Scoring was down in Week 10. Unless you had one of the guys playing Thursday night, you were probably let down by your wide receivers. It’s been a tough year for the position. We have had injuries and now we have a string of bye weeks taking out some of our normal starters. Here are the Week 11 wide receiver streamers and sleepers to help you fill in the gaps for your fantasy football team.
Week 11 Wide Receiver Sleepers and Streamers
Streamers
Jauan Jennings- San Francisco 49ers
I’m always weary of players coming off injuries, especially at the wide receiver position. It seems the Bye week came just at the right time for the 49ers and Jauan Jennings. With Brandon Aiyuk on the IR list, he saw a massive target share in Week 10. With 11 targets, catching seven of them for 93 yards it looks as if he is fully healthy. He was able to hold off rookie Ricky Pearsall to be the number two receiver behind Deebo Samuel
Week 11 does present a small issue. The 49ers are going against the Seattle Seahawks and one of the best duos of cornerback in the league. With Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon patrolling the outside it on paper looks like a rough matchup for Jennings. While that is true on two wide sets, when the 49ers put three or more wideouts on the field it actually presents a solid opportunity and matchup for Jennings. Witherspoon often moves in to cover the slot receiver, in this case, Pearsall. This would put Woolen on Deebo and put Jennings across from Tre Brown. PFF.com rates him as the 95th-best cover corner out of 105 graded players. The 49ers coaching staff is smart enough to recognize this and will find creative ways to get their players in the best situations.
Josh Downs- Indianapolis Colts
Listen I know we don’t know who the quarterback will be for the Colts going forward. Do they stick with veteran Joe Flacco after his disastrous performance against the Bills? Do they go back to Anthony Richardson? I don’t think either matters for Josh Downs and his Fantasy output. Let’s not forget that Downs had a good game in Week 8 with Richardson. Downs has continually seen solid targets even if they might be higher quality targets with Flacco.
One of the big factors for downs is the availability of Michael Pittman. He missed Week 10 with a back issue. If he can’t go in Week 11, Downs will be one of the top target-getters again. There is the issue of the matchup. The New York Jets have a solid secondary even if Sauce Gardner is having a down year. There is also the game script issue. The Jets have struggled to put up points. Could we see another week of that where the Colts get a lead and lean heavily on the running game? It’s very likely. What is exciting about Downs is his big play ability. He can change his fantasy day on one play. Not many receivers have that potential.
Mike Williams- Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s been a down year for Mike Williams. After signing with the New York Jets to be the number two to Garrett Wilson, he struggled to get onto the field early in the season and then to find chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. This partly leads to the Jets trading for Davante Adams and shipping Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is a huge boost for Williams and his fantasy value. Williams went from a potential waiver wire resident to now a wide receiver streamer.
The Steelers will be facing the Baltimore Ravens. They have one good cornerback in Marlon Humphery but after that, they are lacking. Even top safety Kyle Hamilton is questionable after sustaining an ankle injury in Week 10. Williams played on just a limited number of plays for the Steelers in Week 10 but was able to score a touchdown. He is another deep ball threat along with George Pickens but that is quarterback Russell Wilson’s specialty. I’m excited for Williams now that he is wearing black and gold. I will be trying to find ways to get him into my lineup
Sleepers
Jalen Tolbert- Dallas Cowboys
I generally don’t love receivers with their backup quarterback playing. I generally don’t like wide receivers going against the Houston Texans defense. I generally don’t like wide receivers who only have four games with five or more targets. All that to say I kind of like Jalen Tolbert this week.
It makes so much sense on paper. Cooper Rush or Trey Lance don’t instill a ton of confidence as a passer. The Texans have three very solid corners so finding a solid matchup will be hard. Tolbert had only five targets in Week 10, in a game where the Cowboys were behind and had to throw the ball all game. So why am I picking Tolbert as a wide receiver sleeper? I think another week of practice for Rush or Lance will start to open up the playbook. After being embarrassed at home against the Eagles, the Cowboys will be looking for ways to creatively create offense. Tolbert is in his third season and has shown flashes of being good. Despite his low targets he only has three games with under five fantasy points. It shows he can do more with only a few opportunities. He also has three touchdowns on the year. The same number as Zay Flowers and Kyle Pitts. When I’m looking for a sleeper wide receiver I don’t mind taking a flyers on a guy who has a good chance of scoring. The Cowboys need someone to step up across from CeeDee Lamb. Tolbert has started to become that guy.
Rashod Bateman- Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens did trade for Dionte Johnson but let’s face it he hasn’t been a factor now in two games. Do you know who has? Rashod Bateman. People thought his 61% snap share in Week 9 would drop with Johnson being with the team for more than half a week. In fact, it went up to 78%. On top of the increase in snaps, he saw a season-high of eight targets, catching six of them for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Week 11 I expect to be more of the same. The Ravens play the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the cornerbacks for the Steelers don’t rate well by PFF, they play really well. The heart of the Steelers’ defense is their safeties. I expect them to be closer to the line of scrimmage looking to stop the dynamic rushing of Derick Henry and Lamar Jackson. This should open up space deep for Bateman. If he can continue to be the secondary after Zay Flowers he will continue to see a solid target share. He has four touchdowns on the year. This is the first divisional game for the Steelers and it’s close to a must-win if they want to keep their playoff seed alive. Baltimore gets a few extra days to prepare coming off a Thursday night barn burner. That should allow them to draw up more plays for Bateman.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling- New Orleans Saints
I’m usually against chasing points. Just because a player scored big one week doesn’t mean he will do that again. I say that as I get ready to pitch why Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a wide receiver sleeper this week. After posting a career day in Week 10, he will be a big name on waiver shows this week. What helped him do so well is the style of play the Saints run. They take a lot of deep ball shots. It’s what made Rashid Shaheed such an attractive start. It’s what made Chris Olave such a powerhouse. There were always four or five deep shots each week and they were connecting. M.V.S. steps into that role now.
The Saints are playing the Cleveland Browns who are coming off a bye. They do have a good corner in Denzel Ward and a very good safety in Juan Thornhill. If I were the Browns I would deploy these two to help take away the deep ball threat. The Saints will have to find ways to get MVS on single coverage. They do this now with plays from Alvin Kamar and Taysom Hill. If they can continue to do that then Valdes-Scantling will get his few shot plays. All he needs to do is catch one to be a solid sleeper play.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 11 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!