Fantasy football has hit crunch time of the regular season and now, more than ever, a waiver wire pickup could make all the difference for your team.
With that, here are seven wavier wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 11:
Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Fantasy football waiver wire targets, claims ahead of Week 11.
Fantasy football has hit crunch time of the regular season and now, more than ever, a waiver wire pickup could make all the difference for your team.
With that, here are seven wavier wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 11:
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
SUNDAY SALUTES | ||
---|---|---|
Quarterbacks | Pass Rush |
TD |
Kyler Murray | 245-61 | 3 |
Tom Brady | 341-2 | 4 |
Josh Allen | 284-38 | 3 |
Ben Roethlisberger | 333-1 | 4 |
Aaron Rodgers | 325-4 | 3 |
Running Backs | Rush Catch |
TD |
Alvin Kamara | 8-15 7-83 |
3 |
Josh Jacobs | 21-112 4-24 |
2 |
Nyheim Hines | 12-70 5-45 |
2 |
Ronald Jones | 23-192 1-6 |
1 |
D’Andre Swift | 16-81 5-68 |
1 |
Wide Receivers | Yards | TD |
Cole Beasley | 111-109 | 1 |
DeAndre Hopkins | 7-127 | 1 |
Stefon Diggs | 10-93 | 1 |
Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 4-149 | 1 |
Tee Higgins | 7-115 | 1 |
Tight Ends | Yards | TD |
Rob Gronkowski | 2-51 | 1 |
Hunter Henry | 4-30 | 1 |
Cameron Brate | 3-31 | 1 |
Jordan Reed | 5-62 | 0 |
Logan Thomas | 4-66 | 0 |
Placekickers | XP | FG |
Ryan Succop | 4 | 4 |
Zane Gonzalez | 2 | 4 |
Daniel Carlson | 4 | 3 |
Chris Boswell | 3 | 3 |
Matt Prater | 3 | 3 |
Defense | Sck-TO | TD |
Raiders | 2-5 | 0 |
Steelers | 4-2 | 0 |
Rams | 6-3 | 0 |
Jaguars | 1-2 | 1 |
Saints | 2-3 | 0 |
QB Teddy Bridgewater – Knee
QB Matt Stafford – Thumb
QB Drew Brees – Ribs
RB Chris Thompson – Back
RB Tyler Ervin – Ribs
RB Jalen Richard – Chest
WR Tre’Quan Smith – Concussion
WR John Brown – Ankle
WR Danny Amendola – Hip
TE Nick Boyle – Leg
PK Kai Forbath – Ankle
The running backs made it out of Week 10 relatively unscathed.
QB Teddy Bridgewater – Had an MRI on his knee after the game and the results won’t be known until Monday. Early speculation was that the injury wasn’t serious. P.J. Walker finished the game for his first NFL action. Walker had been a star in the XFL, but Bridgewater seems likely to play against the visiting Lions this week.
QB Matt Stafford – Injured the thumb on his throwing hand in the first half but continued to play against Washington for one of his better performances. He had his thumb taped but later said it was harder to grip the ball. He’ll get an X-ray to see if there is any damage.
QB Drew Brees – Was crushed when DT Kentavius Street landed on top of him, Brees remained for that series to finish the first half but then could not play in the second half. There will be more information later in the week, but Brees said he did not believe it would be a long-term issue, but he added, “it’s just a matter of how long it’s going to be. And honestly, I really don’t know. It’s not something quite to this extent that I’ve experienced.” Jameis Winston came in to replace him but it is not certain if he or Taysom Hill would take over if needed. And likely – both would as they did in the win over the 49ers.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
Buccaneers backfield – Ronald Jones set the new franchise record with a 98-yard touchdown run in the win over the Panthers. He gained 192 yards on 23 carries and added a one-yard catch. Leonard Fournette only ran for 19 yards on eight carries and caught two for 11 yards. In Week 9, Fournette totaled 71 yards to 46 for Jones. This “hot hand” approach isn’t making starting lineups any easier.
RB Nick Chubb – His first action since Week 4 totaled 126 yards and a score on 19 carries. And yet, Kareem Hunt also ran 19 times for 104 yards and added three catches for 28 yards. That’s how this backfield operates ideally. Chubb should make plenty of noise with a softer schedule ahead and yet Hunt is not going anywhere.
QB Alex Smith – His first start since Kyle Allen was lost for the year, and Smith passed for 390 yards and no scores – but no turnovers. He’s kept Terry McLaurin (7-95) busy and that all that fantasy football wanted.
