NFL fantasy football: Top QB, RB, WR and TE Week 11 waiver wire pickups

As wild as the 2025 NFL season has been, the fantasy landscape has been even more unpredictable. Every week feels like a new experiment in roster triage.

There's no let-up as we round the corner to Week 11. The injury list grows longer, backup plans turn into breakout stories, and those cursed byes - while a little easier to manage than in previous weeks - keep testing our bench depth.

At this point, one smart pickup can flip your season from desperate to dominant - and it’s even sweeter when you’re watching that waiver-wire steal go off live on DAZN with your NFL Game Pass subscription.

But there's no time to bask in former glories because fantasy never sleeps. So, as we head into Week 11, let's find the next under-the-radar gem before someone else does.

Watch every NFL game for the rest of the season for just £34.99

Watching every game for the rest of the season just got even easier with DAZN's latest Game Pass offer, as a Season Pro Regular subscription has been heavily discounted from £124.99 to just £34.99, and a Season Pro Ultimate subscription has been reduced from £144.99 to only £49.99!

With this offer, you can access every game - live or on demand - as well as RedZone, NFL Network, and 24/7 programming. A subscription also includes DAZN's weekly original shows, including Downs 2 Business, Kittle Things, and X's & O's coaching breakdown.

Click here for more information and to sign up.

QB

1. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
2. Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals
3. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
4. Jameis Winston, New York Giants
5. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders

Even in the shallowest of leagues without IR spots, the chances are Burrow remained on someone's roster. The only hope you have is that his former manager thought he would be out for longer.

As it turns out, Burrow is ahead of schedule, has returned to limited practice, and could be back on the field before long. Asked about returning in time for Thanksgiving, the 28-year-old said, "We'll see how these next couple of weeks go."

Flacco has been a fixture on this list since his move to the Bengals. Clearly, his value evaporates the moment Burrow is back, but in the meantime, his Week 11 matchup with the Steelers' defense - which ranks seventh in passing yards allowed - makes him a worthwhile pickup if he's still available.

Mac Jones has set a high bar for Purdy upon his return, but make no mistake - this job is Purdy's to lose. He's not a lock to return in Week 11, but if you wait any longer, you'll have to spend more of your FAAB competing with others.

Mariota has a soft matchup against the Dolphins in Madrid and is coming off his best game of the season against the Detroit Lions.

RB

1. Tyrone Tracy, New York Giants
2. Emari Demercardo/Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
3. Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
4. Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
5. Brian Robinson, San Francisco 49ers

In shallow leagues, managers may have felt so deflated that Devin Singletary had more snaps and touches in Week 10 that they dropped Tracy from their team.

More fool them, as one week on, Tracy dominated snaps and carries as the clear lead back in the Giants' offense.

Demercado is the top dog in the Cardinals' backfield until Benson returns. It makes sense to grab both if you can. Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters last week that Benson is "Doing well. He's progressing."

Spears, Corum, and Robinson are change-of-pace backs, but all three have earned enough of a role that they can fill in if desperate. Tyler Allgeier of the Falcons is another option.

WR

1. Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts
2. Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos
3. Darius Slayton, New York Giants
4. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
5. Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns
6. Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans

We aim to introduce new names each week, but our top four players have featured in previous articles and remain here because their roster ownership percentages are still too low.

Pierce went 4-84-1 in Week 10, Franklin, 5-40-1, and Slayton, 4-89-0. None of these are earth-shattering figures, but they're probably better than most fantasy teams' WR3s. Just remember that the Colts are on a bye this weekend.

Watson's stat line was a modest two catches for 45 yards against the Eagles, but he led all Packers' wideouts in receiving yards and remains a big-play threat.

Jeudy had a season-high six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, dominating target share among all Browns' receivers.

Rookie Higgins, our bonus sixth player due to the repetition of names above him, had the best outing of his young career with a 5-42-1 game against the Jaguars.

If you want a seventh option, look at Tez Johnson, who continues to be moderately involved in the absence of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

TE

1. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
2. Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
3. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

Let's assume our previous waiver suggestions, such as Colston Loveland and Harold Fannin, are long gone. If not, pick them up immediately in all but the shallowest leagues.

Knox could be in line for a heavier workload if Dalton Kincaid misses time following the hamstring injury he suffered last weekend. Keep an eye on the injury news later in the week.

Strange is eligible to return from IR in Week 11. We've seen no word on whether he will or not, but after earning 23 targets in Jacksonville's first four games, it pays to get the jump on your league mates.

He was forging a nice connection with quarterback Trevor Lawrence before the injury, which forced him to sit out the last four games.

Otton hasn't hauled in a touchdown this year, but he's just put together his most impressive game of the year and has no fewer than 40 yards in his last five outings.

Johnson is almost certainly already rostered, but with the Saints on a bye in Week 11, he's here in case his existing fantasy manager lacks space to carry him and opts to drop him instead.