NFL1000: Ranking the Top 1000 Players from Week 11

As much as we factor in opponent strength when compiling player grades for the NFL1000, there are times when an individual performance transcends "good team/bad team" math and rises to the top. Such was Le'Veon Bell's game against the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. Yes, the Steelers were able to dominate the Browns on both sides of the ball, and yes, that's a common construct for any team playing the Browns this year.

But in Pittsburgh's 24-9 win, Bell stood apart and put together the best game of his 2016 season. He ran 28 times for 146 yards and a touchdown, gaining 63 yards after contact. His longest run was for 12 yards, which speaks to his consistency from carry to carry. Bell wore Cleveland's underwhelming defense to a nub with help from Pittsburgh's offensive line, and he brought his team back to the .500 mark and a tie with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North (though Baltimore holds the tiebreaker with its Week 9 win).

Speaking to his versatility, Bell also caught eight passes for 55 yards. The Browns didn't help with poor tackling and backbreaking penalties (especially at the end of the first half), but Bell's performance was still standout despite Cleveland's foibles. It was Bell's first game with at least 200 total yards since 2014, and he looked very much like a man at his peak.

It's been an up-and-down season for the Steelers star—Sunday marked his first 100-yard rushing performance since his 2016 debut against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 2—but if he can keep rolling behind an improving offensive line, Pittsburgh will be better for it.

Part of Bleacher Report's NFL1000 player rating methodology is the ability to look at our grades from week to week (as you, dear reader, can) and suss out which patterns are turning into trends and which are flukes in the relatively small sample size of an NFL season.

There are many ways to dissect and learn from what the NFL presents on the field every week, and the NFL1000 goes as deep as any to tell you just what's going on out there.

With a 17-person crew of experienced evaluators, we'll comb through the game tape each week to bring you concise, clear evaluations of every player in the NFL. We'll tell you which rookies are rising and which undrafted players are coming out of nowhere to make an impact. We'll tell you which players are falling in performance and why.

There is no predetermined narrative with these grades. No mysterious "clutch factor." No tweaked-out quarterback ratings that defy explanation. Our grades are based on pure scouting, and lots of it. We grade the key criteria for each position based on a series of attributes and add in a score for positional importance.

In the case of a tie, our scouts ask, "Which player would I want on my team?" and adjust accordingly.

Is it a subjective process? Of course—that's what scouting is, and as we like to say, ties are no fun.

Each player is evaluated and graded by our crack team of scouts, who possess more than 100 combined years of experience in playing, front-office work, coaching and media. Cian Fahey, John Middlekauff, Marcus Mosher, Mark Schofield, Duke Manyweather, Ethan Young, Joe Goodberry, Justis Mosqueda, Charles McDonald, Zach Kruse, Derrik Klassen, Jerod Brown, Ian Wharton, Kyle Posey, Mark Bullock, Chuck Zodda and Doug Farrar have watched tape for months to bring you these grades based on game action every week.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 11 of the 2016 NFL season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Methodology

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

The NFL1000 team of scouts was given a series of important attributes to grade for every player in its positional review. Using a grading scale starting at zero and going up to anywhere from 10 to 40 based on the position and the attribute, our scouts have graded each player based on their own expertise and countless hours of tape review over the years. Our evaluators were given specific positional assignments based on their proven fields of expertise.

• Doug Farrar: Lead scout/centers
• Cian Fahey: Quarterbacks
• John Middlekauff: Running backs/fullbacks
• Marcus Mosher: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Mark Schofield: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Duke Manyweather: Offensive tackles
• Ethan Young: Offensive guards
• Joe Goodberry: AFC defensive ends
• Justis Mosqueda: NFC defensive ends
• Charles McDonald: Defensive tackles
• Zach Kruse: 3-4 outside linebackers
• Derrik Klassen: 4-3 outside linebackers
• Jerod Brown: Inside linebackers
• Kyle Posey: Cornerbacks
• Ian Wharton: Cornerbacks
• Mark Bullock: Safeties
• Chuck Zodda: Special teams

Every NFL player with snaps in offensive and defensive roles is observed and graded based on a multitiered process that marks specific attributes per position. As we're combing through All-22 footage to assess each performance, there are additional factors to consider.

We'll adjust for opponent based on the obvious notion that the cornerback we're grading is doing a better job if he's shutting down Antonio Brown than if he's negating the efforts of a seventh-round rookie.

We'll also adjust for players with multiple responsibilities in the course of a game and over the course of time. Think of guys like J.J. Watt and Michael Bennett on the defensive line—how they seamlessly switch from gap to gap. Or how cornerbacks such as Chris Harris Jr. and Tyrann Mathieu dominate outside and in the slot. Or how receivers such as Doug Baldwin and Larry Fitzgerald bedevil cornerbacks from multiple field positions.

That's more important than ever in today's NFL, and we pay attention to it.

We will not adjust for injuries. If a player is underperforming because of an injury, that's part of his performance, fair or unfair, and it needs to be graded accordingly.

Grading any player is a subjective process, but with a series of attributes per position and a specific direction as to what to grade and how, we'll work to make it as definitive as possible.

Top 50 Overall from Week 11

Mike Comer/Getty Images

Carolina Panthers safety Kurt Coleman is hardly a flash in the pan, though he's no household name. He amassed seven interceptions in his team's NFC title-winning season last year, and he's had a great 2016 with 45 solo tackles, 13 stops and a 57.2 opponent passer rating allowed.

But last Thursday's key win over the New Orleans Saints may have been Coleman's best NFL game, and it's why he's ranked second overall in this week's NFL1000. Coleman was a whirling dervish against one of the league's most dynamic offenses, showing his outstanding coverage skills (one catch on two targets) and maintaining great angles against the run.

Coleman popped a fumble loose from Saints tight end Coby Fleener in a red-zone situation late in the first quarter, driving through mid-level coverage and nailing Fleener at the perfect moment. A few minutes later, Coleman haunted Fleener again, backing off into what looked like deep coverage and then doing an outstanding job of covering half the field to jump a deep throw from Drew Brees for an interception.  

Coleman wasn't the only safety who showed up in Week 11. Jaquiski Tartt of the San Francisco 49ers had perhaps the ultimate challenge in the Patriots offense, and the second-year man from Samford proved he was up to it. Tartt was only targeted once, but he did a great job of playing the hybrid safety/linebacker role and gave tight end Martellus Bennett fits with his physical coverage at the line of scrimmage. He's 24th overall in our Week 11 player grades.

The biggest riser of the week was on the Patriots' side of things. Cornerback Logan Ryan was our bottom-ranked player for Week 10, excluding kickers/punters (942nd!), but he was much better against San Francisco than he was when the Patriots lost to Seattle the week before. Ryan looked lost against the Seahawks, allowing six catches for 101 yards and the game-winning touchdown while missing more than one important tackle. Five of those catches allowed came in the slot, but Ryan locked it down against Colin Kaepernick and Co. in Week 11, allowing just two catches on five targets for seven yards—all from the slot.

As Ryan would tell you, the NFL comes at you quickly. From No. 942 to No. 12 in one week? That's an impressive swing.

