Week 11 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Audric Estime, Tyjae Spears, Gus Edwards

Welcome to Week 11’s fantasy football running back waiver wire breakdown! For one of the first times all season, we actually have some truly exciting names available to add this week. With that in mind, I won’t delay any further — here we go! 

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Week 11 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds

Audric Estime, Denver Broncos (3.7% Rostered)

Don’t look now, but we actually have a starting running back available in over 95% of fantasy football leagues. Estime led Denver’s RBs with a 46% snap share on Sunday and handled 14 of the team’s 17 RB rush attempts. Clearly, Sean Payton has had enough of Javonte Williams being arguably the worst starting RB in the league, and the fifth-round rookie is going to get a shot.

Unfortunately for Estime’s fantasy value, Williams remained the team’s lead back on passing downs. As a result, Estime ran just three routes; he has still yet to record an NFL target. This complete lack of receiving work does mean his upside is heavily capped. Some RBs can provide elite fantasy production without participating in the receiving game, but this Broncos’ offense isn’t exactly Baltimore, and nothing Estime has done so far indicates to me that he is the next coming of Derrick Henry. 

In fact, Estime actually ranks below average in most RB efficiency metrics. With that in mind, I wouldn’t consider him to be locked in as the Broncos’ starter for the rest of the way. But he clearly is for now, and that makes him an absolute must-add in all formats. 

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (52.3% Rostered)

Speaking of players who are must-adds, we have Tyjae Spears. I’m breaking my 50% rostered threshold with this recommendation just because Spears should be rostered in 100% of leagues. In his return from injury this week, he looked like the 1B to Tony Pollard’s 1A, with a lean towards playing in receiving situations … which is great given how often the Titans are trailing. That gives Spears fringe flex value for now, which, combined with elite handcuff upside if Pollard were to go down, makes him a must-roster.  

Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers (18.7% Rostered)

This was Edwards’ first game back from an ankle injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks, and he was immediately fairly involved. He played just 25% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps but saw only five fewer carries than J.K. Dobbins, 10 to 15. 

Importantly, Edwards was also more efficient than Dobbins, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. This is a role reversal from early in the season, when Dobbins was breaking off big runs while Edwards performed like one of the worst backs in the league. J.K. has slowed down lately, so Edwards could expand his role more going forward if he continues to run well. Even if that doesn’t happen, he’s a high-tier handcuff, especially considering the Chargers returned to their run-heavy approach in Week 10. 

Khalil Herbert, Cincinnati Bengals (25.5% Rostered)

I actually recommended Herbert last week, before he was even traded. While Cincinnati isn’t a perfect landing spot, it’s a good enough destination that Herbert deserves another mention here. Yes, his Bengals debut couldn’t have gone worse, as he fumbled his only touch (technically, he fumbled so fast it didn’t even count as a touch). But the Bengals brought in Herbert for a reason — they have absolutely no one behind Chase Brown, as Brown and Zack Moss are literally the only Cincinnati RBs to have recorded carries so far this season.

We shouldn't get too excited, as Brown is clearly the top player in this backfield. I am a huge believer in Herbert's talent, and even I don’t see that changing at this point. But if Brown were to go down, the Bengals' valuable workhorse job would go to Herbert. And we know that Herbert has a history of making the most of his opportunities and providing useable fantasy production when given decent volume. He’s a high-tier handcuff in his new home. 

Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins (8.8% Rostered)

This is mostly a pick for those of you in leagues (like any using the Sleeper app’s default settings) where you can drop players on your bench who have already played this week. If the worst player on your bench didn’t do much on Sunday, you should drop them right now for Wright, before the Dolphins play tonight. 

The rookie is currently stuck behind De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert in the Dolphins' backfield pecking order, but he did see six carries last week. He was also particularly involved in the second half, as Mostert was seemingly benched after a costly fumble. Regardless of whether he can carve out a role with everyone healthy, Wright has two injury-based paths to relevance behind two fragile backs. He is absolutely worth adding just to see how things play out tonight and also a viable long-term hold in deeper leagues. 

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.