1.Drew Brees
2.Peyton Manning
3.Russell Wilson
4.RGIII
5.Cam Newton
6.Nick Foles
7.Matthew Stafford
8.Case Keenum
9.Andy Dalton
10.Tom Brady
11.Ben Roethlisberger
12.Philip Rivers
13.Andrew Luck
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14.Josh McCown
15.Matt Ryan
16.Carson Palmer
17.Colin Kaepernick
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18.Ryan Tannehill
19.Eli Manning
20.Ryan Fitzpatrick
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| Luck owners might consider a different Week 11 option. |
As expected, Brees and Manning were #1 & #2 last week, but I feel like the big story is Nick Foles as a top-5 fantasy QB yet again. His touchdowns weren't all pretty, but he's getting it done. This week my Redskins are coming to town, which lands him easily in my top-10. Speaking of top-10, that's where Case Keenum finished last week against a tough Arizona defense. He's now averaging well over 20 fantasy points since taking over the starting job for Houston (3 games), and the Texans host Oakland this Sunday. I've moved him into my top-10 for this week too. Speaking of this week, there are some really tough defensive matchups for several of the top quarterbacks. Manning, Brees, Newton, Stafford, Brady, and Luck are all facing teams this week that are in the top-10 for allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs. With some fantasy teams potentially in "do or die" scenarios, it might be time to risk it on a waiver wire add like Keenum even over QBs like Brady or Luck.
Last week I was high on Philip Rivers (ESPN #8, ME #3) and down on Terrelle Pryor (ESPN #13, ME #17). So I was 1 for 2 with the QBs. I mentioned that Rivers had cooled off since his first two games of the season, but I liked the home matchup against Denver. He didn't get anywhere near 300 passing yards, and he only had the one TD pass that went to little Danny Woodhead. He finished outside of the top-10 QBs, but Terrelle Pryor actually finished well outside of the top-20 QBs. ESPN continued to rank Pryor near the top-10, but I barely had him in my top-20. Yes, he's been getting some decent rushing yards, but he's barely doing anything with his arm (not great considering he's the quarterback!). He did have a rushing TD in the game, but he still only has one passing TD in his last four games. You won't find him in my Week 11 rankings.
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RBs |
1.Marshawn Lynch
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2.Adrian Peterson
3.Jamaal Charles
4.LeSean McCoy
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5.Frank Gore
6.Reggie Bush
7.Alfred Morris
8.Eddie Lacy
9.Matt Forte
10.Le'Veon Bell
11.Knowshon Moreno
12.Andre Brown
13.Giovani Bernard
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14.Ben Tate
15.Chris Johnson
16.Ryan Mathews
17.Andre Ellington
18.Danny Woodhead
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19.Rashad Jennings
20.Stevan Ridley
21.Chris Ivory
22.Darren Sproles
23.Ray Rice
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24.Pierre Thomas
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25.Lamar Miller
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26.Maurice Jones-Drew
27.CJ Spiller
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28.Steven Jackson
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29.Fred Jackson
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30.Brian Leonard
31.Donald Brown
32.Shane Vereen
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33.Rashard Mendenhall
34.Shonn Greene
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35.Trent Richardson
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36.Bobby Rainey
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37.Joique Bell
38.Benjarvis Green-Ellis
39.Dennis Johnson
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| Will Vereen do his best Andre Brown impression this week? |
Another week with big injury news for running backs. It looks like Arian Foster might have season-ending back surgery and Mike James is most likely lost for the year after fracturing his ankle in Monday night's game. It's not all bad news on the injury front though, as Andre Brown came back from the IR and looked great in Week 10 (albeit against the Raiders). As long he's healthy, he should be in your fantasy lineup. I'm hoping Shane Vereen can do the same thing for the Patriots, although I doubt he'll have as much of an instant impact this week as he goes up against that tough Panther defense. Darren Sproles (and every other Saint) looked pretty good on Sunday night against the Cowboys, as 3 Saint running backs finished in top-5! Then again, every offense has been looking pretty good against Dallas, who gets a much-needed bye this week.
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| Not ranking any Cleveland RBs... |
I talked up Maurice Jones-Drew a bit last week (ESPN #22, ME #15), and I thought I'd be playing against him in my money league, but my opponent did me a favor and started Terrance Williams at his flex. I said the Jags would keep it close against Tennessee, but I didn't think they'd actually win the game! They did just that, and MJD ended up as the #12 fantasy RB in Week 10 with 74 total yards and a touchdown...pretty damn close to my prediction of 80-90 total yards and a touchdown. On the other hand, I was down on the Carolina Panther running backs. In Week 10, it was DeAngelo Williams who finished just inside the top-20 fantasy RBs. Next week, who knows? Jonathan Stewart actually got more carries than Williams, but DeAngelo broke some tackles for a TD. Meanwhile, Tolbert was the only one targeted at all in the passing game. I'm going to continue to be down on this trio, and I might not even rank any of them depending on their matchup. This week you won't find any RBs from the Panthers or Browns in my top-40 (but maybe in Friday's update). I just think there are much better options out there.
