2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 11: Alec Pierce, Theo Johnson Top Picks

We’re in it now. The home stretch. Fantasy football playoffs are right around the corner, and it’s your last chance to secure a spot in the tournament. Your trade deadline is probably coming up (or may have already passed), so the waiver wire might be all we’ve got. And, despite us already being 10 weeks into the season, there are still some gems out there. Whether you are trying to lock down a bye week, battling for a playoff spot, or playing spoiler, you should never give up the good fight!

Unfortunately, there aren't many huge names to go out and get. So, as you will see, we encourage you to hold onto your waiver priority and your FAAB wherever you can. These moves can certainly be impactful, but a lot of them are more house-keeping than game-changing. 

2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 11 Top Targets

As always, our waiver wire discussion will be split into two articles. This is the main article, which covers the top players to add at each position as well as an update to our Yin & Yang Tight End strategy. The second article, found here, is our Streamers and Stashes article that covers the deeper, more nuanced plays for Fantasy Alarm Members!

NFL Week 11 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett  - Arizona Cardinals Yahoo: 20% | ESPN: 17% | Sleeper: 16% 

Joe Flacco is probably still the top streaming option if he was dropped during his bye week. I know Joe Burrow said he hopes to be back by Thanksgiving, but that would still give us two games of the gunslinger. He’s rostered in over 50% of leagues, though, so we wanted to provide at least one lesser-owned option. And that’s Jacoby Brissett. 

Did Jacoby Brissett make a couple of terrible plays that absolutely ruined the game for the Cardinals? Yes, he did. But fumbles are really only 1-2 points in fantasy football. It doesn’t matter whether the other team returns them for a touchdown or not. What matters to us is that Jacoby Brissett has now thrown for 250+ yards and 2 touchdowns in every game he’s started. And he’s also been willing to run the ball a little bit, which is a little cherry on top. The fantasy production from Brissett has been remarkably consistent, with 23+ points in each game. So he’s on the streaming radar for us for the foreseeable future. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5% (more if he starts for you right away)

JJ McCarthy - Minnesota Vikings Yahoo: 55% | ESPN: 49% | Sleeper: 42%  

Did JJ McCarthy look great this week? No. Did he even look good? Not really. Did he throw for ~250 yards and run for another ~50? Yes. This is now the third week in a row that JJ has been willing to run five or more times. He has a couple of rushing TDs on the season as well. And he still has some great weapons, even if he hasn’t demonstrated a consistent ability to throw to them. The upside is there, and there simply isn’t a lot of upside out there.  Joe Burrow is the better stash if he were dropped, but he’s still rostered in more than 60% of leagues on most platforms. 

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5% 

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Michael Penix, Tyler Shough

NFL Week 11 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Tyler Allgeier Atlanta Falcons Yahoo: 33% | ESPN: 28% | Sleeper: 36%

Chasing a random two-touchdown week is not really something we do. But we will go after a guy who has now scored six touchdowns on the season. And it’s not really random, as this is now the fifth time in nine games that Allgeier has gotten double-digit touches. In the extreme negative game scripts where the Falcons have been playing from behind most of the game, Allgeier can disappear, so he’s not a guy you use every week. But he has some spot start-ability on top of being the handcuff for one of the league’s top backs. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Devin Singletary- New York Giants, Yahoo: 25% | ESPN: 37% | Sleeper: 48%

Tyrone Tracy got the bulk of the work in most phases this week. But there was a pretty clearly defined role for Devin Singletary. Singletary got all five carries in short-yardage situations and all four carries in goal-line situations. Tracy started, got most of the early down work, and got all of the two-minute drill, but the short yardage stuff belongs to Singletary. It’s a fairly thin waiver wire out there, so if you are desperate and just looking for a shot at possibly getting a touchdown, Singletary is the next best thing to Tyler Allgeier.