Top 50 Overall from Week 11

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	NFL1000 Score	LW	Moving
1	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	84	14	↑
2	Kurt Coleman	SS	CAR	83	296	↑
3	Dez Bryant	WR	DAL	83	88	↑
4	Xavier Rhodes	CB	MIN	82	537	↑
5	Marcus Mariota	QB	TEN	82	21	↑
6	Tyron Smith	LT	DAL	82	4	↓
7	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	DAL	82	2	↓
8	Ryan Shazier	ILB	PIT	81	534	↑
9	Russell Wilson	QB	SEA	81	17	↑
10	Derrick Morgan	3-4 OLB	TEN	80	404	↑
11	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARI	80	51	↑
12	Logan Ryan	CB	NE	80	942	↑
13	Harrison Smith	FS	MIN	80	106	↑
14	Jason Pierre-Paul	4-3 DE	NYG	80	342	↑
15	Jadeveon Clowney	3-4 OLB	HOU	80	101	↑
16	David Johnson	RB	ARI	80	113	↑
17	Aaron Donald	DT	LA	80	70	↑
18	Luke Kuechly	ILB	CAR	80	104	↑
19	Kirk Cousins	QB	WAS	80	198	↑
20	David Bakhtiari	LT	GB	80	117	↑
21	Landon Collins	SS	NYG	79	54	↑
22	Jason Peters	LT	PHI	79	1	↓
23	Kyle Juszczyk	FB	BAL	79	37	↑
24	Jaquiski Tartt	SS	SF	79	253	↑
25	Bryan Bulaga	RT	GB	78	36	↑
26	Jamison Crowder	WR	WAS	78	691	↑
27	Joe Thomas	LT	CLE	78	93	↑
28	Ryan Kalil	C	CAR	78	NR	↑
29	D.J. Swearinger	FS	ARI	78	81	↑
30	Jerrell Freeman	ILB	CHI	78	76	↑
31	Richard Sherman	CB	SEA	78	79	↑
32	Marshal Yanda	OG	BAL	78	NR	↑
33	Corey Graham	FS	BUF	78	NR	↑
34	Cam Newton	QB	CAR	78	427	↑
35	Bruce Irvin	4-3 OLB	OAK	78	NR	↑
36	Rafael Bush	SS	DET	78	NR	↑
37	Donald Penn	LT	OAK	78	NR	↑
38	Jason Kelce	C	PHI	78	23	↓
39	Dont'a Hightower	ILB	NE	78	353	↑
40	Marcus Gilbert	RT	PIT	77	56	↑
41	Byron Maxwell	CB	MIA	77	248	↑
42	Byron Jones	FS	DAL	77	25	↓
43	Carson Palmer	QB	ARI	77	493	↑
44	Cordy Glenn	LT	BUF	77	NR	↑
45	Jordan Hicks	ILB	PHI	77	46	↑
46	Clayton Geathers	FS	IND	77	NR	↑
47	Tom Brady	QB	NE	77	35	↓
48	Karl Joseph	SS	OAK	77	NR	↑
49	Bobby Wagner	ILB	SEA	77	131	↑
50	Marquette King	P	OAK	77	NR	↑

Quarterbacks

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

For the second week in a row, the Green Bay Packers failed to get any pressure on an opposing quarterback while not covering any of his receivers. In Week 11, Kirk Cousins was the primary benefactor. Cousins was consistent with his accuracy and avoided making big mistakes, but he wasn't tasked with fitting the ball into tight windows or functioning under pressure. Much like Marcus Mariota the previous week, his success had a lot to do with the failures of the Packers defense.

Mariota eclipsed his Week 10 performance in Week 11 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts defense played the Titans better than the Jaguars or Packers had, forcing Mariota to show off his wide-ranging skill set. Mariota's touchdown to DeMarco Murray was exceptional, as he evaded an unblocked pass-rusher before throwing Murray open back across the defender trying to cover him. His long touchdown to Tajae Sharpe is one of many examples of how Mariota's overall accuracy has improved since his struggles over the first month of the season.

Speaking of quarterbacks who have improved after struggling early in the year, Russell Wilson continued his turnaround with an excellent performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. Wilson still isn't showing much as a scrambler, but his comfort as a passer and with his feet are obvious. It didn't help his grade (because NFL1000 focuses on playing the position), but Wilson's touchdown reception and the Seahawks' willingness to use him like that speak to his health.

In the same game, Carson Wentz was fortunate not to come away with five interceptions against the Seattle Seahawks. Wentz heaved the ball into coverage on more than one occasion, something you can't afford to do against Seattle.

Carson Palmer had a couple of interceptions against the Minnesota Vikings, but his overall performance was impressive. Palmer didn't get enough help from his receivers, at least the ones not named Larry Fitzgerald, while his offensive line was constantly collapsing around him. Minnesota's Everson Griffen disrupted plays all day, while Tom Johnson, Danielle Hunter and Brian Robison played with an intensity that had been lacking over recent weeks.

Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders had a polar opposite experience against the Houston Texans. Carr was properly pressured just once in the game, and he threw an interception on that play. His offensive line dominated the game. Michael Crabtree and Seth Roberts combined for a few notable drops, but his supporting cast made up for it with brilliantly designed plays that caused the Texans coverage to bust and allow huge yards after the catch to ice the game late.

Grading Scale

Acc: Accuracy (Graded out of 25)

Arm: Arm Strength (Graded out of 25)

Press: Pressure/run threat (Graded out of 20) (Pressure weighted at 15, run threat at 5)

Dec: Decision-Making (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Quarterback Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Acc	Arm	Press	Dec	Pos	Ovr
1	Marcus Mariota	TEN	20	21	16	15	10	82
2	Russell Wilson	SEA	20	23	14	14	10	81
3	Kirk Cousins	WAS	20	20	14	16	10	80
4	Cam Newton	CAR	16	24	14	14	10	78
5	Carson Palmer	ARI	17	22	15	13	10	77
6	Tom Brady	NE	16	20	17	14	10	77
7	Aaron Rodgers	GB	20	21	13	13	10	77
8	Sam Bradford	MIN	17	22	14	13	10	76
9	Andrew Luck	IND	15	22	15	14	10	76
10	Matthew Stafford	DET	15	22	14	14	10	75
11	Dak Prescott	DAL	15	20	13	15	10	73
12	Derek Carr	OAK	17	20	12	14	10	73
13	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	15	18	13	15	10	71
14	Alex Smith	KC	15	18	13	13	10	69
15	Drew Brees	NO	15	17	13	13	10	68
16	Eli Manning	NYG	15	18	13	12	10	68
17	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	15	18	14	11	10	68
18	Jameis Winston	TB	13	18	13	13	10	67
19	Tyrod Taylor	BUF	14	18	14	11	10	67
20	Jay Cutler	CHI	15	20	12	10	10	67
21	Colin Kaepernick	SF	14	20	12	11	10	67
22	Brock Osweiler	HOU	14	18	12	12	10	66
23	Joe Flacco	BAL	14	19	10	13	10	66
24	Andy Dalton	CIN	14	18	12	11	10	65
25	Blake Bortles	JAX	11	17	14	10	10	62
26	Jared Goff	LA	13	15	11	11	10	60
27	Cody Kessler	CLE	12	16	11	10	10	59
28	Josh McCown	CLE	12	16	10	10	10	58
29	Carson Wentz	PHI	12	16	10	9	10	57

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Matt Ryan—bye
• Philip Rivers—bye

Running Backs

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

This was a big week for the best running backs in the league. That shouldn't be shocking since they have routinely made appearances at the top of the rankings in NFL1000 for most of the season. The NFL is a star league, and this week's three highest-graded running backs have started to separate themselves from the pack.

Le'Veon Bell torched the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. While the Browns are a bad team, the Steelers running back had one of the more dominant performances of the season. He did it all, from making guys miss to running through tackles. He finished with 146 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. And like most Sundays, he was unstoppable in the passing game, chipping in 55 yards receiving on eight receptions. Bell is an elite player who looks like he's getting better as the season progresses.

Arizona's David Johnson had a bounce-back game against the Vikings after only recording 55 rushing yards the previous week against the 49ers. Johnson was great between the tackles and physical all game against a strong Minnesota defense. His play speed was fantastic, making guys miss and gaining extra yards after contact all game. Like Bell, Johnson was open all day in the passing game. He is the definition of a complete franchise player.

