Week 11 Fantasy Football: Start ‘Em & Sit ‘EmÂ
Week 10 was another wild ride in the NFL. Heading into Week 11, I’m sure you have plenty of questions. Fortunately, we have the answers. Although only two teams are on bye this week (the Rams and Broncos), tons of fantasy owners are looking for replacements for Matthew Stafford, Darrell Henderson, Melvin Gordon, Javonte Williams, Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham, Van Jefferson, Jerry Jeudy, Tyler Higbee, and Noah Fant. All of those players are typically in starting lineups.
Be sure to use FantasySP’s Start / Sit Tool to help you make the most informed decisions in the industry. You know to start your studs each week, no matter what. But what about those flex players? What about those WR3’s?
Now that you've checked out this week’s top waiver wire options, used Predictive Analytics, and identified some sell high and buy low opportunities with our Trade Value Charts, it’s time to optimize your seasonal lineups ahead of a Thursday Night Football matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. Get ready for this week’s edition of Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em!
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Quarterbacks To Start
QB Start of the Week: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts made history in the Eagles’ Week 10 victory over the Denver Broncos. He joined Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Robert Griffin III as the only quarterbacks with 2,000 passing yards, 500 rushing yards, and five rushing touchdowns in a team’s first 10 games. Hurts has been a monster this season outside of Philly's blowout win over the Lions in Week 8 when Hurts was not asked to do much, especially in the passing game. Hurts has one of the safest floors at the position considering he is averaging 54.7 rushing yards per game. The Eagles have been extremely committed to the run, but with a matchup looming against a solid Saints team, this week’s contest should be much closer than the last few. Hurts will be asked to toss the pigskin much more often, which will lead to 20+ points on Sunday. After throwing two touchdown passes to rookie wideout Devonta Smith last week, Hurts’ value is extremely high considering the chemistry that he’s developing with his receivers. Even Quez Watkins is making plays in the passing game. If tight end Dallas Goedert can suit up after suffering an injury last week, Hurts will be a top-five quarterback in Week 11.
Start: QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow has been an absolute stud in his second season as the Bengals’ starting quarterback. Burrow had his worst performance of the season before Cincinnati’s Week 10 bye in which he finished with just seven fantasy points in a blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns. However, that performance snapped a six-game stream of 17+ fantasy points. And from Week 5 to Week 8, Burrow threw for at least 259 yards and two touchdowns. Look for Burrow to bounce back in Week 11 against a Raiders defense that just allowed Patrick Mahomes to absolutely explode on Monday Night Football. Mahomes was the best fantasy player at any position last week after throwing for 406 yards and a whopping five touchdowns against Vegas’ poor secondary. Burrow may not have the weapons at his disposal that Mahomes does, but it’s pretty close. Ja’Marr Chase is on his way to winning Rookie of the Year, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd have been extremely trustworthy receivers, Joe Mixon has been fantastic out of the backfield, and even C.J. Uzomah has stepped up at the tight end position. The Raiders have allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL and opposing quarterbacks have a QB rating of 97.3. With the Bengals fresh off their bye week, look for Burrow to eclipse 300 yards and toss three touchdowns against a Raiders’ defense that ranks in the bottom third of the NFL at defending opposing quarterbacks.
Quarterback To Sit
Sit: QB Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Jones has been highly inconsistent this season. He’s had a few monster games, but more often than not, he has let fantasy owners down. In Week 9’s upset victory over the Raiders, Jones managed just 110 passing yards, one touchdown, and one lost fumble. Coming off their bye week, the Giants should get Saquon Barkley back, which means they will be even more committed to the running game. Plus, I don’t think it’s smart to start any Giants against a Bucs team that is furious after losing two games in a row. Tom Brady is going to shred the Giants and Jones will eventually be asked to throw the ball a lot in garbage time. Although the Giants have typically played well against Tom Brady, that was during the Eli Manning years. Even though the Bucs have allowed 17 passing touchdowns this season, the Giants lack playmakers at the wide receiver position. Kenny Golladay has been a bust, Sterling Shepard is hurt, and Darius Slayton and Evan Engram cannot make clutch catches to save their lives. I love Kadarius Toney, but that’s just one trustworthy pass catcher on this offense. Starting Jones might be tempting, but he is bound to let fantasy owners down in Week 11. It also doesn't help that Jones has been winless in primetime games over his career.
