Welcome to the Week 11 waiver wire watch! Consider making a waiver claim in your fantasy football leagues for the following players (available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues).
Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Mr. Unlimited has scored 3 times in two of his first three games as Pittsburgh’s starter. With the trade deadline addition of Mike Williams (who caught Sunday’s game-winning touchdown and is worth a look on waivers in his own right) plus games against the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, and Browns again on deck (all rank bottom-11 in fantasy points allowed per game) Wilson is a strong streaming option at quarterback.
Audric Estimé, RB, Denver Broncos
The 147th overall pick was talked up by Sean Payton during the week and delivered big results on Sunday. Estimé took over Denver’s lead rushing role and tallied career-highs in carries (14) and yards (53) against a stingy Chiefs defense, which suggests he could continue seeing double-digit touches in Payton’s offense. Estimé, this week’s cover athlete, was an analytics darling coming out of Notre Dame because of the underrated explosiveness he pairs with his daunting size. He’s also rare in that he could be a real factor for the Broncos down the stretch yet remains available in most fantasy leagues.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Herbert was listed in this column two weeks ago in case he were to be traded — and he indeed got shipped to Cincinnati for a seventh-round pick. Herbert led all backs with yards per carry in 2022, and his 4.8 career average ranks eighth among 70 active backs (min. 300 carries). There’s no guarantee that he can carve out a role with the Bengals but there is an opportunity in front of him with Zack Moss on injured reserve.
Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
Coker is going to get the Josh Downs treatment from here on out. In other words, he’ll be listed in this column each week until he no longer meets the league availability threshold. The undrafted rookie from Holy Cross had twice as many targets as any other Carolina wideout on Sunday (8). He now ranks first among fellow Panthers and third among fellow rookies in yards per reception. This is a legit NFL player who deserves to be on fantasy rosters.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
After miraculously surviving a gunshot wound in August, Pearsall scored his first NFL touchdown on an impressive 46-yard catch-and-run. He’s impressed as route runner against press coverage and as a physical blocker in the run game, which has hushed pre-draft size concerns (he weighs 189 lbs) and solidified his role in San Francisco’s booming offense. Sure, there are plenty of other “mouths to be fed,” but Pearsall’s mix of pedigree, athleticism and opportunity is too good to ignore.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, New Orleans Saints
MVS took advantage of an injured-riddled Saints receiver room and had a Moss-like stat line on Sunday: 3 targets, 3 catches, 109 yards, and 2 touchdowns (all in the second quarter). That kind of performance shouldn’t be expected to repeat, especially for a player who’s surpassed 50 yards just once since 2022 — but Derek Carr is throwing the deep ball like it’s his personal mission from Jesus this season. Valdes-Scantling wouldn’t be the worst dart throw for desperate fantasy managers going forward.
Will Dissly, TE, Los Angeles Chargers
The former defensive end became L.A.’s starter after Hayden Hurst went down in Week 6 and held onto the role when Hurst returned two games later. Dissly ranks fourth among tight ends in targets over the past month (27), and though he hasn’t caught a touchdown this season, he has 4 red zone targets in the past four games. Justin Herbert is heating up so consider adding Dissly sooner than later.
Houston Texans defense/special teams
There’s only been one D/ST listed in this column this season, and it was… you guessed it… Houston. Texans D/ST is available in the majority of fantasy leagues because they faced the Lions in Week 10, but after forcing Jared Goff into 5 (!) interceptions, DeMeco Ryans’ unit is set up well in the next few weeks. The Texans have the Dak Prescott-less Cowboys, the Will Levis-led Titans, and the Trevor Lawrence-less Jaguars on deck.
