Bjorn Yang-Vaernet examines which players on the waiver wire are worth prioritizing for Week 11 and highlights others to stash preemptively.
Week 10 was all about the rookie breakouts. Christian Watson exploded for a monster game, Rachaad White started the game ahead of Leonard Fournette, and Isiah Pacheco took over Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s role. While Watson was a bit of a surprise, the White and Pacheco situations were highlighted for weeks in this weekly column. Find out which players will be next down below!
The waiver wire is one of the most important pieces of season-long draft leagues. It is the easiest way to acquire new players and every year there are gems to be found. The goal of this article will not only be to highlight which weekly breakout players to prioritize but find others to preemptively pick up before the breakout happens.
This article will be published once on Mondays with a quick run through my favorite pickups and again on Tuesdays with more charts and data points added in.
This article will only reference players that are less than 50% owned in ESPN leagues. The players are categorized by position group and within each group is the order of how I would prioritize them. In lieu of free agent acquisition budget percentages, which are highly dependent on the makeup of each league, I have highlighted which players I would prioritize on the week.
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson (Available in 72% of Leagues)
Deshaun Watson is still serving his 11-game suspension and is eligible to return in Week 13. However, he will start to get picked up more and more in the coming weeks. If possible, Watson is a good hold for those who can afford one less roster spot. Watson is worth the stash because of how much rushing QBs have separated from the rest of the field in terms of who can win a week. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Fields all have multiple 30-plus FP games in which their rushing ability played a big role. Watson is one of the few QBs in this league that has that skill set. Although Week 10 stats are not yet included, the top QBs in points per game overwhelming come from these rushing players.
Running Back
Rachaad White (Available in 76% of Leagues)
White has been a staple in this article for several weeks and Week 11 might be the final chance to grab White before he returns to action in Week 12. In Week 10, White started over Fournette for the first time this season. White out-snapped Fournette 28 to 22 before the latter left the game with a hip injury in the third quarter. White took the vast majority of the remaining snaps. Unlikely in previous weeks, White had some big runs that finally match the athleticism that he displayed at the combine. This highlight is just one of White’s four 10-plus yard rushes.
Rachaad White seals it.@TomBrady is fired up.
📺: #SEAvsTB on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/M32DOvVAld pic.twitter.com/7B72ubN85M— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
Fournette’s hip injury is not considered serious according to reporters, but White is still the priority pickup. At worst, White is now in a timeshare with Fournette. At best, he gets the majority of the work as the Buccanneers look for a spark coming out of the bye week.