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Blake Corum - Los Angeles Rams, Yahoo: 11% | ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 17%

We don’t like drafting handcuffs unless the leagues are really deep. They end up clogging up rosters more often than not. But, as we get closer to fantasy football playoffs and our starting lineups are finalized, we do like to sneak handcuffs onto the bench. Not only does it protect us from our guy getting hurt, but it also protects others from benefiting from it if it happens.

So, if you have a star back, you should probably prioritize your own handcuff. But Blake Corum is the guy we’ll mention here as he’s quietly carved out more work for himself. Kyren Williams is the starter who starts the drives for every game and every half. But Corum has been rotating in more often - even getting full drives of his own after Kyren starts the game off. So, with all things even, Blake Corum is a priority handcuff as he has big upside if something happens to Kyren Williams, but also has at least a little standalone value if need be. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Brian Robinson Jr, Tyjae Spears, Chris Rodriguez, Keaton Mitchell

NFL Week 11 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Alec Pierce - Indianapolis Colts Yahoo: 43% | ESPN: 37% | Sleeper: 53%

We’ve been spoiled by Alec Pierce. He’s been in our Streamers & Stashes article virtually every week as a guy who has been floating around on the wire that we could plug in for some boom/bust upside. Every week, he gets a chance at a big play, and he’s recently been converting on them more often than not. In fact, there are only two players with more than four receptions of 35+ yards this year per Pro Football Reference. Those players are Jaxon Smith-Njigbe and Alec Pierce.

So Pierce has the upside in any given week, but as of late, he’s had a pretty decent floor as well. He and Michael Pittman are the full-time WRs in this offense, with Josh Downs in the slot and Tyler Warren operating underneath. This is one of the best offenses in football, so if you want Alec Pierce available as an option moving forward, you have to add him as a permanent part of your roster. Don’t worry, though - we’ll find some deeper options to stream. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium to Late Priority
• FAAB: 5-10% 

Jayden Higgins - Houston Texans Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 17% | Sleeper: 17%

We are getting to the point in the season where it’s time to see what these rookies can do. Teams that are out of the playoff hunt, especially, should start figuring out what they have, giving guys reps. Now, the Houston Texans aren’t necessarily out of it just yet. But the Colts are running away with the division. And teams like the Bills, Ravens, Chiefs, and Chargers are battling for wildcard spots. With their QB banged up, they are trending in that direction.

And their wide receivers have been trending in that direction to some degree, too. They opted to teach Jayden Higgins a package of two wide receiver sets to start off. So that’s primarily what he’s played opposite Nico Collins. But now he’s starting to dabble in more three-wide receiver sets, and that’s seen an uptick in his production. He’s found the endzone a couple of times this year, but this time around, he got seven targets. So we’re looking to stash him and hope that grows. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Luther Burden - Chicago Bears, Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 14%

There are probably better streamers than guys like Jayden Higgins and Luther Burden. And we’ll cover those in the streamers articles and videos. But we’re looking for upside plays for the playoffs. And that’s where someone like Luther Burden comes in. He passes the eye test, and a lot of metrics like yards per pass, run, and passer rating when targeted suggest that Burden could have a bigger upside in a bigger role. That could happen naturally down the stretch, but Rome Odunze has dealt with a heel injury, and DJ Moore picked up a shoulder injury in Week 10, so there could be a couple of paths to more playing time for Burden. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Darius Slayton, Tre Tucker, DeVaugn Velue, Adonai Mitchell

NFL Week 11 Waiver and Yin & Yang Tight End

Theo Johnson - New York Giants Yahoo: 42% | ESPN: 45% | Sleeper: 30%

If you just need a one-week stream, the are plenty of guys out there like Cade Otton or Dalton Schultz to help you get by. But Theo Johnson represents the best combination of both streamabilty and long-term upside. The fact that he’s been able to do anything with his brutal schedule is a bit of a miracle (and in the case of the tip drill touchdown against the Broncos, an actual miracle). He now has at least four targets in his last seven games and six or more in four of the last six. He does still have a bye week on the schedule, but games against the Packers, Patriots, Commanders, and Raiders should be pretty decent. He’s got good chemistry with Jaxson Dart and, outside of Wan’Dale Robinson, no one is really commanding huge targets. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Luke Musgrave - Green Bay Packers Yahoo: 15% | ESPN: 16% | Sleeper: 30%

