Fantasy Football Week 11 Waiver Wire: Rhamondre Stevenson Could Be a TD Machine

The fantasy football regular season is quickly winding down. With only a few weeks left before the playoffs begin, managers must get their rosters in tip-top shape to make a championship run.

Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer free-agent targets to claim on waivers with each passing week. That remains the case going into Week 11, where only a handful of players stick out as being worthy of a roster addition.

Shrewd managers will want to make sure they are the ones picking up these emerging talents. Even if you have no plans to start the player, getting them on your roster as injury insurance while denying rival managers the talent will make your title journey an easier one.  

Keep that in mind as you check out some of the top waiver options for Week 11. All suggested players are rostered in 50 percent or fewer of Yahoo leagues.  

DK DFS Value: $5,100

Cam Newton has returned to Panthers after a season-and-a-half away from the organization. With Sam Darnold going down with a serious shoulder injury, Newton was picked up off the free-agent pile last week and made an immediate impact with the club that drafted him No. 1 in 2011.

While second-year quarterback P.J. Walker drew the start in a Week 10 matchup with the Cardinals, Newton was highly effective for the few plays he participated in.

The 2015 MVP completed three of his four passes for eight yards and a touchdown. Newton also rushed three times for 14 yards and an additional score, racking up a total of 11.7 fantasy points on just nine snaps.

After that sterling performance, Newton should get plenty more work in Week 11.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Newton—who will be earning $6 million in guarantees this season—will get a chance to not only start the remainder of the 2021 campaign, but also continue as Carolina's QB1 in 2022.

It's near-impossible Newton will be able to sustain his absurd points-per-touch rate from his 2021 debut, but the QB does have an excellent matchup on tap this coming Sunday. The Panthers will be taking on Washington, a team that employs one of the softest fantasy defenses in the league and will be without Chase Young for the rest of the season.

With Newton a good bet to start against the Football Team, QB-needy managers will want to get the veteran on their roster immediately. He's the only high-upside QB available on waivers right now, offering tons of scoring chances through the air and ground.

If you aren't satisfied with your quarterback situation heading into the final stretch of the fantasy season and upcoming playoffs, place a claim in on Newton and start him with confidence.

DK DFS Value: $5,200

Bill Belichick's management of the New England running back platoon has long been a thorn in the side of fantasy managers. The inconsistent usage of New England's backs and the coach's tendency to ride the hot hand has made it tough to identify starting-caliber options on a week-to-week basis, but attrition has significantly narrowed the team's options going into Week 11.

After losing James White, the team's primary pass-catching back to a serious hip injury, and now Damien Harris—New England's top rushing option—to a head injury, the Patriots are left with Rhamondre Stevenson as their top playmaker in the backfield.

Stevenson made the most of his lead role on Sunday, exploding for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 totes against the Browns. The rookie back also added four receptions for 14 yards in the contest.

While Stevenson isn't likely to become an every-down back for the club—Brandon Bolden saw 18 snaps, mostly in passing situations, in Week 10—he's in line for a heavy workload for as long as Harris remains sidelined.

Harris—who ranked ninth in the league in rushing going into Week 10—missed the matchup with Cleveland after suffering a concussion last week. Stevenson was also in the league's concussion protocol this week but was able to clear it in time to draw his first career start.

It was the second successive game Stevenson amassed at least 100 yards from scrimmage. His 114-yard outing followed up a 10-carry, 62-yard rushing performance against the Panthers in which he also caught two passes for 44 yards.

The Patriots will have a short turnaround ahead of a matchup with the Falcons on Thursday Night Football. Even if Harris is able to clear protocols and gets back in the lineup, Stevenson showed enough to earn a bigger role going forward.

Those who need a boost at the RB spot should make Stevenson a priority pickup in Week 11.

DK DFS Value: $4,900

The Titans deployed one of the few bell-cow backs in football in Derrick Henry, but have moved to a time share in wake of the superstar's foot injury.

Tennessee recently signed a pair of free agents in D'Onta Foreman and Adrian Peterson to replace the superstar back. The two veterans have been splitting snaps relatively evenly over the past two weeks. While neither has been able to match the incredible contributions Henry made, Foreman has been the more productive player in that span.

Foreman chipped in 29 yards on five rushes in Week 9, following that up on Sunday with another respectable performance during his first start for the Titans. The 25-year-old generated 30 yards on 11 totes and added an additional 48 yards on two receptions. He saw 21 snaps in Week 10, up from 12 the previous game.

Since joining the team, Peterson has rushed for 42 yards and a score on 18 carries and caught two passes for four yards. The 36-year-old was on the field for eight more plays than Foreman in Week 9, but saw one fewer snap than his backfield mate this past weekend.

With Jeremy McNichols looking like a non-factor—he garnered a meager four totes in Week 10—the Titans will likely ride the hot hand going forward. That should translate for more work for Foreman in the coming weeks.

Considering the Texans are on tap in Week 11, Foreman could be in line for his best fantasy day yet. He'll face a pillow-soft defensive front that has allowed an average of 136.9 rushing yards and a total of 15 scores on the ground this season.

There isn't a ton of upside in this pickup, but Foreman has fantasy value if he cements his role as Tennessee's lead back. He's well worth a stash if you are short-handed at the RB position and a great waiver wire addition for those in deeper formats.

DK DFS Value: $4,500

Despite consistently producing over the first month of his NFL career, Rashod Bateman remains a free agent in many fantasy leagues.

That should change in Week 11 following another quality performance by the Ravens wideout.

Bateman was one of Baltimore's few bright spots in an otherwise embarrassing primetime loss to the Dolphins in Week 10, reeling in six catches for 80 yards.

The rookie has established himself as a viable fantasy option, especially in PPR formats. He has the highest floor of any wideout still widely available, garnering six targets in each of his four appearances while catching at least five passes in each of the past two.

While Bateman is still trying to find the end zone for the first time in his career, it's only a matter of time considering his current volume of looks.

Fantasy managers who were on the fence about Bateman because of the imminent return of Sammy Watkins should no longer have any hesitations about rostering the young wideout.

After being sidelined since Week 5, Watkins returned to the starting lineup on Thursday but only saw 23 snaps in the contest. Bateman was on the field for 40 snaps, catching five more balls and amassing 73 more yards than the veteran.

With Watkins struggling in his return—he also lost a fumble against the Dolphins—the Ravens would be wise to keep feeding Bateman down the stretch. He may not be a week-winning WR1 in fantasy, but the 21-year-old is a serviceable WR3 and high-floor flex option worth a waiver claim.

DK DFS Value: $4,100

After taking some time to get acclimated following a late-September trade that brought him to Jacksonville, Dan Arnold is clearly getting comfortable and becoming a major part of his new team's offense.

The tight end is emerging as a low-end, matchup-proof TE1 because of his status as the Jaguars' top pass-catching option. Over the past few weeks, Arnold has been one of the more consistent performers at a position devoid of many reliable talents.

Arnold has now soaked 24 targets across three games, reeling in 17 of those for 195 yards.

While Arnold hasn't scored a touchdown in 2021, it's only a matter of time before he starts putting points on the board for Jacksonville.

He's leading the team in targets since the start of Week 8 and possesses the size (6'6", 240 pounds) and athleticism to be quarterback Trevor Lawrence's go-to weapon in the red area.

If you are one of the many fantasy managers who have been forced to stream tight ends, be sure to clear a roster spot and place a waiver claim on Arnold.

The 26-year-old is going to be a consistent factor in the Jaguars' improving passing attack and should only see his numbers increase over the back half of the campaign.