Week 11 Start/Sit Questions

By: Mike Johnson (@mjohnson86)

Some things in fantasy football are easy. We know we should start Puka Nacua and Bijan Robinson. We know we should bench the backup running back who is only on our roster in case of injury and the guy who was ruled out early in the week. A lot of the decisions are made for us. However, there are a lot of things that are not so simple. All of the “in between” situations are what can make the difference between a few wins and losses, and therefore it can be the difference between a successful season or a failed season. Every Friday, we are here to help!!

I’ll take questions each week in our #fantasy-football channel in our Discord from people looking for Start/Sit advice and give my thoughts. This article will feature a few of those questions and responses each Friday, so join our Discord to be a part of the conversation or ask questions of your own!!

Question 1 :: Start 2 of these 3: Oronde Gadsden, Jake Ferguson, and Jauan Jennings? (0.5 PPR) (emtebr44)

Answer :: Assuming Gadsden is cleared from his quad injury, my answer here is Gadsden and Jennings. The 49ers have a good matchup against Arizona and Jennings looked the healthiest he has all season last week. He is the clear first choice from this group for me. Then we are left with the tight ends and I slightly prefer Gadsden, who has more competition but less elite competition. Ferguson plays an underrated Raiders defense and has been largely dependent on reception volume for his production this season. With George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb both on the field, that will be hard to come by, which leaves him relying on touchdowns since he isn’t really a big-play threat. Gadsden, however, does have big-play ability and matches up well against Jacksonville, so I prefer him slightly.

Question 2 :: Start 3, PPR: TreVeyon Henderson, Rico Dowdle, Chase Brown, or Woody Marks? (Dreward27)

Answer :: This is a good problem to have. Henderson already played on Thursday (and yes, I answered this user before then!!), but he was a lock. Among the other three, Dowdle is also a lock in a matchup against a Falcons defense that is most susceptible to the run. Last week, Carolina’s offense fell apart and Dowdle still managed a respectable stat line. Lock him in. As for the last spot, I am all aboard the Woody Marks second-half hype train, but you have to go with Chase Brown in this spot with Samaje Perine likely to miss this game. The Bengals don’t really have any other RBs they trust and this is a huge game, so Brown is likely to play close to 90% of the snaps.

Question 3 :: Pick 2 Flex, PPR: Parker Washington, Cade Otton, Rachaad White, Michael Wilson, Harold Fannin Jr. or Cedric Tillman?  (JesusPiece)

Answer :: Let’s go about this with the process of elimination. First of all, not Tillman. Tough matchup, doesn’t fit his QB’s skill set, bad weather. Next, let’s eliminate Fannin as well. We have other options, so let’s stay away from the Browns in bad weather. Next we have Rachaad White, who is facing a Bills defense that is bad against the run but the Bucs have turned to Sean Tucker as their primary “runner” while White is more of the receiving back. It feels like his yardage and touchdown upside is capped. So that leaves Washington, Otton, and Wilson. We saw Otton and Washington both get volume recently, and Wilson’s role should jump with Marvin Harrison Jr. out. I will say bench Washington, who likely has his targets go down with the return of Brian Thomas Jr., plus Jakobi Meyers being more involved. That leaves us with Wilson in a big role and good matchup, along with Otton in a game where he could once again soak up a bunch of targets.

Question 4 :: Start A.J. Brown or RJ Harvey? (PPR) (paulwalker9361)

Answer :: This question brings me both great joy and great sadness. I have been waiting for the chance to see Harvey in an expanded role and we get to see it in a huge matchup with the Chiefs. He has shown an ability in the passing game and red zone, while also breaking off explosive runs at a high rate on his limited touches. However, Brown has been one of my favorite players since he came into the league. The reality of Brown’s situation is that he is very difficult to trust on a weekly basis and his floor is very low. If this was for DFS, I would still go with Brown because of his explosive upside (which I do think we will see a couple more times this season). But for your season-long league, I think the bankable volume and floor of Harvey is quite valuable. I will add that this answer may change depending on how your matchup is going. If the early games on Sunday are coming to a close and you find yourself facing a big deficit, then it may be wise to find a way to get Brown into your lineup as his upside potential would then outweigh the “dud” risk.