Fantasy sit-start: Lineup advice on every Week 11 game
Patriots vs. Raiders: Start Rex Burkhead, who easily led New England running backs in snaps last week, has 10 targets over the last two games (catching all of them) and is dirt cheap in DFS. New England leads the NFL in yards per game and is touchdown favorites in a matchup with the highest total (54.5 points) by a wide margin this week. Load up all the Patriots you can, as Oakland’s Defense DVOA ranks last in the NFL.
Start Jared Cook, who’s averaged six catches for 96.7 receiving yards over the past three games. The Raiders should have to throw a ton to keep up with the high-powered New England offense, and it’s safe to expect the Pats to focus on stopping Amari Cooper.
Washington vs. Saints: Start Jamison Crowder, who’s totaled 199 yards on 24 targets over the past two games, and Marshon Lattimore mostly lines up on the outside. Jordan Reed is out again, and Washington should have to throw plenty as 7.5-point underdogs in a game with a high Over/Under (51 points). At his price, Crowder is a terrific target in DFS this week…Chris Thompson also gets a big boost with Rob Kelley out.
Pay up for Mark Ingram, who’s been the No. 2 fantasy RB since the Saints traded Adrian Peterson. Ingram is one of the five most valuable fantasy assets right now and is well worth his price tag in DFS despite sharing the backfield with another talented runner. Washington’s strength on defense is its corners, so expect another run-heavy game plan from New Orleans.
Lions vs. Bears: Sit Ameer Abdullah. He’s scored in back-to-back games but is down to 3.5 YPC on the season despite having never faced any stacked fronts. In fact, he’s gotten a paltry 3.3 YPC on light fronts and ranks #49 in Juke Rate. The matchup in Chicago isn’t great this week either.
Start Dontrelle Inman, who saw eight targets (and got 88 receiving yards) during his first action with the Bears last week. Inman previously showed flashes with the Chargers, and he already looks like Chicago’s No. 1 wide receiver, so he’s an interesting cheap DFS option.
[Week 11 rankings: Overall | PPR | QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST| Ks]
Chiefs vs. Giants: Start Kareem Hunt. Obviously this is a no brainer in yearly formats, but he’s also worth paying up for in DFS this week. Hunt has disappointed over the past month and hasn’t scored since Week 3, but Andy Reid is 16-2 coming off a bye and likely spent the extra preparation refocusing on getting the rookie back more involved. Run-stuffer Damon Harrison is also beat up on a Giants defense that looks completely checked out.
Start Eli Manning, who will likely have to throw a ton playing catch up Sunday. Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram are nice weapons (and must starts in fantasy leagues), and the Chiefs have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks.
Buccaneers vs. Dolphins: Sit Doug Martin, who gets a plus matchup but is down to 1.9 YPC against base fronts this season and has recorded just five catches on the year. Considering fantasy owners had to wait three games with him on their bench to start the season, he’s been one of the bigger busts so far in 2017.
Start Kenyan Drake, who’s in a timeshare on a shaky team but has looked good since the Jay Ajayi trade, recording a 40+ yard run in each of the past two weeks, when he’s also secured all eight of his targets. Tampa Bay has the No. 28 Defense DVOA.
Ravens vs. Packers: Start Jeremy Maclin, who hauled in eight of nine targets for 98 yards last week and scored the game before that. The Packers have ceded the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers, and Maclin should be mostly lined up in the slot with the struggling Damarious Randall.
Sit Jordy Nelson, who’s taken a backseat to Davante Adams since Aaron Rodgers went down. Nelson has averaged 22.7 yards over the past three games, and Baltimore has yielded the second-fewest fantasy points to wideouts.
Rams vs. Vikings: Sit Jared Goff, who’s been the most matchup dependent quarterback in the league this year, absolutely feasting on poor defenses and struggling against good ones. The Vikings qualify as the latter, so treat Goff as more of a QB2 this week.
Start Latavius Murray, who’s averaged 18 carries over the last three games, when he’s hit paydirt twice. The Rams have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs.
Cardinals vs. Texans: Start the Cardinals defense, as they defend the run well and get to face Tom Savage, who’s been unfathomably bad. Savage sports a 5.4 YPA mark and has somehow thrown two interceptions while fumbling six times (losing five) in three starts. He’s completed 16.7 percent of his passes in the red zone this season.
Start Bruce Ellington, who’s seen eight targets in back-to-back weeks (scoring last game) and should be busy Sunday with Will Fuller out and DeAndre Hopkins shadowed by Patrick Peterson. Ellington is going to be an extremely popular “punt” play in DFS this week and rightfully so.
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Jaguars vs. Browns: Start Marcedes Lewis, who gets the Browns’ generous defense against tight ends this week. With no Allen Hurns and a limited (or missing) Leonard Fournette, Lewis may see a slight uptick in usage too.
Start Isaiah Crowell. The Jaguars run defense has played better of late, but on the ground is still the best way to attack them (if for no other reason than to limit DeShone Kizer’s involvement), and Crowell has totaled 32 touches over the last two games, scoring twice and getting 5.7 YPC over that span.
Bills vs. Chargers: Sit Kelvin Benjamin, who’s still learning a new system and now has a rookie QB throwing to him. Benjamin is also likely to be shadowed by the dominant Casey Hayward this week, so he’s someone to avoid.
Start the Chargers defense. They are facing a team that struggles on the road with a rookie signal caller making his first ever start. The price is right in DFS, since it was locked in before the announcement of the quarterback switch in Buffalo…Expect a bounce back performance from Melvin Gordon as well, as the Bills have been getting gashed by the run since trading away Marcell Dareus. Seriously, look how much of an impact the DT has had this season.
Bengals vs. Broncos: Start Tyler Kroft, who gets a Denver defense that’s allowed the third-most fantasy points to tight ends (even more than the Browns).
Sit C.J. Anderson, whose snaps continue to decline while part of a full-blown committee. After getting 10 carries inside the red zone over the first two games of the season, CJA has recorded six over the following seven contests (he had four rushes inside the five over those first two games and just three since).
Eagles vs. Cowboys: Start Jay Ajayi, who’s ready to take over as Philadelphia’s feature back and gets a reeling Dallas team without Sean Lee. Treat Ajayi as a top-10 fantasy RB moving forward.
Start Alfred Morris. The Cowboys offensive line simply can’t play as poorly as it did last week, and while the game script held down his volume, Morris acted as Dallas’ new lead back with Ezekiel Elliott suspended, getting 4.8 YPC. He remains cheap in DFS, and the Cowboys still have a very good offense, so don’t ignore Morris down the stretch (although this week’s matchup is rough. Rod Smith is an interesting “punt” play in DFS, as Philly’s D is more vulnerable to pass catching backs).
Falcons vs. Seahawks: Start Austin Hooper. Seattle’s secondary is banged up, Atlanta should have to throw frequently to keep pace with a Seahawks offense likely to put up plenty of points, and Hooper is finally seeing increased usage, getting six targets in each of the last three games, scoring twice over that span.
Sit all Seattle running backs. Eddie Lacy is supposed to return, so we’re looking at a committee situation on a team that can’t run block. The Seahawks’ backfield is hopeless for fantasy owners, which is odd for a team averaging 383.2 yards per game (sixth most in the NFL).
