In general, Week 11 seemed a bit deflated, as some players simply didn’t show up, and some games just didn’t have the scoring we were expecting. That’s right, I’m looking at you, Patriots and Eagles. Beyond that, some of the higher-scoring games had players you probably weren’t using, like those in the Jets-Redskins or Jaguars-Colts contests.
This isn’t really “By The Numbers”-esque, but it’s just a tidbit I want to make sure you’re considering. Most fantasy playoffs start Week 14, so ideally, you want to start optimizing your teams for those weeks if you believe that you’re playoff-bound. If you stream quarterbacks, defenses, or tight ends (I’m so sorry), take a look at some matchups down the stretch and grab those guys a week or two before they play the Dolphins, Bengals, Redskins, Falcons, Cardinals, etc. I’ll get you started: take a look at the Packers or Eagles D/STs.
Without further ado, here is your Week 11 by the numbers:
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Zero
The number of fantasy points from David Johnson, Tyreek Hill, O.J. Howard, and Jack Doyle, all of whom could have reasonably been starting on your squad. You also may have been forced to eat a zero from Robert Woods, who was a surprise inactive for the Sunday night game. I hope that you survived without them.
47.3%
DeAndre Hopkins’ share of the Texans’ passing yards in Week 11. Hopkins was basically the only somewhat bright spot in a complete blowout, posting seven receptions for 80 yards on 12 targets. It’s been tough owning Hopkins, but he still has the lion’s share of a productive offense, so keep firing him up.
83%
The completion percentage for Kirk Cousins in the weirdest game ever against the Broncos in Week 11. He completed 29 out of his 35 passes. The Broncos were absolutely dominating the Vikings, but somehow Cousins and company mounted a massive comeback, as the quarterback threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
2.3
Yards per attempt for Tevin Coleman over the past three weeks, turning 33 rushing attempts into 77 yards. He’s averaged three receptions per game over that span, which has salvaged his fantasy value a bit, but Coleman should be viewed as a borderline RB2 moving forward.
12
Targets for both Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler in the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs on Monday night, which should provide their fantasy owners with a bit of confidence after a run of a few inconsistent weeks. Ekeler should return RB2 numbers in PPR, while Allen is a borderline WR1.
13
Receptions for Kareem Hunt in his first two games with the Browns. It seems like his role is pretty clearly defined as the receiving back, though Nick Chubb still has 21 touches per game since Hunt joined the fold. Chubb is still an RB1, and Hunt is a solid flex at this point.
14
Targets for Cameron Brate, leading the Buccaneers by a good margin (Mike Evans was next with eight). Brate snapped up the opportunity after O.J. Howard was benched, and he ended up with zero catches again. I can’t endorse starting Howard unless we see a massive swing in opportunity for a few weeks in a row, and by that point, you’ll be in the fantasy playoffs.
18
Targets for Ryan Griffin over the past four weeks, which he’s turned into 223 yards and three touchdowns. The Jets seem to have a weirdly spread out passing offense, but Griffin is now a reasonable streaming option at tight end, especially as some of the top guys are dealing with injuries or may still have their byes.
28
Targets for Deebo Samuel over the past three weeks, an average of 9.3 per week. In that span, he’s accumulated 286 yards. Emmanuel Sanders has been in and out with injuries, which generally helps Samuel’s production. Regardless, Samuel seems to be the number one receiving option on the 49ers, who seem to be drifting away from their run-heavy approach of late.
57
The most receiving yards for any player in the Bears-Rams game, which probably didn’t surprise anyone considering how dreadful both passing offenses have been lately. Taylor Gabriel led the way with 57, and three other players had totals in the 50s. I’d really love to tell you that the Rams’ side will bounce back, but they don’t look anything like they did last year. Fingers crossed that they wake up sometime soon.
84.8
Receiving yards per game this season for Michael Gallup, good for seventh in the league. He’s a solid weekly WR2 at this point and has easy WR1 potential, as seen in his Week 11 performance with nine receptions for 148 yards.
191
Scrimmage yards for Christian McCaffrey in a massive loss to the Falcons, which he accumulated on 14 carries and 11 receptions. The Panthers scored three points, but McCaffrey was still an absolute monster from a fantasy perspective. I literally don’t have words for it anymore. He’s relentless.
264
Rushing yards for the Colts against the Jaguars. Jonathan Williams and Marlon Mack led the way with 116 and 109 yards, respectively. Mack is dealing with a broken hand, so it looks like Williams, Jordan Wilkins (if healthy), and Nyheim Hines are in line for some additional work.
272
Combined receiving yards for John Brown and DeVante Parker in the Bills-Dolphins matchup, which was good for 47% of the total passing yards in the game. Brown had 137 yards while Parker had 135, and both seem to be the clear weapons in some generally-substandard passing attacks.
1,141
Receiving yards for Michael Thomas so far this season, which he’s done on 94 receptions. In all of 2018, 1,141 yards would have ranked 17th, and 94 receptions would have ranked 13th. Thomas still has six games left to play.
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Donald Gibson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Donald, check out his archive and follow him @DonaldGibsonFF.