It was a big week for some of the better inside runners in the league. New York's Rashad Jennings has been very good the last several weeks. He was excellent against the Chicago Bears, giving the Giants some much-needed balance on the ground. Houston's Lamar Miller ran right through Oakland defenders all game long, playing fast and breaking soft arm tackles with ease to amass 104 rushing yards and touchdown. Tennesee's DeMarco Murray continues to run through every team in the AFC South while keeping the Titans' playoff hopes alive.

San Fransico's Carlos Hyde had his best game in weeks against a pedestrian Patriots defense, showing much more urgency in his running style and his willingness to just hit the hole playing downhill. On the other side of the coin, LeGarrette Blount ran right through gaping holes, which is typical for a 49ers defense that's been one of the worst against the run this season. Despite gashing a bad defense, Blount might be the most underrated player in the league. The 29-year-old RB is on pace to run for 1,283 yards and a whopping 19 touchdowns. The Patriots also welcomed Dion Lewis back to the fold, which should help them become the most balanced offense in the NFL.

Grading Scale

In: Inside Running (Graded out of 25)

Out: Outside Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Running Back Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	In	Out	Rec	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	23	19	18	18	6	84
2	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	22	20	17	17	6	82
3	David Johnson	ARI	20	19	18	17	6	80
4	Robert Kelley	WAS	20	18	16	16	6	76
5	Rashad Jennings	NYG	19	17	17	17	6	76
6	LeGarrette Blount	NE	20	18	16	16	6	76
7	Lamar Miller	HOU	20	18	16	16	6	76
8	DeMarco Murray	TEN	19	17	17	17	6	76
9	LeSean McCoy	BUF	19	18	16	16	6	75
10	Carlos Hyde	SF	19	17	17	16	6	75
11	Tim Hightower	NO	18	17	17	16	6	74
12	Jordan Howard	CHI	19	17	16	16	6	74
13	Doug Martin	TB	18	16	17	17	6	74
14	Thomas Rawls	SEA	18	17	16	16	6	73
15	Theo Riddick	DET	15	16	19	17	6	73
16	Spencer Ware	KC	19	16	16	16	6	73
17	Jay Ajayi	MIA	19	17	16	15	6	73
18	Giovani Bernard	CIN	17	17	17	16	6	73
19	Dion Lewis	NE	17	17	18	15	6	73
20	Wendell Smallwood	PHI	18	17	16	15	6	72
21	Todd Gurley	LA	18	17	15	16	6	72
22	Jeremy Hill	CIN	18	16	16	16	6	72
23	Chris Thompson	WAS	16	17	17	16	6	72
24	Charcandrick West	KC	17	16	17	16	6	72
25	C.J. Prosise	SEA	19	17	16	14	6	72
26	Terrance West	BAL	18	16	16	15	6	71
27	Mike Gillislee	BUF	17	18	15	15	6	71
28	Kenneth Dixon	BAL	18	17	15	15	6	71
29	Frank Gore	IND	17	14	17	17	6	71
30	Ty Montgomery	GB	17	16	16	15	6	70
31	Mark Ingram	NO	17	15	16	16	6	70
32	Latavius Murray	OAK	16	15	17	16	6	70
33	Chris Ivory	JAX	16	14	17	17	6	70
34	Ryan Mathews	PHI	17	15	15	16	6	69
35	James White	NE	15	15	18	15	6	69
36	Jalen Richard	OAK	15	15	18	15	6	69
37	Darren Sproles	PHI	17	16	15	15	6	69
38	Shaun Draughn	SF	15	15	17	15	6	68
39	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	16	15	15	16	6	68
40	Duke Johnson Jr.	CLE	14	16	17	15	6	68
41	Andre Ellington	ARI	16	15	16	15	6	68
42	T.J. Yeldon	JAX	16	14	16	15	6	67
43	Matt Asiata	MIN	17	14	15	15	6	67
44	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	15	17	15	14	6	67
45	James Starks	GB	15	14	16	16	6	67
46	Robert Turbin	IND	15	14	15	16	6	66
47	Paul Perkins	NYG	15	14	16	15	6	66
48	Kenyan Drake	MIA	15	16	15	14	6	66
49	Jeremy Langford	CHI	15	14	15	16	6	66
50	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	15	14	15	16	6	66
51	Peyton Barber	RB	16	14	15	14	6	65
52	Kenjon Barner	PHI	15	14	15	15	6	65
53	Dwayne Washington	DET	15	14	15	15	6	65
54	Alfred Morris	DAL	15	14	15	15	6	65
55	Fozzy Whittaker	CAR	15	14	14	14	6	63
56	DeAndre Washington	OAK	14	14	15	14	6	63
57	Benny Cunningham	LA	15	14	14	14	6	63

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Matt Forte—bye
• Ameer Abdullah—injury
• Bilal Powell—bye
• C.J. Anderson—injury
• DeAngelo Williams—injury
• Melvin Gordon—bye
• Jamaal Charles—injury
• Derrick Henry—injury
• Devontae Booker—bye

Fullbacks

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

It's a different week, yet the same fullback is in the top slot for the NFL1000. Kyle Juszczyk continues to be one of the top offensive players for the Ravens. On Sunday, he had three catches for 32 yards and was good as a lead blocker in the running game. Despite Baltimore's loss to the Cowboys, he played winning football against one of the top teams in the league.

John Kuhn has had a solid season for the Saints. He was good against the Carolina Panthers in short-yardage situations and also caught a couple of balls. Acquiring him was an underrated offseason move for the Saints.

While the Raiders struggled to run the ball, Jamize Olawale was able to make big plays in the passing game. His 75-yard touchdown helped an anemic Oakland offense wake up and get back in the contest. Olawale has been great all year for the Raiders.

While Mike Tolbert struggled early in the year, he has been much better of late. He looks like he's playing faster and is back to his old self. Houston's Jay Prosch was solid blocking linebackers for the running game against Oakland.

Grading Scale

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 50)

Run: Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Fullback Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Blk	Run	Rec	Pos	Ovr
1	Kyle Juszczyk	BAL	45	17	13	4	79
2	John Kuhn	NO	45	17	11	4	77
3	Jamize Olawale	OAK	43	17	13	4	77
4	Mike Tolbert	CAR	44	15	11	4	74
5	Jerome Felton	BUF	44	17	9	4	74
6	Jay Prosch	HOU	44	15	9	4	72
7	James Develin	NE	43	15	9	4	71
8	Will Tukuafu	SEA	44	14	8	4	70
9	Jalston Fowler	TEN	43	14	9	4	70
10	Cory Harkey	LA	43	15	8	4	70
11	Anthony Sherman	KC	43	14	9	4	70
12	Paul Lasike	CHI	43	14	8	4	69
13	Zach Line	MIN	43	14	8	4	69

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• None

Wide Receivers

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Two Patriots players led the way in the AFC this week. Julian Edelman contributed another solid performance, catching eight passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. His route running was exemplary against the 49ers, and he was open on a number of plays where quarterback Tom Brady either went elsewhere with the ball or couldn't complete the pass.

Patriots rookie Malcolm Mitchell turned in a great game, catching his first NFL touchdown pass on a well-executed scramble drill situation where he showed good feel for the coverage in finding space. Mitchell's work as a blocker this week is what propelled him. His work was most noticeable on a long LeGarrette Blount run, but he was a strong blocker all afternoon.

Rishard Matthews had a big game for the Titans and would have had a higher score if not for two dropped passes in the second half.

