We’ve already given you our waiver wire quarterbacks, wide receivers and defenses. Below I will highlight some running backs (RBs) that are recommended fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 11 of the fantasy football season, and your fantasy football rosters. There are plenty of running back injuries and updates to discuss, so let's get to it.
Waiver Wire Pickups – Week 10 Running Backs
Andre Brown - RB, New York Giants - 50% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add Immediately in All Leagues
Analysis: I mentioned to stash him last week, and hopefully you did, as he is now available in just 50% of leagues. Andre Brown needed no time to work back into NFL ready condition, nor to run away with the starting RB job in New York, as I had been predicting all year. Brown ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. He added one catch for 4 yards. It seems there is a new feature back in the NFL, and I'm glad I've had him stashed all year in IR spots on multiple teams. Grab Brown immediately off the Week 11 waiver wire if he is still available in your league.
Rashad Jennings, RB - Oakland Raiders - 49% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in All Leagues
Analysis: While DMC remains out, Jennings remains a viable starting option. Jennings didn't blow up fantasy scoreboards like he did in Week 9, but he still put up 88 yards on 20 totes, and pulled down 2 balls for another 19 yards. These are solid numbers considering Oakland was losing for much of the game to the Giants. Jennings can be a nice bye week fill-in or injury replacement for as long as Darren McFadden remains inactive, which for now is "indefinitely". Grab Jennings in all leagues off the waiver wire.
Bobby Rainey / Brian Leonard, RB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 2% and 0% owned
Baller Move: Add in Deeper Leagues, PPR Leagues for Leonard
Analysis: Mike James seems to have suffered an ankle fracture, leaving the rushing duties to be split up between Bobby Rainey and Brian Leonard. Rainey looked the most competent with the ball, racking up 45 yards and a touchdown on just 8 carries. His work came mostly later in the game, after Leonard had been mostly bottled up on his 20 carries for just 57 yards. Brian also brought down 2 passes for 19 yards. For now, it looks like Rainey should get the early down work, while Leonard is likely the passing-down back. PPR owners may be better off stashing Leonard and hoping he takes over, while those in standard league are probably better off picking up Rainey, who looked much more capable when he got his chance.
Mike Tolbert - RB, Carolina Panthers - 37% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in Deeper Leagues
Analysis: Tolbert has been quietly putting up a solid season, stepping up his pure touchdown-vulture status a little bit. He has 6 touchdowns already this year, but more notably has added over 300 yards from scrimmage. Whether you need a bye week fill-in, or have gaping holes in your RB depth from injuries, Tolbert could pitch in a decent chunk of points in standard leagues and potentially serve as a 10-15 point stop gap in PPR leagues. Anyone who has started Peyton Hillis, Michael Cox, Joseph Randle, or similar RBs - Tolbert could be the next waiver wire add to keep your head high enough above water and sneak into the fantasy playoffs.
Bernard Pierce - RB, Baltimore Ravens - 25% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Add in Deeper Leagues
Analysis: Ray Rice has been ineffective for most of the season, and the coaches have said that they will ride the hot hand going forward. Reports are that Rice is dealing with a hip injury, so Pierce may be getting more carries. Pierce hasn't been that great himself this year, and the Ravens offensive line is pretty bad, so there may not be tons of fantasy value here. But if Pierce starts getting more carries than Rice, or performs much better with his touches, he can become a solid FLEX/RB2.
Other Notes: Shane Vereen is somehow still only owned in 49% of Yahoo leagues. If he's available in your league, he should be added immediately. Vereen has big upside for the fantasy stretch run, and the Patriots had their entire Week 10 bye to prepare for his return. If Week 1 was any indication, Vereen has the potential to be a fantasy difference maker, especially in PPR leagues.
Here's one more for you, originally seen on last week's article Waiver Wire Sleepers for Week 9:
Chris Ogbonnaya – RB, Cleveland Browns – 6% owned in Yahoo leagues
Baller Move: Stash in PPR Leagues, Deeper Standard Leagues
Analysis: After 7 weeks of the Willis McGahee show in Cleveland, we can safely say that he is no longer an effective NFL running back. McGahee received 100 carries in that timespan, racking up only 262 rushing yards (a very low 2.6 YPC average) and only 1 touchdown. Enter Ogbonnaya, who's been very effective in the passing game with 42 targets, 28 receptions, 207 yards and 2 touchdowns in limited playing time. He also has a 5.3 YPC average on the rushing attempts he’s been given. The coaching staff has already confirmed that Ogbonnaya will see more carries going forward, and they had all of the week 10 bye to prepare. If you are hurting at running back, or play in deeper PPR leagues, target Ogbonnaya as a RB sleeper.
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Below you can find some more Week 11 articles written by RotoBaller’s team of writers. Check them out, as you prepare for you Week 11 fantasy matchups:
- Week 11 Waiver Wire – Wide Receivers (WR) & Defenses (DEF)
- Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups – Quarterbacks (QBs)
- Week 11 Waiver Wire Running Backs (RBs) - Deeper Leagues
- Rest of Season (ROS) Rankings – Standard and PPR Leagues
- NFL Injuries – Fantasy Football Injury Report for Week 11
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We have compiled all of our weekly waiver wire recommendations on our famous waiver wire pickups list. If you haven’t seen it yet, the waiver wire pickups are categorized by position. Check it out and bookmark the page – we update it every week, throughout the week! Our fantasy football chat room is also here for you, at any time throughout the day. Our community of writers and readers are always fielding sit/start questions, talking waivers and giving live fantasy advice. Let’s win some leagues!