The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 11

Yo yo yo, I’m excited to go over the guys’ Starts of the Week for Week 11. They went over their starts on Thursday’s show, but of course, hit on their “Taking It Up To 100” players first. Andy went with Mike Davis, Jason selected Brandin Cooks, and Mike chose the Miami D/ST because “you gotta play a D/ST.”

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Andy’s Starts

QB: Ben Roethlisberger @ Jacksonville Jaguars

So this was Matthew Stafford, and I typed up a nice little blurb about Stafford. And then the news dropped that Marvin Jones was not practicing on Thursday, so Andy did a pivot. Instead of who he went with on the show, Andy moved his way over to Roethlisberger. He decided Big Ben was the quarterback to go with this week because he is playing a Jacksonville defense that has given up over 25 fantasy points per game to the quarterback spot. They have also allowed a top-10 finish for quarterbacks over the last three weeks. Not only is Big Ben coming off two of his better game of the season, but he additionally has completely healthy weapons at his disposal. Over the last three weeks, Roethlisberger has been the number three quarterback in fantasy, so he should keep that up in Week 11.

RB: Damien Harris vs. Houston Texans

Right now, running the ball is what the Patriots are known for. Harris was one of the Ballers’ value draft picks before the season started. He got hurt, or he could have been on an excellent fantasy roll. New England looks to have it made again this week as they face a Houston defense that is third-worst against the run in 2020. In the previous four weeks, the Texans have given up top-12 numbers to opposing fantasy running backs. Last week, Harris saw a 65% share of running back touches. He also managed to rush for 121 yards. This should be another game where he sees plenty of volume.

WR: Terry McLaurin vs. Cincinnati Bengals

What wide receiver not only leads the league in yards after catch but also leads his team in percentage of air yards? That player would be wideout Terry McClaurin of the Washington Football Team. Last week, Pittsburgh faced the Bengals and were able to have three wide receivers put up top-10 against Cincinnati. This week, McLaurin looks to put up big numbers as well. His quarterback Alex Smith has passed for more yards than any other quarterback over the last two weeks. Since the Bengals’ defense is so horrid against the pass, look for McLaurin to score plenty of points for your fantasy roster. McLaurin has possessed three straight top-20 weeks, so he will be looking to keep this up for week 11. Last week, the Washington wide receiver had seven receptions for 122 total yards, and he will not be held back this week.

TE: Tyler Higbee vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A Monday night start, and Andy is going with Higbee at tight end. He notes that no tight end is fantastic right now except for Travis Kelce, so this is a challenging position to pinpoint. Still, Andy believes Higbee is set up for success this week. Tampa Bay has been known to concede points to the tight end position, so Higbee and Gerald Everett could have productive contests. Higbee was top-12 at the position last week, thanks in part to deep shots thrown in his direction. Andy thinks this is a dart throw, but he notes Tampa Bay has struggled over the last four weeks against tight ends. Higbee is a target that can make big plays, and he has been proving to everyone that he is getting healthy. Last week, he saw six targets, a season-high, and he does not look to be slowing down.

Jason’s Starts

QB: Deshaun Watson vs. New England Patriots

Last week, Watson had to deal with some horrific weather. If you just saw stats and ignored the weather, you may be panicking. Calm down and look ahead to this Week 11 matchup versus the New England Patriots. With Bill O’Brien gone, Watson has looked good. This week, he will not have to deal with the horrid weather he saw while taking on the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. Both Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller have been excellent wide receiver weapons for Watson as of late, with Cooks seeing at least eight targets over each of the last five games. Watson should find himself able to drop back and get the ball to his wideouts in this contest against a bad Patriots defense that is slow because they are trying to cover up their weaknesses.

Ummm so… are we gonna talk about the fact New England’s defense is #bad on a per play basis?

-Yards Per Pass Attempt (32nd)
-Yards Per Play (32nd)
-Pass Success Rate (31st)
-Defensive DVOA (32nd)
-Pass DVOA (30th)
-Rush DVOA (31st) pic.twitter.com/H8mztuf5Rb

— Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg) November 18, 2020

RB: Kareem Hunt vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Chubb coming back into the fold has helped Hunt’s value. Jason wants you to know that you should not be scared of the matchup versus the Eagles, even though it looks scary. Right now, the Browns are wanting to run the ball first. Hunt was able to touch the ball 23 separate times last week, something that is jaw-dropping for a timeshare back. The Browns want to get the ball in their running backs’ hands, and they want to do this often. Chubb and Hunt both had 19 carries last contest, so the identity of Cleveland is being shaped by the running back position. Another bonus of this third-down back is his potential for yards through the air—Start Hunt with confidence in this matchup.

