Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 11 waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first; this will help you build a strong roster that has depth and can provide some additional cover from the chaos of the NFL season.

As we know, nothing goes exactly to plan in the NFL, so we want you to be as prepared as possible to weather the uncertain storm of injuries, role changes, scheme changes and any other general chaos that can happen in a given NFL season.

I’m Kevin Tompkins, and while I may not have drafted a running back ever, I have picked up quite a few in my day as a noted “Zero-RB” guy; luckily, it won’t just be the running back position I’ll be helping you all with this season.

Each week, I’ll provide five players as look-ahead players for the next week, who could be THE waiver wire claims for the following week. But they won’t be available in your league because you already have them.

We’re already looking ahead to Week 11’s players, so you can be ahead of the game with multiple byes that include the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Note: I cannot be held responsible if these players get hurt in Week 10, so please don’t tweet me @ktompkinsii if that happens.

Note 2: These early waiver wire pickup suggestions are meant for general fantasy football leagues. Some of these players may not be available in your leagues.

~ Check out our Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings ~

Week 11 Waiver Wire QB

Drake Maye (QB – NE)

ESPN Rostership (11.4%)

I know, I know, I know. I know! I said in Week 9 that that would be the final time I’d put Drake Maye into this column as a look-ahead waiver quarterback. But here we are. Drake Maye has put up at least 17.7 fantasy points in three of his last four outings, scratching the game against the Jets in Week 8, where he left early. He tossed two interceptions to a tough Tennessee Titans defense but still threw the ball 41 times for 206 yards, threw a CRAZY touchdown pass and led the Patriots in rushing with 95 yards.

We cannot discount the fact that not only is Maye providing immense value rushing the ball, but if the Patriots are going to let him throw the ball 37 times a game on average in his three full starts, there’s going to be plenty of opportunity. Maye has capitalized, with QB10, QB7 and QB18 performances over those three full starts as well, but isn’t getting the notoriety that a rookie quarterback like Bo Nix is. Nix has been a better fantasy scorer than Maye, but that scoring disparity has been due to touchdowns. Maye isn’t too far behind Nix.

Despite not having the strongest pass-catching group in the league, Maye has added some optimism and feistiness to the Patriots with his playmaking ability, as evidenced by his touchdown pass to send the Patriots/Titans game to overtime. Knowing what Maye can do for fantasy managers on the ground and gaining more confidence through the air, he’s straddling the line of top-end streamer and starter, so I want him on every roster. We’re always slower to the take when players rise up from what used to be gross situations, but we need to be in on Maye a lot more, especially in Week 11, where we won’t have Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones and Baker Mayfield as they’ll be on bye.

Week 11 Waiver Wire RB

Cam Akers (RB – MIN)

ESPN Rostership (8%)

It seemed relatively innocent at the time as the trade after Week 6 sending Cam Akers from the Houston Texans back to Minnesota for his second go-around with the Vikings in as many seasons was for depth and fortifying the position. Akers looked to be injury insurance for Aaron Jones following a hip injury he suffered in London in Week 6.

Plot twist!

It turns out it’s much more than that, as Akers played his first offensive snaps for the team in Week 9, and Ty Chandler played… exactly none. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Based on that information, it looks as though Akers is now the targeted contingent play for the Vikings, as Chandler has been more or less phased out of the offense. Chandler’s snaps had been dwindling anyway, but this was confirmation of that from the team. We’re gearing up for the fantasy playoff push, so fortifying your loaded roster should be a priority. If you’re about rostering contingent plays or wanting to handcuff Jones, Akers would be the running back to target going forward. If Jones gets hurt, Akers should provide solid RB2-level output for fantasy managers.

