Fantasy Football Early Week 11 Waiver Wire: Christian Watson leads the way, but don't sleep on these RBs
Here's an early look at the Week 11 waiver wire
By
Chris Towers
•
2 min read
Fantasy Football players have been waiting for a running back to emerge as a must-start option for the Chiefs since they released Kareem Hunt back in 2018. Clyde Edwards-Helaire never lived up to the hype of being a first-round pick, and it looks like the Chiefs may have given up on him in Week 10, which could clear the way for not one but two viable starting options to emerge from the Chiefs backfield on waivers.
Edwards-Helaire played just four of the team's 49 snaps Sunday, leaving Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon in a two-split in the backfield. And, while this backfield has been a mess for Fantasy purposes when it was a three-way split, Edwards-Helaire taking a step back left plenty of room for both Pacheco and McKinnon to put together decent Fantasy production.
And, as you would expect, it was McKinnon mostly handling the passing game role, catching six of eight passes thrown his way for 56 yards, actually leading the team in targets. Pacheco wasn't used in the passing game, but he led the team with 82 rushing yards on 16 carries – and they stuck with him despite Pacheco fumbling inside the Jaguars 10-yard line, ending the team's first drive in painful fashion.
However, Pacheco got 14 more carries, while McKinnon was the only other running back on the team to get a carry Sunday – he had one for 2 yards. It wasn't a great Fantasy day for either Pacheco or McKinnon, and it's unlikely either will be much more than a low-end RB2 even if this split holds moving forward. However, they're a lot more likely to have Fantasy appeal in a two-way split than a three-way one, and it looks like that's what we might have moving forward.
If you're looking for a running back on waivers this week, McKinnon is probably the better option for Week 11 against the Chargers, but both he and Pacheco could be useful and are going to be worth adding in all leagues. For what it's worth if you're looking for upside with a longer view, Rachaad White should be the top target in light of Leonard Fournette's departure from Sunday's game, though the Bucs do have a bye in Week 11, so there's no guarantee Fournette ends up missing time.
We also saw Cooper Kupp leave Sunday's game with an ankle injury, one that looked like it could be a serious concern moving forward. I wrote about that injury and four young, talented wide receivers who could help you make up for the loss of Kupp here. However, those of you with Kupp aren't the only Fantasy players who should be looking for this group of young WR:
Week 11 Early Waiver Targets (Add/Drop)
Watson has had a lot of trouble staying healthy in his rookie season, but he stayed on the field Sunday and made up for a couple of early drops with his first 100-yard game in the NFL. The second-round rookie caught four of a team-high eight passes thrown his way for 107 yards and a whopping three touchdowns. It was a massive showing for a guy who has had a very rough rookie season but who has huge physical skills. He's not gonna catch three touchdowns every week, but he's probably the most talented receiver on the Packers and could be a second-half breakout as Aaron Rodgers' go-to option.
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Speaking of talented young receivers who have had trouble staying healthy, Toney had his own breakout Sunday. He wasn't quite as impressive as Watson – and he played less than half the Chiefs' snaps despite the absence of Mecole Hardman, not to mention JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving Sunday's game early – but Toney showed upside of his own. He was third on the team with five targets, turning them into four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. With the Chiefs' injury issues at WR – Marquez Valdes-Scantling also briefly left Sunday's game with an injury – Toney should continue to see his role grow and could end up a must-start Fantasy option moving forward.
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Peoples-Jones doesn't have the pedigree of either Watson or Toney, but he's actually done more at the NFL level, with at least 71 receiving yards in four straight games and five of his past six – including 99 on five catches Sunday. With Deshaun Watson's return looming in Week 13, it's not out of the question Peoples-Jones could emerge as a must-start Fantasy option down the stretch.
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Collins is definitely the low man on the hierarchy here, and it would be tough to trust him if you needed to. But he returned from a groin injury Sunday to catch five passes for 49 yards and a touchdown against the Giants, while leading the team with 10 targets. With Brandin Cooks disgruntled and continuing to struggle, Collins could very well be the Texans' top option moving forward. He's more like a WR3, you'd hope, whereas the other three here should have more upside, which you'll need if you lost Kupp.
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Here's who else we'll be looking to add ahead of Week 11:
Week 11 Early Waiver Targets (Add/Drop)
I don't view Campbell as having as much upside as those other young wide receivers I already mentioned, but he seems to be a big beneficiary of Jeff Saturday's decision to turn back to Matt Ryan to start Sunday. Campbell has 32 targets over his past three games with Ryan at QB, turning them into 24 catches for 203 yards and a touchdown in each game. Ryan's lack of mobility – Sunday's career-long 39-yard scramble notwithstanding – means he turns to Campbell on short targets quite often, and he's going to be a viable starting option as long as Ryan is in at QB for the Falcons.
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Kmet is starting to look like the guy we hoped he would be coming into the season, with two touchdowns in consecutive games, after going nearly a season and a half without finding the end zone. He actually has five touchdowns over his past three games, with 11 catches for 126 yards in that span, including nine catches on 13 targets over his past two games. Kmet's target share is starting to creep up, and while I would still rather have the likes of Greg Dulcich, Dalton Schultz, and Pat Freiermuth among last week's waiver-wire TEs, Kmet looks like a useful starting option moving forward.
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