Check out our Start / Sit tool to see which players to start.
Running Backs To Start
RB Start of the Week: James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
For the second consecutive week, Conner is the start of the week at his position. After a poor start to the season, Conner has been the RB4 since Week 3 and leads the NFL in touchdowns. You can’t ask for more than 12 touchdowns in eight games. Conner has been absolutely incredible. After Chase Edmonds suffered a significant injury on Arizona’s first offensive snap in Week 9, Conner turned 21 carries into 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also caught all five balls thrown his way for an additional 77 yards and a third score. He was fantasy’s RB1 in Week 9. Last week without the services of Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, the Cardinals got blown out by the Carolina Panthers. Still, Conner salvaged his day by finishing with 39 rushing yards, a touchdown, three receptions, and 25 receiving yards. Conner didn’t see nearly enough touches last week because the Cardinals fell behind so quickly and were forced to air it out. That won’t be the case against a Seattle Seahawks team that was held scoreless against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10. The Seahawks are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. With Edmonds still out of the lineup, Conner is going to shred this defensive line. Plus, Conner is getting targets that he wasn’t seeing when Edmonds was able to suit up. Third-stringer Eno Benjamin will likely get a few touches here and there, but Conner is going to get the bulk of the workload. He will serve as Arizona’s primary ball carrier and his chances of finding the end zone at least once are very high.
Start: RB Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins
I know, I know. You probably think I’m absolutely insane for suggesting Gaskin. He’s been incredibly difficult to trust and is only averaging 3.4 yards per carry. However, Gaskin gets a matchup with a New York Jets defense that has been shredded by running backs all season. The Jets are allowing the most fantasy points per game to the position by a wide margin. While I wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable starting Gaskin this week, it has been encouraging to see him get 15+ touches in each of his last four outings. He also remains a pivotal piece of Miami’s passing game, which bodes well for his value in PPR formats. Gaskin has 30 receptions over his last six games, averaging five per contest. Look for Gaskin to be the focal point of Miami’s offense in this week’s meeting of two AFC East rivals.
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Running Back To Sit
Sit: RB Antonio Gibson, Washington Football Team
Surprisingly, Gibson posted his first top-10 fantasy performance among running backs against Tampa Bay’s stout run defense in Week 10. Gibson saw a season-high 24 carries and rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He also chipped in with two receptions for an additional 14 yards. Although Gibson has his best performance from a fantasy perspective, his value is still very dependent on scoring touchdowns. Washington has been giving more touches to pass-catching running back J.D. McKissic and even rookie Jarret Patterson. Gibson now faces a Panthers defense that is allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Last week was nothing more than a fluke and this matchup is expected to be a very low-scoring affair. Let Gibson ride the bench in Week 11.
Wide Receivers To Start
WR Start of the Week: WR Devonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
Smith has really started to develop a rapport with Jalen Hurts. And if Hurts is my start of the week at the quarterback position, it’s hard to envision a big outing from him without a monster game from the rookie wide receiver out of Alabama. Smith has been a beast over the last two games, averaging 91 yards per contest with three touchdowns during that span. People seem to think that the Saints shut down wide receivers but that just isn’t the case. New Orleans is allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing receivers. They have also allowed a 100-yard receiver in each of their previous three games. That said, the Saints do very well against the run. That’s why Hurts will have to link up with Smith if the Eagles are going to compete in this matchup.
Start: WR Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens
“Hollywood” Brown didn’t have a great game in primetime against the Miami Dolphins last week. He only caught six balls for 37 yards and failed to find the end zone. However, he did see a whopping 13 targets. Brown has been targeted a ridiculous 39 times over the Ravens’ last three games. In Week 11, the Ravens get a juicy matchup against a Bears defense that is allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers. Plus, the Bears have allowed three receivers to finish with the top 10 at the position over the last three weeks. Lamar Jackson will continue to pepper Brown with targets, leading to 100+ yards and a touchdown. Book it!
Wide Receiver To Sit
Sit: WR Bryan Edwards, Las Vegas Raiders
Fantasy owners got the production out of Edwards in Week 10 that they expected in Week 9 after Edwards took Henry Ruggs’ place as the WR1 in this offense. After putting up a goose egg in Week 9, Edwards hauled in three receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. Still, it’s concerning that he only saw four targets for the fourth consecutive game. Edwards really struggled to get open.