WR: Juju Smith-Schuster @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Forty-two targets over the past four games is a stat to take notice of. Smith-Schuster has seen this amount of targets while showing he can beat up on “weaker” teams. In his last two games, the Steelers wideout has seen 20 targets to go hand-in-hand with his 15 catches, 170 yards, and two scores. This week, he is up against a Jaguars defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position. Smith-Schuester thrived with Antonio Brown in the mix. He is back to that “number two” role that has done him so well, so his numbers should continue to shine. With Ben Roethlisberger getting to sling the ball more often as of late, Smith-Schuster is primed for success.

TE: Dallas Goedert @ Cleveland Browns

Last week, even though he was checked out early for a concussion, Goedert found himself in the game for 93-percent of the plays. He additionally saw six targets while running plenty of routes. Goedert is doing his job at the tight end position, and right now, you need someone who plays a lot at the tight end position since it is so inconsistent. Goedert is in a lovely situation this week as he takes on a Cleveland Browns team that is not good at defending the tight end. The Browns are currently giving up the tenth-most fantasy points to tight ends, and Goedert should find himself grabbing tons of receptions off of a good portion of targets.

Mike’s Starts

QB: Lamar Jackson vs. Tennessee Titans

Both Joe Burrow and Philip Rivers turned in QB1 performances when taking on the Titans over the last two weeks. Even Nick Foles was able to throw for 335 yards and two touchdowns when facing Tennessee. It is a bit bizarre Mike has to bring it up, but Jackson should be the week’s start. When Jackson faced the Patriots, he looked like he had his passing game under control compared to how it has been. This week, he looks to build on that top-10 QB performance he was able to put up last game. Another noteworthy stat regarding Jackson is that he has had 50 or more yards on the ground in seven of nine games this season. This is an excellent matchup for Jackson, so he has a strong shot of doing your fantasy team wonders.

RB: D’Andre Swift / Adrian Peterson vs. Carolina Panthers

Monitor Swift’s health as he was listed as in concussion protocol after Mike decided on his start of the week status. Mike went with Swift as his running back start of the week on the podcast due to the Panthers allowing the fourth-most points per game to opposing running backs. Last week, Swift found himself going for 81 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He does seem to be continually producing as of late, so watch for carry over into this game. If Swift is a no-go, Mike is leaning to Peterson as the pick for the week’s start as he would be the one seeing 20+ carries with Swift out.

WR: Tyler Lockett vs. Arizona Cardinals

Thursday night game alert. For Mike’s start of the week at wide receiver, he went with a player who brings happiness every now and then — pointing out he has made you happy in one of his last six games. That being said, the game you were happy in was the one he took on the Arizona Cardinals. In that game, he possessed 20 targets and 15 catches. He additionally went for 200 yards and tacked on three touchdowns. It looks like Lockett could do big things yet again against Arizona. Patrick Peterson can find himself up against DK. Metcalf, giving Lockett more of an opportunity to light it up.

TE: Jared Cook @ Atlanta Falcons

Was Cook disappointing last week? Sure. He was only targeted twice in last week’s game. The silver lining here is he takes on the Atlanta Falcons team this week, an organization known to give up loads of points to the tight end spot. Now that Drew Brees has been declared out for the upcoming game, you can guarantee quarterback Jameis Winston will be locked on Cook as he loves tossing to his tight end. Since tight ends are doing so well against the Falcons, Winston should target Cook an extra amount of times in this match. My thought process is that Taysom Hill could also have a decent game this week, especially with the added running game the gadget man has been putting together. Look for the tight end position to pop this week versus Atlanta.

Finally, the episode was topped off with the most anticipated segment of the episode — Jason Moore‘s Iron-Clad Locked and Loaded 100% Guaranteed Boom Boom Kicker of the Week:

I know people think with the Boom Boom, “oh, Jason, he panders” — But I worked tirelessly to find the Dolphins Jason T. Sanders.” [and the T is for Thomas]

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