Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Matchups We Love and Player Stat Projections

All seems right in the fantasy football world after the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers opened Week 11 on Thursday Night Football.

There, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees led all scorers at 15 points. Carolina's leading scorer was obviously...kicker Graham Gano at 13 points.

Some owners might have expected to see Cam Newton, but it is yet another example of how volatile the fantasy landscape can be each week. All owners can do is analyze the data, mix it with a little bit of gut feeling and hope for the best.

Before the rest of the Week 11 slate begins, here is a look at positional rankings for standard formats.

Week 11 Schedule

Sunday, November 20	Time (ET)
Monday, November 21
Chicago at N.Y. Giants	1 p.m.
Arizona at Minnesota	1 p.m.
Baltimore at Dallas	1 p.m.
Tennessee at Indianapolis	1 p.m.
Buffalo at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Detroit	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Miami at L.A. Rams	4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at Seattle	4:25 p.m
New England at San Francisco	4:25 p.m
Green Bay at Washington	8:30 p.m.
Houston at Oakland	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Tom Brady	25
2	Ben Roethlisberger	24
3	Marcus Mariota	21
4	Andrew Luck	19
5	Blake Bortles	18
6	Aaron Rodgers	18
7	Eli Manning	17
8	Derek Carr	17
9	Kirk Cousins	16
10	Andy Dalton	14
11	Tyrod Taylor	14
12	Matthew Stafford	12
13	Russell Wilson	12
14	Dak Prescott	12
15	Joe Flacco	12

If Week 10 serves as any sign, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is back to form.

His 97.3 percent of owners need him. Big Ben suffered an injury in Week 6, missed a game, had a bye and looked iffy in Week 9 before exploding for 28 points in Week 10.

Now he gets the Cleveland Browns, a half-sentence that could end the analysis and move on to the next guy. For the sake of professionalism, Cleveland allows the third-most points to quarterbacks this year on average and has allowed three passing scores in each of its past two outings.

Big Ben should start one of his season's best stretches.

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It's at the point owners need to treat a young quarterback like Marcus Mariota as they would Big Ben.

Mariota has 25 or more points in each of his last two outings. Stretching back a little further, he has 25 or more in four of his six past games while never dipping below 16.

Now Mariota gets the Indianapolis Colts, a defense ranked right below the Browns in terms of points allowed to the position.

Given Mariota's familiarity with the Colts, he's going to post his third consecutive major performance.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Le'Veon Bell	23
2	LeGarrette Blount	21
3	DeMarco Murray	20
4	Spencer Ware	18
5	LeSean McCoy	17
6	David Johnson	16
7	Ezekiel Elliott	15
8	Todd Gurley	14
9	Jay Ajayi	13
10	Theo Riddick*	12
11	Jordan Howard	12
12	Isaiah Crowell	12
13	C.J. Prosise	12
14	Doug Martin	11
15	Lamar Miller*	11
16	Robert Kelley	11
17	Frank Gore	10
18	Carlos Hyde	10
19	Latavius Murray*	10
20	Jeremy Hill	10
21	Rashad Jennings	9
22	Giovani Bernard	9
23	Paul Perkins	8
24	Duke Johnson Jr.	8
25	Thomas Rawls	8
26	James Starks	7
27	Darren Sproles	7
28	Ryan Mathews	7
29	Chris Ivory	6
30	Matt Asiata	6

When owners think of the New England Patriots, the mind probably goes to Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

Week 11 urges owners to have running back LeGarrette Blount on the mind.

Remember, Blount is the guy ranked fifth in scoring at the position after starting the year hot while Brady served a suspension. Now he's the guy who bullied the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10 to the tune of 24 points.

Next? Blount gets to smack around the San Francisco 49ers, the team allowing the most points to opposing backs on average. Easy enough.

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Feel free to double down on the Titans in Week 11 if possible.

DeMarco Murray doesn't lead all backs in scoring anymore thanks to a guy named Ezekiel Elliott, but it doesn't make him any less elite. With Mariota threatening consistently through the air, Murray will have a green light against the Colts.

