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Chris Meaney
We have one game left in Week 10 of the NFL season, but it still isn’t too early to look ahead at Week 11 for fantasy football.
Week 11 presents some really favorable matchups, and for this week’s article, I tried to highlight players who have not been discussed very much (if at all) in this column.
Stefon Diggs vs. Indianapolis Colts
Stefon Diggs finally had a massive game in Week 10, torching the Jets secondary to the tune of 8 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. His 13 targets easily led the team and accounted for over 46% of Buffalo’s targets in the game. Josh Allen looked Diggs’ way early and often, as the New York secondary had no chance. Now, coming off his best game of the season, Diggs gets another tremendous matchup with a weak Colts secondary. Indianapolis is allowing a league-high 6.7% passing touchdown rate, while 82.1% of the touchdowns surrendered by the Colts this season have come via the pass, easily the highest rate in the NFL. And while it didn’t continue against Jacksonville’s awful passing game Sunday, the Colts have still been very bad against opposing No. 1 wide receivers over the course of the season. Here are some notable performances against this secondary this year:
- Tyler Lockett: 4-100-2
- Cooper Kupp: 9-163-2
- DeVante Parker: 4-77-1
- Marquise Brown: 9-125-2
- Brandin Cooks: 9-89-0
- Deebo Samuel: 7-100-1
- A.J. Brown: 10-155-1
- Elijah Moore: 7-84-2
AJ Dillon @ Minnesota Vikings
After Aaron Jones left Sunday’s game with a sprained MCL, AJ Dillon operated as the clear lead back for Green Bay. He finished the game with 66 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21 carries, while adding 62 yards on two receptions. Jones is expected to miss the next two weeks or so, which vaults Dillon into top-10 running back status for the time being. He’ll definitely be a top-10 back in Week 11, as the Packers face a Minnesota defense that is stuffing just 8% of all carries at or behind the line of scrimmage this season, which is the lowest rate in the NFL. Meanwhile, a healthy 35.3% of the yardage allowed by the Vikings this season have come on the ground, good for the eighth-highest mark in football. Dillon needs to be in every single lineup this week and while his price has come up a bit in DFS circles, it isn’t remotely enough given his expected role, making him a staple in daily lineups, too.
Hunter Renfrow vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Once again, Hunter Renfrow got it done Sunday night, hauling in 7-of-9 targets for 46 yards and a touchdown. Renfrow has now caught at least seven passes in each of his last three games, while recording at least five receptions in all but one game this season. He has also seen at least eight targets in six of nine games this season and is sporting a very healthy 21% target share on the year. Look for him to keep it going this week, as he faces a Bengals defense that has struggled to defend opposing slot receivers this season, where Renfrow is lining up around 65% of the time on the year. Cincinnati’s slot corner Mike Hilton has allowed the sixth-most yards (298), second-most receptions (35), second-most targets (44) and fifth-most touchdowns (2) in slot coverage this season.
Cole Kmet vs. Baltimore Ravens
If you are looking for a tight end sleeper in Week 11, Cole Kmet should be on your radar. When we last saw the Bears back in Week 9, Kmet led Chicago in receptions (6) targets (8) and receiving yards (87), and he’s now seen at least six targets in each of his last three games. He is still dominating the playing time at the tight end position, logging 83.3% of the snaps and running a route on nearly 74% of Chicago’s dropbacks this season, while Jimmy Graham has only played 22.6% of the snaps, while running a route on just 17.5% of dropbacks. The usage is strong and quarterback Justin Fields is playing some really good football right now, so things are trending up for Kmet, a sleeper of mine during the offseason. He gets a favorable Week 11 matchup against a Baltimore defense that ranks bottom-seven against opposing tight ends on the season.
Cam Newton vs. Washington Football Team
Cam Newton made his Carolina debut/return in Week 10 and was used in goal-line and short-yardage packages. On just nine snaps, Newton both ran and threw for a touchdown, making him the QB16 for the week. Obviously, he isn’t going to score at this rate, but he is likely going to start at quarterback for the Panthers this week. Carolina is clearly going to give him carries from inside the 5-yard line, while having Christian McCaffrey back makes things easier on everyone, as he hauled in all 10 of his targets Sunday afternoon. Going forward, Newton has top-12 upside and while Washington’s defense is coming off a strong game, this is still a unit that is coughing up 2.70 points per drive and 36.4 yards per drive, both of which are the second-worst marks in football.
