Marquez Valdes-Scantling Week 11 Waiver Wire Fantasy Outlook: Should I add Saints WR?

Marquez Valdes-Scantling's quarterback Derek Carr is back in the fold but returns to a team with much bleaker hopes than they had before he was injured. With Carr back, it was clear that some kind of boost would take place, but it was unclear who the winning recipient would be. At first glance, it appears to be Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but is this really the case and can he be reliable?

Marquez Valdes-Scantling waiver wire fantasy outlook for Week 11

Marquez Valdes-Scantling at Super Bowl LVIII - Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night - Source: Getty

With Chris Olave out for the count, the wide receiver room is in dire straits. Olave is on IR, Cedrick Wilson is questionable, and the team is working under an interim head coach. Moreover, aside from Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill, the Saints don't have many options to turn toward. Even their center, Lucas Patrick is hurt.

Seemingly by default, the wide receiver is worthy of an addition in fantasy leagues. However, with few surrounding weapons to take the pressure off, the Saints wide receiver will undoubtedly contend with many double-teams. Only a few receivers with such a limited pool of talent surrounding them at the wide receiver spot can still produce reliably because of this.

The Atlanta Falcons have the 24th-best passing defense, per ESPN analytics. As such, the Saints are in for a tougher go in Week 11 against the Browns, setting the stage for a much more difficult time for Valdes-Scantling.

One more argument against the wide receiver is the story of his career. The wide receiver's best season has seen him earn just 690 yards and six touchdowns. Since 2021, he has crossed the 450-yard mark just once.

The Buffalo Bills moved on from him earlier this season as well. Considering the state of the rebuilding wide receiver room, moving him out of that room shows something about what they believed in him.

The odds are not great that the age-30 wide receiver will suddenly pop at the same time that wide receivers typically begin to erode in production in the NFL.

That said, the waiver wire is a wasteland in most leagues at the time of writing. Valdes-Scantling is the number one wide receiver in the middle of the bye season sitting on the waiver wire. Hence, it might make sense to pick him up for a one or two-game spell. However, don't expect Justin Jefferson-like production every week or even ever again in his career.