In the NFC, it should be no surprise the Washington Redskins had so many players with high grades. Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder were two of five wide receivers leaguewide who posted 100-yard games, as their quarterback, Kirk Cousins, put up a 145.8 passer rating.

In a matchup of potential playoff teams, the NFC East's Dallas Cowboys took on the AFC North's Baltimore Ravens. Dez Bryant was there when rookie quarterback Dak Prescott needed him, hauling in six receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns in Dallas' 27-17 victory.

The upset of the week, a 19-17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, could not have happened without Mike Evans, who posted a 105-yard game, elevating quarterback Jameis Winston in crucial moments.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 25)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Wide Receiver Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Dez Bryant	DAL	20	22	20	12	9	83
2	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	19	22	15	15	9	80
3	Jamison Crowder	WAS	20	20	20	9	9	78
4	Pierre Garcon	WAS	18	19	20	10	9	76
5	Mike Evans	TB	18	21	17	11	9	76
6	Julian Edelman	NE	20	19	14	13	9	75
7	Doug Baldwin	SEA	20	18	18	10	9	75
8	DeSean Jackson	WAS	17	18	20	10	9	74
9	Rishard Matthews	TEN	20	18	14	13	9	74
10	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	16	21	17	11	9	74
11	Cole Beasley	DAL	18	18	19	10	9	74
12	Michael Thomas	NO	18	19	16	12	9	74
13	Amari Cooper	OAK	19	20	14	12	9	74
14	Steve Smith Sr.	BAL	18	20	14	12	9	73
15	Michael Floyd	ARI	19	20	15	10	9	73
16	Randall Cobb	GB	19	18	17	10	9	73
17	Malcolm Mitchell	NE	18	17	13	15	9	72
18	Jordy Nelson	GB	18	17	15	13	9	72
19	Brandin Cooks	NO	19	18	16	10	9	72
20	T.Y. Hilton	IND	19	19	12	12	9	71
21	Antonio Brown	PIT	18	19	13	12	9	71
22	Ted Ginn Jr.	CAR	18	19	15	10	9	71
23	Adam Thielen	MIN	18	18	16	10	9	71
24	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	14	18	20	10	9	71
25	Sterling Shepard	NYG	19	18	15	10	9	71
26	Russell Shepard	TB	16	18	18	10	9	71
27	Marqise Lee	JAX	18	18	13	12	9	70
28	DeVante Parker	MIA	18	20	11	12	9	70
29	Golden Tate	DET	17	18	15	11	9	70
30	Kenny Britt	LA	16	19	14	12	9	70
31	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	20	15	14	12	9	70
32	Victor Cruz	NYG	18	18	15	10	9	70
33	Jordan Matthews	PHI	16	16	17	12	9	70
34	Mike Wallace	BAL	17	18	14	11	9	69
35	Terrelle Pryor Sr.	CLE	17	19	13	11	9	69
36	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	17	19	12	12	9	69
37	Donte Moncrief	IND	17	19	13	11	9	69
38	Tajae Sharpe	TEN	18	18	12	12	9	69
39	Stefon Diggs	MIN	17	18	15	10	9	69
40	Dorial Green-Beckham	PHI	16	16	18	10	9	69
41	Tyler Boyd	CIN	18	17	12	12	9	68
42	Seth Roberts	OAK	17	16	11	15	9	68
43	Willie Snead	NO	17	17	15	10	9	68
44	Adam Humphries	TB	17	16	16	10	9	68
45	Jarvis Landry	MIA	16	16	13	13	9	67
46	Michael Crabtree	OAK	18	16	12	12	9	67
47	Cecil Shorts	TB	16	17	15	10	9	67
48	Braxton Miller	HOU	16	17	11	13	9	66
49	Allen Robinson	JAX	18	16	11	12	9	66
50	Kenny Stills	MIA	16	17	12	12	9	66
51	Anquan Boldin	DET	16	18	13	10	9	66
52	Davante Adams	GB	15	16	16	10	9	66
53	Tyler Lockett	SEA	16	16	16	9	9	66
54	Corey Coleman	CLE	16	18	11	11	9	65
55	Phillip Dorsett	IND	16	16	12	12	9	65
56	Danny Amendola	NE	17	16	11	12	9	65
57	Kendall Wright	TEN	16	16	13	11	9	65
58	Josh Bellamy	CHI	14	16	15	11	9	65
59	Marvin Jones	DET	16	16	12	12	9	65
60	Jermaine Kearse	SEA	17	14	15	10	9	65
61	Kamar Aiken	BAL	16	16	12	11	9	64
62	Brandon LaFell	CIN	16	16	11	12	9	64
63	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	15	16	11	13	9	64
64	Tyreek Hill	KC	16	16	11	12	9	64
65	Eli Rogers	PIT	16	16	11	12	9	64
66	Cobi Hamilton	PIT	15	16	11	13	9	64
67	Harry Douglas	TEN	15	15	11	14	9	64
68	Eddie Royal	CHI	14	15	16	10	9	64
69	Robert Woods	BUF	16	16	11	11	9	63
70	Marquise Goodwin	BUF	15	15	11	13	9	63
71	James Wright	CIN	15	16	11	12	9	63
72	Will Fuller V	HOU	16	14	11	13	9	63
73	Chris Conley	KC	16	15	11	12	9	63
74	Albert Wilson	KC	15	15	11	13	9	63
75	John Brown	ARI	18	14	13	9	9	63
76	Cameron Meredith	CHI	16	14	14	10	9	63
77	Deonte Thompson	CHI	12	15	13	14	9	63
78	Brandon Tate	BUF	15	16	11	11	9	62
79	Keith Mumphery	HOU	15	15	11	12	9	62
80	Allen Hurns	JAX	15	14	11	13	9	62
81	Brice Butler	DAL	14	14	15	10	9	62
82	Tavon Austin	LA	15	12	18	8	9	62
83	Paul Richardson	SEA	14	14	16	9	9	62
84	Chris Harper	SF	13	13	15	12	9	62
85	Breshad Perriman	BAL	15	14	11	12	9	61
86	Percy Harvin	BUF	14	15	11	12	9	61
87	Alex Erickson	CIN	15	15	11	11	9	61
88	J.J. Nelson	ARI	17	15	11	9	9	61
89	Brian Quick	LA	14	14	14	10	9	61
90	Pharoh Cooper	LA	15	14	13	10	9	61
91	Charles Johnson	MIN	15	15	12	10	9	61
92	Rashard Higgins	CLE	15	14	11	11	9	60
93	Andre Holmes	OAK	14	14	11	12	9	60
94	Devin Funchess	CAR	14	14	13	10	9	60
95	Andre Roberts	DET	12	14	16	9	9	60
96	Ricardo Louis	CLE	14	14	11	11	9	59
97	Maurice Harris	WAS	12	14	14	10	9	59
98	Marquess Wilson	CHI	13	13	15	8	9	58
99	Bryce Treggs	PHI	16	10	14	9	9	58
100	Terrance Williams	DAL	15	14	10	9	9	57
101	Quinton Patton	SF	14	12	12	10	9	57
102	Philly Brown	CAR	13	13	11	9	9	55
103	Brandon Coleman	NO	12	13	10	10	9	54
104	Jeremy Kerley	SF	12	12	10	10	9	53
105	Nelson Agholor	PHI	12	10	12	9	9	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• A.J. Green—insufficient snaps
• Markus Wheaton—injury
• Sammy Watkins—injury
• Jeremy Maclin—injury
• Darrius Heyward-Bey—injury
• Demaryius Thomas—bye
• Emmanuel Sanders—bye
• Jordan Norwood—bye
• Brandon Marshall—bye
• Eric Decker—bye
• Quincy Enunwa—bye
• Jalin Marshall—bye
• Keenan Allen—injury
• Travis Benjamin—bye
• Dontrelle Inman—bye
• Julio Jones—bye
• Mohamed Sanu—bye
• Vincent Jackson—injury
• Alshon Jeffery—suspension
• Torrey Smith—bye

Tight Ends

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

In the AFC, Travis Kelce turned in another solid week for the Chiefs in their narrow loss to the Buccaneers. He caught seven passes for 108 yards, and he was effective as a blocker and ran some solid routes.

