Week 11 is here, and these fantasy football streets are getting tough! Our week 11 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit Em is designed to help guide you to make the best decisions to benefit your fantasy rosters, especially during difficult times.
This week we have the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all on a bye. That will certainly add to the importance of the fantasy football start ’em sit ’em Week 11.
QUARTERBACKS
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Daniel Jones – New York Giants
Daniel Jones faces off against the Detroit Lions in week 11. The Lions have allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. They have permitted quarterbacks to throw for 2395 yards and 15 touchdowns while also allowing 372 rushing yards and four more scores. Jones has the 4th-most rushing yards of all QBs with 387, only behind Justin Fields, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.
Jimmy Garoppolo – San Francisco 49’ers
Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers square off vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Overall, Arizona allows the fifth-most points in football. The Cardinals, in particular, give up the 5th-most to opposing quarterbacks, who are averaging 19.01 fantasy points per game. In 10 weeks, Arizona has given up 2571 passing yards, seven scores through the air, 213 quarterback rushing yards, and three more touchdowns. Garoppolo enters week 11 with the 9th-most quarterback rushing touchdowns and the 3rd-highest yards per attempt.
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Taylor Heinicke– Washington Commanders
Taylor Heinicke and the Commanders are coming off an unbelievable upset vs. the Philadelphia Eagles in week ten. Still, they head to Houston for another tough defensive matchup. The Texans have been sneaky good on defense, giving up the 5th -fewest points to opposing quarterbacks and allowing the 2nd-fewest passing touchdowns all year. Opposing quarterbacks have only averaged 12.88 fantasy points a game vs. the Texans.
Matt Ryan – Indianapolis Colts
Ryan regained the starting role in Week 10 but has a brutal matchup vs. Philadelphia this week. The Eagles are the most formidable defense vs. opposing quarterbacks in the NFL, giving up an average of 9.42 fantasy points per game. The ever-tough tandem of James Bradbury and Darius Slay will make it extremely difficult for Michael Pittman or Alec Pierce to get anything done. The Eagles are allowing the fewest yards per play in the NFL with 4.6 and have given up the 3rd-fewest total yards all season.
RUNNING BACKS
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Antonio Gibson – Washington Commanders
Antonio Gibson has a juicy matchup in week 11 against the Texans. Houston ranks dead last in the league against running backs. The Texans have been gashed on the ground, giving up 5.2 yards per attempt, 1407 rushing yards, and allowing 13 scores. They have also allowed another 276 receiving yards and one more score to the running back position. With J.D. McKissic slated to miss another contest, we can expect Gibson’s increased snap count to continue and the Commanders to pound the run.
David Montgomery – Chicago Bears
The Bears lost Khalil Herbert to the injured reserve last week due to a hip injury. No one stands to benefit from this unfortunate injury more than David Montgomery. Herbert was 11th in the league in rushing and had been playing roughly 30% of the snaps every week. The injury frees up significant snap share for Montgomery, who was already playing around 70% of snaps. Also, the Bears face off against the Detroit Lions, who give up the 8th-most yards per attempt (4.8) to running backs. Additionally, they have given up the 9th-most fantasy points to opposing running backs on the year.
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Tony Pollard – Dallas Cowboys
Pollard has shined in the absence of Ezekiel Elliot, finishing as the running back #4 in PPR leagues in Week 8 and the running back #8 in PPR leagues in Week 10. However, there is optimism that Elliot will play this week, relegating Pollard back to backup duties. In addition, the Vikings have given up the 6th-fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs and have been incredibly stingy vs. pass-catching backs. Minnesota has not surrendered a single receiving touchdown to the position all season.
