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10 Things We Learned: Week 11 (Fantasy Football)

10 Things We Learned: Week 11 (Fantasy Football)

Bills coach Sean McDermott opened himself up to a lot of second-guessing when he opted to bench Tyrod Taylor following last week’s pasting at the hands of a very tough Saints team. It was Taylor’s worst performance of the season, but he had managed to guide the Bills to a 5-4 record as the starter, and it was the defense that deserved the lion’s share of the blame for the team’s recent struggles.

With rookie Nathan Peterman under center, the Chargers’ defense suddenly became a delicious fantasy streamer. McDermott’s decision ended up being even more of a trainwreck than anyone could have possibly imagined, as Peterman threw five interceptions before getting benched at halftime. Look for Taylor to regain the starting job moving forward, which would put him back on the low-end QB1 radar and serve as good news for LeSean McCoy, and whichever Buffalo pass catchers are healthy enough to play (unfortunately, Kelvin Benjamin may not qualify).

So…suffice it to say that benching Tyrod was a bad idea. Here are nine other things we learned in Week 11.

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Leonard Fournette doesn’t need to be fully healthy to be good
There’s been no shortage of drama with Fournette in recent weeks, from injury intrigue to rules violations and even his distaste for cold weather. But on Sunday he reminded fantasy owners why he always needs to be in your lineup when he’s in Jacksonville’s. Playing on a sore ankle and facing a Browns defense that has been among the best in the league against the run, Fournette piled up 30 touches for 118 yards.

After the game, Fournette acknowledged that his ankle will likely remain an issue for the rest of the season, but that he knows how to play through this injury going back to his college days. While I would gladly swap Fournette for a similar elite RB without injury concerns, he has to be considered an RB1 for the rest of the season. That said, with the bye weeks now in the rearview mirror, it does make sense for Fournette owners to grab Chris Ivory or T.J. Yeldon (or maybe even both) as an insurance policy.

Samaje Perine has a big opportunity in front of him
I was firmly in the skeptical camp when it came to Perine last week, but a couple things changed drastically on Sunday. Washington’s best back, Chris Thompson, broke his leg and will miss the rest of the season. And Perine finally showed some life, posting 126 yards and a TD on 24 touches against a potent Saints defense — easily his best performance of the season.

Washington has not been a great rushing team this season, but they are an above average offense overall, which should create ample scoring opportunities. Perine was averaging just 3.2 YPC on 66 carries coming into Week 11, but the rookie was the all-time leading rusher at Oklahoma, so the jury is still out on his true talent level. With no serious competition left for carries in Washington, Perine is a volume-driven RB2 option in standard leagues, much like his teammate at Oklahoma, Joe Mixon.

Joe Mixon is stuck in neutral
Speaking of Mixon, it’s hardly surprising that he struggled (20 carries for 49 yards) against the Broncos’ D in Week 11, but that poor performance is nothing new. Mixon has been the Bengals’ unquestioned lead back since Week 3, but he has yet to top 62 yards rushing in any game this season. Outside of a 67-yard catch in Week 8, he has been entirely devoid of the kind of big plays that his owners were hoping for based on his skills and upside.

Like Perine, the opportunity for RB2 value is staring Mixon in the face, and it’s still possible the rookie could turn his season around at any moment. But the Bengals currently rank dead last in rushing and are one of the league’s lowest-scoring offenses, so even if he improves as a runner, a true breakout looks unlikely, at least this year.

Adam Thielen is an underrated stud
Thielen isn’t the first name that comes to mind when thinking about upper echelon WRs, even on his team. Yet his 916 receiving yards trail only Antonio Brown, and Thielen has now scored in three straight contests after failing to reach the end zone in his first seven games. He has only received fewer than eight targets once this season, has hauled in at least five passes in every game, and has topped 95 receiving yards in six of his 10 games.

Thielen is a consistent fantasy performer in a good offense, and if he continues to see red zone targets, he is a solid bet to continue to provide WR1 production. His owners should hope Case Keenum remains the starting QB for much the same reason as Vikings fans — why mess with success?

