Flex Heroes and Zeroes - Week 11 Fantasy Football Picks

Hopefully, all my loyal readers got the joke last week that the picks were actually reversed and did the complete opposite of what was suggested! Nelson Agholor has apparently not morphed into toast, at least not yet.

Week 10 was just one of those weeks that was filled with blowouts and upsets, or in the case of the Titans, both. For Week 11, it's one of those rare weeks where almost every matchup seems perfectly paired. We have the best of the best squaring off in Rams-Chiefs, some important divisional contests sure to be highly contested in Vikings-Bears and Titans-Colts, and some justifiably matched bottom feeders get to play each other when Raiders-Cardinals and Bucs-Giants are contractually obligated to keep playing out the season. Will that make this week's picks any easier? No, but I'm going to assume 100% accuracy and confidently throw out some names you might be borderline shocked to see. As Sisyphus would say, "That's how I roll."

Now, here are my fantasy flex and streamer "heroes" and "zeroes" at each position for Week 11 of the NFL season. These players are borderline start considerations for your flex (and superflex) spots that I believe will perform unexpectedly well or that might fare poorly relative to expectations in this week's matchups. To see how our staff feels about all the players you might possibly care about, look no further than our very own RotoBaller consensus weekly rankings.

Week 11 Lineup Heroes

QUARTERBACK

Eli Manning, New York Giants

It's been slightly longer than a New York minute since I could recommend Manning with some semblance of, I want to say, confidence? Throughout the first half of the year, Manning was a boring but somewhat safe streamer in certain matchups, averaging 297.1 yards but just one TD per game over the first eight contests. In Week 10, he swapped the yardage for touchdowns, going for 199 and three scores, leaving fantasy owners with a similarly frustrating result despite a good matchup. It was good, but not Tampa Bay good... Manning is at home against the Bucs ' worst-ranked pass defense this week, which is enough to throw him into the QB mix for deep leagues. Now, it's becoming obvious not every single Buccaneers game will be a 48-40 final result but these Giants aren't going to bring the kind of defense to slow them down too much either. The one thing that has hurt the Bucs is turnovers, something the Giants have only nine of this season. The pace of play should be relatively high, as both teams rank in the top 11 in fewest seconds per play. The Giants kick up to fourth in pace when trailing by seven or more points, so much of this depends on whether the Bucs can jump out to any sort of lead. So for as much as I'm touting Manning in this game, a lot of this hinges on my continued faith in Ryan Fitzpatrick to keep doing what he does, at least until he gets benched again in a couple of weeks.

RUNNING BACK

Doug Martin, Oakland Raiders

If the thought of starting Doug Martin on a playoff-contending team makes you leery, that's normal. If the thought of playing any Raiders in your lineup makes you want to break out a noose, you're not alone. Nine points in two games isn't inspiring stuff. But as usual the matchup matters, so it just takes a bit of cognitive reframing to talk yourself into Martin as a flex play. The Cardinals are still one of the worst run defenses around and Martin is pretty much the only one of consequence taking handoffs these days, with apologies to Johnny Townsend. In fact, Martin is going to feel like the Last of the Mohicans soon since every Raiders receiver who began the season in the lineup is either hurt or playing for Dallas while Marshawn Lynch is still on IR. The Cardinals aren't the type of team that will necessarily steamroll the Raiders, bad as they are, so there's a good chance the Silver and Black just feed it to Martin as much as possible as they try to run out the clock on this game and their season. What about Jalen Richard though? If you play in full PPR leagues and want a few points to get you through the night, he is certainly viable. Keep in mind that he averages seven touches per game and hasn't scored a TD all year. Five catches and 44.3 receiving yards could be considered a decent floor but don't you want just a little hope for more? Martin caught three passes himself last week and while he hasn't scored this year either, he's been utilized in the red zone more and has seen his touches go up. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go cry myself to sleep right after I put him into my DraftKings lineup.

WIDE RECEIVER

Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons

Riddle me this - why can't Calvin Ridley and Austin Hooper both have good games at the same time? It's not like they play the same position and aren't on the field at the same time. That seems to be the case though, as Hooper went off for 10 catches and a TD in Week 10 while Ridley was held to three catches for 37 yards. The week before it was Ridley with a 6-71-1 line while Hooper finished 3-41-0. Ridley's two huge games in Weeks 3 and 4 were duds for Hooper, but in Weeks 5 and 6 it was reversed. So who will it be this week? Logic might dictate Hooper again because of the way Zach Ertz embarrassed them last Sunday night but remember that slot receiver Golden Tate was barely on the field and lightly targeted since he's still learning the system. Ridley won't have that problem and he could feast against slot corner Chidobe Awuzie. Underrated Bryon Jones will do work on Julio Jones all afternoon, making for a perfect opportunity for Ridley to exploit the interior of that defense as a secondary option. Is there room for Hooper and Ridley to take up two roster spots this week and be productive? Sure, it's possible. But think about it, have you ever seen them in the same room together with their helmets off?

