/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62329590/usa_today_11649519.0.jpg)
In Week 10, just about everything went according to plan. Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster delivered solid performances in a TNF home game. Julio Jones had another big game and scored for the second week in a row. Michael Thomas shredded the hapless Cincinnati Bengals. Tyreek Hill ate with Sammy Watkins sidelined.
It’s not every week that most of the receivers we expect to have good games actually go out and perform like they used to. Even the studs have down weeks, but the matchups and expectations usually don’t matter in fantasy football, because this sport is so high-variance. It’s pleasant when it all lines up. Let’s appreciate it while it lasts.
This week features six teams on a bye, but not many noteworthy receivers will be unusable. Let’s see what Week 11 has in store for us.
WR Rankings - Week 11
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Notes |
1 | Michael Thomas | NO | PHI | At home and facing a PHI secondary that has given up the 5th-most points to WRs and just lost top CB Ronald Darby? Rocket Ship Emoji. |
2 | Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | TB | OBJ has coralled 20 of his last 33 targets for 352 yards and 3 TDs over his last 3 games. TB has the worst secondary in the league. Rocket Ship Emoji. |
3 | Tyreek Hill | KC | @LAR | In what should be a track meet, Hill is set for liftoff. LAR's secondary has gotten well and truly smoked, giving up the 3rd-most TDs to WRs in the NFL. |
4 | Julio Jones | ATL | DAL | Julio has gone over 100 yards in 4 straight games and caught a TD in his last 2. The catches and yards have been there all year and now the TDs are. |
5 | Davante Adams | GB | @SEA | SEA has allowed a 100-yard WR in each of the past 3 games and 5 total TDs to WRs. |
6 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | @WAS | Nuk has scored a TD in all but 3 games and went 8/78, 6/86, 9/151 in those other games. |
7 | Adam Thielen | MIN | @CHI | CHI has been a favorable matchup for WRs all year and MIN had a bye week to scheme Thielen open looks (even though he gets open at will). |
8 | Brandin Cooks | LAR | KC | KC's defense has stepped up its game as of late, but they haven't played a LAR-caliber offense. Cooks has gone over 100 yards in his last 2 games. |
9 | Antonio Brown | PIT | @JAX | PIT's offense is rolling and JAX's defense has collapsed, but they're still very solid against WRs (fewest points given up to the position). |
10 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | TEN | While TEN sports the best scoring defense in the NFL, they've been vulnerable to WRs all year in terms of fantasy production (8th-most points allowed). |
11 | Alshon Jeffery | PHI | @NO | Alshon has caught just 8 passes for 83 yards over his last 2 games and could get the Lattimore shadow, but NO has given up the most points to WRs. |
12 | Robert Woods | LAR | KC | Kupp being out further enhances a safe outlook. Woods has gotten 70+ yards in every single game since W1 and has added 105 yards on the ground. |
13 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | @CHI | Has had 2 full weeks to rest his ribs injury. Went 6/65/1 in his only fully healthy game vs. CHI last year. |
14 | Amari Cooper | DAL | @ATL | DAL has fed him as a WR1 (18 targets) over his first 2 games. Cooper has responded with 5/58/1 and 6/75. ATL gives up the 3rd-most points to WRs. |
15 | Corey Davis | TEN | @IND | Davis has been targeted 20 times over the past 2 weeks, catching 13 of those for 181 yards and a TD. IND doesn't have a CB that can match up with CD. |
16 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | PIT | @JAX | JAX gives up the fewest points to WRs, but they've struggled to defend slot WRs with D.J. Hayden and Co. being liabilities in the MOF. |
17 | Keenan Allen | LAC | DEN | Moves around formations enough to avoid Chris Harris a decent amount. DEN has given up above-average production to WRs all season. |
18 | Marvin Jones Jr. | DET | CAR | Assuming he plays, Jones should continue to be targeted as a WR1 against a defense that crumbled last week in PIT. |
19 | Tyler Boyd | CIN | @BAL | Disappointed in a good matchup last week and now faces a much tougher defense. He did flame them for 6/91/1 in W2, but that might've been a CIN fluke. |
20 | Sammy Watkins | KC | @LAR | Expected back from injury and will be needed in what is projected to be the highest-scoring game of the week. Double digit PPR points in last 3 games. |
21 | Mike Evans | TB | @NYG | Terrible QB play, an abundance of weapons in the offense and TB just being bad at everything are hurting him. Last 2 games: 4 catches for 67 yards. |
22 | Kenny Golladay | DET | CAR | Finally came alive after 3 straight disappointing performances. Hopefully his high usage wasn't directly a result of Jones leaving the game with injury. |
