Fantasy Football Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups: Alec Pierce, Tez Johnson among top players to target

Every Monday during the season, Justin Boone breaks down the recommended waiver-wire pickups.

Roster percentages are generated from Yahoo leagues. Free-Agent Budget (FAB) amounts are based on a $100 salary cap. Only players rostered in less than 50% of leagues are considered.

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Key injuries to consider

• Dalton Kincaid (hamstring)

• Chris Rodriguez Jr. (shoulder)

• Kalif Raymond (undisclosed)

Bye weeks

Pickups by position

Week 11’s top-10 overall pickups

1. Troy Franklin, Broncos
2. Alec Pierce, Colts (on bye)
3. Tyjae Spears, Titans
4. Blake Corum, Rams
5. Tez Johnson, Buccaneers
6. Juwan Johnson, Saints (on bye)
7. Colston Loveland, Bears
8. Parker Washington, Jaguars
9. Emari Demercado, Cardinals
10. Cade Otton, Buccaneers

Quarterbacks

Marcus Mariota, Commanders

Jayden Daniels won’t need surgery on his elbow and has so far avoided being placed on injured reserve. Unfortunately, the Commanders are 3-7 and their playoff hopes are dwindling.

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In his absence, Mariota continues to produce for fantasy, averaging 18.7 fantasy points per game in his last six contests where he’s taken the field for at least 50% of the snaps.

The Dolphins’ defense has mixed in a couple decent performances lately, but on the season they’re still a top-10 matchup for fantasy quarterbacks.

You can continue to view Mariota as a low-end QB1/high-end QB2 in positive matchups like this one.

Joe Burrow is 58% rostered but would be the No. 1 QB add if available.

Joe Flacco is 52% rostered but would be the No. 3 QB add if available.

J.J. McCarthy is 56% rostered but would be the No. 4 QB add if available.

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Streaming options (if starter is out)

• Mac Jones at ARI (9% rostered)

Streaming options

• Aaron Rodgers vs. CIN (38% rostered)

• Jacoby Brissett vs. SF (20% rostered)

Risky streaming options

• Trevor Lawrence vs. LAC (44% rostered)

• Tua Tagovailoa vs. WAS (19% rostered)

Risky streaming options (if healthy)

• C.J. Stroud at TEN (44% rostered)

Desperation streaming options (if healthy)

• Geno Smith vs. DAL (15% rostered)

Desperation streaming options

• Justin Fields at NE (46% rostered)

• Michael Penix Jr. vs. CAR (22% rostered)

• Bryce Young at ATL (15% rostered)

• Dillon Bariel vs. BAL (4% rostered)

Desperation streaming options (if starter is out)

• Russell Wilson vs. GB (1% rostered)

• Davis Millers at TEN (3% rostered)

Running Backs

Tyjae Spears, Titans

Spears has been a regular in the waiver wire column and was dropped in many leagues after being on bye in Week 10. You shouldn’t let him remain a free agent for long though.

In addition to outproducing his backfield mate Tony Pollard in three of their last four games, Spears has also outsnapped him in two of those contests.

The hope that Pollard would get dealt before the deadline and free up the starting job for Spears might be gone, but it’s still possible the 24-year-old could simply take over the top spot on his own. With Tennessee not going anywhere this season, they’ll surely want to get a closer look at the younger talent on their roster down the stretch.

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As we saw last season, Spears can deliver when given more volume. In the fantasy playoffs, he posted 92 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in Week 15, 66 yards and two scores in Week 16, and 103 yards in Week 17.

He’s an RB3/flex with the potential for more if he can continue to eat into Pollard’s touches.

Blake Corum, Rams

Kyren Williams remains the Rams’ lead runner, but Corum’s role has increased since the bye including back-to-back games with at least 13 touches.

He put up 58 yards on the Saints in Week 9 and 56 yards on the 49ers last week, while playing a season-high 39% of the snaps.

Corum can now be started as an RB3/flex option, especially in good matchups.

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The 24-year-old also offers league-winning upside as a one-injury away guy in a Sean McVay system that tends to turn all of its starting RBs into quality fantasy options.