TIGHT END

Ricky Seals-Jones, Arizona Cardinals

The educated fantasy football manager knows he should be starting Evan Engram this week and that Eric Ebron should never be benched ever again. If you are in the unfortunate position of looking for a tight end this week because you're without Gronk, Kittle, Njoku, or Clay (a 32-team league maybe?), then RSJ is a nice streaming choice that could be available. OC Byron Leftwich, who after two weeks is getting way too many mentions in my articles, incorporated the tight end much more last week. Seals-Jones was targeted nine times, catching five balls for 51 yards. This week he faces the Raiders, who.... wait for it.... are terrible. Not just in general, but fifth-worst against the tight end in fantasy terms (and getting worse, as is visually evident). All we need is some end zone love for Seals-Jones and the former receiver will pay off handsomely and jump into our collective consciousness for the rest of the year, all thanks to Byron Leftwich. Did you know Leftwich can throw a ball 55 yards from his knees? Just imagine if he was throwing to Ricky Seals-Jones...

Week 11 Lineup Zeroes

QUARTERBACK

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys beat the Eagles last week and now Dak and them Boys get a road trip to Dirty Bird stadium, where the points should pile up. Don't care. Dak is Dak and he will forever be Dak. While that's just fine for him personally, it makes me no more interested in him fantasy-wise. See, Prescott doesn't care about how good or bad an opposing defense is, he simply refuses to throw for more than 275 yards or throw more than two touchdowns. He's been scoring on the ground more lately but banking on a rushing touchdown from your QB is a crapshoot. Thing is, as bad as Atlanta has been defending the pass, they're actually worse against the run. This game should have Ezekiel Elliott's fingerprints all over it, especially in the red zone. Amari Cooper has helped the offense but it hasn't done much for Prescott's final stat line. The last two weeks, he has finished as the QB13 and QB16. In two-QB leagues, go ahead and use him but don't settle for such a low ceiling in 12-team single-QB leagues when you could go with, I don't know, Eli Manning instead!

RUNNING BACK

Marlon Mack, Indianapolis Colts

I love Marlon Mack, I really do. I was probably his biggest fanboy during the preseason and touted him loudly before his return in Week 6. This pick against him may reek of recency bias after he was held to 29 yards on 12 carries last week but it's not, I swear! I have two concerns here: first, that Tennessee is a strong defense that allows the third-fewest fantasy points to running backs, and second, Andrew Luck is just too good. Mack had a huge workload before the bye and put together consecutive RB1-type finishes but it should be noted that his big games came against the following opponents: Oakland, Buffalo, New York Jets. Doesn't look quite so impressive in that context. Also, the Colts have had so much success passing the ball, especially in the red zone, that they've been able to score at will, with Luck piling up 21 TD in the last six games. If this game is as closely contested as we expect, it could be Luck carrying the way. I'm not fading Mack entirely or benching him if I would have to put in someone like Jordan Howard or Lamar Miller instead, I'm simply putting up a warning sign so nobody starts panicking after a two-game slump and decides to cut him for Jaylen Samuels or Cameron Artis-Payne because, you know, handcuffs are important.

WIDE RECEIVER

Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears

A-Rob was back in a big way last week, collecting 133 yards and a pair of scores against a vulnerable Lions secondary. It would be easy to assume he'll put up WR2 value the rest of the way but you know what happens when we assume. Robinson will be shadowed by Xavier Rhodes on Sunday. Last year, that was a big deal. This year, Rhodes has struggled at times and has been fighting through an ankle injury. He sure looked like his old self in Week 9, holding Kenny Golladay to 46 yards on three catches. After a much-needed bye week, he could be close to 100%. Robinson has only faced Minnesota once in his career, back in 2016 as a Jaguar. That day he was held to one catch for 17 yards. It may not mean much, but Robinson and the entire Bears offense has enjoyed a pretty cush schedule so far. The return of a fully healthy Rhodes on a unit that is starting to resemble last year's NFC North champs gives me enough pause to consider keeping Robinson benched if I have a stronger option.

TIGHT END

Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins

Many owners have given up on Reed already and I don't blame you. He's yet to reach even 70 yards in a game and hasn't scored since Week 1. It's all the more baffling since the Redskins have been without their top two WRs, Jamison Crowder and Paul Richardson, most of the season. Reed leads the team in targets, ranks seventh among all tight ends in targets, and has a tight end's dream in Alex Smith at QB. It's meant nothing and remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of the fantasy campaign. And how the hell are the Redskins 6-3? Seriously, their post-game interviews should be conducted by Robert Stack. As for Reed, a complete lack of involvement in the red zone (one reception on three targets) is the biggest issue. Without digging deeper into the why, let's just accept the fact Reed is a sketchy start at best with limited upside. Houston's defense started off slow but has been far better the last few weeks, allowing an average of 208 passing yards per game. In a week where the tight end ranks are thinner than usual, feel free to steer clear of Reed.

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