Fantasy football Week 11: Add and drop

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 X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.

Here’s my NFL Week 11 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:

ADD

— WR Quentin Johnston, Chargers (ESPN: 45%; Yahoo: 41%): Johnston is the overall WR6 in standard formats (WR11 in PPR) since he returned from injury two weeks ago, and has five TD receptions in his last six games.

— RB Audric Estime, Broncos (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 4%): Head coach Sean Payton recently said Estime would be taking on a bigger workload in Denver’s offense, and it appears Payton is a man of his word. The rookie had 53 yards on 14 carries against the Chiefs, with Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin combining for 13 yards on only three carries. Estime is averaging 5.1 yards per carry this season, but he has yet to be targeted with a pass, which makes me think Williams and McLaughlin will split duties on obvious passing downs.

— QB Russell Wilson, Steelers (ESPN: 40%; Yahoo: 22%): Wilson has finished as the overall QB3, QB24 and QB9 in his three starts this season. Three of Wilson’s next six games are against either the Ravens or Bengals, who are among the five worst teams at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks.

— WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Saints (ESPN:

— TE Will Dissly, Chargers (ESPN: 2%; Yahoo: 2%): Dissly has at least five receptions in three of the last four games. In the last four weeks, he has been targeted 27 times — the fourth most among tight ends — and has by far the best fantasy schedule for the position the next five weeks, with games against the Bengals, Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs and Buccaneers. All five are among the bottom 10 teams at preventing fantasy points to tight ends.

— BONUS: WR Jauan Jennings, 49ers (ESPN: 62%; Yahoo: 60%): Jennings led San Francisco in receptions (seven), receiving yards (93) and targets (11) in his return from a hip injury. With Brandon Aiyuk out for the season, he’ll have WR3/flex upside most weeks. Ricky Pearsall (ESPN: 25%; Yahoo: 38%) caught his first TD as a pro against the Buccaneers, almost three months after being shot in the chest. He also had four receptions for 73 yards on six targets. Most of Pearsall’s upside resides with the possibility of another injury to one of the Niners’ skill players, but his performance at Tampa Bay shows the rookie has flex appeal if the matchup is right.

— BONUS: WR Cedric Tillman, Browns (ESPN: 50%; Yahoo: 58%): Tillman, a third-round draft pick in 2023, has had at least nine targets in each game since Amari Cooper was traded to Buffalo, producing 21 receptions for 255 yards and three TDs in the last three games before Cleveland’s bye. Also, Elijah Moore (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 8%) has 17 receptions (on 27 targets) in three games without Cooper, and has flex appeal in deeper PPR leagues going forward. Even Jerry Jeudy (ESPN: 50%; Yahoo: 45%) should be on more rosters, surpassing 70 yards in each game Jameis Winston has started with 12 receptions on 19 targets.

— BONUS: QB Bo Nix, Broncos (ESPN: 51%; Yahoo: 33%): Nix is the overall QB9 through 10 weeks, but the rookie has been even better recently, as the overall QB6 since Week 5. He’s on pace to throw for 3,346 yards with 17 TD passes against only 10 interceptions, and run for 493 yards and another seven TDs.

— BONUS: RB Jaylen Warren, Steelers (ESPN: 62%; Yahoo: 51%): Pittsburgh’s offense has looked more dynamic with Wilson under center. Even banged up earlier in the season, Warren was more efficient than Najee Harris and still offers more big-play potential going forward. He had a season-high 95 total yards on 16 touches against the Commanders. Harris suffered an ankle injury in the win at Washington, but was able to return. We’ll see if there’s any residual damage after he undergoes testing.

— BONUS: WR Alec Pierce, Colts (ESPN: 16%; Yahoo: 15%): Pierce is the overall WR17 in standard formats (WR33 in PPR) through 10 weeks. Michael Pittman Jr. was sidelined against the Bills with a lower back injury that has been bothering him for most of the season, and if he misses more time or is limited going forward, Pierce will benefit. Speaking from experience, as someone who has dealt with back issues since he was a teenager, they don’t just go away on their own. Adonai Mitchell (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 6%) would also benefit after catching six balls on six targets for 71 yards against Buffalo with Pittman out.

