Week 11 is almost complete and a lot of elite players are building consistency. Antonio Brown kicked off Week 11 with a 40-point explosion. Keenan Allen torched the Buffalo Bills secondary for 12 catches, 159 yards, and two touchdowns. Travis Kelce didn’t score a touchdown against the New York Giants but was the only tight end to surpass 100 receiving yards this week. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles showed fantasy owners who invested in their defenses a whole lot of love.
There were also some really bad performances, particularly from quarterbacks (*cough* Nathan Peterman *cough*). Jared Goff and the high-powered Los Angeles Rams offense finally ran into a roadblock against the Minnesota Vikings. Sunday marked only the second time that Goff failed to throw a touchdown this season. Also failing to throw a touchdown was Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs. The wind can only account for so much when facing the lowly Giants.
What does it all mean? Well, good teams find ways to produce despite adversity. The Eagles had only seven points in the first half before slamming down 30 points in the second half. The Vikings continued to make Adam Thielen a focus of their offense. Additionally, weather is showing it’s importance in fantasy football. As the calendar continues to push toward December, it’s important to understand that inclement weather (and wind) can dramatically affect fantasy production.
Here are the low-owned players that put up eye-popping numbers, and the widely-owned players that failed their fantasy owners during Week 11.
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Studs
Kenny Stills (WR – MIA)
In the first half of Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stills had only one catch for 26 yards. Then, Jay Cutler was benched and Matt Moore started targeting Stills. A lot. Stills finished the day with seven receptions for 180 yards and a touchdown.
This marked the fifth time in Stills’ career where he surpassed 100 yards receiving. There’s clearly a connection between he and Moore. Owned in just 37% of Yahoo! leagues, Stills is definitely worthy of a roster spot. The question ultimately is going to be whether Stills has enough consistency to be worthy of starting for fantasy teams down the stretch.
D’Onta Foreman (RB – HOU)
The rookie running back for the Texans had a monster day, but the news was not all good. Foreman scored a 34-yard touchdown, his second of the day, but also suffered what is believed to be a ruptured Achilles tendon. Foreman finished Week 11 as the RB4 in PPR leagues.
This obviously reduces his relevancy in redraft leagues to zero. In keeper leagues and dynasty leagues, however, Foreman is absolutely going to be a player to monitor over the course of the offseason. In a support role, Foreman found a nice niche behind Lamar Miller. Miller could be a cap casualty this offseason as well. Pouncing on overreaction from Foreman’s injury could be a smart move in dynasty leagues. For the time being, though, Miller will be a “bell cow” running back for the rest of the season.
Devontae Booker (RB – DEN)
If you’ve been saving up your FAAB funds for a rainy day, it’s time to take a hammer to the piggy bank. Booker outsnapped C.J. Anderson on Sunday and accounted for 98 yards from scrimmage.
It’s easy to discredit a lot of the Broncos skill position players with Brock Osweiler under center. Having said that, Booker has shown promise in his limited time in the NFL. His ownership is in the single digits across various host sites. Given the Broncos’ schedule over the rest of the season, Booker should be atop the list of waiver wire additions this week.
Ricky Seals-Jones (TE – ARI)
Who? Seals-Jones had played one snap in the NFL prior to Sunday. Then he caught three passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. Go figure.
The question now is whether Seals-Jones is actually going to factor in down the stretch. The Cardinals are effectively out of the division race and are long shots to make the playoffs. Playing some of the younger guys might be a sound strategy as the season winds down. Unfortunately, outside of deep dynasty leagues, it makes little sense to view Seals-Jones’ career day as anything other than a glitch in the Matrix.
Duds
Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)
Sure, Prescott and the Cowboys were dealing with adversity entering their divisional showdown with the NFL record-best Philadelphia Eagles. Then again, it was difficult to imagine that Prescott would take this big of a nosedive so quickly.
Over the last two weeks, Prescott has thrown for a combined 321 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions (all against the Eagles). The Cowboys offense without Ezekiel Elliott is downright pitiful. It might not get better immediately either.
The Cowboys have a short week before facing the Los Angeles Chargers on Thanksgiving. They then have a traditional week off before facing the Washington Redskins the following Thursday. Even with a lot of suspect pass defenses on the schedule, it’s becoming apparent that Prescott cannot be trusted as a viable fantasy quarterback anytime soon. As tempting as his fantasy playoff schedule is, Prescott should remain on the bench for the immediate future.
Jordy Nelson (WR – GB)
Well…the Packers offense has certainly hit a roadblock sans Aaron Rodgers. Nelson, who had scored in double digits in PPR leagues every game he played with Rodgers, has failed to surpass eight fantasy points since.
The Packers offense under Brett Hundley is categorically bad. While the Packers are still in the thick of the NFC Wild Card race, it’s difficult to believe that they are good enough to form a sustainable winning streak with Hundley as their quarterback. With fantasy trade deadlines fast approaching, or already expired, Nelson is on an island for fantasy leagues.
The old adage of “never bench your studs” still only applies to current studs. Nelson is no longer in that category as long as Rodgers is sidelined. Nelson is probably better than most waiver options, so dropping him seems futile. However, rolling him out in your starting lineup seems like a surefire way of losing each week.
James White (RB – NE)
On the bright side for White owners, at least he didn’t receive the same hype as Rex Burkhead leading into Sunday’s game. Unfortunately, White still failed to get anything going against the Oakland Raiders.
Despite five carries, the third highest total on the season for White, he only totaled 13 yards from scrimmage. This was only the third time in White’s career that he failed to catch a pass when getting at least one rushing attempt.
Over the course of the last five games, the Patriots backfield appears to be heading toward a little more clarity. Dion Lewis is clearly the “starter,” amassing double-digit rushing attempts every game during that time span. One saving grace for White could be that Burkhead fumbled and seemingly entered Bill Belichick’s doghouse for a duration of Sunday’s game. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, though, trying to successfully navigate the Patriots’ backfield is akin to trying to navigate the Mercato without Google maps.
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Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.
