With Week 11 start/sit decisions already on the mind of fantasy football managers, let’s look at how the matchups shape up this week. In this article, we look at which normal starting options might have tough matchups and who might be an intriguing streaming option with a softer matchup.
By utilizing fantasy points allowed to the position from the 2022 NFL season so far, let’s see why the likes of Isiah Pacheco, James Conner, Michael Pittman Jr., and more might be players to consider as start ’em or sit ’em options for Week 11.
Week 11 Fantasy Football Start ’ems
In general, we aim to select players as potential starts who were started in fewer in less than 40% of ESPN leagues in the previous game weeks. Equally, when it comes to potential players to sit this week, we aim to restrict it to players that were in more than 50% of lineups in the previous week.
The biggest exception for this will either be players coming off a bye week or those who could see a big change in starting percentage in the upcoming week.
Daniel Jones, QB | NYG vs. DET
To say it has been a mixed year for Daniel Jones would be somewhat of an understatement. The New York Giants QB has averaged 16.28 fantasy points per game (fppg) this year, putting him 12th at the position. However, it has not been a conventional season for a QB, as he has passed for over 200 yards just twice all year.
Entering Week 11, Jones is averaging 177.3 passing yards and 0.89 passing touchdowns per game. However, his 0.8% interception rate is by far the lowest of his career. Combine that with only three fumbles, and the negative plays that have long hampered him from a fantasy perspective have reduced significantly.
Jones has boosted his fantasy output with his ability to use his legs to make plays. He averages 7.67 rushing attempts, 43 rushing yards, and 0.33 rushing touchdowns per game. That output has not been consistent throughout the year, but the threat has been there throughout, and it has given fantasy managers a slight boost.
MORE: Week 11 Waiver Wire Targets
This week, Jones has the chance to produce in a big way for fantasy managers. His matchup with the Detroit Lions sees him face the worst defense when it comes to fantasy points allowed to the QB position. The Lions’ defense has allowed an average of 23 fppg. Within that are two games in the last three weeks where opposing QBs have scored more than 29 fantasy points.
Jones is a fascinating option, regardless of the format. His price should be low enough in DFS contests to make him intriguing, while his lack of passing output should depress his value in Best Ball drafts on Underdog Fantasy.
Isiah Pacheco, RB | KC at LAC
We finally saw the Kansas City Chiefs make the switch to Isiah Pacheco as their lead back. The rookie RB played 56% of the offensive snaps, carrying the ball 16 times. The output was promising as well, with 82 rushing yards at an average of 5.13 rushing yards per game.
The Chiefs’ offense has been hard to predict in terms of the running game, but this switch has been on the cards for a while. His matchup this week comes against one of the worst defenses in the league against opposing RBs, allowing an average of 27.2 fppg. The Los Angeles Chargers’ defense has allowed 25 fantasy points or more in all of their last three games and six of their last seven.
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB | ATL vs. CHI
This may seem like stepping outside of the rules because Cordarrelle Patterson was started in 62% of leagues last week. However, after he played just 38% of the snaps and touched the ball six times, there could be a reaction this week in terms of how many leagues he is started in. However, there are some reasons to warn against that decision.
Firstly, the Thursday Night Football game was Patterson’s second in five days since returning from knee surgery. It is not surprising on that basis that the Falcons felt like they might need to limit his workload and protect him a little.
With 10 days of recovery time between that game and this one, those concerns should be gone. While we might not see him having 15-plus touches on a regular basis, it should be more than the six we saw against the Carolina Panthers.
Additionally, the matchup with the Chicago Bears has some upside potential. While they have only allowed an average of 22.85 fppg to RBs in the past two weeks, they did allow both the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions RBs to find the end zone twice. Upon his return, Patterson has been the main goal-line and red-zone back, so there is some intriguing upside to be had.
DeAndre Carter, WR | LAC vs. KC
The expectation is that we will not see either Mike Williams or Keenan Allen again this week. If that is the case, then DeAndre Carter and Joshua Palmer are both intriguing options this week. Palmer has the safer floor, but it is hard to ignore the ceiling of Carter. In the past two weeks, Carter has turned 10 targets into nine receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. He has averaged 13 yards per reception and 11.7 yards per target in that stretch.