RB D’Andre Swift – Took the start this week and ran for 81 yards on 16 carries, plus caught all five targets for 68 yards and a 15-yard touchdown. Adrian Peterson only ran four times and caught one pass. 21 touches to five for Peterson says the Lions are getting more comfortable letting Swift handle a heavier load.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling – He only caught two passes for 53 yards in Week 9 but both were touchdowns. Against the visiting Jaguars, MVS ended with four receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown. And yet, he totaled only one catch for 19 yards over the two games prior, so still hard to buy into his turning a corner. Plus Allen Lazard is likely back next week.
RB Miles Sanders – First game since Week 6 and ran for 85 yards on 15 rushes (5.7 YPC) and caught a couple of passes for ten more yads. He looked just as dangerous but the rest of the offense, again, limits him.
TE Jordan Reed – George Kittle is on injured reserve and while Reed was held to only one short catch by the Packers in Week 9, he caught five-of-six targets for 62 yards in the loss to the Saints. The 49ers go onto their bye but when they return, they’ll face the Rams and Bills with plenty of reasons to throw the ball.
RB Nyheim Hines – Ran for 70 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown, and caught five passes for 45 yards and a second score last Thursday. All that does is degrade Jonathan Taylor even more and keeps Jordan Wilkins as just another touch-leech part of the backfield.
RB Devontae Booker – Ran 16 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns on the Broncos. That was mostly about the Raiders handing the Broncos a beatdown and Booker just ran out the clock and scored both times in the end of the fourth quarter. But it is notable that he’s taken over the No. 2 role for the Raiders backfield and ran for 68 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries last week at the Chargers.
RB Salvon Ahmed – The undrafted rookie was released by the 49ers last August and signed to the Dolphins. He had his first NFL action in Week 9 when he rushed for 38 yards on seven carries. With Myles Gaskin on injured reserve and Matt Breida a game-time decision that became inactive, the Fins also made Jordan Howard a healthy scratch so that Ahmed and newly acquired DeAndre Washington could share the backfield. Ahmed got the start and never looked back. He ran for 85 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries versus the Chargers compared to only two runs for two yards by Washington. That was the best rushing performance by any Miami runner this year. The Chargers only rank No. 21 against running backs, but Ahmed looked sharp with his 4.4/40-speed. He’ll be a hot commodity on the waiver wire this week.
RB Cam Akers – HC Sean McVay said that the rookie would see more use in the second half of the season and he was right. Akers started the matchup with the Seahawks and led the backfield with ten rushes for 38 yards. But he never was targeted and Malcolm Brown turned his six runs into 33 yards and two touchdowns since he came in for goal-line carries. And Darrell Henderson also scored once on his seven carries for 28 yards. Akers did start and did receive the most carries. Just not the ones that mattered.
RB Kalen Ballage – His first action with the Chargers was in Week 9 when he ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries with two catches for 15 yards. Versus the Dolphins on Sunday, Ballage ran for 698 yards on 18 carries with 34 more yards on five receptions. There’s still no word when Austin Ekeler returns but Ballage is laying claim to the starting role until Ekeler does return.
RB Alex Collins – The Seahawks were without Carlos Hyde and Chris Carson again, so Collins was given a bigger workload than the two carries for five yards from Week 5 when he was called up from the practice squad. He led the backfield with 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown plus one catch for four yards. DeeJay Dallas only ran twice for eight yards in the loss to the Rams. Carson is expected to return this week, so Collins is only of any interest when everyone else is out.
NFL tight ends – Each year, tight ends see their roles decrease as the season progresses and Week 10 holds that trend in place. The position only caught six touchdowns this week and none gained more than 65 yards. Having Travis Kelce on bye didn’t help, but the position disappoints even more each week.
Field-goal-mania – Entering into Monday night, NFL placekickers combined to match an NFL record with 11 field goals of at least 50 yards in one week. Through Week 10, there have been 71 50-yard field goals which is also an NFL record. Tyler Bass of the Bills kicked three field goals – 54, 55, and 58-yard kicks. And Jason Meyers of the Seahawks nailed a 61-yarder.
Ronald Jones – Ran 98 yards for a touchdown in the win at the Panthers and ties with Ahman Green (2003) for third-longest in NFL history. Only Tony Dorsett (1982) and Derrick Henry (2018) have covered the full 99 yards.
Alvin Kamara – The Saints came out a bit flat and ended up losing Drew Brees to a rib injury and only passing for a total of 139 yards and one score adding in Jameis Winston for the second half. But Kamara came through. He only gained 15 yards on eight carries but ran in two touchdowns. He was also the leading receiver with seven catches for 83 yards and a third touchdown. No other receiver managed more than 27 yards.
Salute!
