Fantasy football: Justin Herbert among top add/drops for Week 11

MIAMI, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson and Quentin Johnston lead my fantasy football waiver wire priority list for Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season.

Audric Estime, Jaylen Warren and the Houston Texans defense/special teams are among my other targets.

Check out my list of waiver-wire targets below if you need replacement options for injured starters. Players from the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are on bye, should be benched or released.

Injuries, breakout performances and other factors have cleared the way for several players to warrant a spot on fantasy football team benches or maybe even in starting lineups.

My waiver wire priorities each carry an ownership percentage of 60% or less. This week's group features streaming plays, as well as lottery-ticket style targets, who could be difference makers down the stretch or in the playoffs.

Here are my top players to add and top players to drop for Week 11:

ALL-ADD TEAM

QB | Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson; RB | Audric Estime, Jaylen Warren; WR | Quentin Johnston, Ricky Pearsall, Marquez Valdes-Scantling; TE | Jonnu Smith; D/ST | Houston Texans; K | Jake Bates

HONORABLE MENTIONS

QB | Aaron Rodgers, Geno Smith; RB | Alexander Mattison, Tyler Allgeier; WR | Cedric Tillman, Alec Pierce; TE | Will Dissly; D/ST | Miami Dolphins; K | Jake Moody

TOP DROPS

QB | Dak Prescott; RB | Tank Bigsby; WR | Xavier Worthy; D/ST | New York Giants; K | Chase McLaughlin

QUARTERBACK

Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson are my top quarterbacks to target off the waiver wire in Week 11. They should be solid plays, especially if you need a replacement for Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield, who are on bye.

Herbert is set to face a Cincinnati Bengals defense that allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks through 10 weeks. They also surrendered four touchdown passes to Lamar Jackson in Week 10. The Bengals allowed quarterbacks to account for multiple touchdowns in six of their 10 games.

Herbert failed to account for multiple touchdowns in five of his first six starts, but was responsible for two scores in each of his last three. Look for the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback to total at least two touchdown tosses in this meeting. He will be inside the Top 14 of my weekly rankings.

Wilson threw a season-high three touchdown passes in Week 10. That performance marked the second time in three games that he accounted for at least three touchdowns. He also eclipsed 250 passing yards twice during that span.

This week, Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers will face a Baltimore Ravens defense that allowed the most passing yards (314.4), tied for allowing the most touchdown passes (2.1) and surrendered the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.

The Ravens allowed at least three passing scores to quarterbacks in four of their last six meetings, including four- and five-touchdown efforts by Joe Burrow.

Wilson should throw at least two touchdown passes in this matchup.

RUNNING BACK

The running back pool is a bit shallow this week, but several players can be added to fantasy football team benches. Audric Estime, Alexander Mattison, Jaylen Warren and Tyler Allgeier are my top options, but I wouldn't start any of them immediately -- unless you are very desperate or in an extremely deep league -- because of their histories of inconsistent workloads.

Estime might be the most interesting option of this group because of his increased usage by the Denver Broncos in Week 10, when he received a season-high 14 carries. That total dwarfed the meager workloads of both Jaleel McLaughlin (two carries) and Javonte Williams (one carry).

Estime also was in for a season-high 45% of the Broncos' offensive snaps, compared to 29% for Williams and 12% for McLaughlin. The rookie also dominated work in the second half.

Entering Week 10, Williams earned at least 51% of the snaps in every game, while McLaughlin was in for at least 22% of the snaps each week. Estime, who hadn't earned more than a 10% snap share through nine weeks, now appears primed to take over a much larger chunk of the backfield split.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said Monday that Estime "will continue to get more reps" after he gained 53 yards on 14 carries in Week 10. The fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft could morph into a useful RB2/flex play down the road.

WIDE RECEIVER

Unlike the running back pool, the wide receiver target group is deep in Week 11. Quentin Johnston, Cedric Tillman, Ricky Pearsall and Alec Pierce are among my favorite options.

Johnston reached the end zone for the fifth time of the season and second time in as many weeks in the Chargers' Week 10 win over the Tennessee Titans. That performance came after he hauled in four catches for a career-best 118 yards.

As previously mentioned, the Chargers are set to face a generous Bengals defense in Week 11. Look for Herbert to connect with Johnston for another score in what should be a high-scoring meeting contested between two talented quarterbacks. Johnston can be plugged in as a low-end WR3 in leagues with at least 14 teams.

TIGHT END

Jonnu Smith continues to see increased targets as opposing defenses lock in on Miami Dolphins wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Smith nearly scored on a 33-yard catch in the Dolphins' Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He ended that game with three catches for 45 yards, marking his fourth performance in five games with at least 45 receiving yards. Smith only scored once during that span, but should continue to see a healthy amount of looks for quarterback Tua Tagoailoa.

The veteran tight end, who was targeted just 13 times through his first four games of the season, received 31 looks over his last five appearances. He is a touchdown-or-bust TE1 in leagues with at least 14 teams that require starting the position.