Fantasy Football Week 11 WR Waiver Wire: Brandin Cooks finally breaks out for Cowboys

Fantasy football players will often see their overall value fluctuate as the NFL season plays itself out. Brandin Cooks is a prime example of this as his projections with the Dallas Cowboys have been all over the place this year. He went from a desirable late-round fantasy draft target to a complete bust who was easily droppable from rosters and is now a popular waiver wire target.

As offensive roles change during the course of a season, including injury situations, establishing chemistry, and player development, so does the fantasy value for a specific player. An increase can sometimes mean that a player previously serving as a free agent in most fantasy leagues now deserves to be rostered.

This is where the waiver wire comes into play. Managers have the opportunity to put in a claim for any unrostered fantasy players each week. All of the league claims are then distributed in an auto-draft format. This process is used to make claiming free agents as fair as possible, so all unrostered players become waivers as soon as their weekly game kicks off.

Wide receivers will always be among the most popular waiver wire targets in fantasy football due to the incredible depth of the position. More players in this position produce relevant fantasy football contributions than in any other.

Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season is a solid example of this, as several wide receivers have emerged as legitimate waiver wire targets.

Top Fantasy Football WR Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 11

Week 11 waiver wire WRs

1] Brandin Cooks

When the Dallas Cowboys signed Brandin Cooks during the offseason, it was intended to give Dak Prescott a legitimate WR2 option across from superstar CeeDee Lamb. He was a major disappointment through the first five weeks of the 2023 NFL season in his first year with his new team.

During that stretch, he failed to record five receptions or 30 yards in any game and was held to zero touchdowns. This understandably resulted in most managers dropping him from their rosters in fantasy football. He has turned things around since then, catching three touchdowns across his past four games and recently recording the breakout the Cowboys have been waiting for.

Week 10 was Cooks' best game of the season by far, totaling nine receptions on 10 targets for 173 yards and a touchdown. He more than doubled his total yardage for the entire season in just this one game. His current hot streak, as well as Prescott's apparent focus on getting him involved in their offense, makes Cooks a solid waiver wire target this week.

2] Demario Douglas

The New England Patriots recently received devastating news when their WR1 Kendrick Bourne suffered a season-ending injury. He was also a solid fantasy football lineup staple for many managers, including three finishes among the top 15 wide receivers this year. His absence would require someone new to emerge as their top passing target and that player appears to Demario Douglas.

Douglas has been listed as the starting wide receiver for the Patriots in each of their past four games and finished among the top 30 players in his position for PPR leagues in three of them. This includes his biggest breakout performance last week, setting new career-highs with six receptions on nine targets for 84 yards on his way to a career-best WR22 finish.

It appears to be clear that Douglas is filling the voided role that Bourne served previously and has quickly become the preferred target in the Patriots' passing game. He has increased his targets and receptions in each of his past four games and makes for an attractive waiver wire addition before the final stretch of the 2023 fantasy football season.

3] Trenton Irwin

The Cincinnati Bengals were forced to play without Tee Higgins in Week 10 for the second time this season as he continues to battle through multiple injuries this year. In his absence, Tyler Boyd makes for an obvious fantasy football replacement, but he's owned in most leagues at this point, keeping him off of the list of Week 11 waiver wire targets.

Along with Boyd, Trenton Irwin has seen a significant increase in his fantasy value in games that Higgins has been unavailable to play in. In two games with an expanded role this season, Irwin has combined to record 10 receptions on 14 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown. Joe Burrow obviously trusts him as a receiver and has proved it whenever he has gotten onto the football field.

Playing time has been the only thing that has slowed Irwin this year, as he has totaled just three receptions for 41 yards in six games with Higgins in the lineup.

The Bengals are currently on a short Week 11 as they are scheduled to play in Thursday Night Football. This gives Higgins less time to recover from his injury, so Irwin could once again see an expanded role. He's worth a speculative waiver wire add in fantasy football.

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4] Noah Brown

CJ Stroud is having an unbelievable rookie season with the Houston Texans. He is the clear frontrunner to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and if he continues on his scorching pace, could potentially be in the mix for the NFL MVP award. When a quarterback dominates the way he has, it usually means his wide receivers will have fantasy football value as well.

Nico Collins and Tank Dell are already two Texans receivers that must be owned in all fantasy formats, but now a third has joined the mix as well. Noah Brown has produced two consecutive massive games, finishing among the top 10 wide receivers in fantasy football for both of them. His insane breakout includes totals of 13 receptions on 14 targets for 325 yards and a touchdown.

In each of the past four games, Brown has increased his receptions, targets, and yards in each game as compared to the last one. It's time to take him seriously in fantasy football as he has done enough to this point to deserve a spot on most rosters. He is one of the hottest wide receivers in the NFL right now and plays in a surprisingly high-powered offense with one of the best quarterbacks of the 2023 NFL season.