Week 11 Waiver Wire WR

Noah Brown (WR – WAS)

ESPN Rostership (10.8%)

The eternal search for the Washington second target may have finally reached its thrilling conclusion, and it’s looking like the answer just might be Noah Brown. Brown has at least six targets and 58 receiving yards in three of his last four games, while his routes are climbing steadily to his two highest marks of the season in the last two weeks, with 79 percent and 76 percent of routes per dropback. Amidst a sea of players named Olamide Zaccheaus and Dyami Brown — both real names, I promise! — Brown has floated to the top of the wide receiver pecking order next to clear top receiver Terry McLaurin.

“But Kevin, what about Zach Ertz?”

Well, it’s funny you mention Ertz because I’m a bit concerned for him in the overall pecking order for targets. He was just not a focal point for Jayden Daniels as he saw a season-low 60 percent of routes and a season-low routes run (15), while rookie Ben Sinnott saw his snaps rise considerably from 22 percent to 39 percent and his routes come up a bit to 24 percent. Sinnott could be gearing up for a late-season utilization bump at the expense of Ertz, who has done this a couple of times before in his career in Philadelphia with Dallas Goedert and in Arizona with Trey McBride, though that timeline was rushed considerably due to Ertz’s season-ending injury.

Daniels is playing at an MVP level for the surprising Commanders, and while the passing game isn’t the most fruitful, there are games where Daniels will have to win with passing volume if the Commanders are going to be contenders. McLaurin is locked in, but Brown has a real chance of earning major volume in Washington’s second half of the season. We saw a huge volume spike from Brown at the end of last season with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud in Houston after Tank Dell‘s season-ending leg injury. Still, it could certainly happen this season without needing any injury to propel him into that spot.

For cheap volume, Brown is a must-add player whose rapport with Daniels is growing by the week. Brown’s Hail Mary touchdown catch already endeared him to Daniels and Commanders fans; he’ll likely get the same chance with fantasy managers looking for a solid flex option over the next few weeks.

Ray-Ray McCloud (WR – ATL)

ESPN Rostership (14.4%)

Adding Ray-Ray McCloud to this list is an exercise in routes-based upside. As you all know, you must be on the field to score fantasy points. McCloud’s time on the field has been consistently strong all season, with 88 percent or better routes per Kirk Cousins‘ dropbacks in each game, except for Week 1. McCloud scored a touchdown in Week 9 to save his fantasy day, but that’s not the main reason why we’re recommending McCloud to be an early add.

Wide receiver Drake London (hip pointer) left the game in Week 9. While McCloud is on the field anyway, thanks to Atlanta’s NFL-leading usage of 11 personnel at 88.6 percent of snaps, it does change up the target pecking order with Darnell Mooney and then McCloud as the second wide receiver option. Depth wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge was a literal one-for-one replacement down to the route for London, but Hodge has been more of a deep threat rather than a target-earning player. McCloud has at least shown that at times this season as a kind of short pass substitute for the run game, so I’m willing to add McCloud wherever I can get him with routes-based upside plus the increased opportunities if London is hampered. Signs are pointing to London playing, but McCloud has been consistently involved in the offense anyway.

Week 11 Waiver Wire TE

Taysom Hill (TE – NO)

ESPN Rostership (33.7%)

Any week that the Taysom Slappies™ get there is a good week.

It’s me, I am Taysom Slappy™.

Taysom Hill has a “jack-of-all-trades” player the last couple of seasons and in Week 9, he had rushing touchdown, four receptions, and 60 total yards. Hill should get increased opportunities with most running backs aside from Alvin Kamara banged up and the wide receiver room in shambles. Looking at the weapons across the board with Rashid Shaheed out for the season and Chris Olave suffering a concussion that will likely keep him out several weeks, they’re pretty thin. I mean, the Saints had to dig up the carcass of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, so that should tell you the current state of affairs in New Orleans.

Now, here’s the rub on Hill: if he is eligible at tight end in your league, he should be universally added. You can leave him on waivers if he’s only available at quarterback. Hill does get the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10, where he finished as a TE1, thanks to two touchdowns against those same Falcons in Week 4.

Kevin Tompkins is a contributor to Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Kevin on X (formerly Twitter) @ktompkinsii and right here on Optimus Fantasy.