We really don’t care much about the production for Luke Musgrave this week. We weren’t starting him against the top defense vs. tight ends in Philly - not in his first game with the uncertainty. So that doesn’t matter. What matters is his usage so we can decide if he was worth stashing. And that was definitively in his favor. He ran 35 routes compared to 3 for Josh Whyle and 2 for John FitzPatrick. I’d MUCH rather see Musgrave catch 3 passes and play a ton than catch 4-5 and play half the game. So this was actually great news for Musgrave.  Colston Loveland is a good stash too but he's rostered in 64% of leagues on Sleeper already,

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Greg Dulcich - Miami Dolphins Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 0%

Again, we like to focus on upside in this article. And Greg Dulcich is in a position where upside is possible for as long as Darren Waller is out. Sure, he didn’t do much in the box score this week. But the Dolphins found themselves in a rare positive game script where they didn’t need to throw a ton. More importantly, the usage behind the scenes for Dulcich has been trending in the right direction as it was 35.5% in Week 8, 44.4% in Week 9, and now a whopping 73.9% in Week 10. Dulcich is in the role previously occupied by Darren Waller and Jonnu Smith, where he’s an interesting upside play for as long as Darren Waller is out. 

• Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

**Check the bottom of the article for free rest of season half PPR tight end rankings with our Yin & Yang tight end chart!**

NFL Week 11 Waiver DST

Atlanta Falcons DST Yahoo: 12% | ESPN: 21% | Sleeper: 9%

It’s a shame that they lost their best player in Divine Deablo. But the Falcons have generally still been pretty good against the pass - especially with their great safeties. They likely hit your waiver wire after facing the Patriots and then the Colts over the last two weeks. Now they get the Panthers, Saints, and Jets, which is a stretch I’m personally planning to utilize them for where I need them. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers DST, Yahoo: 34% | ESPN: 29% | Sleeper: 29%

The Buccaneers are still our “stash” defense - if you can afford the roster space. We are not going to use them against the Bills and Rams. But their season ends with the Cardinals, Saints, Falcons, Panthers, and Dolphins. You won’t find a better stretch of teams to face than that. And a lot of playoff contenders will likely be holding onto two defenses during the playoff stretch anyway because that’s what smart fantasy gamers do.  

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Chicago Bears DST vs. Vikings, Dallas Cowboys DST vs. Raiders

NFL Week 11 Waiver K

Jake Elliot K, Philadelphia Eagles Yahoo: 29% | ESPN: 57% | Sleeper: 50%

Kickers virtually always hit the wire for their bye weeks. And only the truly elite ones get picked up in big numbers. So Jake Elliott finds himself on the wire once again. The tush push certainly hurts his upside, but there is shootout potential with this game vs. the Lions, so you could do worse than Elliott. 

Cam Little - Jacksonville Jaguars, Yahoo: 20% | ESPN: 21% | Sleeper: 34%

Not only did Cam Little boot an all-time record 68-yard field goal, but he’s been a perfect 6 for 6 on field goals since the bye. It goes without saying that, if your league has bonus points for longer field goals, Cam Little becomes that much more appealing. They must have all the confidence in the world for him to move forward from any range. 

NFL Yin & Yang Tight End Rankings

As promised, here are our Yin & Yang tight end rankings. This has been our bread and butter the last few years, and how we find breakout tight ends. Here is how the chart works.

If you have someone in the “standalone” section, then great - you don’t need to roster another tight end outside of injury and bye week. Outside of that, we are rostering two. We are looking for someone “safe” to start while stashing the most high-risk, high-reward option, trying to find a breakout. 

The tight ends in red are injured and at risk of missing time. If you can put them in an IR spot, great. If not, you may have to prioritize either a Yin or Yang tight end ranked above them to start for you.