The quickest way to fall behind in a fantasy football league is to become complacent and rely on the team you drafted, neglecting the all-important waiver wire. As managers make numerous waiver claims for Week 11, hoping to strengthen their roster, should Kansas City Chiefs RBs Isiah Pacheco or Jerick McKinnon be priority additions off the waiver wire vs. the Los Angeles Chargers?
Isiah Pacheco Dominates on the Ground, While Jerick McKinnon Records Another 8-Target Game
Do you remember a few years ago when everyone praised the Chiefs for drafting Clyde Edwards-Helaire? Yeah, safe to say that hasn’t paid out as now Pacheco is the hot name, and if anything, the wick on his fantasy value got turned up even more heading into Week 11.
Pacheco gained 82 yards on 16 carries while taking the vast majority of snaps on early downs (33), which was more than both McKinnon and Edwards-Helaire combined (13). Unfortunately, fantasy managers didn’t feel this success quite as much, as Pacheco scored just 6.2 PPR points due to a lost fumble.
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Where Pacheco had the advantage was on the ground. Meanwhile, McKinnon continued his dominance through the air.
Leading the backfield in passing snaps and routes, McKinnon caught six of his eight targets for 56 yards against the Jaguars. Along with his two rushing yards on one carry, McKinnon‘s 11.8 PPR points placed him inside the top 22 for the week. It was also the second-straight game McKinnon caught six of eight passes for 40 or more yards.
Ideally, fantasy managers would get this production wrapped up into one player, but both McKinnon and Pacheco are receiving love from managers scouring the Week 11 waiver wire.
Should Pachecho or McKinnon Be a Top Waiver Wire Priority for Fantasy Managers in Week 11?
For me, if I were to roster a Chiefs running back, it would be Pacheco. He has started the last three games but took another step forward in his role last week. While I wish you would receive some PPR value, there is TD upside with three scores in his last four games. The problem is Pacheco likely needs a touchdown to be worth starting.
As for McKinnon, he has back-to-back weeks inside the top 24 and has finished as an RB3 or better in four of the last five games. With that said, McKinnon benefited in the last two weeks due to injuries at wide receiver, with Mecole Hardman dealing with an abdominal injury and JuJu Smith-Schuster suffering a concussion against the Jaguars. McKinnon will likely come back to Earth a little bit.
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However, if you’re looking for an RB to add off the waiver wire in Week 11, I put Pacheco amongst the top four options, along with Gus Edwards, Rachaad White, and Jaylen Warren.
I would rather have any of them over CEH at this point. If you’re in a PPR league, I can understand the appeal of McKinnon to an extent, but with one touchdown on the year and targets likely to dip, I’m not sure the RB2 finishes will be quite as prevalent.
Regardless, Pacheco would be a fine addition off the Week 11 waiver wire ahead of a matchup against the Chargers, who have become a bit of a run funnel and sit 30th in points allowed to the position at 29.8 PPR.