Fantasy Football waiver-wire candidates after Week 10.
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Week 10 of the 2023 NFL season is officially behind us, and those near the bottom of their league in fantasy football may be looking to make some significant changes to their respective fantasy teams.

For those who are looking to turn around their fantasy football fortunes, here are the top five pickup candidates that are available in over 50% of leagues on the ESPN Fantasy Football platform going into Week 11.

Week 10 Recap:

Week 10 was likely a great week for fantasy owners if you listened to my advice in my fantasy column after Week 9. Most players listed in that column ended up having some big games, aside from a dud from New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill.

Chicago Bears running back D’Onta Foreman finished with 17.2 fantasy points on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston finished with 13.4 fantasy points after finding the end zone against the Detroit Lions. New England Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas recorded 14.4 fantasy points against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday morning. And Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell ended Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with 13.6 fantasy points.

Any one of those three players would have been fine flex plays on the majority of fantasy teams, which is simply the best you can ask of any player on the waiver wire each week.

Let’s keep the ball rolling with some more impact players heading into Week 11.

5. Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

  • Week 10: 13.4 fantasy points (PPR)
  • Rostered: 33.2 %
  • Week 11 opponent: Green Bay Packers

Johnston came into the Chargers Week 10 game against the Detroit Lions without much production on the season, recording just 14 receptions on the entire season.

He was trusted into a starting role for the first time in his career thanks to an injury to Joshua Palmer that forced him onto the Injured Reserve list. And Johnston benefitted from the increase in opportunity, recording four catches for 34 yards and a touchdown in a 41-38 shootout against the Lions.

Johnston’s touchdown saved the day for him in fantasy. And truthfully, it is a bit disappointing that Johnston didn’t have a better day considering the Chargers totaled 421 yards of offense, 323 of those yards coming through the air.

Regardless, as long as Johnston is in this high-profile offense in Los Angeles, he should be a weekly consideration for most fantasy owners until Palmer returns to the field and takes his added opportunities away.

4. Brandin Cooks, WR, Dallas Cowboys

  • Week 10: 32.3 fantasy points (PPR)
  • Rostered: 49.1 %
  • Week 11 opponent: Carolina Panthers

For much of the season, Cooks hasn’t been the most impactful player for the Cowboys. However, he had his best game of the season in a dominant Cowboys victory over the New York Giants in Week 10. Cooks recorded nine receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown on a season-high 10 targets.

This kind of performance from Cooks may be a bit of an anomaly. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t be a high-upside player on fantasy rosters moving forward.

The Cowboys offense is obviously dynamic. And if defenses begin to key in on star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb more often, a player like Cooks could start to become a more consistent part of the offense moving forward.

This performance from Cooks also continues a trend of him producing well in blowout victories, which could loom large in Week 11. Two of the three double-digit fantasy performances from Cooks this season have come in victories where the Cowboys have won by over two touchdowns.

We could see a repeat of this in Week 11, as the Cowboys will take on the Carolina Panthers, who are perhaps the worst team in football with a 1-8 record on the year.

3. Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Commanders 

  • Week 10: 16.5 fantasy points (PPR)
  • Rostered: 43.7 %
  • Week 11 opponent: New York Giants

Gibson came into the season on the radar of the majority of fantasy football players. But early on in the season, he largely disappointed, which led to a majority of fantasy owners dropping him.

Don’t look now, but Gibson’s role in this Commanders’ offense is starting to grow back to where most expected it to be at the start of the season.

Gibson received four rushing attempts for 13 yards on the ground, which doesn’t exactly look all that impressive. But his pass-catching ability was on full display as well, recording five receptions for 42 receiving yards and a touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Sam Howell.

This is the third consecutive game where Gibson has recorded at least five receptions, a skill that is very valuable in fantasy football for running backs, particularly in PPR (point-per-reception) leagues.

At the very least, Gibson is worthy of a roster spot in the majority of fantasy leagues just in case fellow Commanders running back Brian Robinson goes down with an injury.

And even if Robinson is in the picture, Gibson has plenty of standalone value that makes him a worthy consideration to add in fantasy football going into Week 11.

2. Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

  • Week 10: 19.7 fantasy points (PPR)
  • Rostered: 49.6 %
  • Week 11 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

The Bengals came into their Week 10 game against the Houston Texans with some injuries at wide receiver. Ja’Marr Chase came into the game with a back injury, and Tee Higgins had a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the game.

Higgins’ absence created some added opportunities for the rest of the Bengals wide receivers. And Tyler Boyd took full advantage of it, recording a team-high eight receptions for 117 yards in the game.

As long as Higgins is out for the Bengals, Boyd should continue to feature heavily in the Bengals’ prolific passing attack. And according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Higgins is considered “unlikely” to play on Thursday night in Week 11 against the Ravens.

If Boyd is available in your league, he should be near the top of your list of players to add in Week 11 as long as Higgins is indeed out on Thursday night.

1. Joshua Dobbs, QB, Minnesota Vikings

  • Week 10: 25.12 fantasy points (PPR)
  • Rostered: 38.9 %
  • Week 11 opponent: Denver Broncos

Dobbs was one of the big-name players moved at the NFL trade deadline, being traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Minnesota Vikings after Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.

It was largely assumed that the Vikings offense would struggle without Cousins at the helm. But that hasn’t been the case; Dobbs has kept the team afloat with multiple excellent performances.

His performance in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints featured throwing for 268 yards and a touchdown, to go with rushing for 44 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota’s 27-19 victory.

It’s the second-straight game from Dobbs where he’s recorded at least 24 fantasy points, both coming as a member of the Vikings.

There’s even an argument that Dobbs could be a better fantasy option than Cousins was for the Vikings considering Dobbs’ rushing ability, which is a big deal for fantasy quarterbacks.

Dobbs also gets a terrific matchup in Week 11 against the Denver Broncos, who have allowed the most yards per game of any team in the NFL.

Simply put, if you are in need of a quarterback in fantasy, Dobbs is likely the best option available given his impressive success with the Vikings thus far.

Honorable mention:

  • Noah Brown (WR, Houston Texans)
  • Elijah Moore (WR, Cleveland Browns)
  • Demario Douglas (WR, New England Patriots)
  • Michael Mayer (TE, Las Vegas Raiders)
  • Luke Musgrave (TE, Green Bay Packers)

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley