START ‘EM SIT ‘EM – WEEK 11

Whether you’re making a late push for the Fantasy playoffs. Got one foot in the door and want to cement your playoff berth. Even if you’re playing for pride at the bottom end of the league or rolling into week 11 with a perfect record. Rush Nation, it’s time to get those line up’s sorted. It’s the 5 Yard Rush – start ’em sit ’em article. It’s another treacherous bye week before the full complement of games in week 12. So, check out Stacey’s waiver wire article from earlier in the week to help ride the wave that is week 11. Let’s get into it! 

Quarterback

START: Daniel Jones, Giants vs. Lions
It’s Danny Dimes second week on the spin as a start in this article. Another peachy match-up awaits for the four year vet. And, he’s having his best season to date for Big Blue. Another home game see’s Jones rolling into MetLife against a Lions outfit allowing the most Fantasy points per game to Quarterback’s, a whopping 23.7. With Darius Slayton stepping up as the WR1 and possible return of Daniel Bellinger, Jones could easily walk out of week 11 as a QB1.

START: Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Cowboys
Kirk Cousins is riding a wave for the 8-1 Minnesota Vikings and this is another tough game, after defeating the Bills in week 10. Dallas have a stout defense and rank in the top six against Quarterback’s, Running Back’s and Tight Ends in Fantasy points this year. But, this game has shootout written all over it with the over/under currently at 48.5 in Vegas. Since his bye week, Cousins has attempted a whopping 126 passes and Dallas let up the 12th most points to Wide Receiver’s. With Jefferson putting Diggs on ice all afternoon, Cousins easily has a low end QB1 floor this week. 

Other start ’em options: Jimmy Garoppollo, Marcus Mariota.

SIT: Kyler Murray, Cardinals vs. 49ers
A tough divisional match up for Kliff Kingsbury’s men. His star signal caller missed last week with a hamstring injury. Colt McCoy took the reigns and now finds himself on the injury report aswell. Hamstring injuries are always tough to play through and K1’s elite level mobility could seriously be hindered and in turn limiting his ceiling this week. This paired with going against a San Francisco defense only allowing the 9th least Fantasy points to the position(14.5). Leave Kyler out if you have another option this week in 1QB leagues.

SIT: Matt Ryan, Colts vs. Eagles
A surprise, last minute start for the Colts last week. Matt Ryan lived up to his nickname putting the Raiders D on Ice. He ended week 10 as the QB5 with 22.68 points. The Las Vegas defense leak Fantasy points to just about every position. With Jeff Saturday in charge, Matty Ice under center and Jonathan Taylor cooking the Colts look somewhat promising. But they face a nasty Philly defense, who have further bolstered their D-Line this week and you should stay well away from Ryan. The Eagles are 2nd best vs. Quarterbacks only allowing 10.9 Fantasy points on average. Don’t let last week’s impressive finish trick you in to starting him this week.

Other sit ’em options: Derek Carr, Kenny Pickett.

Running Back

START: D’Onta Foreman, Panthers @ Ravens
Let’s start off with the Ravens. They’re actually pretty good vs. Running Back’s allowing 18.6 Fantasy points, which ranks 10th best. Now the good part. Foreman has been a wrecking ball in the Panthers backfield since getting the lead role. In three of his four starts he’s ran for 118 yards or more. The only week he never, he only had seven carries. Carolina seemingly have worked out they need to run the ball to stand a chance in games. The last three weeks they’ve passed on 45% of plays, 9% lower then their season average. Foreman is a solid RB2 play this week.

START: Brian Robinson Jr, Commanders @ Texans
Washington seemingly have figured out how to utilise their backfield the last couple weeks. Robinson has taken the bellcow role whilst Antonio Gibson has assumed the passing work. Robinson attempted 26 carries last week against a good Eagles defense and came up with 86 yards and a Touchdown for 15+ Fantasy points. This week, they’re on the road against a shoddy Texans run defense. Houston are dead last to opposing ball carriers, allowing over 30 points to Running Back’s each week. Robinson has a RB2 floor this week in a fantastic match up.
N.B Antonio Gibson is also startable in PPR leagues.

Other start ’em options: Cordarelle Patterson, Miles Sanders, Tony Pollard.

SIT: Najee Harris, Steelers vs. Bengals
Jaylen Warren’s role is gradually increasing in the Steelers run game. Najee Harris is still getting enough volume to be serviceable but is still inefficient. He’s coming off his best game of the year(99 yards) into a divisional match up with the Bengals who are holding opposing Running Back’s to 18.6 Fantasy points per game. Warren also took over the passing work last week going 3/3, Harris had 1 target that he failed to reel in. Against a high powered Cincinnati offense, Pittsburgh could find themselves behind early on and Pickett forced to sling the rock. Najee has a low-en RB2 ceiling this week and you probably have better options. 

SIT: Michael Carter, Jets @ Patriots
Carter re-assumed the lead role for the Jets after Rookie sensation, Breece Hall devastatingly went down for the year. Hall was previously eased into the lead back role over the opening weeks of the season by Robert Saleh. James Robinson joined the Jets on the back of the Hall injury and things are slowly turning his way, as they did with Hall. Carter only outsnapped Robinson by 7 snaps pre-bye week. New England also rank 2nd best in Fantasy points allowed to Running Back’s(15.4) and Carter found life hard in their week 8 match up, only scoring 8 points.

Other sit ’em options: Melvin Gordon, Kenyan Drake, Darrell Henderson.

Wide Receiver

START: Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers @ Cardinals
This might seem an obvious one but even in shallow roster leagues Brandon Aiyuk is still a must start. Aiyuk is a man coming into his own and is very quietly the WR1 in San Francisco the last four outings and has scored 18 more points then team mate Deebo Samuel on the season, playing 1 more game. In those last four games he’s commanded a 24.8% target share and has been targeted 25.9% of the time when he’s ran a route. Arizona are allowing the 11th most receptions per game to Wide Receivers(12.7). Aiyuk will feast in PPR leagues this week on the road and a WR1 finish is well within reach. 

START: Garrett Wilson, Jets @ Patriots
This young man out of Ohio State started his Rookie campaign phenomenally. Unfortuantely, when the change in Quarterback happened he did go missing from week four to seven. Less targets in turn meant less receptions. A PPR nightmare. Fortunately for Wilson shareholders, he’s found his mojo again before the bye, in weeks eight and nine. Over the fortnight he played 90% of the snaps and had a 27.1% target share. Accounting for 16 targets and 14 receptions for 207 yards. The Patriots are good against pass catchers though but Wilson is the go to, for Wilson.

Other start ’em options: Darnell Mooney, Darius Slayton, Joshua Palmer, Kadarius Toney.

SIT: Devin Duvernay, Ravens vs. Panthers
Duvernay is simply a boom or bust option if you need a flex play and you should be prepared to be burnt, if plugging him in your line up’s. He has seen a minor snap increase since the absence of Rashod Bateman but the return of Mark Andrews won’t help his stock at all. On the season, he’s had a 13.6% target share in the low passing volume Ravens offense. Lamar Jackson missed Friday’s practice through illness and if he somehow misses the weekend’s match, that’s another downvote for Duvernay.

SIT: Allen Robinson, Rams @ Saints
Everybody in the Rams pass catching group is about to receive more volume as simply none of them are capable of filling Cooper Kupp’s cleats. You’d think Robinson would be next man up but hasn’t been consistent enough through ten weeks. He’s currently getting targets on 17% of the routes he runs but is only averaging just over a yard per route ran(1.05). This ranks 110th out of 145 receivers that have played over 100 snaps this season. Robinson has also only converted 2 of his 13 red zone targets for Touchdowns. You’re gonna have better options then ARob on your bench. 

Other sit ’em options: Marquiese Brown, Jarvis Landry, Mack Hollins, Terrace Marshall.

Tight End

START: Cole Kmet, Bears @ Falcons
Kmet has been the TE1 over the last three weeks(I know, Kelce had his bye in week 8). He’s led the league in receiving Touchdowns over these weeks with five and has a 22.1% target share in the Bears offense. Also, Atlanta are a poor defense, ranking 12th worst vs. TEs(10.7) and the worst vs WRs(36.2). It’s a big day for Cole Kmet and Darnell Mooney but Kmet has the Touchdown upside with Fields on fire at the moment. Going from zero to hero, Kmet is a must start going forward.

START: Greg Dulcich, Broncos vs. Raiders
The Rookie Tight End had a duff week last week but the woeful Raiders defense allow the fifth most points per games and the 4th most yards to the position. In three of his four games this season he’s been a TE1. Dulch also has an 18.1% target share on a team that has virtually no healthy Wide Receivers. With Jerry Jeudy ruled out and KJ Hamler questionable plus the mess of a backfield in Denver, Greg Dulcich is a TE1 with high-end upside this week.

Other start ’em options: Pat Freiermuth, Hayden Hurst

SIT: Tyler Higbee, Rams @ Saints
Don’t chance any Rams player this week unless you absolutely have too. Especially, Tyler Higbee against this lockdown New Orleans defense against Tight Ends in Fantasy. The Saints allow the 6th lowest yards(332) and 6th lowest receptions(37) despite opposing offense’s target the Tight End position the 8th most when facing the Saints. They also rank number 1 for least Fantasy points allowed per game, with only six. Bench Tyler Higbee if you’ve got the chance too. 

SIT: Trey McBride, Cardinals vs. 49ers
Monday Night Football is where close Fantasy games are won and lost. You do not want to be banking on Trey McBride in his first start for the Cardinals to even get you a handful of points. This is nothing against the talent or the situation with Ertz now out for the year. In fact, the Rookie ran 25 routes last week but it only amassed to one target. Kyler is also likely back in action this week. Put simply, we need to see it first before plugging him into line up’s. 

Other sit ’em options: Foster Moreau, Tyler Conklin

And, that Rush Nation is that for week 11. Let’s get those teams in to playoff contention with only four regular season weeks left in Fantasy Football. If you have any start ’em sit ’em questions for your teams, don’t hesitate to hit me up on Twitter(@LVenes1) and I’ll be happy to assist you.