Although Edwards is the WR1 for Derek Carr, I don’t anticipate him having much success against the Bengals in Week 11. Vegas brought in DeSean Jackson for a reason, probably because they knew that Edwards alone could not take Ruggs’ place. And don’t forget that Hunter Renfrow has been the go-to option on short and intermediate routes. He’s been a PPR machine. Not to mention, the Raiders will definitely want to get tight end Darren Waller more involved. Waller and Renfrow are still the primary passing options for quarterback Derek Carr and while Edwards has considerable upside, his floor is incredibly low as evidenced by his goose egg in Week 9. Leave Edwards on the bench where he belongs.
Tight Ends To Start
TE Start of the Week: TE Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins
In what should have been a huge game for Gesicki, he was unable to haul in any of his seven targets against the Baltimore Ravens last week. Entering Week 11, Gesicki had the most receptions and yards at the tight end position since Week 2. Fantasy owners might be very frustrated and tempted to bench him after a big fat nothing burger in Week 11. That would be a massive mistake. The Dolphins get a matchup against a very generous New York Jets defense. Although New York has been decent against tight ends this season on paper, they haven’t faced many players with Gesicki’s talent. What’s more, is that the Jets have allowed 472.5 yards and 43.8 points per game over their last four games. With Tua Taglovoia expected to be back this week, Gesicki will continue to be peppered with targets (at least seven in five of his last six games). With DeVante Parker and Will Fuller still on Injured Reserve, the big tight end will find the end zone against a porous Gang Green defense.
Start: TE Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
In his return to the field last week, Knox only saw one target even though the Bills put up 45 points against the Jets. However, Knox was inches away from scoring a touchdown. Knox has been very inconsistent this season, but he’s made a splash due to his nose for the end zone. Josh Allen loves targeting the big tight end when Buffalo reaches the red zone. Knox was able to score a touchdown in four consecutive games earlier this season. In Week 11, the Bills face a Colts secondary that is allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. Over the last three weeks, the Colts have allowed the second-most receptions (20) to opposing tight ends. Five tight ends have scored double-digit fantasy points against Indianapolis since Week 5. This is a prime matchup for Knox. The Colts have a solid offense so Buffalo will have to continue to throw the ball well into the fourth quarter. I’m seeing four receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown for Knox in Week 11.
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Tight End To Sit
Sit: TE Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
While I love Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith this week, I’m worried about Goedert heading into Week 11. Goedert was my favorite sleeper at the tight end position before the season, and he looked poised for a true breakout campaign once Philly sent Zach Ertz to Arizona. However, we’re still waiting for Goedert to explode. It doesn’t help that he left last week’s game with a concussion and was ruled out fairly quickly. If he doesn’t clear the concussion protocol, it will make your decision easier, but I’m expecting him to suit up against the Saints. Unfortunately for Goedert, the Saints are one of the best teams at limiting production from opposing tight ends. They have only allowed one touchdown to opposing tight ends all season.
Defense / Special Teams To Start
Start of the Week: D/ST Miami Dolphins
No defense is being added more than the Miami Dolphins heading into a Week 11 matchup with the dismal New York Jets. After sacking Tyrod Taylor five times and forcing four turnovers against the Houston Texans in Week 9, the Dolphins were even better in primetime Thursday night against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Miami allowed just 10 points, produced four sacks, forced two turnovers, and Xavien Howard returned a Sammy Watkins fumble for a 49-yard touchdown. Miami’s Week 11 opponent, the New York Jets, allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses. Considering what this defense just did to Lamar Jackson, it’s not hard to envision the Dolphins manhandling Mike White or Zach Wilson in Week 11.
Kicker To Start
Start of the Week: K Chase McLaughlin, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland is coming off a brutal beating from Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Luckily for Cleveland fans, the Browns face the winless Lions in Week 11. Detroit has been the most generous team to opposing kickers this season, allowing 2.3 field goals and 3.0 extra points per game. Despite the Browns' poor performance against the Patriots, don’t forget that this team shredded the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9 for 40+ points. Baker Mayfield should be good to go and Nick Chubb will likely be back in the lineup after missing Week 10 with COVID-19. Cleveland is going to have no problem putting up points against Detroit this week. You can likely get McLaughlin on the waiver wire so scoop him up immediately.
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