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Matt Bowen
At various points during the fantasy football season, injuries, bye weeks and breaking news can cause you to need reinforcements for your fantasy lineup. Every Friday throughout the 2025 NFL season, Matt Bowen will offer some late-week pickup options to help fill those holes, with an emphasis on deeper leagues.
Because of that, this column will focus mostly on players rostered in fewer than 50% of ESPN leagues, with occasional exceptions.
Let’s get into Week 11 at the quarterback position, starting with a volume thrower who has put up big numbers over the past month, plus two signal-callers who provide rushing upside. There are a couple of pass-catching running backs in here as well, and a tight end seeing steady volume. As always, we’ll end with a defense, and this unit gets a solid matchup Monday night.
Quarterbacks
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals (39.3% rostered; at Steelers)
I would stick with Flacco as a deeper-league play against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the Week 7 meeting with the Steelers, Flacco scored 25.98 points, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns. In that game, Mike Tomlin’s team didn’t have an answer (or a matchup) for Ja’Marr Chase (16 receptions, 161 yards, one touchdown). Flacco has at least 24 points in each of his past three starts, and he has averaged more than 43 pass attempts per game with the Bengals. He can deliver when his team is chasing points late in games.
Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders (14.7% rostered; at Dolphins)
Mariota had 18.72 points in the Week 10 loss to the Detroit Lions, throwing for two scores and adding 22 yards rushing on five carries. We know Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury can set up Mariota on designed carries, plus the call sheet will feature more spread elements to create production in the pass game. Let’s take the matchup against a Miami defense that ranks in the bottom 10 versus opposing quarterbacks (19.5 PPG).
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (48.5% rostered; vs. Bears)
McCarthy’s lack of throwing efficiency over his past two starts (50.7% completion rate, three interceptions) does create some pause here. But the rushing totals give McCarthy a boost, and he gets a positive matchup versus the Chicago Bears. McCarthy, who scored 22.22 points in the Week 1 win over Chicago, has at least five carries in each of his past two games, with a touchdown run in one. Additionally, this Bears defense had some issues defending the designed QB run concepts versus Jaxson Dart in Week 10. Plus, McCarthy will also have perimeter matchups to exploit with Justin Jefferson against Chicago’s secondary.
Wide receivers
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals (8.7% rostered; vs. 49ers)
With Marvin Harrison Jr. down (appendectomy), Wilson jumps into the No. 1 wide receiver role for the Cardinals. Wilson has enough speed to get over the top, but it’s the route traits that allow him to work the intermediate levels. He has averaged 6.1 targets per game this season, and that number should elevate with Harrison out.
Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (35.4% rostered; at Bills)
With Chris Godwin Jr. still out (fibula), Johnson is a viable option with scoring upside. He had a career-best 20.2 points in the Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots, catching four of five targets for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson has at least one touchdown in three of his past four games. He’s a deep-ball glider who can also get loose after the catch. Let’s get him in the lineup versus Buffalo.
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (26.7% rostered; at Giants)
A vertical stretch option for quarterback Jordan Love, Watson is averaging 23.5 yards per catch over his past three games, with four targets in each. There’s lower volume here, so you are playing the upside of the deep-ball throws. Watson is a boom-or-bust flier in Week 11 against a New York Giants defense that has given up the seventh-most points to wide receivers this season.
Running backs
Devin Singletary, New York Giants (33.0% rostered; vs. Packers)
Tyrone Tracy Jr. paced the Giants’ backfield (14 carries, 71 yards) in the Week 10 loss to the Bears, but Singletary did produce 73 total yards on 11 touches. Singletary did most of his work as a receiver, catching three passes for 53 yards. Yes, there is some uncertainty with the Giants this week, as interim head coach Mike Kafka takes over and Jameis Winston gets the start at quarterback for an injured Dart (concussion). However, Singletary’s pass-game usage is intriguing enough to get him into deeper-league lineups.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (37.3% rostered; vs. Texans)
I don’t love this matchup versus the Houston Texans defense, but I’ll take the anticipated volume for Spears, plus the receiving numbers, in a backfield split with Tony Pollard. Spears has at least three receptions in each of his past four games, with seven or more carries in his past two. You can work with that, because the running back options are pretty slim in Week 11.
Tight end
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans (47.2% rostered; at Titans)
Schultz is on the injury report for his shoulder and has not practiced this week, so let’s keep an eye on things here. If he’s good to go for the Week 11 game against the Titans, however, Schultz has fringe TE1 upside. Schultz scored 18.3 points in the Week 10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars with Davis Mills at quarterback, and he has had at least 13 points and six receptions in three of his past four games. There’s too much volume and production to pass up here.
D/ST
Dallas Cowboys (28.5% rostered; at Raiders)
The Cowboys’ defense has scored 13 or more points, with four or more sacks, in two of the past three games. So, let’s take the matchup in Week 11 versus a Las Vegas Raiders offense that turns the ball over, while averaging only 15.4 PPG (29th in the league). Remember, quarterback Geno Smith has thrown at least one interception in seven of nine games. There’s opportunity here for the Cowboys to cash in on takeaways, too.