Week 11 Fantasy Football Stars Who Will Struggle: Patrick Mahomes, Derrick Henry, and More

Last week's attempt to find weekly fantasy starters who would struggle to excel was a good effort, with half the listed players falling short of expectations:

• Daniel Jones had a better real-life day than fantasy day, throwing for 255 yards on 9.8 per attempt with a touchdown and interception and adding 53 rushing yards. He finished as QB16, fitting what we are looking for as a non-starter.
• Breece Hall had 83 rushing yards on 21 carries and caught one pass for a 42-yard touchdown. That's a big fantasy day, and Hall is the only one who did anything for the Jets in a game they won with that long pass and two return touchdowns.
• DK Metcalf caught three passes for 35 yards as the Steelers were stifled by the Chargers all day.
• George Kittle caught nine passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. San Francisco succeeded throwing the ball against a good Rams defense but still lost 42-26, but Kittle was a fantasy standout.

That's a decent day, as half the players had modest or worse days, though the other two had big fantasy performances. Let's do it again and choose one weekly starter at each offensive fantasy position who will struggle to reach that level in Week 11. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the teams and players with the best outlooks each week.

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

After a few years of being a good-but-not-great fantasy player, Mahomes is back among the top of the ranks, sitting at QB2 entering Week 11 (he was QB1 before their Week 10 bye). He's on pace for over 4,400 passing yards, which would be his most since 2022; same for the 32 touchdowns he is on track for.

The biggest reason for his jump in fantasy value is that Mahomes is running the ball like he never has before. The Kansas City QB is on pace for around 540 yards and 7.5 touchdowns on the ground when his previous highs are 389 and four, respectively. His most recent numbers are lower (he hasn't topped 30 yards or scored in over a month), but Mahomes has been a legit weekly starter.

Denver isn't the team to test, though, as they have given up the fourth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. QBs have thrown for only 206.6 yards per game with eight touchdowns and five interceptions; just two players have reached 300 yards.

The Broncos also don't allow quarterback rushing, giving up just 11.4 yards per game with two touchdowns. With Mahomes' running trending the wrong way and Denver stout in every facet, there is a negative outlook here. No one ever got rich by betting against Mahomes, but you can probably find a better outlook elsewhere.

Running Back

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns

Henry had an uneven start to the season, running for 169 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 against the Bills but then failing to top either of those numbers over the next four games combined. Things have been better since then: in the four most recent games, Henry averaged 96.8 rushing yards per game and scored two more touchdowns.

His season-long numbers put him on track for 1,330 yards and 11 touchdowns, right in line with much of his prime work. Henry is still producing like a star back and weekly fantasy starter after the early hiccups, and Lamar Jackson is back playing, putting the offense in position to be great.

The matchup is the problem here, as the Browns have given up the second-fewest yards per rush attempt and the third-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs. No individual back has reached 100 yards this season, and the only two teams who did so were the Lions and Patriots, who got work from multiple RBs.

Cleveland also doesn't give up much receiving production to running backs: the position is averaging around 20 yards per game through the air and has scored just one touchdown, which came last week.

Henry is great, and I'm not suggesting you bench him unless you have a phenomenal set of running backs, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him have a slower game. These teams played in Week 2, and the Browns were stifling Baltimore until the Ravens broke it open in the second half. Henry only had 23 yards on 11 carries in that game.

Wide Receiver

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Los Angeles Chargers

This one is cheating a bit, as Thomas missed Week 10 and is questionable for this one, and I try not to include injured players. He also hasn't been great this season, moving him down from that must-start status that I usually look for with the guys listed here.

Thomas is averaging 3.8 receptions and 52.5 receiving yards per game while scoring one touchdown. He is right around WR40, far outside the weekly starters, and even considering that he missed a game, Thomas has been below the level of a premiere receiver in both real life and fantasy football in 2025 despite showing much more during his rookie season.

The reason Thomas is here despite everything above is that we don't have another great option this week and he was drafted near the top 10 fantasy receivers, so owners are surely still waiting for him to find his old form, though I'm skeptical; the season is more than half over.

Los Angeles is also a brutal matchup against the pass, allowing the third-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers. The only receiver to reach 100 yards against the Chargers was Courtland Sutton way back in Week 3, though several others have reached 90.

Everything is pointing against Thomas here. If he plays, there is risk that he could aggravate his ankle injury and leave the game, and since he hasn't been great anyway, trusting him against one of the toughest defenses in the league is a fool's errand. Leave Thomas on the bench this week.

Tight End

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

We're breaking another rule here: I try not to include two players from the same team in this article, but I had an entire section written for Sam LaPorta, and the Detroit tight end was ruled out for Week 11 against the Eagles. We're short on good options here.

Kelce fits, as he is still among the weekly starters at tight end, though he is at the fringe of that level rather than leading the group. Kelce is on pace for around 77 catches and 1,020 yards, strong numbers for the position. He doesn't find the end zone as much anymore, scoring three times so far; he averaged more than nine scores per season from 2017-2022. He is still a good fantasy tight end, though, just not the best in the game.

As we talked about above, the Broncos are one of the best defenses in the league, shutting down opposing passing games regularly. They have given up the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends, and last week, they held Brock Bowers to just one catch (though it went for 31 yards).

Kelce will be in a lot of fantasy lineups because of his name and production this season, but there is a low floor here and the chance at a quiet game. It'll be tough to move the ball all day, so Kelce will probably be hoping for either a big play or a touchdown to find fantasy relevance.