Comedy | Yards | TDs | Tragedy | Yards | TDs | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
QB | Ben Roethlisberger | 333 | 4 | QB | Drew Brees | 76 | 1 |
RB | Devontae Booker | 16-81 1-2 |
2 | RB | James Conner | 13-36 2-12 |
0 |
RB | Malcolm Brown | 6-33 2-18 |
2 | RB | Mike Davis | 7-32 4-12 |
0 |
WR | Tee Higgins | 7-115 | 1 | WR | A.J. Brown | 1-21 | 0 |
WR | Michael Pittman | 7-101 | 0 | WR | Michael Thomas | 2-27 | 0 |
WR | Brandon Aiyuk | 7-75 | 1 | WR | DK Metcalf | 2-28 | 0 |
TE | Cameron Brate | 3-31 | 1 | TE | Jared Cook | 0 | 0 |
PK | Ryan Succop | 4 XP 4 FG | PK | Ka’imi Fairbairn | 1 XP | ||
Huddle Fantasy Points = 169 | Huddle Fantasy Points = 35 |
Now get back to work…
The Dolphins currently lead the Chargers by the score of 17-7.
The Chargers currently trail the Dolphins by the score of 17-7 at the halfway mark.
Things didn’t start too hot for Los Angeles after punter Ty Long botched the snap and had it blocked, allowing Miami to take over at their opponent’s one-yard line. From there, running back Salvon Ahmed punched it up the gut for the first score of the game.
BLOCKED PUNT.@MiamiDolphins take over at the one. #FinsUp
📺: #LACvsMIA on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/p1akRoFoep pic.twitter.com/8VfPi5Wzhf— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2020
FIRST TD FOR @AhmedSalvon 🥳
📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/h9gcVUF4uq
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 15, 2020
L.A. could’ve held Miami to a field goal on their next drive, but a defensive offsides penalty on cornerback Quenton Meeks led to a passing touchdown from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to wide receiver Jakeem Grant.
It's Nephew 😎@Tua @_TheDreamIsHere
📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/pHxYzBGRTk
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 15, 2020
The Dolphins were close to taking a 21-point lead, but a botched snap and fumble recovery by linebacker Nick Vigil led to a scoring possession. Quarterback Justin Herbert took it himself for a one-yard rushing touchdown.
needed that one 💪
📺: CBS | #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/hqWm9tQzcx
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) November 15, 2020
big guy ‼️
📺: CBS | #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/FjdHBtiguU
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) November 15, 2020
Miami will start the second half with the football.
Miami Dolphins awarded running back Salvon Ahmed off waivers
The Miami Dolphins have seen all they need to see of veteran running back Kalen Ballage, the third-year back out of Arizona State has been released from his contract. And to replace Ballage on the roster, the Dolphins are staying out west and tapping into the PAC-12 pipeline of runners once more — they’ve claimed 2020 undrafted free agent running back Salvon Ahmed of the Washington Huskies. Ahmed, who signed after the draft with the San Francisco 49ers and was cut on Tuesday, will be the second Huskies running back on the roster; joining 2019 7th-round pick Myles Gaskin.
We have been awarded RB Salvon Ahmed off waivers from San Francisco.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 26, 2020
The book on Ahmed is that he’s currently a better athlete than back at this point, in large part because he spent the early portions of his college career stuck behind Gaskin on the depth chart. From 2015-2018, Gaskin never logged less than 233 total touches of the football in any individual season and in total logged 1,010 touches over his four seasons with the Huskies. Ahmed overlapped with Gaskin in 2017 & 2018 and only managed to scratch out 199 total touches between those two seasons combined.
2019 was Ahmed’s time to shine and he made it count — surpassing 1,000 yards rushing on 188 carries and finding the end zone 11 times for the Huskies. But his pro forecast didn’t match his surge in production.
The Draft Network’s 2020 scouting profile on Ahmed paints a picture that should give Dolphins fans a clear expectation on Ahmed: he’s likely best as a running back by committee individual and would serve a role as a complementary piece only. Here’s the summary from TDN on Ahmed coming out of Washington.
“Salvon Ahmed is a low end NFL RB who has the redirection ability to make some big plays happen in space — but he’s currently not reliable in his ability to process and key the point of attack. Too may of his runs are derailed by his own attempts to work to daylight and he needs to develop more trust and urgency to press through gaps. Ahmed’s athleticism is passable for the pro game but he lacks the long speed and home run hitting skills he seems to think he has with his running style.” – The Draft Network
His first order of business will be finding a way to unseat Gaskin and Patrick Laird off of the RB3 position in the depth chart. Unfortunately for Ahmed, he won’t have a lot of time to do so — and he may be destined for a spot on the practice squad when the 2020 season starts.
