Ted Chmyz | Tue, Nov 12th 2024, 6:11am EST

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes: WR & TE (Week 11)

Welcome to Week 11’s breakdown of wide receivers and tight ends to stash on your fantasy football rosters! We have some interesting candidates this week, including a few cardio kings, a sneaky WR1, and the least tight-end-like tight end this side of Taysom Hill. Let’s get started!

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Stashes: Week 11

Noah Brown (WR — WAS): 9.0% Rostered

What if I told you that Noah Brown has actually led the Commanders, over Terry McLaurin, in both routes and targets over the last three weeks? Believe it or not, it’s true, as the former Texan has posted a 78% route participation rate and 19% target share since Week 8 (McLaurin is at 75% and 18%).

Obviously, I don’t expect Brown to continue seeing more targets than McLaurin on a weekly basis. However, it is clear that he has firmly established himself as Washington’s WR2. That is a role that has been up for grabs all season, as no Commanders WR outside of McLaurin has more than 15% target share or 54% route participation rate for the year. With clear starter usage in each of the last three weeks, Brown has ended that discussion.

Assuming he holds onto the WR2 job, the key question for Brown will be whether Jayden Daniels can support two fantasy-relevant receivers. As great as the rookie QB has been, he ranks just 20th in passing yards per game and 32nd in passing TDs per game. There’s a chance Brown is never more than a boom-or-bust flex option. Still, the WR2 on a top-five offense in both scoring and yardage is absolutely worth rostering, and we have seen Brown take advantage of his opportunities before: He posted back-to-back 100-yard games catching passes from C.J. Stroud in 2023.

Jalen Coker (WR — CAR): 8.1% Rostered

I debated writing up Xavier Legette, whom I featured last week but am feeling much more bullish on after he posted an elite 96% route participation rate in Week 10, again. But Legette is still in more-or-less the same situation as last week and is rostered in nearly 50% of leagues anyway. Instead, let’s dive deeper down the Panthers’ depth chart with Coker, a rookie UDFA out of Holy Cross.

Coker won the “Fantasy Twitter Hype Train of the Week” award heading into Week 9 before immediately posting his lowest route participation rate since Week 4 at just 48%. Luckily, he bounced right back in Week 10, running a route on 89% of Bryce Young‘s dropbacks and leading the Panthers with eight targets (a 32% share).

For the season, Coker leads all Carolina receivers in both yards per route run (1.89) and PFF Receiving Grade (78.0). I can’t claim to have watched much Holy Cross film myself, but many college ball-knowers have claimed his talent level is much higher than that of a usual undrafted rookie. Especially with Young looking more competent over the last two weeks, there may be some value to be had here on a team that will be playing from behind early and often. The pending return of Adam Thielen could throw a wrench into the works, but it’s worth stashing a potentially talented rookie and seeing how things pan out.

Kayshon Boutte (WR — NE): 0.7% Rostered

Speaking of players who may be more talented than their draft capital would indicate, Boutte was considered a potential first-round pick early in his college career before eventually falling all the way to the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Of course, that theoretical hidden talent didn’t manifest during his rookie season, as Boutte appeared in just five games and recorded two receptions all season despite playing in a barren New England WR room

However, things are now looking up for the former LSU Tiger. Boutte has led Patriots WRs (still not an impressive group) in routes in each of the last five weeks, culminating in a season-high 90% participation rate on Sunday. So far, those routes have mostly been cardio, as Boutte has just a 13% target per route run rate and 1.24 yards per route run on the season. But a young receiver taking over as the top option (or at least top route runner) on an offense that suddenly looks a lot more exciting with Drake Maye at the helm is something worth noting.

Fantasy Football Tight End Stashes: Week 11

Mike Gesicki (TE — CIN): 48.6% Rostered

Much has been made of Gesicki’s splits without Tee Higgins, but I think the much more important change for his fantasy value is that rookie TE Erick All Jr. is now out for the year. With All sidelined, Geiscki posted a 73% route participation rate on Thursday. That was easily his highest mark of the year, Higgins or no Higgins. Gesicki also tied his season-high with nine targets, posting his third straight week with a target share of at least 15%.

Ironically, all that usage actually didn’t lead to more fantasy points. The former Dolphin caught just four of those nine targets for 30 yards, finishing as the TE21 on the week. However, those extra routes should eventually lead to production, as Gesicki is averaging 1.77 yards per route run so far this season, the 13th-most among qualified TEs.

It’s also worth noting that Gesicki is only very barely a tight end. He has run just 11% of his routes from in line so far this season, nearly 10% lower than the next-lowest TE (Jonnu Smith). Instead, Gesicki leads qualified TEs with a 65% slot route rate and even runs 24% of his routes from out wide; he has also been asked to pass block a grand total of two times all season. This usage corresponds with Gesicki having the second-highest ADOT of qualified TEs at 9.1 yards. We love to say that certain tight ends are just “big slot receivers,” but Gesicki this year is the rare tight end actually being used like a slot WR. That alone is a great sign for his fantasy future, so he’s at least worth adding until we see how Higgins’ return affects his usage.

Juwan Johnson (TE — NO): 5.2% Rostered

The Saints’ offense has been absolutely decimated by injuries, especially at receiver. Last week, I mentioned Taysom Hill as a potential beneficiary, and he is still an option after decent usage in Week 10. However, let’s instead focus on his teammate, Juwan Johnson.

A college wide receiver, Johnson seems like a natural choice to help the Saints replace Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Bub Means, and Cedrick Wilson (yes, four of their five active Week 1 receivers are currently injured). So far, that hasn’t really happened, as Johnson posted just a 52% route participation rate in Week 10, actually below his season average. However, Johnson did tie for second on the team behind Alvin Kamara in targets (with three, but it’s the thought that counts). This offense is desperate for playmakers, and Johnson at least has the athletic chops to potentially separate himself as a difference-maker. He’s worth adding in deep leagues or those with a boost to TE value.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE — CAR): 4.5% Rostered

With Tommy Tremble sidelined by a back injury and Ian Thomas exiting early with a calf injury, Sanders easily set a new season-high in route participation at 86% on Sunday. He also posted his third top-12 finish in the last four weeks (pending MNF), catching just two passes for eight yards but bailing out any fantasy players relying on him with a touchdown.

A fourth-round rookie out of Texas, Sanders has the athleticism and receiving ability to be a very intriguing fantasy option. He has been stuck in a rotation for most of the season but may finally be let loose as long as both Thomas and Tremble remain sidelined. Like Coker, he also benefits from the faint signs of life that the Panthers’ offense has shown over the past two weeks. Carolina is on their bye in Week 11, but Sanders might sneak into my top 12 TEs for Week 12 (with six teams on bye) if he still has the TE room to himself.

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.

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