RB3/Flex options (if starter is out)

• Emari Demercado vs. SF (37% rostered)

Flex options

• Tyler Allgeier vs. CAR (33% rostered)

• Devin Singletary vs. GB (25% rostered)

• Bhayshul Tuten vs. LAC (32% rostered)

Flex options (if healthy)

• Chris Rodriguez Jr. at MIA (6% rostered)

Flex options (if starter is out)

• Sean Tucker at BUF (7% rostered)

Flex options (if healthy and if starter is out)

• Bam Knight vs. SF (26% rostered)

Risky flex options

• Emanuel Wilson at NYG (7% rostered)

• Tank Bigsby vs. DET (26% rostered)

• Brian Robinson Jr. at ARI (24% rostered)

• Isaiah Davis at NE (10% rostered)

Risky flex options (if starter is out)

• Brashard Smith at DEN (9% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options

• Kenneth Gainwell vs. CIN (33% rostered)

• Ollie Gordon II vs. WAS (10% rostered)

• Jeremy McNichols at MIA (3% rostered)

• Dylan Sampson vs. BAL (15% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options (if starter is out)

• Tyler Badie vs. KC (0% rostered)

Upside stashes to roster

• Keaton Mitchell (1% rostered)

• Kaleb Johnson (16% rostered)

Deep stashes

• Jaydon Blue (6% rostered)

• Raheem Mostert (1% rostered)

• Tahj Brooks (0% rostered)

• Jaret Patterson (1% rostered)

• D’Ernest Johnson (0% rostered)

• George Holani (0% rostered)

Bye-week stashes

Wide Receivers

Alec Pierce, Colts

In his last seven games, Pierce has gone for 67 yards or more on six different occasions.

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His recent outings are even more impressive, with stat lines of 5-98-0, 2-69-0 and 6-115-0, and 4-84-1 this week.

Pierce has now become a high-end fantasy WR3 with legitimate weekly WR2 potential in one of the NFL’s best offenses.

I’ve recommended him in past weeks as a cheap way to invest in the Colts’ attack, but that discount no longer applies. If he’s still available in your league, you’ll have to be aggressive to get him on your roster — and you should.

Tez Johnson, Buccaneers

With all the injuries in the Buccaneers’ receiving corps, Johnson has emerged as a significant contributor alongside Emeka Egbuka.

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The rookie has at least 40 yards in five straight appearances, with four touchdowns over his last four games. He’s also seen 20 targets over his past three outings.

With Mike Evans not returning until later in the season and Chris Godwin Jr. likely out for another week or two, Johnson can be a solid WR3/flex option in fantasy lineups.

Parker Washington, Jaguars

Washington has taken on a bigger role with Travis Hunter on IR, Brian Thomas Jr. dealing with an ankle injury and Jakobi Meyers still learning the offense after arriving in a trade before the deadline.

While playing 87% of the snaps or more in each of his past three contests, Washington posted stat lines of 4-52-0, 8-90-0 and most recently 3-33-1 with another score on a punt return.

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It’s unclear when BTJ will be back and it shouldn’t take long for Meyers to get up to speed, so Washington’s target competition will rise dramatically in the coming weeks. However, for the moment he’s playing a valuable role primarily out of the slot in Liam Coen’s scheme.

You should be able to get at least another WR3/flex start out of Washington before he gets overshadowed by Thomas, Meyers and eventually Hunter.

Troy Franklin is 54% rostered but would be the No. 1 WR add if available.

WR4/flex options

• Christian Watson at NYG (32% rostered)

• Tre Tucker vs. DAL (41% rostered)

Flex options

• Jayden Higgins vs. TEN (14% rostered)

• Chimere Dike vs. HOU (14% rostered)

Flex options (if healthy)

• Kayshon Boutte vs. NYJ (39% rostered)

Flex options (if starter is out)

• Kyle Williams vs. NYJ (2% rostered)

Risky flex options

• Jaylin Noel vs TEN (2% rostered)

• Cooper Kupp at LAR (45% rostered)

• DeMario Douglas vs. NYJ (14% rostered)

