Thursday Night Football brings us a great rivalry in Week 11 when the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Baltimore Ravens. These two teams have many fantasy football options, including the WRs. What direction should you lean when deciding between them?
Should You Start Zay Flowers or Tyler Boyd in Fantasy Football in Week 11?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say managers should start Baltimore’s Zay Flowers, but only slightly. He is projected to have 9.9 fantasy points on 4.6 receptions and 41.8 receiving yards. Cincinnati’s Tyler Boyd is projected for 9.4 fantasy points on 3.3 receptions and 43.8 yards.
I disagree with the Optimizer and would start Boyd over Flowers, but only if Tee Higgins is ruled out.
Zay Flowers’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
Flowers is an incredible talent, but we have yet to truly see him pop off. He had one week where he finished as WR15 in Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, but since then, his highest fantasy finish has been WR27. His target share is good; he has 41% of the WR targets for the Ravens, but the offense has just been scoring in other ways.
Whether it be through the RBs, Odell Beckham Jr., TE Mark Andrews, or Lamar Jackson himself running in the football, Baltimore has more ways than most to get a TD on the board. Unfortunately, Flowers has fallen victim to this.
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The matchup against the Bengals is decent for WRs, and Flowers can always break a long run, so there are worse options out there, but I would lean slightly more in Boyd’s direction on Thursday. Flowers comes in at WR38 in our PFN Consensus Rankings for this week.
Tyler Boyd’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
The caveat of starting Tyler Boyd rests entirely on Tee Higgins not playing on Thursday, and he is trending towards that. If Higgins plays, I would start Flowers. However, over the last three years in the games that Tee Higgins has missed, Boyd scores on average six more fantasy points than when Higgins is on the field. He showed us this last week when he finished as WR12 with 117 receiving yards.
The Ravens are good against WRs; they allow the fourth-fewest passing yards per game to opponents, but Boyd still has a good chance to put up fantasy points here. Ja’Marr Chase will often draw double coverage, leaving Boyd the opportunity to capitalize. He is WR34 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings.
Whichever WR you go with, it should be a great game in prime time this week!
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!