Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 wide receivers to target for Week 11

We are now in Week 11 of the NFL season and entering the stretch run of the fantasy regular season. With the bye weeks almost over and the playoffs just three or four weeks away (depending on your league settings), bench depth is going to be less important than it used to be. At this point owners should be riding with their top starters the rest of the way. However, that doesn’t mean the waiver wire loses its value -- we still have some key bye teams to account for.

This week’s bye teams are the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and San Diego Chargers. That means plenty of top-tier fantasy receivers (Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Brandon Marshall) will be unavailable for Week 11. In addition, Alshon Jeffery’s four-game PED suspension leaves a pretty big hole in starting lineups. Fortunately, there are plenty of interesting options on the wire this week, so let’s go over the top five recommended adds, owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! standard leagues.

J.J. Nelson got the start as Arizona’s No. 2 receiver, but he flopped in a bigger role, fumbling away one pass and catching just two of his six targets. Floyd played more snaps (59 to Nelson’s 49), saw the same amount of targets, and did much more with them, finishing with five catches for 101 yards. It’s hard to make heads or tails of the situation, but we have to figure Floyd has bought himself a little more rope with this performance. He’ll be another boom-or-bust WR4 against the Minnesota Vikings this week.

Jeffery’s suspension throws the Bears’ WR depth chart into chaos. The next men up are Meredith and Eddie Royal. Royal might see more targets as a steady veteran presence, but Meredith has shown some big-play ability this season, including catching a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half on Sunday. Realistically, the entire Bears’ offense should be hands-off in fantasy at this moment, but if you must pick a Chicago WR, go with Meredith.

Jeremy Maclin sat out Week 10 with a groin injury, so Hill got a bigger opportunity than he has in most weeks. He made the most of his chance, hauling in 10 catches on 13 targets for 89 yards. Although Hill didn’t break a huge play, he still has that explosive ability and another prime opportunity against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ porous pass defense. Hill has WR3 upside, especially if Maclin has to miss another game.

With DeSean Jackson out, Garcon saw his targets expand. He caught six passes on 10 targets against the Vikings, recording 81 yards in the process. Jackson’s shoulder injury could keep him sidelined for at least one more week, so Garcon and Jamison Crowder will both be quality fantasy assets when Washington takes on the Green Bay Packers’ middling defense in Week 11.

Markus Wheaton is out with a shoulder injury and Sammie Coates has been phased out of the offense, playing just two snaps against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. That leaves Rogers as the de facto No. 2 receiver behind Antonio Brown, which isn’t a bad spot to be in when Ben Roethlisberger is slinging the ball. With the Cleveland Browns on deck this week, Rogers has legitimate WR3 upside.