• Malik Washington vs. WAS (17% rostered)

• Tyler Lockett vs. DAL (1% rostered)

Risky flex options (if starter is out)

• Jordan Whittington vs. SEA (2% rostered)

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Dart-throw flex options

• Michael Wilson vs. SF (4% rostered)

• Calvin Austin III vs. CIN (12% rostered)

• Elic Ayomanor vs. HOU (19% rostered)

• Hollywood Brown at DEN (26% rostered)

• Jaylin Lane at MIA (1% rostered)

• Andrei Iosivas at PIT (0% rostered)

• Jalen Coker at ATL (3% rostered)

• Cedric Tillman vs. BAL (11% rostered)

• Darnell Mooney vs. CAR (32% rostered)

• Jalen Nailor vs. CHI (1% rostered)

Dart-throw flex options (if starter is out)

• Mack Hollins vs. NYJ (0% rostered)

Upside stashes to roster

• Luther Burden III (6% rostered)

• Tory Horton (9% rostered)

Deep stashes

• Adonai Mitchell (1% rostered)

• Tre’ Harris (2% rostered)

• Isaac TeSlaa (2% rostered)

• Treylon Burks (0% rostered)

Injured-reserve stashes

• Jayden Reed (35% rostered)

• Brandon Aiyuk (38% rostered)

Injury stashes

• Chris Godwin Jr. (50% rostered)

Tight Ends

Colston Loveland, Bears

After breaking out in Week 9 with a six-catch, 118-yard, two-TD performance in an extremely favorable matchup with the Bengals, all eyes were on Loveland this week.

The bad news is that with Cole Kmet back in the lineup, Loveland’s snaps dipped down to 61% after being over 80% in the last two games.

The good news is that Loveland continued to produce with four catches for 55 yards.

Though there will likely be some peaks and valleys for the rookie the rest of the season, he’s still a first-round talent worth investing in for fantasy due to the possible ceiling that could eventually be unlocked.

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He remains in the low-end TE1/high-end TE2 conversation until further notice.

Cade Otton, Buccaneers

Like I mentioned earlier with Tez Johnson, the Buccaneers’ receiver injuries have opened up opportunities for other players on the offense.

While Otton hasn’t found the end zone yet this year, he’s amassed respectable stat lines over his last five games with 4-81-0, 5-51-0, 7-65-0, 4-40-0 and 9-82-0.

He’ll need to score a touchdown once in a while to be considered a sure-fire fantasy TE1, but for now he’s a solid TE2 streamer until the Bucs get some reinforcements back in the WR room.

Juwan Johnson is 47% rostered and on bye in Week 11 but would be the No. 1 TE add if available.

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Low-end TE1/high-end TE2

• Harold Fannin Jr. vs. BAL (42% rostered)

Streaming options

• Dalton Schultz at TEN (34% rostered)

• Theo Johnson vs. GB (42% rostered)

• Luke Musgrave at NYG (14% rostered)

Streaming options (if starter is out)

• Dawson Knox vs. TB (1% rostered)

Risky streaming options

• Evan Engram vs. KC (48% rostered)

• Isaiah Likely at CLE (6% rostered)

• Jonnu Smith vs. CIN (17% rostered)

• Pat Freiermuth vs. CIN (11% rostered)

Dart-throw streaming options

• Mason Taylor at NE (18% rostered)

• Chig Okonkwo vs. HOU (16% rostered)

• AJ Barner at LAR (10% rostered)

• Noah Fant at PIT (3% rostered)

• Tyler Higbee vs. SEA (2% rostered)

• Colby Parkinson vs. SEA (0% rostered)

Upside stashes to roster

• Elijah Arroyo (1% rostered)

• Gunnar Helm (0% rostered)

Injured-reserve stashes

• Brenton Strange (11% rostered)

• Darren Waller (22% rostered)

Defenses

Week 11 streamers

Packers D/ST is 57% rostered but would be the No. 1 DST add if available.

Patriots D/ST is 57% rostered but would be the No. 2 DST add if available.

Ravens D/ST is 54% rostered but would be the No. 3 DST add if available.

Kickers

Week 11 streamers