At Levi's Stadium, with Rob Gronkowski sidelined, you might expect Martellus Bennett to see a number of targets. But with the rain, the Patriots opted for a more conservative attack and used Bennett primarily as a blocker.

Houston's C.J. Fiedorowicz had a solid game Monday night against the Raiders, but he couldn't complete a few blocks and had a couple of missed catches, which hampered his score.

Though Jimmy Graham only had 46 receiving yards and a single touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles, his influence as a "seams to win" stretch player opened up plenty of space in the air for a Seattle Seahawks offense that is getting back on track in the NFC. The Eagles rank eighth in the NFL in total defense, but Graham was a mismatch who made life easy for quarterback Russell Wilson on Sunday.

Early on in the game, Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz was force-feeding the ball to both Zach Ertz and Brent Celek, but after Graham, Eric Ebron of Detroit made the biggest difference in the conference. The Lions tight end took a 61-yard pass to the house, with most of those yards coming after the catch, for the go-ahead touchdown. Detroit's 26-19 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars keeps it on top of the NFC North for another week.

Jared Cook of Green Bay had a 105-yard game against Washington, but he also had several untimely drops and even a fumble. He took away as much as he gave to the Packers offense on Sunday Night Football.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 20)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Tight End Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Travis Kelce	KC	16	19	13	19	6	73
2	Jimmy Graham	SEA	17	17	16	16	6	72
3	Eric Ebron	DET	14	18	18	14	6	70
4	Zach Ertz	PHI	12	18	18	16	6	70
5	Brent Celek	PHI	15	17	16	16	6	70
6	Jordan Reed	WAS	14	16	17	16	6	69
7	Dennis Pitta	BAL	13	18	13	19	6	69
8	Gary Barnidge	CLE	15	18	11	19	6	69
9	C.J. Fiedorowicz	HOU	15	18	12	18	6	69
10	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	14	18	14	17	6	69
11	Jermaine Gresham	ARI	12	17	15	18	6	68
12	Will Tye	NYG	13	19	14	16	6	68
13	Jesse James	PIT	14	18	11	19	6	68
14	Zach Miller	CHI	13	18	13	17	6	67
15	Greg Olsen	CAR	15	18	13	14	6	66
16	Tyler Eifert	CIN	13	17	12	18	6	66
17	John Phillips	NO	12	17	12	19	6	66
18	Vance McDonald	SF	14	17	13	16	6	66
19	Jared Cook	GB	12	15	16	16	6	65
20	Charles Clay	BUF	13	16	11	19	6	65
21	Gavin Escobar	DAL	13	16	12	17	6	64
22	Richard Rodgers	GB	13	16	13	16	6	64
23	Ryan Griffin	HOU	13	17	11	17	6	64
24	Martellus Bennett	NE	13	15	11	19	6	64
25	Luke Stocker	TB	13	16	13	16	6	64
26	Lance Kendricks	LA	13	16	12	16	6	63
27	Dion Sims	MIA	12	16	11	18	6	63
28	Clive Walford	OAK	13	15	11	18	6	63
29	Darren Fells	ARI	12	15	14	15	6	62
30	Jason Witten	DAL	11	16	11	18	6	62
31	Matthew Mulligan	DET	12	15	12	17	6	62
32	Ben Koyack	JAX	12	14	11	19	6	62
33	Coby Fleener	NO	13	16	12	15	6	62
34	Cameron Brate	TB	12	17	12	15	6	62
35	Delanie Walker	TEN	13	15	11	17	6	62
36	Logan Paulsen	CHI	12	15	12	16	6	61
37	Jack Doyle	IND	11	14	11	19	6	61
38	Dwayne Allen	IND	12	14	11	18	6	61
39	David Johnson	PIT	11	14	11	19	6	61
40	Luke Willson	SEA	12	15	12	16	6	61
41	Brandon Myers	TB	12	15	12	16	6	61
42	Anthony Fasano	TEN	11	14	11	19	6	61
43	Vernon Davis	WAS	12	15	13	15	6	61
44	Darren Waller	BAL	12	14	11	17	6	60
45	Nick O'Leary	BUF	11	14	11	18	6	60
46	Ben Braunecker	CHI	12	15	12	15	6	60
47	Seth DeValve	CLE	12	15	11	16	6	60
48	Demetrius Harris	KC	12	14	11	17	6	60
49	Tyler Higbee	LA	12	16	11	15	6	60
50	Rhett Ellison	MIN	12	15	12	15	6	60
51	Jerell Adams	NYG	12	15	12	15	6	60
52	Garrett Celek	SF	12	15	12	15	6	60
53	Alan Cross	TB	12	15	12	15	6	60
54	Ed Dickson	CAR	12	13	12	16	6	59
55	Marcedes Lewis	JAX	11	14	11	17	6	59
56	Julius Thomas	JAX	12	14	11	16	6	59
57	MarQueis Gray	MIA	11	14	11	17	6	59
58	Matt Lengel	NE	11	14	11	17	6	59
59	Phillip Supernaw	TEN	11	14	11	17	6	59
60	Tyler Kroft	CIN	11	14	11	16	6	58
61	Erik Swoope	IND	11	14	11	16	6	58
62	James O'Shaughnessy	KC	11	14	11	16	6	58
63	Josh Hill	NO	11	15	12	14	6	58
64	Mychal Rivera	OAK	11	14	11	16	6	58
65	Derek Carrier	WAS	11	15	12	14	6	58
66	Ryan Hewitt	CIN	11	14	11	15	6	57
67	Randall Telfer	CLE	11	14	11	15	6	57
68	Dominique Jones	MIA	11	14	11	15	6	57
69	Ladarius Green	PIT	11	12	11	15	6	55

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Troy Niklas—injury
• Jacob Tamme—bye
• Austin Hooper—bye
• Virgil Green—bye
• Antonio Gates—bye
• Hunter Henry—bye
• Crockett Gillmore—injury
• Maxx Williams—injury
• Jordan Cameron—injury
• Rob Gronkowski—injury

Left Tackles

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Tyron Smith of the Cowboys snatched the No. 1 ranking at left tackle in Week 11. Faced with the tough task of the explosive edge defenders of the Baltimore Ravens, Smith turned in another outstanding performance, displaying an elite pass-protection skill set and showing tremendous physicality in the running game against a physical Ravens front seven.

David Bakhtiari of the Packers also turned in another impressive game against the Washington Redskins, which allowed him to slide into the the No. 2 spot. Bakhtiari continues to prove he is an elite pass protector and did so in Week 11 while playing through a knee injury.

The Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Peters claimed the No. 3 ranking with his performance against the Seattle Seahawks. Peters surrendered no sacks and only three hurries on 48 pass attempts, which is pretty good when you take into account the level of Seattle's pass-rushers and all the obvious passing situations they forced the Eagles into.

