Monday Night Fantasy Football Start Decisions and Rankings: Tre Tucker, Jake Ferguson, Geno Smith and More

One week 11 NFL regular season game remains, and it's a Monday night clash between the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. Let's break down the top offensive fantasy football options from that contest.

Check back in a bit for a DFS article for tonight's game.

Use the FantasySP start/sit tool for help with any last-minute lineup decisions.

Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott will lead the Cowboys, while Geno Smith guides the Raiders again.

Prescott has been the far better fantasy quarterback this season, but it's Smith who has the stellar matchup. Prescott's matchup is just below average.

I had Prescott as my No. 11 fantasy QB for week 11, so he was on the starting line in standard leagues. I think most fantasy owners would have started him, unless their top option was stellar. Smith ranked 20th for me - he was a standard league streaming option, but I liked him more for deep-league starts.

Even in the super favorable matchup, Smith isn't being started over Prescott by any fantasy owners. Prescott is who I'd start as well, but Smith could still surprise tonight, so he's not a guy you need to avoid.

Running Backs

At running back, Ashton Jeanty powers the Raiders' backfield, while Javonte Williams looks to continue his stellar season with the Cowboys.

Jeanty has the better fantasy matchup tonight, with Williams' matchup being average.

They were ninth and 10th in my weekly running back rankings, with Jeanty getting the slight edge because of the stellar matchup. It's really a coin flip as to who will be the better fantasy asset tonight.

Fantasy owners started both guys 91% of the time, and that's how I would have treated them if I rostered both guys this week. If needing to make a decision between the two though, I like Jeanty ever so slightly.

I don't see any backup running backs doing much in tonight's contest.

Raheem Mostert is the only Raiders' back who has been getting work of late. Jaydon Blue is the top backup in Dallas. I'd take Blue over Mostert, but not really want to play either guy.

Wide Receivers

The Raiders' wide receivers have a stellar matchup tonight, but the Cowboys' wideouts also are set up for big games in a favorable matchup.

In my top-30 fantasy wideouts article, I had Dallas' CeeDee Lamb ranked fourth, and his teammate George Pickens at No. 14. I also had Las Vegas' Tre Tucker in my top 30, sitting 22nd.

After those three, there's not any more wide receivers I'd consider in standard leagues.

The Raiders have Tyler Lockett, Dont'e Thornton and Jack Bech who played enough in the team's last game to mention. Lockett is the only one of that bunch who did anything worthwhile, so he's the only one I'd really want to play in deeper fantasy setups.

Jalen Tolbert, Ryan Flournoy and KaVontae Turpin are the next three Dallas wideouts after Lamb and Pickens, but aren't regularly involved enough to consider outside deeper fantasy leagues. It'd take a touchdown for any of them to be worthwhile fantasy assets, in my eyes.

Lamb and Pickens should dominate the targets and fantasy production in Dallas, while Tucker leads the way for Vegas. Lockett is really the only wideout I'd consider from either team in deeper leagues, and everyone else is just a lottery ticket.

Tight Ends

A reason why not many wideouts are expected to do much is the presence of each team's tight end. Dallas has Jake Ferguson, while Vegas has Brock Bowers - this is one of the better fantasy tight end matchups you could have this season.

Ferguson has slowed considerably over his past two games, after being one of the top fantasy tight ends several weeks in a row. His matchup tonight is a tougher one on paper.

Bowers has dealt with injuries this season, but is healthy and doesn't have any limitations now. He went for 127 yards and three touchdowns in week 9, only to turn around and have 31 yards on a single catch last week. Bowers' matchup is pretty average.

I had Bowers ranked fourth in my weekly tight end rankings for week 11 - Ferguson was sixth, so both were good starting options this week.

If needing to pick between the two, Bowers is the preferred guy, for me, and most fantasy owners. Both are starting in 39% of leagues, which should have been the more likely decision. 

Dallas has Luke Schoonmaker as a secondary tight end, and while he has five targets over the past two weeks, he hasn't done much with the opportunities, and that applies to the whole season as well.

Vegas has Michael Mayer as a No. 2 tight end, and with 11 targets over the past two games, there's some fantasy value in him for those of you in really deep leagues. With a lack of proven pass catchers in Vegas, Mayer could be a sneaky good option tonight.

Defenses/Special Teams

Neither of these defenses are that good, but the Cowboys DST is projected for seven fantasy points, which is a pretty average mark every week. The Raiders DST is set for five points.

The Raiders' defense allow 24.4 points per game, while the Cowboys' defense gives up 30.8. 

Las Vegas has 17 sacks and 10 takeaways, including three over the past two games, and six over the past four contests. Dallas has 19 sacks and just seven takeaways for the season. 

I really don't like the idea of starting either one of these DSTs, but if forced to make a choice, I'd go with the Cowboys' unit over the Raiders, although it's pretty close.

Kickers

Dallas' Brandon Aubrey is one of the top fantasy kickers in the game, and is projected for nine fantasy points in week 11. Las Vegas' Daniel Carlson is set for seven fantasy points.

Aubrey has been stellar again this season, making 17 of his 18 field goals and 28 of his 29 extra points. His missed field goal was in the team's last game, and was from 50+ yards.

Carlson is 12-of-16 on his field goals this season, while being 11-of-12 on his extra point attempts. Three of his field goal misses are from 50+ yards.

In a game that could feature a good amount of points, both kickers could be solid/good fantasy assets. I still like Aubrey by a decent margin, but don't hate the idea of starting Carlson for this matchup.

Other Start/Sit Decisions

We went over some of the start/sit decisions within certain positions, but I also wanted to show you data on some flex-level decisions as well.

Pickens and Jeanty are in a trending decision on our start/sit tool here at FantasySP. Fantasy owners preferred to start both guys nearly every time, and that's what I would recommend as well.

Jeanty is also pitted against Bowers, and fantasy owners like starting both guys nearly every time as well. That's what I would have done too.

The other trending decision is between Tucker and Ferguson, which is easily the most difficult start decision of this section. Fantasy owners like Ferguson over Tucker (43%-15%), but are starting both guys 34% of the time. I'd have been fine starting both guys this week, but would take Ferguson over Tucker, although that's a very close decision.

Offensive Overall Rankings (OP or Flex Spots)

1. CeeDee Lamb

2. Ashton Jeanty

3. Dak Prescott

4. Javonte Williams

5. Brock Bowers

6. George Pickens

7. Jake Feguson

8. Geno Smith

9. Tre Tucker

10. Tyler Lockett

11. Michael Mayer

12. KaVontae Turpin

13. Dont'e Thornton

14. Jaydon Blue

15. Jack Bech

16. Jalen Tolbert

17. Ryan Flournoy

18. Raheem Mostert

19. Luke Schoonmaker