• The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new running back: Alexander Mattison was not the team's lead back to start this week, and he left with an injury.
• A big day for tight ends: Taysom Hill, Will Dissly and Jonnu Smith have been among the best tight ends in recent weeks, and all are available on the waiver wire.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 23 minutes
With Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season nearly complete, here are the key players to target on the fantasy football waiver wire. Here, we'll cover options for smaller and deeper leagues and also highlight the players to avoid.
Jump to a position group:
QB | RB | WR | TE
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (Rostered in 28.3% of leagues on ESPN)
Stafford picked apart the New England Patriots‘ defense in Week 11, completing 18 of his 27 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns. The passing offense went entirely through Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, who both put up 100-plus receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Rams' schedule over the next few weeks is not ideal, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills. The problem is that the other potential waiver-wire quarterbacks who had a strong week, like Jameis Winston, Tua Tagovailoa, Drake Maye and Derek Carr, aren't reliable. None of them have been all that consistent this season, but Stafford has at least been dependable with his wide receivers healthy.
Stafford likely won't have multiple top-10 finishes over these next few weeks, but he is the least risky quarterback option on the waiver wire.
Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (3.3%)
Levis posted a season-high 295 passing yards against the Minnesota Vikings‘ defense in Week 11. It was the last of the difficult opponents on the Titans' schedule, and he at least showed he’s capable of putting up bigger numbers.
The Titans have the best schedule for quarterbacks over the rest of the season. Next week, they face the Houston Texans, who have allowed the 13th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season — and that’s the worst game Levis has left throughout the fantasy season. Most importantly, he faces the Jacksonville Jaguars twice, including during fantasy championship weekend. While plenty of great quarterbacks have played well against the Jaguars, Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye all had top-12 performances in the weeks they played Jacksonville.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (3.0%)
Young hasn’t scored many fantasy points in the Panthers' past two games, but his team is winning and has stuck with the run game. Young notched 25 and 26 passing attempts in Weeks 9 and 10 and flashed his rushing ability this past week with two carries for 30 yards.
The Panthers had their bye in Week 11, but two of their next six games are against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, against whom Young can be a fantasy starter. They also have a favorable matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in that stretch.
Trey Lance, Dallas Cowboys (0.5%)
Dak Prescott is out for the season, and Cooper Rush is now the Cowboys' starting quarterback. However, Rush lasted only three quarters in Week 10 before Lance was given a shot. While Rush was named the starter for Monday Night Football in Week 11, he might not last the entire game if he isn’t playing well. The Cowboys spent a fourth-round pick on Lance and should see what they have. Rush averaged 11.2 fantasy points per game in his five starts in 2022, so he’s not the most intriguing option in fantasy football. Last week made that even more clear.
Over the past four years, Lance has scrambled on 12.9% of his dropbacks, which is the third-highest rate among quarterbacks — behind Jayden Daniels and Malik Willis and ahead of Drake Maye, Justin Fields, Tyler Huntley, Tyrod Taylor, Taysom Hill when he was a full-time quarterback, Lamar Jackson and Bo Nix. Some of those quarterbacks have been fantasy starters despite subpar passing, thanks to their rushing ability. Fields and Hill were great fantasy options when they started, while Nix and Willis have shown sparks this season on their respective opportunities. Lance clearly still loves running the ball, taking three carries for 17 yards on limited playing time in Week 10.
The Cowboys have an elite schedule from Weeks 13-16, with matchups against the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those are four of the worst eight teams at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks. If Lance can win the starting job by then, he could score a lot of fantasy points.
Running Back
Zamir White (30.5%) & Dylan Laube (0.1%), Las Vegas Raiders
White suffered a quad injury late in the third quarter in Week 11, while Alexander Mattison left due to an ankle injury early in the fourth frame.
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