Waiver Favors: Early Week 11 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

Week 11 is almost over, so we’re back to help you keep your fantasy football team competitive!

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues as of Sunday evening.

Tevin Coleman

RB – Atlanta Falcons – 26% Owned

Devonta Freeman was the surprise top RB of the year up to this point.  But a tough hit took him out the game with a concussion against the Colts after just 3 carries.  So in stepped backup, turned starter, turned backup again, Tevin Coleman.  Coleman took 17 carries for 48 yards, no receptions on two targets and a devastating late fumble, which contributed to the Falcons 3rd loss in 4 games.  So basically, it took 17 carries for Coleman to do what Freeman did in 3.

The 3rd round rookie draft pick was terrible today, but people might forget that Coleman had a chance to run away with the starting job in Atlanta and put on a good showing Week 1 with 80 yards on 20 carries.  He also was off to a good start in Week 2 with 9 carries for 32 yards and TD before being carted off the field with a rib injury.  By the time he healed up, Freeman had already dominated several defenses proving he should be the every down back.

So the potential is there, but he looked much different in Week 11 than he did in Weeks 1 and 2.  He went from about 4 yards per carry to just under 3 yards per carry.  I’m assuming there’s a bit of rust here, plus a lack of first team reps during the week. Concussions are tricky injuries, and it’s tough to predict whether Freeman will clear the concussion protocol in time to suit up.  In the meantime, Coleman is an important pick up for all Freeman owners and in all 10-team and deeper leagues, assuming Freeman remains out.

Javorius Allen

RB – Baltimore Ravens – 9% Owned

Poor Justin Forsett.  How can you not root for a guy that was a journeyman running back who makes good in Baltimore and picks up a big contract?  Unfortunately, after starting with a promising 4 carries for 26 yards, Forsett was thrown to the ground by Rams’ DT Aaron Donald midway through the first quarter, breaking his right arm.  Javorius “Buck” Allen stepped in and took 22 carries for 67 rush yards, also snagging 5 of 6 targets for 48 receiving yards against the Rams.

It’s likely that Forsett is now out for the season.  Which means that Allen should become an every down back in Baltimore.  But that might not mean much, as the Ravens have been unimpressive this year, and worse, QB Joe Flacco is now out for the season with an ACL tear.  That leaves Matt Schaub (0%) behind center, which pretty much downgrades the entire Ravens offense.  That being said, someone has to run the ball, and the Ravens might go more conservative as they convert the offense to manage their injuries.  So Allen becomes a nice pickup in all 12-team leagues or deeper.

Brock Osweiler

QB – Denver Broncos – 16% Owned

With Peyton Manning racking up injuries in his ribs and foot, plus being just generally ineffective after throwing 4 INTs last week, the Broncos quickly ruled out Manning for Week 11 giving 2nd year QB Brock Osweiler his first start.  Osweiler came through for the Broncos completing 20 of 27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns on his way to his first career win.  He wasn’t dynamic, but he was good enough to keep Demaryius Thomas relevant and has provided more offense than the Broncos have seen in a while.  It’s entirely possible that Manning won’t see the field again this year, but then again, the Broncos play the Patriots next week, and I can’t imagine that Manning, in possibly his last season, wants to go out on a 4 INT game.  But if you’re really hurting at QB, or are in a 2 QB league, Osweiler may be worth stashing in 14-team leagues or deeper.  It also might be worth considering Cody Latimer (1%) in deep leagues if Emmanuel Sanders remains out and Osweiler continues to start.

Spencer Ware

RB – Kansas City Chiefs – 2% Owned

First there was Jamaal Charles.  Then there was Charcandrick West.  And now there’s Spencer Ware.  With West going down with a hamstring injury with kept him out of the majority of the game, and Knile Davis a healthy scratch, Ware stepped in as the Chiefs lead RB.  And he was impressive in relief of West, as he took 11 carries for a whopping 96 yards and 2 TDs.  It’s unclear how serious West’s hamstring injury is, and it could also be precautionary as the Chiefs led the Chargers the whole game, but if West can’t go, Ware might be a nice speculative pickup in 14-team and deeper leagues, and certainly a smart handcuff for West owners.

Thomas Rawls

RB – Seattle Seahawks – 29% Owned

I’ve mentioned him before, and he’s been on and off my various rosters throughout the season.  Clearly, if Marshawn Lynch is out, Rawls is Beastmode Junior (or perhaps even Beastmode Plus after today’s performance).  He racked up a crazy 209 rush yards, 46 receiving yards and 2 total TDs in relief of Lynch against the San Francisco 49ers.  He’s not worth a pickup if Lynch continues to play, as he’s not even used as a complimentary back when Lynch is in the game.

But if this is true:

#Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch arrives in Philly today to meet with Dr. William Meyers. Belief is he's dealing with a sports hernia, after all

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 23, 2015

OR if you’re a Lynch owner in ANY league, you should pick up Rawls RIGHT AWAY.

And here are pickups from previous articles which I still recommend:

10-Team and Deeper

James Jones, James Starks, Chris Johnson, Gary Barnidge, Allen Hurns, Charcandrick West, Stefon Diggs, Darren McFadden, Stevie Johnson, Tony Romo, Kamar Aiken, DeAngelo Williams, Jeremy Langford, Danny Amendola

12-Team and Deeper

Tavon Austin, Donte Moncrief, Travis Benjamin, Charles Clay, Dwayne Harris, Benjamin Watson, Dontrelle Inman, Alfred Blue, Nate Washington, Karlos Williams, Willie Snead, Doug Baldwin, Eric Ebron, Ted Ginn Jr.

14-Team and Deeper

Antonio Andrews, Theo Riddick, Chris Polk, David Cobb, Chris Givens, Shaun Draughn, Pierre Thomas, Dorial Green-Beckham, Tyrod Taylor, Richard Rodgers

Keep coming back for updates all week!