The 49ers roster got a tweak with just a couple weeks left in training camp.
The 49ers on Tuesday officially announced the signing of tight end Erik Swoope. Reports of the pending move surfaced Monday. To make room on the 80-man roster, San Francisco released undrafted running back Salvon Ahmed.
Swoope was a college basketball player at the University of Miami, but signed in 2014 as a UDFA with the Colts. In four NFL seasons he has 23 receptions for 384 yards and four touchdowns across 24 games. He was most recently with the Raiders, but they cut him last offseason before he could play a game for them.
With Ross Dwelley nursing a foot injury and Jordan Reed slowly working his way into full practices, Swoope gives San Francisco a much-needed healthy body to take snaps in training camp.
Ahmed was one of two undrafted rookie running backs the 49ers signed after the 2020 draft. In three years at the University of Washington, Ahmed posted 2,016 yards and 21 touchdowns on 353 carries. He added another 331 yards through the air on 50 receptions.
San Francisco’s glut of talent at running back meant there was likely a battle between Ahmed and fellow undrafted rookie JaMycal Hasty for a spot on either the roster or the practice squad. It appears Hasty won out with a couple strong performances early in training camp.
[vertical-gallery id=660384]
The 49ers’ 10th undrafted free agent was Washington running back Salvon Ahmed.
The 49ers on Friday officially signed their 10th undrafted free agent, bringing their roster count to the 90-player maximum. Washington running back Salvon Ahmed was long reported to be signing with San Francisco, but he wasn’t among the batch of players signed earlier in the week.
Ahmed’s running style is an interesting fit in San Francisco’s run game. He’s very patient and does a nice job making defenders miss in tight spaces. He also runs with a low center of gravity that gives him good balance. Ahmed is also looks faster on tape than his 4.62 40 time.
The 49ers’ run game requires players to get north to south in a hurry though. That’s part of the reason Raheem Mostert has so much success. He plants his foot and gets upfield as soon as the hole develops. Ahmed doesn’t do that. He has very quick feet, but he uses that quickness to move sideways too often.
Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers have had a ton of success with undrafted rookie running backs though, so we can’t rule out Ahmed making the roster and having an impact.
A look at the running backs expected to attend the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis at the end of the month.
The Seahawks took a number of hits to their run game last season, losing starter Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and C.J. Prosise to injuries. Rookie Travis Homer stepped up as well as veterans Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, who were signed to the roster to assist with Seattle’s playoff run.
General manager John Schneider could be looking to add yet another new face to the ground game and will have quite a few options to eye at this year’s NFL scouting combine.
Here’s a look at the running backs expected to attend.
RUNNING BACKS
Salvon Ahmed, RB, Washington
Cam Akers, RB, Florida State
Jet Anderson, RB, TCU
LeVante Bellamy, RB, Western Michigan
Eno Benjamin, RB, Arizona State
Raymond Calais, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette
DeeJay Dallas, RB, Miami
AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State
Rico Dowdle, RB, South Carolina
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU
Darrynton Evans, RB, Appalachian State
JaMycal Hasty, RB, Baylor
Brian Herrien, RB, Georgia
Tony Jones, RB, Notre Dame
Joshua Kelley, RB, UCLA
Javon Leake, RB, Maryland
Benny LeMay, RB, UNC-Charlotte
Anthony McFarland, RB, Maryland
Zack Moss, RB, Utah
Sewo Olonilua, RB, TCU
La’Mical Perine, RB, Florida
Scottie Phillips, RB, Mississippi
James Robinson, RB, Illinois State
D’Andre Swift, RB, Georgia
J.J. Taylor, RB, Arizona
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin
Patrick Taylor, RB, Memphis
Ke’Shawn Vaughn, RB, Vanderbilt
Mike Warren, RB, Cincinnati
[lawrence-related id=56100]
Washington running back Salvon Ahmed is leaving school early to enter the 2020 NFL draft
GO DAWGS 🖤 pic.twitter.com/mxRQxayins
— salvon david ahmed (@AhmedSalvon) January 3, 2020
An already loaded running back class is getting another early entry, this time from the Pac-12.
Washington’s Salvon Ahmed is leaving school early to enter the 2020 NFL draft. He made his announcement via social media Friday.
Somewhat undersized at 5-11, 196 pounds, Ahmed shouldered the lion’s share of the carries for the Huskies this season, leading the team with 1,020 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He was an efficient back all year long, finishing the season averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
An extremely deep class could push Ahmed down draft board, but the right situation could make him a bargain if he’s still on the board in the later rounds.
[vertical-gallery id=611135]