Fantasy Football Week 11: Insider Notebook and Preview

Yo, Adrian!

Fantasy owners are like Rocky Balboa with that chant right now as Adrian Peterson is hoping to be reinstated from the commissioner's exempt list. The NFL Players Association filed a non-injury grievance Monday after the NFL declined to respond to an agreement signed Sept. 18, 2014, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on his Facebook account.

The NFL issued the following statement Monday night, per ESPN.com:

"

We have received the NFLPA's grievance on behalf of Adrian Peterson. We have honored our commitment to Mr. Peterson and the NFLPA not to process or impose any discipline until the criminal charges pending in Texas were resolved. When Mr. Peterson decided not to contest criminal charges, we promptly advised both him and the NFLPA that we were prepared to consider what, if any, discipline should now be imposed under the personal conduct policy.

We asked Mr. Peterson and his representatives, including the NFLPA, for relevant information. We have not received any of the requested information, but remain prepared to schedule a hearing and make a determination as quickly as possible based on as much information as available.

"

Peterson was the most added running back in ESPN.com leagues last week, and he is still available in over 25 percent of leagues there. Tuesday's waivers run might be your last crack at signing up a preseason top-two overall player, according to FantasyPros' average draft position.

Peterson might face a suspension, but he could get time served and a fine instead of more missed games, NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Albert Breer reported.

We cannot be sure when, or if, Peterson will be available at this point, but you have to add him just in case. There are four teams on bye this week and only two more in Week 12 that will impact fantasy rosters. Peterson has greater upside than most of the players sucking up your reserve spots right now.

Full Montee?

Peterson might not be back this week, but Montee Ball (groin) will be, according to Mike Klis of The Denver Post. It comes at a perfect time because Ronnie Hillman has a foot sprain that will knock him out at least two weeks, an unnamed NFL source told Klis.

This leaves a little bit of a dilemma with the Broncos' running back situation for fantasy owners. C.J. Anderson broke through for 13 carries for 90 yards and four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown with Ball out, Hillman pulled and Juwan Thompson limited Sunday.

You would assume Ball can resume his feature-back role, but it might be a three-ring circus, as columnist Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post wrote Monday. Hochman tantalizes Ball's fantasy owners with this gem:

"

Here's one fun little story line. Hillman had his best game against San Diego, the city where he played in college. Anderson just had his best game here, where he grew up. Sure enough, we're headed to St. Louis this weekend—Ball's hometown.

"

Ball lost his fantasy mojo when the Broncos' backups emerged in his stead, but he is ridiculously under-owned in ESPN.com leagues at a mere 59 percent. If you play there, we would own Ball over Peterson for Week 11 at minimum and perhaps the rest of the season.

Anderson's Week 10 performance might make him the most added running back in all of fantasy, but if he was so good, why did it take so many weeks for the Broncos and fantasy to find out? Fear a limited Ball in his return, sure, but he looked great in practice last week and has slimmed down, according to Klis.

Week 11 Waiver Rankings

Every week, FantasyPros polls analysts for their top choices off the waiver wire. We give you the consensus rankings here. Use these to prioritize your stopgaps and FAAB bidding.

RK	Player	POS	TM	Consensus	Best	Worst
1	John Brown	WR	ARI	2.2	1	6
2	C.J. Anderson	RB	DEN	3	1	4
3	Cecil Shorts	WR	JAC	3.4	1	8
4	Allen Robinson *	WR	JAC	5	1	9
5	Kyle Rudolph	TE	MIN	5.4	3	10
6	Charles Sims	RB	TB	7.4	5	11
7	Mychal Rivera	TE	OAK	7.4	3	20
8	Jarvis Landry	WR	MIA	7.8	7	10
9	Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE	8.6	7	12
10	Davante Adams	WR	GB	9	3	18
11	Greg Jennings	WR	MIN	9.4	5	15
12	Jonas Gray	RB	NE	12.6	11	14
13	Alfred Blue	RB	HOU	12.8	3	17
14	Markus Wheaton	WR	PIT	13.4	10	17
15	Preston Parker	WR	NYG	14.8	12	17
16	Kenny Britt	WR	STL	14.8	12	17
17	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	TB	14.8	11	20
18	Bryce Brown	RB	BUF	15.6	14	19
19	Joseph Randle	RB	DAL	16.4	8	19
20	Damien Williams	RB	MIA	18.6	18	20

(Note: The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Tuesday that Allen Robinson will miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his foot.) 

Thursday Night Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Buffalo Bills

Start: Sammy Watkins

Sit: Kyle Orton, Fred Jackson, Anthony Dixon, Robert Woods, Mike Williams, Scott Chandler, Dan Carpenter, Dolphins D/ST

The Miami Dolphins defense has proved capable this season, ranking near the fantasy leaders against most of the skill positions. The Dolphins are No. 4 against fantasy quarterbacks and have allowed fewer rushing touchdowns (four) than all but the Kansas City Chiefs, who have allowed none. The Chiefs slowed Jackson this past Sunday, but they coughed up six receptions and 65 yards to Bryce Brown in the passing game. We would start Watkins in all weeks, while Brown is more of a sleeper flex play.

Miami Dolphins

Start: Ryan Tannehill, Mike Wallace, Charles Clay, Caleb Sturgis, Dolphins D/ST

Sit: Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas, Damien Williams, LaMichael James, Brian Hartline, Jarvis Landry, Brandon Gibson

The Bills are a top-eight team against the run, and the Dolphins have a running back rotation with Miller (shoulder) playing at less than 100 percent right now and this being a short week. You have to figure the pass is going to be heavy in the Dolphins' game plan. It makes Tannehill and Clay sleeper plays alongside the solid fantasy regulars of Wallace, Sturgis and the defense.

As a bonus this week, we break down the week's final prime-time matchup.

Monday Night Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Pittsburgh Steelers

Start: Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Heath Miller, Shaun Suisham, Steelers D/ST

Sit: LeGarrette Blount, Markus Wheaton

This is a "start all" game for the Steelers against a Tennessee defense that is fourth-worst in the NFL against the run and seventh-worst in fantasy against running backs. The Titans have given up the most rushing yards to fantasy backs to date, too. Big Ben and Bell should have rebound weeks after struggling at the New York Jets.

Tennessee Titans

Start: Kendall Wright

Sit: Zach Mettenberger, Bishop Sankey, Shonn Greene, Justin Hunter, Nate Washington, Delanie Walker, Ryan Succop, Titans D/ST

This is a relative "sit all" game for the Titans, but not because the Steelers are all that good on defense—they did just get beat by the lowly New York Jets, after all. The Steelers are a neutral fantasy matchup across the board, save for having allowed seven touchdowns to tight ends. We would consider starting Walker because of the matchup, but he is in the NFL's concussion protocol, according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt expounded upon Walker's status in his Monday news conference, according to the Titans official website:

"

Delanie (Walker) is in the concussion protocol. He actually seemed O.K. today, but that doesn't really mean anything. I guess we'll find out as the week progresses. That's obviously out of our hands.

"

It's unclear whether Walker will be cleared by the time Monday Night Football rolls around. His owners would be wise to secure an alternative in case his status remains murky heading into the weekend.

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.