Washington's Ty Nsekhe did another excellent job filling in for suspended tackle Trent Williams against Green Bay. In pass protection, the 6'8", 335-pound Nsekhe handled Clay Matthews, who is coming off injury, and showed good agility, explosive power and his strength as a run-blocker. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Left Tackle Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Tyron Smith	DAL	20	20	17	17	8	82
2	David Bakhtiari	GB	21	19	15	17	8	80
3	Jason Peters	PHI	19	20	16	16	8	79
4	Joe Thomas	CLE	20	19	14	17	8	78
5	Donald Penn	OAK	20	20	16	14	8	78
6	Cordy Glenn	BUF	19	21	15	14	8	77
7	Ty Nsekhe	WAS	20	18	15	15	8	76
8	Taylor Decker	DET	19	19	15	15	8	76
9	Nate Solder	NE	20	20	14	14	8	76
10	Ronnie Stanley	BAL	19	19	14	15	8	75
11	Duane Brown	HOU	18	18	16	15	8	75
12	Taylor Lewan	TEN	18	20	15	14	8	75
13	Andrus Peat	NO	18	21	15	13	8	75
14	Andrew Whitworth	CIN	20	18	14	14	8	74
15	Mike Remmers	CAR	19	18	16	13	8	74
16	Eric Fisher	KC	18	19	16	13	8	74
17	Laremy Tunsil	MIA	17	18	14	16	8	73
18	Joe Staley	SF	19	18	14	14	8	73
19	Donovan Smith	TB	19	19	15	12	8	73
20	Alejandro Villanueva	PIT	17	19	15	13	8	72
21	Anthony Castonzo	IND	18	17	14	14	8	71
22	Charles Leno Jr.	CHI	16	17	14	15	8	70
23	John Wetzel	ARI	17	19	13	13	8	70
24	Greg Robinson	LA	17	17	16	12	8	70
25	Kelvin Beachum	JAX	16	17	15	13	8	69
26	Ereck Flowers	NYG	16	17	15	12	8	68
27	Sam Young	MIA	17	16	13	13	8	67
28	T.J. Clemmings	MIN	16	16	14	13	8	67
29	George Fant	SEA	16	16	13	14	8	67

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Michael Oher—injury
• Terron Armstead—injury
• Luke Joeckel—injury
• Bradley Sowell—injury
• Branden Albert—injury
• Matt Kalil—injury
• Jared Veldheer—injury
• Trent Williams—suspension
• Ryan Clady—bye
• King Dunlap—bye
• Russell Okung—bye
• Jake Matthews—bye

Right Tackles

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Green Bay's Bryan Bulaga was the top performer at right tackle in Week 11. As mentioned in previous weeks, he has remained healthy and has been fantastic in all aspects.

Marcus Gilbert claims the No. 2 ranking in Week 11. The Steelers tackle showed tremendous strength, power and explosion at the point of attack, as well as great agility and patience in pass protection against the Browns.

The ever-so-steady Mitchell Schwartz is this week's No. 3-ranked right tackle. Schwartz was impressive in the running game, especially in collapsing the point of attack, and he was as smooth as ever in pass protection. Schwartz has now started 74 consecutive regular-season games with 5,065 snaps. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Right Tackle Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Bryan Bulaga	GB	21	19	16	15	7	78
2	Marcus Gilbert	PIT	20	20	15	15	7	77
3	Mitchell Schwartz	KC	19	20	15	15	7	76
4	Zach Strief	NO	19	21	16	13	7	76
5	Rob Havenstein	LA	21	19	14	14	7	75
6	Demar Dotson	TB	20	18	14	16	7	75
7	Marcus Cannon	NE	19	19	15	15	7	75
8	Doug Free	DAL	20	18	15	14	7	74
9	Jermey Parnell	JAX	18	18	15	16	7	74
10	Jack Conklin	TEN	17	20	16	14	7	74
11	Austin Howard	OAK	18	20	15	13	7	73
12	Bobby Hart	NYG	19	18	13	15	7	72
13	Jordan Mills	BUF	19	18	14	14	7	72
14	Ricky Wagner	BAL	18	19	14	14	7	72
15	Trenton Brown	SF	17	19	16	13	7	72
16	Halapoulivaati Vaitai	PHI	18	18	14	14	7	71
17	Riley Reiff	DET	18	18	14	14	7	71
18	Austin Pasztor	CLE	17	19	14	13	7	70
19	Morgan Moses	WAS	17	19	15	12	7	70
20	Seantrel Henderson	BUF	17	17	15	13	7	69
21	Daryl Williams	CAR	18	17	14	13	7	69
22	Jeremiah Sirles	MIN	17	17	15	13	7	69
23	Eric Winston	CIN	17	17	13	15	7	69
24	D.J. Humphries	ARI	16	18	13	14	7	68
25	Ja'Wuan James	MIA	17	17	13	14	7	68
26	Mike Adams	CHI	16	16	15	13	7	67
27	Chris Clark	HOU	16	18	14	12	7	67
28	Joe Haeg	IND	16	18	13	13	7	67
29	Garry Gilliam	SEA	16	16	13	14	7	66
30	Cedric Ogbuehi	CIN	15	16	13	14	7	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Derek Newton—injury
• Bobby Massie—injury
• Andre Smith Jr.—injury
• Lane Johnson—suspension
• Ryan Schraeder—bye
• Joe Barksdale—bye
• Ben Ijalana—bye
• Breno Giacomini—bye
• Donald Stephenson—bye

Offensive Guards

David Banks/Getty Images

There have been a lot of injuries at the guard position this year, but some key guys are getting back on the field. Baltimore's Marshal Yanda, Chicago's Josh Sitton (briefly, before leaving with another injury) and Tennesee's Quinton Spain started this week, and all three ended up among the top four guards.

Jack Mewhort returned this week, but he looked rusty in pass protection and hesitant at times in the running game. Hopefully, as he adjusts to the game speed again, he'll return to his usual level of play. Mike Iupati is a warrior for continuing to play through his injuries, but they were clearly affecting him, especially at the point of attack against a strong and physical Vikings front. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Offensive Guard Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Marshal Yanda	BAL	20	18	18	15	7	78
2	Josh Sitton	CHI	17	19	18	15	7	76
3	Andrew Norwell	CAR	18	18	17	15	7	75
4	Quinton Spain	TEN	18	18	18	14	7	75
5	Richie Incognito	BUF	16	19	17	15	7	74
6	Alex Boone	MIN	19	16	16	16	7	74
7	Lane Taylor	GB	19	15	16	17	7	74
8	Shaq Mason	NE	16	18	17	15	7	73
9	Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	KC	18	15	16	17	7	73
10	Rodger Saffold	LA	16	18	17	15	7	73
11	Gabe Jackson	OAK	19	16	17	14	7	73
12	Ronald Leary	DAL	16	17	17	15	7	72
13	Chris Reed	JAX	16	18	17	14	7	72
14	Allen Barbre	PHI	16	17	15	17	7	72
15	Earl Watford	ARI	15	19	17	14	7	72
16	Jeff Allen	HOU	16	18	18	13	7	72
17	Ali Marpet	TB	14	17	17	16	7	71
18	Mark Glowinski	SEA	16	16	16	16	7	71
19	David DeCastro	PIT	16	16	16	16	7	71
20	Caleb Benenoch	TB	16	17	16	15	7	71
21	Germain Ifedi	SEA	15	18	18	13	7	71
22	Vladimir Ducasse	BAL	17	17	17	13	7	71
23	Kelechi Osemele	OAK	18	14	17	15	7	71
24	Zack Martin	DAL	15	16	17	15	7	70
25	Spencer Drango	CLE	16	15	17	15	7	70
26	Jahri Evans	NO	17	17	17	12	7	70
27	Brandon Brooks	PHI	14	18	17	14	7	70
28	Kevin Zeitler	CIN	16	16	17	14	7	70
29	Xavier Su'a-Filo	HOU	15	17	17	14	7	70
30	Joe Thuney	NE	15	17	14	16	7	69
31	Larry Warford	DET	15	16	17	14	7	69
32	Cody Wichmann	LA	17	15	15	15	7	69
33	John Greco	CLE	16	16	16	14	7	69
34	Jason Spriggs	GB	17	14	15	16	7	69
35	Ted Larsen	CHI	16	16	16	14	7	69
36	Senio Kelemete	NO	14	17	17	13	7	68
37	Marshall Newhouse	NYG	17	15	16	13	7	68
38	Mike Iupati	ARI	15	16	16	14	7	68
39	John Miller	BUF	14	16	16	15	7	68
40	Brandon Fusco	MIN	16	15	15	15	7	68
41	Josh Kline	TEN	16	15	16	14	7	68
42	Eric Kush	CHI	16	15	16	13	7	67
43	Brandon Scherff	WAS	16	14	15	15	7	67
44	Denzelle Good	IND	15	14	17	14	7	67
45	Trai Turner	CAR	12	18	17	13	7	67
46	Clint Boling	CIN	14	16	16	14	7	67
47	Joshua Garnett	SF	15	14	16	15	7	67
48	Ramon Foster	PIT	16	14	15	14	7	66
49	Ben Gottschalk	TB	14	15	15	15	7	66
50	Zach Fulton	KC	14	16	16	13	7	66
51	John Jerry	NYG	16	14	16	12	7	65
52	Jermon Bushrod	MIA	13	14	16	15	7	65
53	Shawn Lauvao	WAS	15	13	16	13	7	64
54	Jack Mewhort	IND	14	13	16	14	7	64
55	Graham Glasgow	DET	15	14	13	14	7	63
56	A.J. Cann	JAX	13	14	16	12	7	62
57	Taylor Boggs	ARI	12	14	14	15	7	62
58	Don Barclay	GB	13	14	14	13	7	61
59	Zane Beadles	SF	14	13	14	13	7	61
60	Kraig Urbik	MIA	13	12	15	13	7	60