Latavius Murray isn’t going away
As much as Jerick McKinnon owners may wish it weren’t so, Murray has emerged as a key component of the Vikings’ offense over the last month. Murray now has at least 15 carries in five straight games, and he’s run the ball very effectively in three of the last four contests. He’s also displayed a nose for the goal line, with four TDs in his last four games.

McKinnon remains the more talented and explosive back, and there’s room for both Minnesota backs to pile up yardage and scores as long as the offense continues to perform at a high level. But we’ve now reached the point where Murray is on par with McKinnon as a standard league play. Both are legitimate RB2s as long as the workload is distributed fairly evenly.

Doug Martin continues to disappoint
Coming into 2017, Martin had two elite seasons of over 1,400 rushing yards and three injured/ineffective seasons of less than 500 rushing yards. It’s become painfully clear that we’re seeing the “bad” version of Martin again this season after he fell flat on his face on Sunday against a Miami defense that had been obliterated by middling RBs Alex Collins, Marshawn Lynch, and Jonathan Stewart over the previous three weeks.

If you’re searching for a glimmer of hope, Martin did receive 18+ carries for the fourth time in his last five games. The Bucs also won their second game in a row, so coach Dirk Koetter is unlikely to completely blow up the game plan and turn to young players as he fights for his job and the Jon Gruden reunion rumors fly.

Still, there’s no sugar-coating the fact that Martin is averaging 3.1 YPC this year — and a putrid 2.0 YPC over his last three games. As long as he’s approaching 20 weekly touches, Martin will remain a low-end RB2 consideration, but most playoff-caliber fantasy teams should be able to do better.

D’Onta Foreman will be an RB to watch — next year
Foreman looked like one of the higher-upside RB stashes around earlier in the year, when the Deshaun Watson-led Texans offense was soaring. Foreman’s appeal took a hit with Watson’s injury, but the rookie RB was nonetheless on his way to a breakout performance in Week 11 when he tore his Achilles on his second touchdown run of the day.

Lamar Miller was likely to limit Foreman’s rest-of-season impact even if he hadn’t got hurt, but it will be interesting to see how the Texans approach the position heading into next season. Miller has proven to be a consistent but unremarkable backfield option in Houston, so Bill O’Brien may be inclined to hand over early-down duties to Foreman if he shows he has regained his explosiveness in camp. In the meantime, Miller’s rest-of-season RB2 outlook gets a slight boost, as Alfred Blue is unlikely to siphon off as many carries from Miller as Foreman did.

It isn’t too late for Corey Coleman to make an impact
It has been very tough to trust any Browns players in fantasy this year, but Coleman could prove to be the exception to the rule. In his first game back from a seven-game absence due to a broken hand, the talented second-yard wideout caught six of his 11 targets for 80 yards against a Jacksonville pass defense that is far and away the best in the league.

DeShone Kizer is an interception machine, but he also has the potential to make plays down the field. And the Browns have every incentive to try to develop the Kizer-to-Coleman connection over the season’s final month. 

With lots of big deficits and garbage time production likely in his future, Coleman stands a good chance of seeing double-digit targets every week. He deserves immediate WR3 consideration, and it isn’t entirely out of the question that he finds his way to WR2 value.

Alfred Morris is the back to own in Dallas
It looked like this would be the case following Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension, but on Sunday night we finally got confirmation. Dallas was forced to abandon the run early in the Cowboys’ Week 10 loss to Atlanta, so Morris saw just 11 carries in that contest. 

The Cowboys got blown out yet again in Week 11 (this time by the Eagles), but they made more of a concerted effort to feed Morris the ball, and he responded with 17 carries for 91 yards. He is now averaging a healthy 5.1 YPC in two games as Dallas’ lead back.

Morris has been a non-factor in the passing game so far, so the game script will be a concern if the Cowboys continue to face big deficits. But it’s also clear that Dallas wants to remain a run-first team in Elliott’s absence, and that is unlikely to change following Dak Prescott’s four-turnover performance against Philadelphia. 

LT Tyron Smith’s eventual return could also provide a boost to the running game while significantly improving the team’s overall offensive outlook. Morris is a solid RB2 in standard leagues, while Rod Smith is merely a handcuff and Darren McFadden is an obvious drop candidate.

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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter

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