This is the Fantasy Nerd's look at the best and worst matchups for Week 11 of the 2021 NFL season. Analysis is aggregated from multiple sources including FN. Rankings are based upon PPR (point per reception) scoring. Given the known conditions, these matchups are the ones to watch and/or avoid.
Please Note: This list does not generally include the elite players that you are going to start regardless of matchup. You don't need us to tell you to start Alvin Kamara, Travis Kelce, or Davante Adams. Instead, we take a look at other players on your team that we believe either have great matchups or should be avoided for multiple reasons. Factors like opposing defense, performance trending, and peer comparisons may influence our decisions.
Start 'em Cam Newton (CAR, QB)Cam said it best after one of his two trips to the endzone last week: "I'm back". As long as he remains the starter (which seems likely), he's worth starting as a low-end QB1 against a Washington defense that lost Chase Young for the season and is giving up more points to QBs than anyone else.
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Most pts to QB
Start 'em Ryan Tannehill (TEN, QB)Without Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill will likely have to shoulder more of the burden. This is a great matchup for him as the Texans give up the 7th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season. Game script may be a concern should the Titans get a big lead early, but Tannehill's matchup and consistency should keep him in QB1 discussions.
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7th Most Pts to QB
Start 'em Joe Burrow (CIN, QB)The Raiders were the get-right game for Patrick Mahomes last week, and given that Joe Burrow disappointed fantasy owners last week, this should be a get-right opportunity for him as well. Prior to the Cleveland game, Burrow had 20+ points in four of his five previous games. He should flirt with similar output.
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11th Most Pts to QB
Start 'em AJ Dillon (GB, RB)With Aaron Jones sidelined, AJ Dillon racked up 26.8 fantasy points last week. When Green Bay visits Minnesota this week, we expect Jones (mild MCL sprain) to miss the game. Dillon will be atop the depth chart and firmly in RB1 status for this one.
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10th Most Pts to RB
Start 'em James Conner (ARI, RB)Ranked 12th this week, James Conner will face a Seattle defense giving up the 2nd-most fantasy points to running backs including the 26.8 points that we mention above for AJ Dillon. Conner has remarkably rushed for 11 touchdowns in just ten games (12 touchdowns on the year). With no real competition for workload, look for Conner to continue steamrolling defenses.
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2nd Most Pts to RB
Start 'em Michael Carter (NYJ, RB)Michael Carter has been a nice surprise for fantasy owners. Even in a tough matchup last week, he managed to put up 18.2 fantasy points. His involvement in the passing game certainly helps. Hopefully Joe Flacco will keep him involved there. Miami has been fairly solid against running backs the past few weeks, but Carter figures to be a solid RB2 in this one.
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12th Fewest Pts to RB
Start 'em Marquise Brown (BAL, WR)Hollywood Brown comes into this one ranked 15th on Fantasy Nerds. While it's very difficult to run on the Bears, they've been much more susceptible to the pass which works in Brown's favor. He has averaged a whopping 10.8 targets over his last five games. With multiple 100 yard games under his belt this season, it would not be surprising to see him hit the century mark once again.
UPDATE: Marquise Brown has been downgraded to OUT for Week 11.
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6th Most Pts to WR
Start 'em Brandin Cooks (HOU, WR)Ranked just two spots behind Marquise Brown is Brandin Cooks who remains the Texans' only legitimate fantasy asset. He is the most targeted player on the team and the only one capable of consistently putting up points. That's great, because nobody is giving up more fantasy points to receivers right now than the Titans. Cooks would normally be a solid flex play, but we'd consider him a solid WR2 in this one.
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Most pts to WR
Start 'em Jarvis Landry (CLE, WR)We consider this more of a "squeaky wheel gets the grease" situation. Landry came out this week complaining about the lack of targets and workload. For a guy who is normally quiet in that regard, we're sure the Browns would like to see him more involved. The return of Nick Chubb should keep defenses focus once again on the run game. His floor in this one keeps him in the WR3/Flex discussion.
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16th Fewest Pts to WR
Start 'em Mike Gesicki (MIA, TE)In full transparency, we recommended Mike Gesicki last week and he left all of us with a big fat doughnut. The odds of that happening again are slim. He still competes for the most targets on the team (avg 6.9 targets/game), plays an incredible 80% of the snaps, and should have no trouble redeeming himself against the Jets on Sunday.
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13th Most Pts to TE
Start 'em Zach Ertz (ARI, TE)It didn't take long for Zach Ertz to cement himself a role on this offense. Over his last four games, Ertz has averaged ~5 targets per game. If you're in need of a TE, he's got the floor to make him a safe play. He's ranked just inside our Top 10 this week.
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16th Fewest Pts to TE
Start 'em Tennessee Titans (TEN, DEF)Nobody gives up more points to defenses than the Houston Texans making the Titans a must-start for Week 11.
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Most pts to DEF
Start 'em Chase McLaughlin (CLE, K)The winless Lions are a great team to play against if you're a kicker. They've given up more points to kickers this season than anyone else including 12 points last week to Chris Boswell and 14 points to Jake Elliott in the game prior.
