Week eleven is in the books, and we are reaching the fantasy football homestretch! We have just three weeks left in the regular season to make it to the playoffs, and we have to start making some tough roster decisions. Fantasy football rosters are a zero-sum game, so we have a list of players below rostered in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues who could make their way to your waiver wire to make way for the upcoming round of waiver wire bidding.
QUARTERBACKS
Jordan Love, Green Bay (82% rostered)
I’ve been banging this drum for weeks, and Love has delivered on my doubtfulness, turning in back-to-back stinkers against good run defenses in Carolina and Philadelphia. This week, he took advantage of a top-five matchup with the New York Giants, and he finished with a paltry 17.66 fantasy points. He has two more negative matchups on the horizon, so I continue to doubt that Love’s roster rate should be so high. I see no reason to have him in ten-team leagues, for example.
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati (59% rostered)
Flacco hit the wall in the Unc Bowl II, throwing the ball 40 times for 199 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. This is his best matchup in the foreseeable future, with the Patriots and Ravens both looming, and Joe Burrow threatening to return on Thanksgiving, the fun times are over for Flacco and his fantasy managers.
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota (52% rostered)
You can’t live like this. McCarthy straight up isn’t good as a football player, yet he’s rostered in half of Yahoo! fantasy football leagues. His rushing buoys his floor, but that leaves him “just okay” as an option. He has two very tough matchups on the horizon, and is likely to “sprain” his “ankle” again very soon, and if he doesn’t, expect more of his 150-yard, one-touchdown, two-pick performance from week eleven.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Garrett Wilson, New York Jets (97% rostered)
Wilson missed two games with his knee injury, played 19 snaps, and immediately went on Injured Reserve. The Jets aren’t playing for anything this season, and Aaron Glenn could only muster that he “hopes” Wilson returns this season. So, you’re without Wilson until at least week fifteen. You can move on if you are in a shallow league or in a roster crunch.
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland (67% rostered)
That dead cat bounce sure was fun, but the Cleveland passing game doesn’t utilize wide receivers, at least not as currently constituted. If Shedeur Sanders makes a surprise return in week eleven, maybe Jeudy will have relevance, but Dillon Gabriel is building the whole passing offense around the tight ends.
Calvin Ridley, Tennessee (58% rostered)
Ridley broke his leg in week eleven, and Interim Head Coach Mike McCoy already ruled him out for the season.
Keon Coleman, Buffalo (51% rostered)
Coleman was a healthy scratch due to disciplinary reasons, and the Bills went sicko mode on offense. He wasn’t doing much of anything, even when healthy, either.
RUNNING BACKS
Kimani Vidal, L.A. Chargers (86% rostered)
This is a huge gamble, and one I would take only if I were in a massive bind, but Omarion Hampton is eligible to come off IR when the Chargers return from Bye. All signs point toward him making his way back in week thirteen, when the Chargers are back in action next, shunting Vidal to an RB2 role.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington (76% rostered)
The One Big Beautiful Bill is no more. Chris Rodriguez is the first-and-second-down back, with Jeremy McNichols taking over on third down. Rodriguez dominated the early down work against Miami, and Merritt was left without much to do. He finished with nine carries for 28 yards and a catch for five yards. So, ten touchdowns for 33 yards. Per Nathan Jahnke of PFF, JCM played 18 snaps to Chris Rodriguez’s 30, clearly marking him as the #2 for early down work.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina (76% rostered)
Hubbard, like JCM, is now stuck in a change-of-pace role. The erstwhile RB1 in Carolina played on 18% of snaps, compared to 83% for Dowdle. Hubbard had three targets, but ran only eight routes, to Dowdle’s thirty-six. He’s purely a handcuff, and the Panthers are winning, so there’s no reason to change this role.
J.K. Dobbins, Denver (66% rostered)
The Broncos placed Dobbins on IR with a foot injury, meaning that he returns in week fifteen at the earliest. If you end up in a roster bind, then you can move on from Dobbins. After all, you have to make the playoffs before he can matter in the playoffs for you.
Nick Chubb, Houston (54% rostered)
Chubb had five carries and three targets for twenty total yards. Woody Marks, in comparison, had nineteen touches. The Texans relegated Chubb to the 1B role for a low-powered offense, and his best days are behind him. You can move on.
TIGHT END
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta (81% rostered)
Pitts was hot to start the year, but a Michael Penix injury put Kirk Cousins front and center for the Falcons this week. Unfortunately, it also highlighted the downward spiral that Kyle Pitts has experienced in recent weeks. In the last three weeks, he has had 14 targets for eight catches and 90 yards.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota (76% rostered)
Hockenson finished week eleven with three catches for 39 yards, or 6.9 PPR points. That marks his fourth-straight game in single-digits, and his fifth time in seven games that he failed to hit double-digits. With J.J. McCarthy circling the toilet bowl, you can pull the rip cord on Hock.
David Njoku, Cleveland (58% rostered)
Njoku is growing increasingly irrelevant in the Browns’ offense, as everything focuses on Fannin and Judkins. Njoku finished with two targets, one catch, and seven yards; he’s a TE2 for a bad offense; you can move on.