Week 11 sees him come against an intriguing matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. They are allowing an average of 31.49 fppg to the WR position. Included in that is allowing over 30 points five times in the last six weeks and over 40 points three times, including against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
The Chargers are going to have to throw to stay in the game, and they took this same defense for 39.3 fantasy points in their last meeting in Week 2. Therefore, both Carter and Palmer are intriguing options this week, especially if Gerald Everett is also ruled out with his groin issue.
Juwan Johnson, TE | NO vs. LAR
This might seem a weird selection because the Los Angeles Rams appear to be one of the tougher matchups when you look over the course of the season. While they allow an average of just 6.21 fppg to tight ends, they had allowed more than 15 fantasy points to the position in both Week 8 and Week 9.
MORE: Week 11 PPR Fantasy Football Rankings
Things were a little quieter against them last week, but the loss of Zach Ertz in the first half derailed that a little. Therefore, we can only read so much into the 2.9 fantasy points they allowed to the position last week. Juwan Johnson has also been impressive over the past three weeks. He has scored four touchdowns and averaged 33 receiving yards per game in that stretch.
If you are streaming Johnson this week, you are ideally looking for something in the region of 8-to-10 fantasy points, which he has delivered three times in the past four. If he matches his average over the last four weeks, that would be a more than nice return for fantasy managers.
Week 11 Fantasy Football Sit ’ems
James Conner, RB | ARI vs. SF
James Conner found the end zone twice last week in the matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. If he had not, then this would have been yet another underwhelming performance. He managed just 69 rushing yards on 21 attempts and 17 receiving yards from three targets.
That has largely been the story of Conner’s time with the Cardinals. The rushing efficiency has been incredibly low, and he has relied on a combination of touchdowns and receiving work to find value. That makes him an extremely boom-or-bust proposition, and this week the matchup with the San Francisco 49ers is really tough, limiting his upside somewhat.
No team has been tougher against RBs than the 49ers, who have allowed just 14.03 fppg to the position. They have allowed an average of just 10.45 fantasy points in the past two games. Of course, there is certainly potential, as three teams’ RBs have scored more than 19 fantasy points against them.
The 49ers have allowed just 3.4 yards per rush attempt against them, the best number in the league. They have allowed eight rushing touchdowns this year, but that is still an average of less than one per game. There is potential for Conner to find the end zone, but there is a lot of risk involved in starting him.
Michael Carter, RB | NYJ vs. NE
The injury to Breece Hall was expected to open the door for Michael Carter to provide significant fantasy value. So far, the results have been mixed. In Week 9, he had 86 total yards and found the end zone for a successful outing. However, in Week 8, he managed just 26 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards on four receptions.
The problem is that the poor performance of the two came against the team that he matches up with this week, the New England Patriots. New England has been a brutal matchup for opposing RBs, allowing an average of just 14.83 fantasy points per game. In their past four games, they have allowed fewer than 11 fantasy points to the position three times.
Combine that tough matchup with the split workload that he should see with James Robinson, and the ceiling for Carter is a concern. The chances of him failing to return starting value this week are higher than the chance he breaks out and produces a monster week. Therefore, it might be prudent to consider sitting him this week.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR | IND vs. PHI
The hope will be that the return of Matt Ryan as the starting QB can get Michael Pittman firing again. However, this week, the matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles is really tough. They have held opposing WRs under 22 fantasy points in each of their three games between Weeks 6 and 9. Even though others have stepped up in recent weeks, it should still be Pittman who draws the attention of the Eagles’ defenders
If you have been starting Pittman this season, he has just about been returning value in half and full-PPR formats. While he has averaged just 46.5 fantasy points per game in the past four weeks, he has done so while pulling in 5.75 receptions per game.
Seeing six or more targets per game in the past four weeks means that the opportunities are there, but the output is far from assured. If you have other intriguing options this week, it might make more sense to look that way.