Those Colts have allowed six opposing backfields to hit on 100 or more rushing yards. Given his every-down status, Murray should smash such a yardage count on his own.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Antonio Brown	18
2	Odell Beckham Jr.	18
3	Allen Robinson	16
4	Mike Evans	16
5	A.J. Green	15
6	T.Y. Hilton	14
7	Marvin Jones	14
8	Steve Smith Sr.	14
9	Terrelle Pryor Sr.	13
10	DeAndre Hopkins	13
11	Larry Fitzgerald	12
12	Amari Cooper	12
13	Dez Bryant	11
14	Donte Moncrief	11
15	Stefon Diggs	11
16	Jordy Nelson	11
17	Julian Edelman	10
18	Golden Tate	10
19	Doug Baldwin	10
20	Michael Crabtree	10
21	Allen Hurns	9
22	Jordan Matthews*	9
23	Corey Coleman	8
24	Cameron Meredith	8
25	Jarvis Landry*	8
26	Davante Adams	8
27	Randall Cobb*	8
28	Mike Wallace	8
29	Sterling Shepard	7
30	Tyreek Hill	7
31	Kenny Britt	7
32	Tajae Sharpe	7
33	Cole Beasley	6
34	DeVante Parker	6
35	Rishard Matthews, Ten WR [Recent News]	6

Other than Antonio Brown going to work against the Browns and the New York Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. getting to tee off against the Chicago Bears, Week 11 is all about Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans. 

Evans sits above both of those names on the receiver leaderboard, clutching second place because of his 127 points. He's scored 21 or more in two of his past four outings, his hit-or-miss nature providing incredible upside when he hits.

Week 11 looks like a hit against the Kansas City Chiefs, owners of a defense allowing the seventh-most points to the position. Four of the last five wideout corps to encounter the Chiefs has drummed up at least 21 points.

Given Evans' pace, he could hit such a number on his own.

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Owners have to hope Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Allen Robinson has a true streak on his hands.

After only hitting double digits twice through eight weeks, Robinson has turned it on over his past two outings, going for 13 and 18 points with a score in each.

Now Robinson gets to turn around and play in what should be a shootout with the Detroit Lions. Those Lions have allowed 20 or more points to opposing wideout cores five times this year.

If Robinson can find the end zone again, he's going to keep heading toward the fantasy playoffs on absolute fire.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Delanie Walker	13
2	Tyler Eifert	12
3	Martellus Bennett*	11
4	C.J. Fiedorowicz	10
5	Jordan Reed	10
6	Delanie Walker	8
7	Jimmy Graham	8
8	Travis Kelce	8
9	Eric Ebron	7
10	Jason Witten	7
11	Jack Doyle	6
12	Zach Miller	6

For once, tight end seems to have plenty of solid options.

Let's focus on a bit of a gamble by the name of Jordan Reed. The Washington Redskins leader at the spot had 15 points in Week 8, hit a bye, then posted four in Week 10.

Erratic, but owners have to love an encounter with a Green Bay Packers defense allowing the seventh-most points to the position. The Packers just found a way to cough up 133 yards, two scores and 24 points to Tennessee tight ends in Week 10.

So yes, Reed should have a nice rebound.

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With so many options, a player like C.J. Fiedorowicz of the Houston Texans doesn't get the attention he deserves.

Fiedorowicz has three double-digit outings this year as one of the best matchup-based plays at the position. Week 11 is the time for owners to dust him off and trot him out against the Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders sit right behind the Packers against tight ends and have found a way to even allow a pair of 20-plus outings. Fiedorowicz might hit not that ceiling per se, but a great ceiling exists.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Giants	12
2	Dolphins	10
3	Vikings	9
4	Raiders	9
5	Patriots	8
6	Steelers	7
7	Seahawks	7
8	Lions	6
9	Cardinals	6
10	Bengals	6

It's not often the Miami Dolphins live up to the hype built by an organization that splurged on names such as Ndamukong Suh.

The unit has over the past two weeks, though, scoring 13 and 16 points with a touchdown in each to give fantasy owners a surprise option.

Look for the unit to keep it going in Week 11 thanks to a game against the Los Angeles Rams. The odd offense that has refused to play a No. 1 pick has helped the Rams cough up the second-most points to opposing D/ST on average this year.

Four of the last five D/ST to go against the Rams have tallied at least eight points, with a high of 20.

Kickers

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Matt Prater	12
2	Stephen Gostkowski	10
3	Dan Bailey	9
4	Dustin Hopkins	9
5	Adam Vinatieri	8
6	Cairo Santos	7
7	Steven Hauschka	7
8	Robbie Gould	6
9	Caleb Sturgis	6
10	Sebastian Janikowski	6

Call Week 11 the Matt Prater show.

As hinted, Jacksonville-Detroit looks like a shootout. Prater, coming off a 15-point performance, should see plenty of chances to hit double digits for the third time this year.

Owners might have guessed this given all of a single guess, but the Jaguars have found a way to cough up the most points on average to opposing kickers.

A whopping six opposing kickers have scored double digits against the Jaguars. Prater becoming the seventh is the surest thing of the week.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.