Mike Maher | Sun, Nov 10th 2024, 9:37pm EST

Fantasy Football Rapid Reactions: Week 11 News, Notes & Waiver Wire Targets

Greetings, friends. In this space, I’ll share my rapid reactions via the notes I took all day while watching every NFL game. I will focus on Week 11 news, notes and waiver wire targets in an attempt to keep the content digestible. Here are my key takeaways from a wild Week 10 in the NFL and fantasy football. Let’s dive in.

Fantasy Football Notes & Takeaways

RIP to Opponents of Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Burrow & Lamar Jackson

In past seasons, it often felt like the Thursday Night Football matchups were duds that we simply watched because they were on TV. This season, the matchups have mostly been exciting and entertaining, with this week’s Bengals vs. Ravens game being one of the best games of the season so far. Ja’Marr Chase was unstoppable, and Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson both lit up the box scores. If you put all three scores together, they combined for more than 116 points in most formats.

So, if you had all three in Superflex or one of the QBs paired with Chase this week, you pretty much won your fantasy week by the time the game ended on Thursday night. In our FantasyPros Content Team League, Ryan Wormeli had Lamar and Chase in his matchup against Blaine (our boss) this week. RIP to Blaine’s team and Worm’s chances of getting a raise.

The Daniel Jones Experience Goes to Germany

The Giants inexplicably continue to start QB Daniel Jones despite his poor performance and injury guarantees in his contract that would stick them with an ugly cap hit(s) into 2025 and beyond. He played so poorly this week against the Panthers in Germany (a Giants loss in overtime), that many speculated he would be benched at halftime after some ugly turnovers, bad sacks, and a flea flicker where he had multiple WRs WIDE OPEN but didn’t pull the trigger.

But when the Giants came out of the locker room to start the second half, there was Jones under center. He had one nice drive against a prevent Panthers defense in the fourth quarter but was otherwise a disaster once again in Week 10. The Giants are now 2-8 and currently hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Brian Daboll is probably coaching for his job, and he is going to have to turn to Drew Lock at some point. And if he won’t do it, GM Joe Schoen should step in and force his hand if for no other reason than to protect the team from those future cap hits.

Jones was already someone fantasy managers couldn’t trust even in deeper formats, and the added concern now is that he could be benched at any moment.

The Marquez Valdes-Scantling Game

Early Sunday morning, I almost put MVS into a stars-and-scrubs DFS lineup I was building but decided it was too big of a dart throw. Welp, the joke’s on me. MVS was one of the top performers in Week 10. Does this performance actually matter? Can we expect consistent production or boom performances going forward? I’ll touch on that more below. I just wanted to include MVS here because of how ridiculous his performance was this week.

Chuba Hubbard Extends, Breaks Out

No one can quite figure out what the Panthers are doing. They signed Miles Sanders to a lucrative contract in free agency. Then they drafted Jonathon Brooks — a highly touted RB coming out of college who likely would have been a first round talent if not for the fact that he was dealing with a torn ACL — in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. But all the while, they still had Chuba Hubbard. Sanders has (predictably) been a bust signing. Brooks has yet to play in 2024, and Hubbard just signed a lucrative contract extension.

Pardon my French, but…what? In what world does it make sense to invest this much in the RB position? For fantasy, it means Miles Sanders is essentially worthless, Hubbard is the in-house favorite, and Brooks is the young buck threatening to make a mess of everything.

A lot of people have been stashing Brooks all season. I’m not sure that’s the wisest use of a roster spot in tight leagues. At best, I think Brooks shares the workload with Hubbard. At worst, he’s a third wheel. Should you drop Brooks? No. But now that he’s coming back, I’d tried to sell him for whatever you can get. You might be surprised what he might fetch.

Bucky Irving And/Or Rachaad White

Week 10 didn’t do much to help with the Tampa Bay RB situation. Bucky Irving rushed for 73 yards and a TD while catching all three of his targets for 14 yards. Rachaad White rushed for 31 yards while catching six of his seven (!!) targets for 39 yards and a TD. They’re RB6 and RB7 in fantasy production in Week 10, and they split the touches almost evenly. There isn’t a major revelation here except that both RBs are valuable for the time being.

Early Week 11 Waiver Targets

Audric Estime (RB – DEN)

There were reports over the last couple of weeks that rookie RB Audric Estime could start to see an expanded role in Denver. This week, he was the clear leader in the Denver backfield, rushing 14 times for 53 yards, including some key carries at the end of the game as the Broncos looked to run the clock. No other Broncos RB had more than two carries Sunday.

14 for 53 isn’t exactly eye-popping production, but the usage is notable. He’s the clear RB1 in this backfield right now, and there is value in fantasy there. He’s only rostered in about 2% of leagues, but he’s a worthwhile add on waivers this week. There are only so many starting RBs in the NFL, and many of them are in committees. If Estime is indeed going to take over this backfield, he’s a must-add.

Ricky Pearsall (WR – SF)

As of this writing, Ricky Pearsall is WR8 for Week 10, catching four of his six targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers are a makeshift offense right now, with a lot of moving parts due to injuries. Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season, Christian McCaffrey returned this week after missing the first couple of months.

Pearsall scored a 46-yard touchdown today as part of the four-catch, 73-yard and a touchdown performance. His six targets tied Deebo Samuel and were behind only Jauan Jennings, who is emerging as a leader in this receiving corps.

In short everything is in flux in San Francisco, and there are snaps and targets to be had. Chrisitan McCaffrey is working his way back into game shape and figures to be the focal point of the offense, but that should also improve the offense as a whole and result in more opportunities. Those opportunities are up for grabs.

Mike Williams (WR – PIT)

Mike Williams only caught one pass and only saw one target on Sunday, but that one target just so happened to be a game-winning 32-yard touchdown pass. Williams is a brand new trade deadline addition, and his role should only increase over time. The Steelers don’t have much help, so Williams should be able to carve out a decent role on offense, especially after Sunday’s catch.

I don’t have a ton of expectations for Williams just because I’ve watched him disappoint for the last few years, but I’m also keeping an eye on a talented WR in a new situation. As part of the theme this week, don’t break the bank for Williams, but see if you can get him for cheap.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR – NO)

Do I think MVS is going to be a WR1 or even the Saints WR1 going forward? No. Do I think you should spend a ton of FAAB or a waiver priority on him? Also no. I’m not expecting much at all from him going forward. But…it’s hard to overlook what he just did after just joining the team. Granted, he only received three targets, but he turned those targets into three receptions, 109 yards, and two touchdowns. RB Alvin Kamara led the team in targets with six, and the only other player with at least three targets was TE Juwan Johnson. So…shrug? Chris Olave is on IR and could miss the rest of the season with a concussion. The Saints need pass catchers.

Could be MVS have more boom games the rest of the season? Sure. Why not. If you have a roster spot, take a shot. If you don’t, then don’t worry about him. But if this is a sign of more production to come, he’s worth a stash. But again, only if you have roster space, and only in deeper formats.

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