Waiver Wire Week 11: Isiah Pacheco, Juwan Johnson Highlight Pickups to Know

Waiver Wire Week 11: Isiah Pacheco, Juwan Johnson Highlight Pickups to Know
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1Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
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2Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints
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3Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR, Tennessee Titans
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Waiver Wire Week 11: Isiah Pacheco, Juwan Johnson Highlight Pickups to Know

Nov 14, 2022

Waiver Wire Week 11: Isiah Pacheco, Juwan Johnson Highlight Pickups to Know

KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 13: Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) breaks a run in the first quarter of an NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs on November 13, 2022 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 13: Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) breaks a run in the first quarter of an NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs on November 13, 2022 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Two of last week's waiver targets, Rachaad White and Cole Kmet, may have ascended. The former received a lion's share of carries (22, which he turned into 105 yards) and the latter scored two touchdowns for a second consecutive week.

While both are now rostered in over one-third of fantasy leagues (per FantasyPros), Week 10 has brought some new fantasy free agents into the mix. If White (34.2 percent rostered) and Kmet (48.8 percent) are unavailable, consider the following three candidates: Isiah Pacheco (23.6 percent), Juwan Johnson (10.1 percent) and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (0.7 percent).

Each occupying a different position, they all provide varying degrees of floor and ceiling, but stick out as the most intriguing names prior to Monday Night Football.

Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 23: Isiah Pacheco #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 23, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 23: Isiah Pacheco #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 23, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

A few weeks back, the Pacheco moment seemed upon us as managers scrambled to pick him up after Ian Rapoport reported that the rookie back would be taking over as Kansas City's starter.

Two weeks (and a combined five fantasy points in half-point-per-reception leagues) later, Pacheco's rostered percentage has fallen back to earth. And, of course, the rollercoaster continues and he now leads Week 10's waiver targets despite only posting 6.2 fantasy points against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the scoring may not have been impressive and the rookie did cough up a fumble in the red zone, Pacheco was finally the clear Chiefs RB1 this week. He received 16 carries on the day (his most all season), no other back rushed more than once and, most importantly, Andy Reid went straight back to him after the fumble.

It's a crowded backfield and there's always potential for Pacheco to cede opportunities (especially pass-catching) to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon, but you can't ignore Week 10's carry splits. If he continues to get this percentage of work (or even close to it) on such a high-powered offense, he'll be an exciting option for fantasy lineups.

Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 13: Juwan Johnson #83 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates after a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on November 13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 13: Juwan Johnson #83 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates after a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on November 13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

With Week 10's final game yet to play, Johnson has quietly delivered yet another week as a top-five tight end in fantasy—his third in the past four weeks. The target volume hasn't been inspiring, but the 6'4" pass-catcher did score his fourth touchdown in that four-game span while pacing the Saints in targets (7), catches (5), yards (44) and touchdowns (1) this week.

Over the past four weeks, Johnson has scored 17.7, 2.4, 11.2 and 12.9 fantasy points. Likely unexciting for most fantasy positions, those are eye-catching numbers for a tight end.

Moving forward, managers who are struggling at his position end could do much worse than taking a shot on Johnson. His floor is no lower than the majority of his peers and there's a chance that he is actually joining Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara among the Saints' top targets.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR, Tennessee Titans

KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 06: L'Jarius Sneed #38 of the Kansas City Chiefs breaks up a pass play intended for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine #15 of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on November 6, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 06: L'Jarius Sneed #38 of the Kansas City Chiefs breaks up a pass play intended for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine #15 of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on November 6, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

As speculative an add as they come, Westbrook-Ikhine is rostered in just 0.7 percent of leagues for a reason. Prior to Week 10, the third-year wideout had a grand total of 15 targets this season, which converted into seven catches for 138 yards.

Against the Denver Broncos, though, NWI saw eight targets (double his season-high) for five catches, 119 yards and two touchdowns.

This game could have easily been a matter of spontaneity. In all likelihood, it was. But the Titans have been desperate for receivers all season and, on the off chance that Westbrook-Ikhine is truly taking up that mantle, the opportunity will be there. If you have a spare spot on your roster, there's no harm in putting him on your bench and seeing what the target percentage is like on Thursday against the Green Bay Packers. If this was a blip and he returns to being completely uninvolved, you can just cycle him out for another upside-free agent before Sunday.

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