WRs
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1.Calvin Johnson
2.Andre Johnson
3.Brandon Marshall
4.Pierre Garcon
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5.DeSean Jackson
6.Antonio Brown
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7.Demaryius Thomas
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8.AJ Green
9.Vincent Jackson
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10.Wes Welker
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11.Larry Fitzgerald
12.Riley Cooper
13.Josh Gordon
14.Alshon Jeffery
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15.Torrey Smith
16.Victor Cruz
17.TY Hilton
18.Eric Decker
19.Jordy Nelson
20.Keenan Allen
21.Golden Tate
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22.Cecil Shorts
23.Marques Colston
24.Danny Amendola
25.Kendall Wright
26.DeAndre Hopkins
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27.Harry Douglas
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28.Steve Smith
29.Mike Wallace
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30.Emmanuel Sanders
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31.Hakeem Nicks
34.Marvin Jones
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36.Kenny Stills
37.Andre Roberts
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38.Rishard Matthews
39.Anquan Boldin
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40.Reuben Randle
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| If Harvin plays Sunday, he won't be in my fantasy lineup yet. |
Like I said earlier, nearly every Saint got in on the action on Sunday night, including Marques Colston. I don't know if he's 100% healthy, but he looked fine to me. He's back in my rankings this week, but I'm a little hesitant to put him in my top-20 (so I won't). Speaking of WRs who used to be super-consistent, I'm not sure I'll ever rank Roddy White again. I didn't last week, and I'm not convinced he's healthy enough to rank him this week either. And sticking with the injury theme, everyone is saying Percy Harvin will play this week against his former team. That all sounds great, but I'm not buying it. I'm sure ESPN will continue to rank Harvin (just like they've done the last couple of weeks...just like they did with Gronk), but I'm not ranking him until after Seattle's Week 12 bye. Even if the Seahawks announce that he'll play against the Vikings, I'd still wait a week before putting him in my fantasy lineup. I'm also not including Stevie Johnson (groin) or Michael Floyd (shoulder) in my rankings today. Maybe there will be more information on Friday to include them, but I'm guessing they'll miss a week or two with their injuries.
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Last week I was really high on Riley Cooper (ESPN #34, ME #21), and I couldn't have been happier that I was right on this one. He continues to shine with Foles throwing him the ball, and he caught two more TDs against the Packers on Sunday to land inside the top-5 fantasy WRs for the week. I'd mentioned I was debating him versus Ray Rice at my Flex spot, and in the end I went with the better matchup and the higher upside. Needless to say, I'll be hangin with Mr. Cooper again in Week 11. On the flipside, I was down on another guy on my money league roster, Jordy Nelson (ESPN #11, ME #19). I still started him against Philly because I thought he'd be fine, but he only managed 56 yards on 6 catches. On a positive note, he did receive 10 targets, and he nearly came away with a touchdown in the endzone (but it was upheld as "no catch" after a coach's challenge). He has some great fantasy matchups in the coming weeks, but man, do I wish Aaron Rodgers was healthy...
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TEs
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1.Rob Gronkowski
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2.Jimmy Graham
3.Jordan Reed
4.Julius Thomas
5.Jordan Cameron
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6.Vernon Davis
7.Antonio Gates
8.Tony Gonzalez
9.Coby Fleener
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10.Tim Wright
11.Greg Olsen
12.Martellus Bennett
If fantasy owners were worried about Julius Thomas and his ankle injury, he put those concerns to bed when he took a short pass 74 yards to the house in just the third play from scrimmage for the Broncos. Other top tight ends are dealing with injuries of their own though. Vernon Davis left his Week 10 game with a concussion, and Tony Gonzalez hobbled through the game with a toe injury. I'm ranking both this week, but keep an eye on those injuries if you own either guy. Meanwhile, Jimmy Graham continues to play limited snaps as he deals with plantar fasciitis. Even if he only gets 20-30 plays a week, he's still a top-5 tight end. I'm sure his owners would like to see him fully healthy, but that might not happen at all this season. Keep him in your lineup as long as he's active though.
Last week I was high on Tim Wright (ESPN #13, ME #8), who I started on Monday Night Football. He had a great matchup against Miami, and he had been getting a ton of targets. But the Bucs mostly ran the ball to their first victory, and Glennon only attempted 1 of his 21 passes in the Wright direction (see what I did there?). Luckily, I didn't need the points from my tight end position to win last week, but I sure would like some production moving forward. I sat Fleener, who got 10 targets but only caught 4 balls for 33 yards. I like that he saw a season high in targets though, and I think I'm going to start him in the Thursday night game at Tennessee, who is actually giving up the 9th most fantasy points to tight ends this year.
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DEF
1.Seahawks
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2.Cardinals
3.Bengals
4.Texans
5.Jets
6.Giants
7.Bills
8.Saints
9.Chargers
10.Panthers
11.Ravens
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12.Packers
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| The G-Men have been on a...Rolle...lately. |
Last week, I was high on the Giants (ESPN #15, ME #9). Not only did I like the matchup against Oakland, but New York had looked pretty good defensively against the Vikings and Eagles in their previous two games. I think it's possible they've turned a corner after their bye week, and maybe they're realizing the NFC East is still anyone's for the taking! Their defense forced all sorts of turnovers against the Raiders, and they finished as the #2 fantasy defense in Week 10. On the negative side, I was down on the Bengals (ESPN #3, ME #12). I think ESPN had them ranked too highly with a tough division game in Baltimore, not to mention all of the injuries that unit is dealing with. They ended up as the #9 fantasy defense last week, so not bad. It looks like Mike Zimmer is making the most with who he has, and those "next guys up" are doing what they need to do. I'm hoping they at least get Rey Maualuga back after their Week 12 bye because he brings a lot to that defense. For now, I'm back to ranking them as one of the top defenses this week as they host the Browns. I think they'll be jacked up for this game, especially after losing in Cleveland earlier this season.
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Speaking of this week's defensive rankings, you won't find some big names on my list due to matchups: Patriots (@CAR), 49ers (@NO) or even the Chiefs (@DEN). All of these defenses have put up good fantasy numbers this season, but I'd be worried about starting any of them this week. If any of the three actually do put up good numbers, I think it'll be due to a defensive touchdown (which are virtually impossible to predict). Start them at your own risk!
That's it for today. Check back Friday for some notes on tomorrow night's game, injury updates, and a comparison versus the ESPN rankings.
Cheers,
Bart
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