Tom Strachan | Fri, Nov 15th 2024, 9:42am EST

10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 12 (2024)

Week 11 is upon us. If you’ve got any waiver wire budget left, now is the time to use it. Heading into Week 11, these are the players you should be looking to add in advance of next week’s waiver runs. All the players in this article are rostered in around 50% or fewer of Yahoo leagues, giving you a solid chance to snag them now before bidding wars erupt in Week 12.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 12

Russell Wilson (QB – PIT): 47% Rostered

Before we get into the bigger picture with Russell Wilson we should take a moment to reiterate that he should be rostered and starting in most leagues this weekend with a plum matchup against Baltimore’s awful secondary.

Looking forward, though, Wilson is averaging 245 passing yards and 2.0 passing touchdowns per game while making George Pickens look like one of the very best wide receivers in the NFL, all while playing in an Arthur Smith offense. The Steelers’ schedule is much harder down the stretch run than it’s been to this point, which should force them to continue passing the ball. Credit to Wilson, he’s been doing that very well so far.

Anthony Richardson (QB – IND): 6% Rostered

Russell Wilson might have more job security than Anthony Richardson, but he might not have as high of ceiling outcomes as Richardson. We’ve already seen Bryce Young return from benching and look better for it. Would it be much of a surprise if Richardson’s decision-making takes a step forward?

Richardson wasn’t excellent in the passing game before he was benched, completing 50% or fewer of his passes in every start, but we know the upside is there from his rookie season. If you’re throwing Hail Marys to try and make the playoffs, who better to have to throw deep balls than Richardson?

Audric Estime (RB – DEN): 50% Rostered

The Broncos’ running back room has experienced a change with Audric Estime taking control of the No. 1 RB duties and Javonte Williams being confined to role-player duties. In Week 10, Estime had an 82% backfield share with Williams seeing fewer rush attempts than Marvin Mims, who had three.

Estime finished with 14 touches for 53 yards and also saw two of the three red-zone carries as the team looks to get an expanded view of a running back they drafted, rather than one who was leftover from the previous regime. Estime isn’t a perfect prospect but he’s a good rusher and will benefit from defenses having to account for Bo Nix‘s dual-threat ability also.

Gus Edwards (RB – LAC): 26% Rostered

With Gus Edwards returning from injured reserve (IR), J.K. Dobbins saw a season-low 45% of the Chargers’ rushing attempts. It was clear early on that Edwards was healthier than he was to start the season. During the offseason, Edwards had an undisclosed surgery and struggled throughout training camp. Over the first four weeks of the season, Edwards averaged 2.9 yards per carry and looked like he might be completely toast, landing on IR and leaving the backfield completely down to Dobbins.

In Week 10, Gus Bus looked the best he has in L.A. with Edwards rushing for 5.5 yards per carry on 10 attempts. It shouldn’t be surprising if Edwards mixes in heavily down the stretch, with Dobbins now having played more games this year than he managed in the previous three seasons combined. Of course, if anything happened to Dobbins this backfield would likely be led solely by Edwards as Kimani Vidal failed to impress after his first touch resulted in a touchdown.

Romeo Doubs (WR – GB): 53% Rostered

The Packers’ wide receiver room has been tricky to decipher this year with Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Christian Watson all having their moments but none of them have found prolonged consistency. The only consistent player has been Romeo Doubs, who leads the team in target share and is second to Tucker Kraft in snaps.

Doubs has a lower ceiling than the other Packers receivers but his role and floor are a little more secure than theirs. Doubs isn’t someone we’d want to start if you only start two wide receivers. However, if you find yourself in a league where you can start 3-4 wideouts then he’s worth rostering.

Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE): 50% Rostered

Over the coming weeks, the Jameis Winston-led Browns will face the Steelers twice, the Broncos, Chiefs, Bengals and Dolphins. On paper, there are some tough defenses ahead, but there’s also plenty of offensive firepower that will force the Browns to try and trade blow for blow.

Cedric Tillman has been the flashier waiver wire pickup for many but Jerry Jeudy warrants some attention, too, with two 70+ yard receiving games in the two games before the Browns’ bye week and four games over 70 yards this season. In those two full games with Winston as the starter, Jeudy saw 19 targets and averaged 1.6 yards per route run. The Browns paid Jeudy this offseason and there’s no reason he won’t be a consistent part of their plans going forward.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR – NO): 24% Rostered

Before you stop reading, I’m not necessarily suggesting you grab Marquez Valdes-Scantling and start him this week, but he might be worth stashing just in case. Valdes-Scantling popped up in Week 10 to give the Saints a much-needed downfield threat they lacked since Rashid Shaheed‘s season-ending knee injury.

Valdes-Scantling saw three targets and caught each of them for 109 yards and two touchdowns, finishing as the overall fantasy WR2 in Week 10. The Saints play the Browns this week, who aren’t the pass defense they once were. If Valdes-Scantling manages another fun performance people will be willing to pay up for him during next week’s waiver runs.

Hunter Henry (TE – NE): 40% Rostered

The waiver wire is no place to be hunting for tight ends but there are still a couple of reasonably OK options worth stashing ahead of the fantasy playoffs. Hunter Henry has four top-10 weekly finishes this year, has seen three or more receptions in five of his games and has gone over 40 receiving yards in all of those games.

Henry leads the Patriots with 11 red-zone targets, six more than the next nearest receiver. While it won’t always be pretty, Henry’s role is secure enough that he gives us something if we become desperate for tight end help.

Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN): 34% Rostered

The splits with Tee Higgins are well known by this point, with Mike Gesicki averaging 10 more PPR points with Higgins off the field than when he’s out there. It’s worth considering how much motivation Higgins will have to play for the rest of the season. The Bengals franchise-tagged Higgins and made clear their lack of interest in paying him, but also their lack of interest in trading him.

Now, the Bengals’ season is awaiting the final flush to send them into the sewers. Higgins can consider if he feels like it’s worth picking up a serious injury that could harm his earnings in free agency. If Higgins does opt to sit or continues to get banged up it could be that Gesicki becomes a league-winner.

Arizona Cardinals D/ST: 4% Rostered

The Cardinals are currently on a bye week before facing a run of three games where they play the Seahawks twice and the Vikings in between. On paper, none of those matchups scream fantasy points but the Cardinals have been on an upswing lately, bringing pressure at a very high rate and playing above their name recognition, as they’ve scored double-digit fantasy points in three of their last four games.

Neither the Seahawks or Vikings have looked particularly assured lately. The Cardinals represent a worthwhile pickup.

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