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Andy Levitre—bye
• Chris Chester—bye
• Max Garcia—bye
• Michael Schofield—bye
• Brian Winters—bye
• James Carpenter—bye
• D.J. Fluker—bye
• Orlando Franklin—bye
• Justin Pugh—DNP
• Andrus Peat—DNP
• Alvin Bailey—DNP
• Joel Bitonio—DNP
• Evan Mathis—DNP
• Jamon Brown—DNP
• Luke Joeckel—DNP
• La'el Collins—DNP
• Chance Warmack—DNP

Centers

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Centers were dominant in Week 11, headlined by the four-headed monster of Carolina's Ryan Kalil, Philadelphia's Jason Kelce, Minnesota's Joe Berger and Dallas' Travis Frederick.

Unfortunately, Kalil got hurt yet again this week and will miss some time, but the Panthers offense looks different with him out there. We talked about Kelce last week, but he continued to excel in space against Seattle. Joe Berger has unparalleled upper-body strength, and he whipped the Cardinals front at times. When he gets to his opponent's body, that player doesn't have much of a chance. Everyone knows about Frederick at this point, and he continued his sturdy play against an underrated Ravens defense. 

Grading Scale:

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Center Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ryan Kalil	CAR	20	18	18	16	6	78
2	Jason Kelce	PHI	18	19	17	18	6	78
3	Joe Berger	MIN	18	19	19	15	6	77
4	Travis Frederick	DAL	19	18	18	15	6	76
5	Jeremy Zuttah	BAL	17	19	18	15	6	75
6	Justin Britt	SEA	16	18	17	16	6	73
7	Joe Hawley	TB	17	19	17	13	6	72
8	Mitch Morse	KC	18	17	14	17	6	72
9	Cody Whitehair	CHI	18	17	15	15	6	71
10	Max Unger	NO	18	16	15	16	6	71
11	Ryan Kelly	IND	17	16	16	16	6	71
12	Maurkice Pouncey	PIT	16	17	16	15	6	70
13	Brandon Linder	JAX	17	17	16	14	6	70
14	Russell Bodine	CIN	17	16	17	14	6	70
15	Rodney Hudson	OAK	17	15	16	15	6	69
16	Ben Jones	TEN	17	16	14	16	6	69
17	Spencer Long	WAS	17	15	16	14	6	68
18	Corey Linsley	GB	17	14	15	16	6	68
19	David Andrews	NE	15	17	16	14	6	68
20	Tim Barnes	LA	15	17	16	14	6	68
21	A.Q. Shipley	ARI	17	14	14	16	6	67
22	Weston Richburg	NYG	16	15	16	14	6	67
23	Greg Mancz	HOU	14	16	16	14	6	66
24	Ryan Groy	BUF	14	15	16	14	6	65
25	Travis Swanson	DET	15	13	16	14	6	64
26	Cameron Erving	CLE	13	14	15	15	6	63
27	Chris Scott	CAR	16	11	16	13	6	62
28	Daniel Kilgore	SF	11	15	15	14	6	61
29	Anthony Steen	MIA	14	12	14	14	6	60

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Alex Mack—bye
• Matt Paradis—bye
• Wesley Johnson—bye
• Matt Slauson—bye
• Mike Pouncey—DNP
• Eric Wood—DNP
• JC Tretter—DNP
• Nick Mangold—DNP

3-4 Defensive Ends

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

I wondered how Stephon Tuitt would respond after Cameron Heyward was lost for the season. Those two seemed to work so well together when healthy. It didn't faze Tuitt in the least bit as he consistently ruined the Browns' plans in both the run game and as a pass-rusher.

Chicago's Akiem Hicks is an underrated player who needs some exposure. He's a big body who looks more like a nose tackle than an end, and the way he eats blockers and defends the run, you'd think he could do that job too. For a big man, Hicks moves well enough to push the pocket and disrupt pass plays. He had a great week defending the run and stood out on a Bears team that could use the positive vibes. 

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 15)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 30)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Defensive End Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Stephon Tuitt	PIT	13	18	21	15	7	74
2	Akiem Hicks	CHI	11	14	24	14	7	70
3	Chris Baker	WAS	12	16	21	13	7	69
4	Mike Daniels	GB	13	15	21	12	7	68
5	Chris Jones	KC	12	18	19	12	7	68
6	Calais Campbell	ARI	11	15	21	13	7	67
7	DeForest Buckner	SF	12	13	20	14	7	66
8	Carl Nassib	CLE	12	14	19	13	7	65
9	Emmanuel Ogbah	CLE	11	16	18	13	7	65
10	Denico Autry	OAK	11	14	20	13	7	65
11	Jurrell Casey	TEN	11	15	19	13	7	65
12	Arthur Jones	IND	10	12	21	14	7	64
13	Quinton Dial	SF	10	14	19	14	7	64
14	Frostee Rucker	ARI	10	13	20	13	7	63
15	Leger Douzable	BUF	11	14	17	14	7	63
16	Karl Klug	TEN	12	14	18	12	7	63
17	Adolphus Washington	BUF	10	14	17	14	7	62
18	Cornelius Washington	CHI	11	12	19	13	7	62
19	Jonathan Bullard	CHI	11	13	19	12	7	62
20	Kendall Reyes	KC	10	16	17	12	7	62
21	Ziggy Hood	WAS	11	13	19	12	7	62
22	Ricky Jean-Francois	WAS	11	12	20	12	7	62
23	Christian Covington	HOU	9	12	20	13	7	61
24	Timmy Jernigan	BAL	10	13	17	13	7	60
25	Lawrence Guy	BAL	10	11	20	12	7	60
26	DaQuan Jones	TEN	10	12	19	12	7	60
27	Jamie Meder	CLE	8	12	18	14	7	59

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Derek Wolfe—bye
• Jared Crick—bye
• Billy Winn—bye
• Corey Liuget—bye
• Joey Bosa—bye
• Kendall Langford—injury
• Henry Anderson—injury
• Robert Nkemdiche—injury
• Arik Armstead—injury
• Cameron Heyward—injury

4-3 Defensive Ends

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Has anyone noticed how all of the good 4-3 defensive ends are in the NFC? Sure, there's Khalil Mack, Cameron Wake and Carlos Dunlap in the AFC, but the NFC has the premier 4-3 ends.

