footballguys
Edward Gorelik – RotoBaller
Waiver Wire Rankings (Standard Scoring)
| Player | Position | Team | Consensus Rank | Best Rank | Worst Rank | Yahoo Ownership % |
| Kamar Aiken | WR | BAL | 1.3 | 1 | 2 | 47% |
| Danny Amendola | WR | NE | 2 | 1 | 3 | 31% |
| Matt Jones | RB | WAS | 2.7 | 2 | 3 | 48% |
| Eric Ebron | TE | DET | 4.7 | 4 | 6 | 31% |
| Jay Ajayi | RB | MIA | 6.7 | 5 | 9 | 18% |
| Ted Ginn | WR | CAR | 8.3 | 4 | 14 | 35% |
| Doug Baldwin | WR | SEA | 9 | 8 | 10 | 24% |
| Dorial Green-Beckham | WR | TEN | 9 | 7 | 12 | 26% |
| Jamison Crowder | WR | WAS | 10 | 6 | 13 | 9% |
| Shaun Draughn | RB | SF | 10.3 | 9 | 11 | 4% |
| Dwayne Harris | WR | NYG | 10.7 | 5 | 17 | 18% |
| Theo Riddick | RB | DET | 12.7 | 8 | 15 | 21% |
| Lance Moore | WR | DET | 14 | 12 | 16 | 1% |
| Wes Welker | WR | STL | 14 | 10 | 19 | 24% |
| Crockett Gillmore | TE | BAL | 14 | 5 | 19 | 12% |
| Chris Givens | WR | BAL | 14.7 | 13 | 17 | 10% |
| Brian Hartline | WR | CLE | 14.7 | 7 | 19 | 0% |
| Harry Douglas | WR | TEN | 14.7 | 12 | 17 | 2% |
| Zach Miller | TE | CHI | 17 | 16 | 18 | 1% |
Week 11 Waiver Wire Advice
Each expert was asked to share the reasoning behind their waiver rankings as well as what D/ST they like as a rental for Week 11. Here’s what the experts had to say.
Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.
R.J. White – CBS Sports
“Kamar Aiken is no Steve Smith, but he’s the closest thing Joe Flacco has to a featured weapon in the Baltimore passing attack. Aiken was the target on Flacco’s first nine passes on Sunday and finished the game with 14 targets in all, catching seven passes for 73 yards. The fifth-year pro out of Central Florida will continue to see double-digit targets on a regular basis, and that volume alone makes him worth owning in any format.”
Edward Gorelik – RotoBaller
“Kamar Aiken has managed to turn any game he’s had at least 6 targets into a 6 point fantasy performance or better. That’s not incredibly flashy, but that’s an every-week playable FLEX floor that becomes a WR2 if he scores a touchdown. Aiken’s 14 targets against the Jaguars show that the Ravens are going to rely on him heavily and volume usually turns into value for any player.”
Alessandro Miglio – Footballguys
“If Danny Amendola isn’t at the top of every waiver wire request, I’ll eat my hat. (There is no way to prove this, so there will be no hat-eating.) That one is too obvious, though, so how about we roll with Jay Ajayi? He got his first real action last week against the Eagles and promptly ripped off some huge runs. He’s more of a Lamar Miller handcuff right now, but Ajayi is a worthwhile stash.”
Q2: For owners renting a D/ST in Week 11, what readily available option should they target and why?
R.J. White – CBS Sports
“The Chiefs came up big in a revenge game on the road against the Broncos, racking up five sacks and five interceptions while dominating one of the AFC’s best teams. This defense has the upside to be the best play on a weekly basis, thanks to a brutal pass rush and a secondary that takes advantage of mistakes. The Chiefs defense hasn’t had a bad fantasy performance aside from two ugly road games against the Packers and Bengals early in the season. With two matchups against the patchwork Chargers offensive line in the next four weeks, and other advantageous matchups on the way (including a fantasy championship dream matchup with the Browns in Week 16), the Chiefs are worth adding for the long haul.”
Edward Gorelik – RotoBaller
“A Mark Sanchez led offense is a dream matchup for nearly anyone. Forget his uncharacteristically capable performances last year – the Sanchez we know is a struggling player. The Eagles no longer have the outside threat that gave Sanchez the ability to be a decent quarterback last year and they definitely don’t have the scoring ability that makes them an offense to fear. Since their weak start to the season, the Buccaneers have managed to improve to an average defense in DVOA while also joining the top 10 in rushing defense – which is exactly what the Eagles will be heavily relying on. With Sanchez at helm, there’s a good shot at this offense going from struggling to non-existent.”
Alessandro Miglio – Footballguys
“How about the Houston Texans? They barely qualify at 46 percent, but this could be a rather nice matchup. That depends on how good Ryan Fitzpatrick can be a week after having surgery on his left wrist, though—if Geno Smith starts, look out!”
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Thanks to the experts for ranking their top waiver pickups for Week 9. For more advice from them, please follow them on Twitter.