Wow that was a pretty ugly week of football, and I’m not just referring to my fantasy team. Ten teams failed to reach 21 points. Don’t get me wrong, there were some great games but the big names like Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Travis Etiene were basically none existent and most likely costed you the week if you were counting on them. But, hopefully those guys didn’t hurt your fantasy team outlook was able to survive the duds of Week 10. Let's make sure we avoid the duds in Week 11 lineups with this weeks starts and sits recommendations.
Starts
QB Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (TB)
After a pretty hot start to the year, Purdy came back down to earth in Weeks 6-8 where he threw just 1 TD in each game. Now, a week after his bye he’s coming off a near perfect game of 296 yards and 3 TDs against Jacksonville. He’s now back at home against the Buccaneers where he should be back in your lineup as well. In his four games at home this season he’s averaging 302 yards and 2 TDs per game. The Buccaneers have been stout against the run but the secondary is a bottom 10 unit against the pass. Start the young signal caller with confidence this week.
RB AJ Dillon, Green Bay Packers (LAC)
If the Packers didn’t have a running back by committee, AJ Dillon would be in RB1 territory. His teammate Aaron Jones takes away a lot of value but in the matchup this week against the Chargers he should absolutely be in your lineup. He might not touch the ball a lot, but when he does he takes advantage of it. He has only 18 carries over his last 2 games but has averaged over 6 yards per carry during that time. He’s now playing the Chargers defense who just let Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combine for over 190 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. Look for the Packers to pound the rock early and often.
WR Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns (Pit)
I had the star veteran receiver on the sit list last week due to a tough matchup against Baltimore. He then went out and caught six balls for 98 yards. He’s now gotten at least 89 yards in 6 of 9 games this year. Cooper's biggest thing has always been his up and down games. He’s on a bit of a hot streak with 326 yards over his last three games. If he can perform against a dominate secondary like Baltimore it’s a given he’s going to have the opportunity to light up the Steelers this week. Pittsburg has been torched by WRs all season and is coming off a game where Jordan Love had a career high 289 yards passing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cooper is a top 15 play this week.
TE Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals (@Hou)
I think McBride is turning into a consistent TE, and those are hard to find in today's NFL. With Kyler Murray back into the lineup, McBride had a career game, catching eight throws for 131 yards. Obviously he can’t hit that ceiling every week, but I believe his floor is relatively high right now. His target share is darn near Travis Kelce numbers with 28 targets over his last three games. He had a slow start to the year but has 5 or more targets in five straight games. If Murray keeps looking his way, McBride could sneak his way into the top ten TEs by season's end. He’s a lineup lock this week against Houston.
Defense Minnesota Vikings (@Den)
Along with TEs this year, very few defenses have been consistent at all. The Vikings defense has been solid but saw the bench in most leagues last week against a formidable Saints offense. Yet, the Vikings defense still put up a strong performance and are a legit top ten fantasy unit on the year. They actually had a pretty rough start to the year but since Week 3 they are averaging a surprising 10 fantasy points per game. Since Week 6, only one team has scored more than 20 points and they have 11 takeaways during that five game stretch. They are without a doubt a top ten unit this week against a middling Broncos offense.
Sits
QB Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (@Jax)
The rookie QB was becoming a huge story this year. In his first career start, Week 8, he had a Matt Flynn type game. He came in and balled out with 4 TD passes. That spark has more than died down since. In his two games since his big game, he’s failed to throw a TD pass and has turned the ball over twice, resulting in back-to-back sub 10 point games. He’s still rostered in over 30% of leagues so I know he’s still starting somewhere, but he should not be. It’s already hard to trust a rookie QB and Levis has lost my trust. His floor is very low. He does have a better matchup this week against the Jags who have been torched in the air. The side note to that is they also are near the top of the league with 11 interceptions. Find a better option at signal caller this week.
RB James Conner, Arizona Cardinals (@Hou)
The veteran RB has been on your bench for awhile due to him being on IR. No need to rush him back into your lineup. He had a solid game his first day back with 73 yards on 16 carries. With zero involvement in the passing games he’s almost TD dependent, which no one ever likes. I know he hasn’t played much but in his last three games he’s averaging just 57 yards rushing, with zero TDs and only 1 catch for 2 yards during that stretch. The matchup doesn't bode well for him either, as the Texans have been stout against the run all year, allowing under 4 yards per carry. You should have replaced Conner already. Don’t force him back into your lineup in this tough matchup.
WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (LAC)
There has been a pretty long list of busts this year. Watson has undoubtedly signed his name in ink on that list. I’m actually surprised to see him still owned in almost 80% of leagues. Since the Packers Week 6 bye, Watson has totaled 9 catches for 120 yards over a four game span. In the six games played this year he has failed to reach 40 yards in all but one game. Even in a great matchup this week against a very bad Chargers secondary, Watson shouldn’t see any lineups. Jordan Love had a career high 289 yards passing and Watson attributed 23 yards to that on 7 targets. You can drop him to the waivers now.
TE Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@SF)
Oh, the ups and downs of a TE in the NFL! In Week 9, Otton had a career game with 70 yards and 2 TDs off 6 catches. So of course what did he do in Week 10? Two catches for 10 yards. Which is shocking because Baker Mayfield threw for 278 yards. Now with six games under 30 yards receiving this year, Otton is not trustworthy in lineups. If you take away the big Week 9 game, he’s gone over 40 yards just twice on the year. I didn’t like him in lineups this week to begin with but he is also up against the 49ers defense. Keep him out of lineups.
Defense Baltimore Ravens (Cin)
The Ravens are a top 5 unit on the year when it comes to fantasy defenses. That doesn't mean they need to start in your lineup every week. Their worst performance of the year (5 points) came in Week 2 against the Bengals. So I don’t see this matchup going much different. They are also coming off a game where they allowed a season high 27 points to the Browns. Joe Burrow also has seemed to have found his footing with 695 passing yards over his last two games. Obviously don’t drop the Ravens to waivers but find a better option if you can.
