Not all fantasy football decisions are easy — most aren’t. We are talking about the thinnest of margins when it comes to projecting the fringe options for lineups. Here is the fantasy start ’em, sit ’em players that we’ve been asked most about this week within the PFN Fantasy Discord, as well as on X (formerly known as Twitter). Let’s get to it!
Fantasy Start ‘Em Picks for Week 11
Sam Howell, QB, Washington Commanders (vs. Giants)
Some players are placed in perfect spots for our game, and others are Bijan Robinson. Sam Howell has cleared 40 pass attempts in six of his past seven games and has posted five top 10s in his past six.
In addition to cruising past 300 passing yards in each of his past three games, Howell’s on pace for nearly 300 yards on the ground.
At price, he’s a great DFS buy against the fourth-worst pass defense in terms of yards per attempt. It’s difficult to rank his mean outcome better than QB12 this week, but that’s more a product of plus-matchups for this range of quarterbacks.
Here’s how I have the back end of the QB1 tier stacking up this week:
9) Jared Goff vs. CHI
10) C.J. Stroud vs. ARI
11) Kyler Murray at HOU
12) Sam Howell vs. Giants
13) Brock Purdy vs. TB
14) Trevor Lawrence vs. TEN
James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills (vs. Jets)
After losing a fumble on his first carry of the game, James Cook was benched for a few possessions. I’m not sure that I buy that the benching lit a fire under him, but Cook did finish Week 10 with 109 yards on 12 carries against the Broncos and looked as good as the numbers suggest.
MORE: Is It Time To Trade James Cook in Fantasy Football?
The fact that he has one rushing score on 120 carries and is generally not used in the same zip code as the red zone is obviously a concern. That usage pattern prevents him from moving up my ranks, but it doesn’t stop him from being a weekly lineup lock — even in a tough matchup like this.
Cook’s average finish has been in the low-end RB2 range this season, and that’s where I expect him to land this weekend.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (at Browns)
Well, that was disappointing. After posting an average finish of WR17 in his first three games back from injury, Diontae Johnson caught just one of four targets (he did have an end-zone target, so that’s a start) against the Packers for a whopping 17 yards.
Johnson is half a dozen spots lower in my ranks this week than last, but most of that is matchup/schedule-driven. I’m still in. Last week, the Steelers had 13 more rush attempts than passes and were never forced to pass in a significant way — so they didn’t.
I don’t see that being the case this week (or next, for that matter, in Cincinnati), and that has me penciling Johnson back into all my lineups. The 33.3% target share that he posted in Weeks 8-9 wasn’t a mistake, and if the passing pie is larger, I’m trusting him to return value (prefer him to Tyler Lockett, Amari Cooper, and Tank Dell this weekend).
Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Eagles)
It feels like we are dangerously close to a full breakout. Rashee Rice scored on the first drive in Germany against the Dolphins, and I was ready. I had tweets drafted, I alerted my family members, I was looking at Rice jersey prices and continuing to workshop nickname options — it was all systems go to celebrate the moment that we’d been waiting a month for.
He caught one pass the rest of the day. Sad Kyle.
The floor has been strong (top 35 in four of his past five games), but can we PLEASE get a breakout on national TV in a Super Bowl rematch? Pretty please? Speaking of that matchup to end last season, JuJu Smith-Schuster earned 36% of the targets.
We’ve seen what Rice is this season, so the fact that he was able to find space in the short passing game against a version of this pass defense that was better than what the Eagles currently own is noteworthy.
I’m inserting Rice into my Flex. Again. Let’s end Week 11 with a bang!
Fantasy Sit ‘Em Picks for Week 11
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Titans)
This is a great matchup. The Jaguars’ WR room might finally be healthy, and Travis Etienne Jr. is running hard and demanding attention.
If you had given me that profile back in August, I’d tell you that I’d have Trevor Lawrence as a top-five QB with ease. Heck, if August Kyle was feeling spicy, he may have even told you that Lawrence would lead the position in scoring in that spot.
MORE: Should You Cut Trevor Lawrence From Your Fantasy Roster?
Life comes at you fast, though. Lawrence has thrown multiple TD passes against one opponent this season (Colts) and has thrown for 300 yards just once. He’s struggling in every respect this season and hasn’t been getting any help from his friends (5.3% drop rate).
Like Tony Pollard at the RB position, I think it’s very possible that Lawrence peaks during the fantasy playoffs — Buccaneers and Panthers in Weeks 16-17 — and rewards those with an absurd level of loyalty. That fading hope is why I’m still rostering Lawrence, but as my QB14 in Week 11, I’m not starting him until he gives me a reason to.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers (vs. Cowboys)
It’s clear that Chuba Hubbard is offensive play-caller Thomas Brown’s preferred running back. It’s also clear that this team isn’t built to support a running back.
Game script is always going to be an issue (this week is no different), and without absolutely elite volume, it’s hard to start Hubbard with any level of confidence.
Over the past three weeks, Hubbard has netted 109 yards on 40 carries. That’s a whopping 2.7 ypc for a team that needs a GPS to find the red zone (41 points total in those three games).
Hubbard should remain rostered because he’s a starting RB, but he’s in danger of being ranked behind multiple backs in Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.
Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns (vs. Steelers)
Despite some very questionable quarterback play, Amari Cooper has been a top-30 receiver in three straight and four of five games since Cleveland’s Week 5 bye. In fact, he has reached 89 receiving yards in each of his past three games — the first time in his career he has had a run like that.
2023 season
- Cooper: 715 receiving yards
- Next two leaders on the Browns combined: 691 receiving yards
With Deshaun Watson ruled out for the remainder of the season, any hopes of sustained QB play that emerged from the second half of Week 10 are now gone. I have no worries about Cooper’s role as the primary target earner, but the value of said targets is a major concern. (P.J. Walker has completed 49% of his passes this season with one touchdown and five interceptions.)
MORE: Amari Cooper’s Fantasy Value Following Deshaun Watson’s Season-Ending Injury
As a result of the QB news for this week specifically, Cooper falls 10 spots in my WR rankings and now resides outside of my top 30. He carries more risk than reward in this matchup, and I’m treating him in a similar vein to Jakobi Meyers. The role and talent put them on our radar, but the situation is too much to overlook when it comes to locking in lineups.
Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at 49ers)
We entered the season expecting Chris Godwin to be the consistent Buccaneers receiver, and he’s been that. It’s just been in a consistently underwhelming manner.
The veteran has finished outside of the top 25 wide receivers in seven of nine games this season and has just one score on his ledger. The floor has been acceptable (Week 3 was the last time he finished outside the top 40), but in an era of wide-open offenses that encourage big plays from WRs, the lack of a ceiling is concerning.
The 49ers are a top-six team in terms of time of possession and limiting opponent yards per pass attempt. This is a dangerous spot for a receiver who lacks one-play upside.
Godwin is just inside of my top 35 receivers this week, ranking behind most of the others with consistent volume and ahead of the Gabe Davis’ of the world who rely on one play.
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