Week 10 was a rough one for injuries. We lost a couple of very fantasy-relevant players, possibly for extended periods of time. Injuries to two Chiefs wide receivers opened the door for Kadarius Toney to see an increased role, and he delivered. How much of a priority is Toney for fantasy football managers to add off the waiver wire ahead of Week 11?
Kadarius Toney Showcased His Talent in Week 10
The Chiefs entered Week 10 without Mecole Hardman. As a result, I already expected an expanded role for Toney. I thought the breakout might happen. Then, early in the first half, JuJu Smith-Schuster exited with a concussion. Suddenly, Toney found himself in a bit of a barren wide receiver corps.
The thing is, Toney’s snap share didn’t really increase. He played just 44% of them. While that’s still less than we’d like, it’s a significant bump up from the previous week’s 9%.
More importantly, Toney ran a route on 17 of his 28 snaps. He played behind Justin Watson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling but was firmly ahead of Skyy Moore. Toney caught four of five targets for 57 yards and a touchdown. He also added two carries for 33 yards.
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Toney is the most talented wide receiver on the Chiefs. His performance has to have earned him a larger role, especially if Hardman and Smith-Schuster are forced to miss more time. The Chiefs lack a true alpha WR1. It could be Toney going forward. He just has to stay on the field.
The Chiefs throw the ball 66% of the time, the second-highest rate in the league. It’s why I’d never recommend taking Patrick Mahomes’ passing yards lower on Underdog Fantasy. Chasing pieces of this passing attack is never a bad idea. About half of you have already added Toney. I expect a whole lot more to pick him up this Tuesday night.
How Aggressively Should Fantasy Managers Pursue Toney Off the Waiver Wire?
Toney is not the top waiver add of the week. That honor goes to Rachaad White. In general, running backs are almost always better pickups than wide receivers.
With that said, a case can be made that Toney is the top wide receiver available on the Week 11 waiver wire. Only one team can get White. If that isn’t you, Toney isn’t a bad consolation prize.
Last week’s waiver wire was the weakest one of the season. This week projects to be one of the strongest. Toney may not be a league winner, but his ceiling is startable weekly WR2. That’s extremely rare to find this late in the season.
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With each successive week, FAAB becomes less and less valuable because anyone you pick up is spending fewer and fewer weeks on your roster. Toney is definitely a priority pickup. If he’s out there, feel free to bid as much as 15-20%.
If you play in a league that still uses the continual rolling list waiver priority system, there are multiple players worth burning it on. White should be first, but if you wanted to put Toney second, I would not push back against that at all.