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Most pts to K
Sit 'em Matt Ryan (ATL, QB)Is there a more frustrating QB in fantasy right now? In what should have been a high-scoring affair last week, Matt Ryan and the Atlanta offense failed to show up. Now they'll face a Patriots secondary that is giving up the second-fewest points per game to quarterbacks. Leave Ryan on the bench.
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2nd Fewest Pts to QB
Sit 'em Justin Fields (CHI, QB)Although Justin Fields has started to show progress, he's still a wildly-inconsistent quarterback who has thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns over his last four games. The Ravens might not be the same shutdown defense that they were in the past, but they're still solid and will pressure Fields repeatedly.
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15th Most Pts to QB
Sit 'em Baker Mayfield (CLE, QB)This should be such a nice matchup, but the real question is whether or not you can trust Baker Mayfield in your lineup. Last week, the Patriots kept him to just 73 yards before he left the game in the third quarter with a knee contusion. Mayfield has just one game this year with more than 20 points and is averaging an awful 13 points per game. Look for the Browns to keep it on the ground this game and leave Baker on the bench.
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10th Most Pts to QB
Sit 'em Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC, RB)Will this be the week that we finally see CEH return to action? He's expected to return, but Andy Reid indicated that they could hold Edwards-Helaire out until after their bye next week. Should he return, we wouldn't rush him into lineups. His actual workload remains to be seen and the matchup is not great. We're taking the wait and see approach to CEH.
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7th Fewest Pts to RB
Sit 'em D'Onta Foreman (TEN, RB)It looks like D'Onta Foreman may be the head of the three-back rotation in Tennessee. Without Derrick Henry, the trio of Foreman, Adrian Peterson, and Jeremy McNichols are the committee tasked with keeping the ground game relevant. None have come close to replicating Henry's stats. In fact, Foreman averaged just 2.7 yards per carry last week. Of the three, Foreman is the highest ranked player at the moment. In a nice matchup, Foreman wouldn't be considered anything but a flex option and that's assuming that he still gets the bulk of the workload.
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11th Most Pts to RB
Sit 'em Jordan Howard (PHI, RB)With Miles Sanders sidelined, Jordan Howard returned to fantasy relevance averaging 70 rushing yards in each of those games plus making three trips to the endzone. As of now, Sanders has a chance to play on Sunday. According to Nick Sirianni, "if Miles is healthy and ready to go, he's our starter." If he plays, Jordan Howard's fantasy value will take a significant hit. Even if he does play, the matchup is awful as the Saints give up the 3rd-fewest fantasy points.
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3rd Fewest Pts to RB
Sit 'em Marvin Jones (JAC, WR)It's not fair to blame the lack of production from Marvin Jones on Marvin Jones. Despite being the #1 receiver on the team and having rapport with Trevor Lawrence, he can't do much if he can't get the ball. Lawrence has been a significant disappointment and Jones' fantasy value is unfortunately intrinsically tied to his. Add in a tough matchup against the Niners and Jones becomes too difficult to start with any sort of confidence.
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8th Fewest Pts to WR
Sit 'em Allen Robinson (CHI, WR)Believe it or not, Allen Robinson hit double-digit production last week for his second-highest scoring week of the season. Mind you that it was just 10.8 points, but frankly, that's better than his average this season. Justin Fields has simply not lived up to expectations in his rookie season, and when he does throw, it's often Darnell Mooney that's being targeted. It's not much of a stretch to project Robinson to remain under 10 fantasy points once again.
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12th Fewest Pts to WR
Sit 'em Kenny Golladay (NYG, WR)After missing four games, we got to see a healthy Kenny Golladay last week. He managed just 4.8 points, but getting back onto the field was the real takeaway. He'll have a nice matchup on Monday night against the Bucs, but to view Golladay as anything but a boom-or-bust type player would be inaccurate. With a full receiving corp finally, Golladay will need to compete for targets. He's averaging 8.3 points per game this season, and while he may flirt with double digits, he's far from a lock.
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11th Most Pts to WR
Sit 'em Jared Cook (LAC, TE)We've sadly watched Jared Cook's workload decrease over the past three weeks. The lack of a consistent workload combined with a tough matchup make it very difficult to start him. The Steelers rattled the Lions last week keeping T.J. Hockenson to zero fantasy points (he actually had as many penalties as targets in that one). Cook is better left on the bench right now.
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12th Fewest Pts to TE
Sit 'em Cameron Brate (TB, TE)With no Gronk on the field, the opportunity for Cameron Brate to emerge has been met with a dud. Although he managed to get into the endzone last week for the first time this season, he has failed to put up more than 7.6 points in any game this season. We don't expect that to suddenly happen on Monday night.
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14th Most Pts to TE
Sit 'em Green Bay Packers (GB, DEF)The Packers dominated Russell Wilson and the Seahawks last week, but a matchup in Minnesota against Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen presents a different dilemma. The Vikings give up the 5th-fewest fantasy points to opposing defense/special teams making them a risky play in Week 11.
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5th Fewest Pts to DEF
Sit 'em Greg Joseph (MIN, K)Nobody gives up fewer fantasy points to kickers this year than Green Bay. They delivered a doughnut to Jason Meyers last week and have not allowed any kicker to reach double digits this year. There's no reason to expect that to change this week.
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Feweset Pts to K