D’Andre Swift – Detroit Lions
Swift has been a headache for fantasy managers. He is arguably one of the best pass-catching backs in the NFL. But Swift hasn’t been healthy enough to get on the field. He went to the IR in week 4, came back in week 8, and played 55% of the snaps. Then, in Week 9, Swift’s snap share dropped to 16.1%, and he was out-snapped by Jamaal Williams, who took on 61.3% of the snaps, and Justin Jackson, who saw 21%. That trend continued in week 10. Williams saw 40.3% of the snaps, Swift saw 30.6%, and Justin Jackson saw 27.4%. It’s clear that Swift is not 100%. Additionally, the Lions face the New York Giants. The latter is giving up the 8th fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and has given up the 5th fewest touchdowns to the position on the year.
WIDE RECEIVERS
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Darnell Mooney – Chicago Bears
The Bears have finally figured it out. Darnell Mooney has played 86% of snaps in back-to-back weeks and has seen the 10th-highest target share in the league at 28%. This week, he faces off against the Atlanta Falcons, who are the worst-ranked against the wide receiver position. Also, Atlanta is allowing 2011 receiving yards and 12 scores through 10 weeks. Fields has been hot, and this offense should cook vs. Atlanta.
Kadarius Toney – Kansas City Chiefs
Toney made his Kansas City debut last week, catching four of five targets for 57 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs just placed Mecole Hardman on IR, and Juju Smith-Schuster is expected to miss the game with a concussion. Thus, opening up plenty of more opportunities for the human joystick-Toney. Toney led all wide receivers in juke rate in 2021 at 66.7% and has the skills necessary to be a difference-maker down the stretch for fantasy teams.
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Diontae Johnson – Pittsburgh Steelers
Even with fewer cooks in the kitchen, Diontae Johnson has still underperformed vs. expectations with Kenny Pickett at the helm. Diontae Johnson has yet to record a touchdown in 2022 on 81 targets. He is the only wideout in the NFL with 56 or more targets who has yet to score a touchdown. Unfortunately, I don’t think he will snap that streak this week vs. the Bengals, who have only allowed five to the wide receiver position all year.
Michael Pittman– Indianapolis Colts
The good news is Pittman got Matt Ryan back in week 10. However, Pittman faces tough sledding in week 11 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles and a combination of Darius Slay and James Bradbury. Additionally, the Eagles have allowed the 8th-fewest fantasy points to the wide receiver position. Bradbury and Slay are both graded inside the top 24 at the CB position and allow fewer than six fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers.
TIGHT ENDS
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Tyler Conklin – New York Jets
Conklin faces off against the New England Patriots in Week 10 after he gashed them for 79 yards and two touchdowns on 10 targets in week 8. Also, the Patriots have given up the 7th-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends on the season, totaling seven touchdowns and 425 yards. Conklin has also played 71.7% or more snaps in three straight weeks. He is the clear passing-down favorite at TE, as C.J Uzomah has been used more in line as a blocker.
Greg Dulcich– Denver Broncos
Let’s try this one again. Last week Dulcich was one of the biggest disappointments. Still, I am sensing a solid bounce-back week vs. the Las Vegas Raiders, who are giving up the 5th-most fantasy points to the tight end position. Dulcich has steadily increased his snap counts since his Week 6 debut. Over the past two weeks, he has seen 80% of snaps or higher. That number more than likely eclipses 90% in week 11 as Jerry Jeudy is battling an ankle injury, and K.J. Hamler has been ruled out for multiple weeks with a hamstring injury.
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Kyle Pitts – Atlanta Falcons
Kyle Pitts is a generational talent, stuck in a run-first offense with a coach who refuses to construct plays according to his abilities. Seeing 88.9% of snaps last week, Pitts only recorded two receptions for 28 yards. Conversely, in 10 weeks, he’s only eclipsed the 30-yard mark on two occasions. Plus, he has 20 or fewer yards in four of those contests.
Dawson Knox – Buffalo Bills
Despite playing 81.3% of snaps or more in the last three contests, Dawson Knox has failed to record more than four catches in any of those contests. Additionally, he has only exceeded the 25-yard mark once. Cleveland is the 5th-most formidable defense vs. the tight end position allowing only one score the entire season and 398 yards to the position through 10 weeks. As a result, Knox is a touchdown-dependent TE 2 and cannot be trusted in a tough matchup.
