Each week I'll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define "widely available" as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.
Follow me on Twitter @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.
Here are my best bets off the waiver wire for Week 11:
ADD
— WR Kadarius Toney, Chiefs (ESPN: 48%; Yahoo: 51%): Toney's roster percentage actually dropped each of the last two weeks after being traded to Kansas City. Are we in the Upside Down? He just finished as Week 10's WR9 in standard formats — WR14 in PPR — while only playing 44% of the snaps against the Jaguars.
— QB Deshaun Watson, Browns (ESPN: 28%; Yahoo: 37%):
If you are so inclined, the time to acquire Watson is now. He's returning to practice and will make his first start against the Texans in Week 13. Cleveland features significantly more talent on offense than there was in Houston, where Watson finished as the overall QB5, QB5 and QB4 in his three seasons as a full-time starter. One of the talented individuals Watson will have the privilege of throwing the football to and remains widely available in fantasy leagues is Donovan Peoples-Jones (ESPN: 22%; Yahoo: 35%), who has actually been a flex-worthy option since Week 4 despite Jacoby Brissett's uneven play at quarterback. He has at least four receptions and 50 yards in six straight games — five of those games he has at least 71 yards.
— RB Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs (ESPN: 23%; Yahoo: 24%): The transition is complete, with Kansas City's three-man backfield finally becoming a two-man backfield, and Pacheco taking 16 of the 18 carries handled by running backs against the Jaguars — Jerick McKinnon (ESPN: 19%; Yahoo: 16%) is the clear receiving option. The rookie faces a battered Chargers defense allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs this season on Sunday Night Football this week.
— WR Christian Watson, Packers (ESPN: 6%; Yahoo: 9%):
Watson's explosion (107 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys) came with Romeo Doubs and Randall Cobb sidelined, so I'm trying to temper my expectations, but this is the type of potential I envisioned when I was writing about him during the 2021-2022 draft cycle. If he produces anything close to this against a very beatable Titans secondary on Thursday Night Football, he'll likely earn a valuable role with Aaron Rodgers going forward.
— TE Trey McBride, Cardinals (ESPN: <1%; Yahoo: <1%): Zach Ertz suffered a knee injury late in the first quarter and never returned. McBride played 91% of Arizona's offensive snaps in Week 10, finishing third on the team in routes but with only one target. Remember, McBride was drafted two rounds ahead of Cade Otton (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 18%), who has been fantasy-relevant as a rookie for the Buccaneers in the absence of Cameron Brate. Worst-case scenario, McBride will be a weekly streaming option. I also believe Ertz's injury will create even more opportunities for Rondale Moore (ESPN: 69%; Yahoo: 73%).
— BONUS: RB Gus Edwards, Ravens (ESPN: 34%; Yahoo: 50%): Edwards finished as the overall RB6 in standard formats (RB10 in PPR) the one week he was healthy — he has at least 11 carries and 65 yards in both games he's played this season — and will return this week against the Panthers, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs.
— BONUS: WR Odell Beckham Jr., Free agent (ESPN: 30%; Yahoo: 47%): Beckham has been fully cleared to play and will likely choose a team by the end of the month. He's a must-stash and potential difference maker for the fantasy playoffs, as contenders for the All-Pro's services include the Bills, Cowboys, 49ers, Giants and Ravens.
— BONUS: RB Rachaad White, Buccaneers (ESPN: 24%; Yahoo: 45%): Consider this last call on adding White since Tampa Bay is on a bye this week. The backfield has been slowly, but surely trending in the rookie's favor for the last month and this culminated with him receiving his first start against the Seahawks in Munich, finishing with a career-best 105 yards on 22 carries. Leonard Fournette will likely still be a factor after the bye, but he did suffer a hip injury in Germany that will require monitoring.
— BONUS: TE Cole Kmet (ESPN: 39%; Yahoo: 60%): Kmet is riding the Justin Fields wave like everybody else. He's the overall TE1 across all formats since Week 8 on the strength of five TDs in three games.
— BONUS: WR Parris Campbell, Colts (ESPN: 23%; Yahoo: 18%): Matt Ryan is helping Campbell finally fulfill his immense potential! The slot receiver's last three weekly finishes with Ryan under center in standard formats: WR10 (WR11 in PPR), WR9 (WR5) and WR14 (WR9).
— BONUS: TE Foster Moreau, Raiders (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 17%): Darren Waller landed on injured reserve last week, which means Moreau will play a significant role in Las Vegas' offense for at least three more games. He's the overall TE12 in both standard and PPR formats since Week 8.
— BONUS: QB Jameis Winston, Saints (ESPN: 6%; Yahoo: 10%): There's a legit chance New Orleans benches Andy Dalton in favor of Winston after losing two straight games while only scoring 23 total points. This would likely open up the passing game — although it might negatively effect Alvin Kamara's participation — especially with the return of Jarvis Landry (ESPN: 29%; Yahoo: 19%), who finished second on the team in routes run and targets against the Steelers. Landry's path to targets is clearer now with Michael Thomas out for the season.
— BONUS: RB Kyren Williams, Rams (ESPN: 15%; Yahoo: 41%): Williams saw his first game action on offense and produced 39 total yards on four touches (three receptions). Considering both Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers continued to disappoint — a TD saved Henderson's day — this was a promising step towards potentially higher volume in the near future.
— BONUS: D/ST Vikings (ESPN: 23%; Yahoo: 30%): Minnesota is the eighth-highest scoring defense in fantasy this season — the Vikings have a league-high 22 takeaways — and have three straight home games on the horizon.
— BONUS: D/ST Steelers (ESPN: 28%; Yahoo: 19%): All-World edge rusher TJ Watt returned in Week 10 to lead a revitalized Pittsburgh defense in a 20-10 victory over the Saints at home. The Bengals are coming to town this week and are probably still having nightmares from a Week 1 dismantling at the hands of Watt and his teammates in Cincy, where they forced five turnovers, sacked Joe Burrow seven times, blocked a kick and scored a TD. Only Justin Fields has been sacked more than Burrow this season.
DROP
— TE Zach Ertz, Cardinals: Ertz suffered a possible season-ending knee injury in Sunday's road win over the Rams.
— WR Brandin Cooks, Texans: Cooks has been reliable in fantasy for years, underappreciated even, but it's just not happening this season for him and he clearly wants out of Houston. He's had between five and seven targets since Week 3, whenever active, after he received double-digit targets seven times in 2021 and he's only averaging 42.5 yards per game over that span while only scoring one TD this season. Look for upside elsewhere.
— RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs: Here's CEH's snap count his last six games: 45, 31, 28, 17, 17 and four. Notice a trend?
— RB Chase Edmonds, Broncos: Edmonds only played 15 snaps and had three touches in his debut with Denver. I don't believe it's worth your time and a valuable roster spot to take the wait-and-see approach to his potential usage growing in the coming weeks. The fantasy playoffs will be here before we know it.
— RB Cam Akers, Rams: Since returning to the field after L.A. failed to trade him at the deadline, Akers only has 25 yards on 11 carries in two games.