— BONUS: TE Jonnu Smith, Dolphins (ESPN: 26%; Yahoo: 26%): Smith is the overall TE11 in standard formats (TE9 in PPR) since Week 7, and has 24 receptions (31 targets) for 269 yards and a TD in the last five games. He faces the Raiders this week, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.

— BONUS: RB Gus Edwards, Chargers (ESPN: 21%; Yahoo: 17%): Edwards (ankle) was activated off IR and finished with 10 carries for 55 yards, including a decent amount of red zone work.

— BONUS: WR Mike Williams, Steelers (ESPN: 25%; Yahoo: 18%): Williams’ 32-yard TD reception from Wilson to give Pittsburgh the lead for good at Washington with 2:22 left in the game was a thing of beauty. Even more impressive when you consider he had been with the team for less than a week. Four of the Steelers’ next six games are against the Ravens and Browns, the two worst teams at preventing fantasy points to wide receivers.

— BONUS: QB Jameis Winston, Browns (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 8%): High volume continues to pump up Winston’s fantasy value. He’s thrown 87 passes in two starts while averaging 284.5 passing yards per game. He deserves streaming consideration this week against the Saints, a team he spent four seasons with, especially after they just traded away their top cornerback (Marshon Lattimore).

— BONUS: RB Trey Benson, Cardinals (ESPN: 16%; Yahoo: 18%): Benson is the overall RB21 in standard formats (RB23 in PPR) since Week 9 with 142 total yards on 21 touches and a TD in the last two games. Most of his work this season has come with the score lopsided, one way or the other, but it’s good to see the rookie produce.

— BONUS: TE Dawson Knox, Bills (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 1%): Dalton Kincaid suffered an injury late in the first quarter at Indianapolis when he fell hard on his left knee after jumping for Josh Allen’s errant pass. Kincaid tried to return in the third quarter, but felt he couldn’t run or protect himself. If Kincaid can’t go against the Chiefs this week, Knox would be a premium streaming option. Kansas City has allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.

— BONUS: D/ST Lions (ESPN: 64%; Yahoo: 62%): Detroit has the sixth-highest scoring defense in fantasy through 10 weeks, but it’s second overall since Week 6 (only behind the Eagles). The Lions next three games are against the Jaguars, Colts and Bears.

— BONUS: D/ST Texans (ESPN: 45%; Yahoo: 45%): Houston has the sixth-highest scoring defense in fantasy since Week 6 after intercepting Jared Goff five times on Sunday night. The next three quarterbacks the Texans will likely face are Trey Lance, Will Levis and Mac Jones.

— BONUS: D/ST Packers (ESPN: 25%; Yahoo: 30%): Green Bay had the fourth-highest scoring defense in fantasy before its bye last week. The Packers travel to Chicago this week to face the Bears, who have only scored 27 points the last three games, and could only muster 142 total yards in an embarrassing loss at home against the Patriots on Sunday.

DROP

— QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys: Prescott will undergo season-ending surgery on his partially torn hamstring on Wednesday, according to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

— RB Jordan Mason, 49ers: Mason had five yards on a single carry with Christian McCaffrey back in the lineup against the Buccaneers. It only makes sense to keep Mason if you have McCaffrey or your roster is in good enough shape to stash him just in case CMC’s Achilles tendinitis flares up again. Same goes for Isaac Guerendo.

— QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars: Lawrence is dealing with a significant AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. Surgery is reportedly possible for the QB, but the current plan is for rest and rehab. He’s likely week to week with the injury, but it is expected to limit him going forward.

— WR Jordan Addison, Vikings: Addison has three-or-fewer receptions in six of his seven games this season, and with T.J. Hockenson healthy, he’s likely third on the pecking order for targets with Sam Darnold struggling to maintain his great start to the season.

— RB Jonathon Brooks, Panthers: Carolina just signed Chuba Hubbard to a big contract extension, and he’s in the midst of a career year — Hubbard is on pace for 1,602 total yards, 51 receptions and 12 total TDs — so there’s no reason to risk Brooks’ health coming off an ACL tear with nothing to play for. I don’t anticipate the Panthers will give the dynamic rookie a heavy workload to begin his career.