Week 10 was a week rife with oddities. Tom Brady produced yet another mediocre outing as his squad was dismantled by the Titans, Matt Barkley came off the street to lead the Bills to their best offensive performance of the season, and the Buccaneers mustered up three measly points despite accruing 501 yards of offense. We also laid witness to Rashaad Penny’s coming out party and Marcus Mariota delivered his second-straight solid outing. Doug Martin has played well in Marshawn Lynch’s absence and has received a steady workload, so he’d surely sneak onto the waiver wire rankings if he were more widely available.

It may be tough to decipher which other players make great pickups after the zany matchups that were on tap, and with six teams on a bye next week, it’s that much more critical to know who stands out above the rest. That’s why we’ve brought along our featured experts to come shine some light on their top waiver-wire targets.

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Featured Experts:
Christian Brito – Eat.Sleep.Fantasy
Mike Tagliere – FantasyPros
James Hatfield – Hatty Waiver Wire Guru
Bobby Sylvester – FantasyPros
Andrew Gould – FantasyPros
John Halpin – RotoWire.com

*Ownership % derived from a consensus of Yahoo & ESPN leagues

Q1. How much are you willing to spend (FAAB %) on your favorite waiver wire target (or two) and why do you like him?

Rashaad Penny (RB – SEA) | Danny Amendola (WR – MIA) | Jaylen Samuels (RB – PIT) | Josh Adams (RB – PHI) | RB Handcuffs
“My first guy seems more like a speculative add, but it may just about be Penny time. He is finally in mid-season form, and Coach Carroll has some glowing things to say about the rookie after his breakout Week 10 performance. This add may turn out to be nothing, but if you can stash him and see if Seattle is willing to give him the ball more, I think Penny could potentially turn into a solid starter down the home stretch. I’d spend between 10-15% of my FAAB on him.

Second, the Fins need to throw the ball to someone, and right now the one guy who has surprisingly stayed healthy is Amendola, who’s worth 5-10% of your FAAB. Look for him to be flooded with targets in Week 11. My third player has an RB designation in some leagues and a tight end designation in others, but we’ve seen what the Pittsburgh backup running back can do time after time if the main guy goes down. Right now Connor is in concussion protocol, and if you can get Samuels on the cheap, now is the time to do it. He’s also a handcuff who should be rostered down the stretch for 5-7% of your FAAB.

My fourth guy is Adams. He led the Eagles in carries on Sunday. Sure, the game script pretty much forced him to not have a great night, but his per-touch numbers looked solid and I think he will be “the guy” for the Eagles for the rest of the season. Look to acquire him for 5-7% of your FAAB. Last, but not least, are handcuffs. Now this may be vague, but right now is the time to handcuff your studs. Guys like Malcolm Brown, Spencer Ware, and Rod Smith are all widely available and should be picked up soon by the Todd Gurley, Kareem Hunt, Ezekiel Elliott owners for 3-5% of your FAAB.”
– Christian Brito (Eat.Sleep.Fantasy)

“Rashaad Penny would be my top target, though it’s far from a home run pickup. After drafting him at the end of the first round in this year’s draft, the Seahawks have played Chris Carson and Mike Davis ahead of him. While Carson is dealing with a hip injury, Davis has not been known to be the healthiest running back over the course of his career, either. They may have been looking for an explosion out of him and he gave them just that against the Rams when he ran for over 100 yards and scored his first career touchdown. It’s rare to find a running back this talented on the wire, so he’s someone to spend 15-plus percent of your FAAB on this week.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“While we don’t yet know how Seattle plans to proceed when Carson returns, there is at least a chance Rashaad Penny takes over as a workhorse back for Seattle, which makes him my top pickup of the week. We know he’s got the athleticism, size, and offensive line to succeed, so the last ingredient is touches. I’m spending 20% of my FAAB to go get this potential high-end RB2.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL) 
“I just spent $250 of a remaining $500ish budget on Jackson. If Joe Flacco’s injury is as serious as it sounds, Jackson immediately becomes a QB1. Even if he’s not especially good in real life for the near term, his running ability offers an extremely high fantasy ceiling. Also, he won’t face a top-20 fantasy defense (versus opposing QBs) until Week 16. Swing for the fences now, folks. The alternative is saving your money for a potential crummy running back.”
– John Halpin (RotoWire.com)

Josh Reynolds (WR – LAR) 
“Cooper Kupp tore his ACL, so Reynolds becomes the immediate priority add. When Kupp last sat, Reynolds registered two touchdowns while playing 69 of 78 snaps. He’ll see the field regularly on three-receiver sets for an elite offense heading into a highly anticipated shootout against Kansas City. Since he’d be the clear third target for a unit revolving around Todd Gurley, limit the FAAB bid to no more than 10 percent.”
– Andrew Gould (FantasyPros)

Donte Moncrief (WR – JAC) 
“Moncrief offers the best rest of season value for 5% of your FAAB as he has become the WR1 for Jacksonville. He is a WR to help you through the bye weeks as he is seeing solid volume and has TD upside.”
– James Hatfield (Hatty Waiver Wire Guru)

Q2. For owners renting a D/ST in Week 11, what readily available option (under 40%) should they target and why?

“The Cardinals are the clear-cut No. 1 streamer. The Raiders offensive line has crumbled over the last two months and allowed at least three sacks in six of their last seven games, including six sacks to the Seahawks, eight sacks to the 49ers, and four sacks to the Chargers. Meanwhile, the Cardinals defense has played well under Steve Wilks for the most part, allowing 20 or fewer points in four of the last seven games, and racking up 19 sacks over their last five games.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“Arizona is the streaming defense of the week against Oakland. Oakland has just been horrible on offense; the risk here is that Arizona’s defense hasn’t been great either, but it’s the team with the most upside at this point.”
– James Hatfield (Hatty Waiver Wire Guru)

“With the Bills, Jets, 49ers, and Dolphins all on a bye, Arizona is the undisputed choice against the Raiders. Someone beaten to the punch may have to take a chance on Washington, which has accrued double-digit fantasy points in four of the last five games. The Texans aren’t exactly an opponent to exploit, but there’s at least considerable sack upside against a shoddy offensive line. Washington has relinquished just 19.4 points per game despite getting shellacked by the Saints and Falcons, so the NFC East leader makes a serviceable floor play with most of the usual matchup targets resting.”
– Andrew Gould (FantasyPros)

“While Arizona is an excellent choice, I’d prefer to scoop up the Indianapolis Colts’ D/ST for Week 11. They take on the Titans’ dreadful offensive line, and while Indy hasn’t exactly played great, their 21 sacks and 17 turnovers forced thus far should excite you plenty. The Titans don’t often score many points either, so it seems like a safe bet as well as a high-upside one.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

“In the likely case that Arizona’s defense was scooped up, here are some alternatives for you in Week 11. Although technically owned in more than 40% of leagues, many times defenses going on byes are dropped in their respective leagues. Look for the Ravens and Texans defenses to be potentially available. Lastly, the Saints have been playing lights out. The Eagles have not. I will roll the dice with the Saints defense in many leagues this week.”
– Christian Brito (Eat.Sleep.Fantasy)

“I mentioned Lamar Jackson as my favorite free-agent target. With that said, don’t you have to consider targeting a rookie QB with your streaming fantasy defense? The Bengals (10% owned) face the Ravens this week. They’re not very good, but the pickings are slim, and Jackson is a decent bet to throw a pick-six.”
– John Halpin (RotoWire.com)

Thank you to the experts for naming their top waiver targets. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.

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