Week-Ahead Stash Candidates for Week 11

This weekly article series will attempt to help you in two ways. First, we are going to be examining players who may not be the hot waiver pickups of the week. This will save your Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) or waiver priority for when you need it most. Second, we will be diving into stats and trends that point to players improving their fantasy scores next week, not this current week. The goal is to sift through the rough to find those diamonds who emerge every single year, except you won't be sweating over whether or not you claimed them on waivers, because you will already own them. At least that's the goal.

Here's the fifth transparency report of the season. Before Week 9, I told you to grab these guys for a Week 10 start. Here's how they did:

Hey, at least my D/ST selections have been on point lately! Outside of that, it wasn't a good week. Alex Smith was even more conservative than usual, DeVante Parker got injured, Tre'Quan Smith inexplicably saw zero targets in a game where the New Orleans Saints posted 53 points. It was a strange week for my picks. I do think that Giovani Bernard will be rosterable going forward in PPR leagues, so if you grabbed him, I'd say he's worth holding.

Now, on to next week! Here are some guys who may not be startable for Week 11 but could be valuable the following week and beyond. So, if you have space, add them now or hope that they fall through waivers after this week.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Browns

Yahoo ownership: 42%

I'm going to retread Baker Mayfield from an earlier edition of this article. He's been a good streaming quarterback so far this season, averaging 3.46 more fantasy points against bottom half pass defenses. Not to mention, since Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired Baker has thrown for 513 yards and 5 touchdowns over 2 games. Fill-in offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has been making this offense pop and seems to be bringing the first overall pick to fruition as a starting quarterback.

The Cleveland Browns are on bye in Week 11, so Baker's ownership percentage may even drop a few more points as people get desperate for starting wide receivers and running backs. But in Week 11, Baker will get to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have given up over 500 total yards of offense to opposing teams each of their last three games. They also haven't allowed fewer than 265 passing yards since Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins. The Bengals are second only to the New Orleans Saints in fantasy points given up to opposing quarterbacks. With the Browns' offense ramping up, this will be a prime spot start if your main quarterback -- like Patrick Mahomes, perhaps -- is on bye.

Josh Adams, RB, Eagles

Yahoo ownership: 25%

I think it can be safely said at this point that Josh Adams is the best running back on the Philadelphia Eagles' roster right now. Over the team's last two games, Adams has rushed 16 times for 108 yards -- that's good for 6.75 yards per carry. Eagles head coach Doug Peterson recently stated that Adams will see more carries going forward as well. Since the departure of Jay Ajayi, Adams has hands down been the best running back in this backfield.

The Eagles play the New Orleans Saints this week, who have been staunch against the running back position so far. Through 10 weeks, they've allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Considering the Saints will likely be leading for the majority of this game, I don't see Adams -- who has only seen one target all year -- being a great option this week. In Week 11, on the other hand, he will square up with the New York Giants. That game script will likely be the exact opposite of this week. The Giants are allowing the ninth-most points to running backs this season, and if Pederson is committed to giving Adams the ball, this will be the game to do it.

Pierre Garcon, WR, 49ers

Yahoo ownership: 21%

I honestly was trying to decide between picking Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin. Goodwin is currently sitting at 43% owned in Yahoo leagues, so I went with the one more likely to be available. The San Francisco 49ers are on bye in Week 11, so again it's possible that their ownership drops over the course of this week. Garcon did miss the Week 10 contest against New York Giants due to a knee injury, but early reports are that he's planning to practice following their bye. In Nick Mullens' first career start, Garcon saw 5 targets, of which he caught 3 for 56 yards and a touchdown. Mullens could be just the shot in the arm this offense needed for Garcon to get going.

In Week 12, Garcon and the 49ers will be playing against the horrendous Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. This defense has allowed over 400 total yards of offense in three of their last five games. The Buccaneers' top two cornerbacks are both allowing a quarterback rating greater than 111 when in coverage. Mullens and Garcon will exploit their weak secondary, and the hope is that Garcon will hit paydirt once again.

John Ross, WR, Bengals

Yahoo ownership: 15%

There was a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter saying that star wideout A.J. Green could miss a month, then later there was a report where Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said he's "hopeful Green returns this Sunday." In the meantime, adding John Ross is a good idea. Last week against the New Orleans Saints, Ross caught 2 of his 6 targets for 39 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Boyd will likely draw the lead wide receiver coverage from defenses until Green returns to the lineup, meaning Ross has an opportunity to flash his 4.2 speed.

In Week 11, the Bengals will play against the strong Baltimore Ravens defense. The Ravens have allowed the second-fewest yards to receivers so far this year. I don't recommend starting Ross or Boyd this week if you can help it. Rather, Week 12 represents an intriguing opportunity to start Ross should Green still be sidelined. That week the Bengals will face the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the receiver position. Over the last two weeks, the Browns have given up a combined 671 passing yards and 5 receiving touchdowns.

Bills D/ST

Yahoo ownership: 20%

The Buffalo D/ST is quietly the sixth-highest scoring D/ST so far this season. They had some struggles early with the whole Vontae Davis retiring-at-halftime saga. Since Week 2, the Bills have scored double-digit fantasy points in four out of eight matchups. The Bills are 8th in the league in total takeaways, 4th in passing yards allowed, and 2nd in sacks, with 34, on the season. Since the Bills are on bye this week, stash them on your bench and start them against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12. The Jaguars are 22nd in points allowed to opposing D/STs so far this season and are tied for 5th in giveaways (19). This will be one of the top streaming defenses in Week 12; grab them now and save the FAAB!