23 | John Brown | BAL | CIN | He's as boom-or-bust as it gets due to BAL's QB situation, but the matchup is mouthwatering. CIN has given up the 4th-most explosive plays in the NFL. |
24 | Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | @LAC | Came crashing down to Earth before the bye week with 2 pedestrian games, but will have the best matchup on the interior in this game. |
25 | Allen Robinson | CHI | MIN | Returned from a groin injury with a bang and now faces a much tougher test, although Xavier Rhodes is currently PFF's 80th-ranked CB. |
26 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | GB | @SEA | Cobb is out and Graham is hobbled. SEA has gotten tatooed by WRs since coming out of their bye week. |
27 | Courtland Sutton | DEN | @LAC | Likely to see a lot of Hayward, but opportunity will be ripe in a game where DEN will be behind for much of it. He just needs the volume. |
28 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | OAK | 38 targets over his last 4 games and has re-established himself as the #1 option in the passing game. OAK is godawful on defense. |
29 | Tyler Lockett | SEA | GB | Apparently Lockett is going to score a TD every week while getting a low amount of targets. I won't fight it anymore. |
30 | Sterling Shepard | NYG | TB | Against the worst secondary in football, Shepard has plenty of FLEX appeal, but his 3 targets in a prime matchup last week are a bit of a concern. |
31 | Michael Crabtree | BAL | CIN | CIN has given up 6 TDs to WRs over the past 3 games. Crabtree's only drawback is Flacco being bad and a backup QB possibly playing in this game. |
32 | Golden Tate | PHI | @NO | Played just 29% of the snaps in his first game, but that number should skyrocket in a game where PHI will likely have to point chase. |
33 | Anthony Miller | CHI | MIN | 6+ targets in his last 4 games, 3 TDs in his last 5 games and has overtaken Gabriel and Burton as CHI's #2 option in the passing game. |
34 | Tre'Quan Smith | NO | PHI | PHI has given up the 5th-most fantasy points to WRs and just lost their best CB to injury. Banking on Smith actually being targeted a few times. |
35 | Demaryius Thomas | HOU | @WAS | Coutee is still uncertain for this game and could be limited. DT will have had 2+ weeks to get incorporated into the offense. |
36 | Josh Doctson | WAS | HOU | Doctson has quietly scored 2 TDs in his last 2 games while catching 18 of his 26 targets over the last 5 games. |
37 | Donte Moncrief | JAX | PIT | PIT has really gotten it together on defense as of late. Moncrief has hit double digits in 5 of 9 games and has been the Jags' most consistent fantasy WR. |
38 | DeSean Jackson | TB | @NYG | NYG has gotten beaten deep a few times this year (Tavon/Samuel/Hall), which sets up okay for D-Jax, but Fitz and the team look bad. |
39 | Willie Snead | BAL | CIN | If you need a safe 5/50, Snead is your guy. |
40 | Christian Kirk | ARI | OAK | The matchup is ideal, but Kirk is coming off a really poor game and ARI has once again committed to making DJ/Fitz the focal points of the offense. |
41 | D.J. Moore | CAR | @DET | Torrey Smith is likely to be out again. DET is a sieve and just got torched for a pair of 100-yard games by explosive CHI WRs. Sets up well for him. |
42 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | GB | He's barely a part of an offense that wants to run the ball a lot more than it wants to throw it. Isn't getting any RZ looks to enhance a low floor. |
43 | Calvin Ridley | ATL | DAL | Isn't seeing enough volume to be a consistent option and DAL has overachieved on defense all season, limiting WRs at the 2nd-best rate. |
44 | Chris Godwin | TB | @NYG | Who knows what you're going to get from him on a week-to-week basis. |
45 | Josh Reynolds | LAR | KC | Kupp is out and Reynolds will assume a lot of his role, although TE Gerald Everett will get run. Reynolds had 1 good and 1 very bad game without Kupp. |
46 | Devin Funchess | CAR | @DET | Hasn't surpassed 44 yards or 4 catches since W7 and hasn't scored since then. He isn't evens seeing scoring opportunities. |
47 | Maurice Harris | WAS | HOU | Assuming Crowder is out again, he'll be usable. HOU has been very stout against interior WRs over the last few weeks. |
48 | Cole Beasley | DAL | @ATL | Has seen just 9 targets since Amari came to town, but ATL is the 3rd-worst defense against WRs and have coughed up production to slot WRs all year. |
49 | Tyrell Williams | LAC | DEN | If he doesn't score a TD, he isn't very useful. DEN has given up a 100-yard WR in 4 of the last 5 weeks. |
50 | Nelson Agholor | PHI | @NO | Of course in Tate's first game, Agholor has one of his best games of the season. Should be plenty of throws to go around, but Alshon/Ertz/Tate are ahead. |