The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Washington Commanders in Week 11. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR DeVonta Smith.
Is DeVonta Smith Playing in Week 11?
Week 11 Status: PLAYING
The Eagles took it easy on DeVonta Smith, who did not participate in Monday’s estimated practice while dealing with a hamstring injury. He was upgraded to limited practices on Tuesday and Wednesday and was officially removed from Philadelphia’s injury report.
Philadelphia is facing a quick turnaround, as Thursday’s game against the Commanders will decide control of the NFC East. Smith didn’t practice on Wednesday ahead of Week 10, either, but he returned for a limited session on Thursday before fully practicing on Friday. The Eagles’ WR2 didn’t carry an injury designation into Sunday’s eventual win over the Cowboys.
We’ll continue to monitor the Eagles’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit DeVonta Smith in Week 11?
DeVonta Smith delivered a stinker last week in Dallas (two catches for 14 yards), but that is part of the business you invested in when you drafted Philadelphia’s WR2.
He’s posted an on-field target share under 19% in four of his past five games, making his range of outcomes a scary one. But with six top-25 finishes on his ledger for 2024, the risk is worth the reward.
Smith hauled in seven passes in both games against the Commanders last season, and while I’m not projecting safe volume, I do think a return to low-end WR2 status is likely in what should be a fun kickoff to Week 11.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 11 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
DeVonta Smith’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 11
As of Thursday, Smith is projected to score 15 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.2 receptions for 69.7 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Commanders’ Defense
It has become pretty clear that this is the right area of the rankings for this Washington Commanders defense. After a really tough start to the season, they had a run of three games in four weeks, where they ranked inside the top three defenses for the week. However, 50% of their games have seen them rank outside the top 20 for the week, with two further games ranking between 15th and 20th.
For the most part, their metrics are not that great, but they have been very good at getting pressure while only sending four or fewer defenders. That has resulted in a sixth-ranked sack rate but has not translated to their pass defense as a whole, which is slightly below the league average. They have really struggled inside the red zone, allowing touchdowns on 70% of trips this year.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
DeVonta Smith’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Trends and Insights: Commanders vs. Eagles
Washington Commanders
Team: Washington has seen three straight games decided by five or fewer points (just two of their first seven games were decided by five or fewer points).
QB: Jayden Daniels ranks sixth in the league in terms of pressure rating when pressured (for reference, Caleb Williams ranks 26th and Bo Nix 28th).
Offense: The Commanders’ 45.8% of drives reach the red zone, the highest rate in the league and more than 10 percentage points ahead of the Eagles (35.7%).
Defense: Washington owns the third-highest pressure rate when not blitzing (38.2%) through 10 weeks.
Fantasy: Terry McLaurin has cleared 95 receiving yards or scored multiple touchdowns in eight straight games.
Betting: Four straight short rest spots involving the Commanders have come in over the total (this season: 42-14 win in Arizona with a 48.5-point over/under).
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: The Eagles are riding their third win streak of at least five games since the beginning of last season (they, of course, dropped five of six games to close last regular season).
QB: Jalen Hurts has seen his average depth of throw increase in each of the past three weeks (Week 10 at Dallas: season-high 10.9 yards).
Offense: Philadelphia ranks sixth in yards per completion this season (they ranked 15th a season ago).
Defense: Through 10 weeks this season, only the Bears and Chargers have a better red zone defense than the Eagles.
Fantasy: On Sunday, for the third time in four games, Hurts ran for multiple scores while completing 70% of his passes. He’s normalized something that is a unique occurrence for all other human beings.
Consider this: the rest of the NFL has three such games this season.
Betting: Six straight Eagle home games played on short rest have gone over the total (average over margin: 18.2 PPG).
