The 2014 draft class was touted as one of the best classes of WR in recent memory, and through the first 10 weeks of the season they have not disappointed. From Kelvin Benjamin stepping into his role as the Panthers top target from day one, to the Cardinals John Brown scorching defenses to the tune of 5 TDs in 10 games. One guy who’s still flying too low under the radar in fantasy circles though is Giants WR Odell Beckham (42.1% on NFL)(57.5% on ESPN). Beckham’s owned in a few too many leagues for me to put him in with rest of the week’s pickups, but he is far and away the best pass catcher on the Giants roster and it’s been showing in his stat line. He’s even earning praise from opponents (Richard Sherman called him ‘great’ following his impressive week 10 performance.) The Giants have a favorable schedule for WR’s the rest of the way, so Beckham should be at least owned, if not started, in all leagues. And while I’m talking up rookie receivers, I’ll mention Steelers WR Martavis Bryant (39% on NFL)(60.4% on ESPN): All this guy does is score touchdowns and the Steelers have still match-ups with Tennessee (week 11), New Orleans (week 13) and Atlanta (week 15) on the schedule. There’s also a bye week and games with the stingy Chiefs and Bengals defenses, so he’s more of a matchup play, but still a must own.
NFL Mocks
If you’re new to the column the parentheticals ()() to the right of a players name reflect their ownership in NFL.com and ESPN leagues respectively. Generally speaking I like to stick to guys who are under 30% owned on both sites, but their are exceptions. I also try to get as many new names as possible in each week, so be sure to check out previous weeks pickups as well. Think I missed someone? Have a question? Criticism? Want to tell me I’m doing a swell job? Leave a comment at the bottom of the article. Now let’s get into some new names for week 11 waiver wire pickups:
C.J. Anderson, RB, Broncos: (1.8% on NFL)(2.8% on ESPN) With Ronnie Hillman expected to be out for the next couple weeks with a foot sprain Anderson is a must add for Hillman owners and a priority add for anyone in need of running back help as we near the fantasy playoffs. Yes, Montee Ball is expected back and Anderson’s impressive week 10 numbers are muted by the fact that they came in a blowout, but he looked good getting involved in both the run and pass game, and the Broncos have no reason to rush Ball back to a full workload, especially if Anderson can continue to be effective this week against a struggling St. Louis Rams squad.
Bryce Brown, RB, Bills: (2.0% on NFL.)(6.3% on ESPN) Running back is thin and I discussed Charles Sims last week. Though Fred Jackson returned and Anthony Dixon lead the backfield in terms of carries (9 for 83 yards) Brown had 13 total touches (7 carries for 35 yards 6 catches for 65 yards) he lost a fumble at the goalline which was a killer, but overall looked good. It’s a bit of a 3 headed monster going in Buffalo, but the fact that he had 6 catches to 0 for Dixon makes me think he could still have value going forward he’s just never going to be easy to trust…but which Bills skill position player is these days?
Theo Riddick, RB, Lions: (0.6% on NFL)(3.1% on ESPN) Reggie Bush appeared to aggravate an ankle injury against the Dolphins and if he’s unable to play against the Cardinals (you’ll have to keep an eye on practice reports) Riddick could be in for a big game taking over the pass catching specialist role. The Cardinals are extremely tough to run against, but in those games the Lions aren’t afraid to use short passes to their backs in place of a traditional running game.
Jordan Matthews, WR, Eagles: (6.4% on NFL)(24.0% on ESPN) Thought about including him last week, but just felt like he was getting consistent production. He now has 3 TDs passes from Mark Sanchez in 2 games and shredded the Carolina secondary for 138 yards. While I don’t think those numbers are sustainable Matthews does seem to have a nice rapport with Sanchez and the Eagles have a pretty decent schedule the rest of the way as far as WR matchups go.
Kenny Britt, WR, Rams: (1.3% on NFL)(10.3% on ESPN) He hasn’t exactly been impressive since taking over for the injured Brian Quick as St. Louis’ #1 WR, but he’s still clearly at the top of the depth chart and if you can stash him for the next two weeks against Denver and San Diego he has two nice match-ups, with the Raiders and the Redskins…both teams feature talented young corners, who tend to play more young than talented on Sundays.
John Brown, WR, Cardinals: (4.3% on NFL)(7.7% on ESPN) Scored a touchdown again and out produced Michael Floyd who seems to have become invisible the past few weeks. With Carson Palmer now out for the year with a torn ACL the Cardinals could look to get the ball into their young playmakers hands on more quick slants and screens to take some of the pressure off running back Andre Ellington.
Mychal Rivera, TE, Raiders: (3.3% on NFL)(39.7% on ESPN) The second year TE was actually the cover boy for week 10, but he continues to dominate the targets and catches for the Raiders the past few weeks and anyone looking to strengthen their TE spot should seriously consider Rivera, especially those in NFL.com leauges.
Jared Cook, TE, Rams: ()() The Broncos struggle a little against TE’s and with Kenny Britt likely to draw Aqib Talib most of the game rookie QB Austin Davis will have to go somewhere else with the ball, history shows that’s liable to be Cook.
Streaming QB of the Week
Josh McCown, QB, Buccaneers: (1.6% on NFL)(3.9% on ESPN) There’s a chance the Redskins defense shows up in this game, but given how good they’ve been against the run and how much Tampa Bay has struggled to establish the run I think McCown will be throwing a ton in this one and ultimately the size advantage of Evans, Jackson and Seferian-Jenkins will lead to a solid fantasy day for the Buccaneers signal caller. On the other side of the ball, Robert Griffin III (54.2% on NFL)(32.1% on ESPN) is still out there in some leagues and should put up good numbers. I also like Brian Hoyer(6.5% on NFL)(24.3% on ESPN) against Houston.
Streaming Defense of the Week
Minnesota Vikings, D/ST: (6.6% on NFL)(15.3% on ESPN) They have at least 5 sacks in each of their last 3 games. The game is in Chicago and the Bears will be looking to rebound after being embarrassed by Green Bay last week, but there really isn’t much to like about the way they’ve been playing on offense lately. It’s a divisional game, so anything can happen, but I like that to work in Minnesota’s favor this week. The Redskins D/ST(3.6% on NFL)(16.6% on ESPN) could also be a nice play here. I know I’m recommending you start McCown, but just because I think he’ll have a nice final stat line doesn’t mean he won’t get sacked a few times and throw a pick. And if there available in your league the Steelers D/ST(28.9% on NFL)(52.8% on ESPN) should have a really nice game against Titans rookie QB Zach Mettenberger.
Links to previous pickups:Â Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10
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