Jason Pierre-Paul, Everson Griffen, Ezekiel Ansah and Cliff Avril are consistently great. Minnesota has the best three rushers with Griffen, Danielle Hunter and Brian Robison. The trio made things hard for Arizona, and their performances together won the game.

I would have said Seattle owned the best trio of pass-rushers until Michael Bennett got hurt. Frank Clark and Avril are two stout rushers, but Bennett's replacement, Damontre Moore, was nowhere to be seen. The void Bennett left may cost the Seahawks before he returns. This week, it didn't affect them much, as Avril took over the game in clutch situations. 

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Defensive End Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Snap	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Jason Pierre-Paul	NYG	26	15	16	15	8	80
2	Everson Griffen	MIN	24	13	18	13	8	76
3	Ezekiel Ansah	DET	22	14	15	15	8	74
4	Cliff Avril	SEA	21	13	17	15	8	74
5	Danielle Hunter	MIN	22	12	17	13	8	72
6	Olivier Vernon	NYG	22	16	15	11	8	72
7	Charles Johnson	CAR	23	14	15	11	8	71
8	Cameron Jordan	NO	19	17	13	14	8	71
9	Khalil Mack	OAK	22	14	15	12	8	71
10	Mario Addison	CAR	22	12	15	13	8	70
11	Cameron Wake	MIA	20	13	15	13	8	69
12	Andre Branch	MIA	19	14	14	14	8	69
13	Darryl Tapp	NO	19	14	13	15	8	69
14	Frank Clark	SEA	18	15	16	12	8	69
15	David Irving	DAL	20	14	13	13	8	68
16	Jared Odrick	JAX	19	15	11	15	8	68
17	Dante Fowler	JAX	19	14	14	13	8	68
18	Robert Quinn	LA	20	13	14	13	8	68
19	Brian Robison	MIN	22	13	13	12	8	68
20	Brandon Graham	PHI	20	14	14	12	8	68
21	Vinny Curry	PHI	21	13	13	13	8	68
22	Kony Ealy	CAR	21	13	13	12	8	67
23	Wallace Gilberry	CIN	20	12	12	15	8	67
24	Yannick Ngakoue	JAX	21	12	14	12	8	67
25	Paul Kruger	NO	18	15	12	14	8	67
26	Connor Barwin	PHI	18	15	13	13	8	67
27	Noah Spence	TB	18	15	12	14	8	67
28	Michael Johnson	CIN	19	14	13	12	8	66
29	Carlos Dunlap	CIN	20	13	12	11	8	64
30	Demarcus Lawrence	DAL	19	12	13	12	8	64
31	Kerry Hyder	DET	17	15	11	13	8	64
32	William Hayes	LA	18	14	12	12	8	64
33	Ethan Westbrooks	LA	17	15	12	12	8	64
34	Trey Flowers	NE	17	15	12	12	8	64
35	Kasim Edebali	NO	19	13	12	12	8	64
36	Cassius Marsh	SEA	19	12	13	12	8	64
37	Jack Crawford	DAL	18	12	13	12	8	63
38	Devin Taylor	DET	18	14	12	11	8	63
39	Jason Jones	MIA	18	14	10	13	8	63
40	William Gholston	TB	16	15	10	14	8	63
41	Tyrone Crawford	DAL	18	13	12	11	8	62
42	Robert Ayers	TB	18	13	11	12	8	62
43	Chris Long	NE	16	14	11	12	8	61
44	Will Clarke	CIN	17	12	12	11	8	60
45	Margus Hunt	CIN	17	12	10	12	8	59
46	Damontre Moore	SEA	15	12	10	11	8	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Adrian Clayborn—bye
• Dwight Freeney—bye
• Vic Beasley—bye
• Muhammad Wilkerson—bye
• Sheldon Richardson—bye
• Lorenzo Mauldin—bye
• Michael Bennett—injury
• Mario Williams—inactive
• Jabaal Sheard—insufficient snaps

Defensive Tackles

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

The Bills' defensive tackle duo of Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus took advantage of a weak Bengals interior Sunday afternoon. Outside of a 20-yard run by Jeremy Hill, the Bengals struggled mightily to run the ball. Williams added solid pressure on the quarterback, while Dareus teamed up with rookie Adolphus Washington for a sack.

Second-year players Danny Shelton (Cleveland), Jordan Phillips (Miami) and Malcom Brown (New England) had strong games this week as well. Phillips and Shelton continue to improve with their technique and snap timing. Brown has proved he can be a dangerous, versatile weapon on the Patriots defensive line. He plays nose, 1-technique and 3-technique at a high level.

Fletcher Cox and Dontari Poe are two high-profile defensive tackles who struggled this week. Seahawks rookie guard Germain Ifedi neutralized Cox in pass protection and in the run game. The Buccaneers interior offensive line manhandled Poe on a handful of snaps. Both of these players are immensely talented, so don't get too caught up in their poor performances this week. 

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Defensive Tackle Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Aaron Donald	LA	20	19	21	13	7	80
2	Kyle Williams	BUF	19	17	18	14	7	75
3	Ndamukong Suh	MIA	18	17	20	13	7	75
4	Gerald McCoy	TB	19	16	19	13	7	74
5	Marcell Dareus	BUF	17	17	19	13	7	73
6	Geno Atkins	CIN	19	16	19	12	7	73
7	Malik Jackson	JAX	18	18	17	13	7	73
8	Danny Shelton	CLE	17	16	19	13	7	72
9	Jordan Phillips	MIA	19	16	18	12	7	72
10	Michael Pierce	BAL	17	13	20	13	7	70
11	Linval Joseph	MIN	16	14	20	13	7	70
12	Malcom Brown	NE	17	15	18	13	7	70
13	Nick Fairley	NO	17	15	19	12	7	70
14	Star Lotulelei	CAR	16	17	17	12	7	69
15	Damon Harrison	NYG	16	15	19	12	7	69
16	Fletcher Cox	PHI	17	17	16	12	7	69
17	Kawann Short	CAR	17	16	16	12	7	68
18	Brandon Williams	BAL	14	14	19	14	7	68
19	Kenny Clark	GB	16	16	17	12	7	68
20	Vincent Valentine	NE	16	16	17	12	7	68
21	Rakeem Nunez-Roches	KC	16	15	17	12	7	67
22	Sheldon Rankins	NO	18	13	17	12	7	67
23	Johnathan Hankins	NYG	15	16	18	11	7	67
24	Jarran Reed	SEA	15	17	16	12	7	67
25	Haloti Ngata	DET	15	16	16	12	7	66
26	D.J. Reader	HOU	16	13	19	11	7	66
27	Earl Mitchell	MIA	16	15	16	12	7	66
28	Javon Hargrave	PIT	15	16	17	11	7	66
29	Michael Brockers	LA	14	15	17	12	7	65
30	Justin Ellis	OAK	15	16	15	12	7	65
31	Letroy Guion	GB	14	16	16	11	7	64
32	Abry Jones	JAX	14	12	19	12	7	64
33	Tyson Alualu	JAX	16	13	17	11	7	64
34	Hassan Ridgeway	IND	16	14	16	11	7	64
35	Dominique Easley	LA	16	16	14	11	7	64
36	Ahtyba Rubin	SEA	16	14	16	11	7	64
37	Cullen Jenkins	WAS	15	13	17	12	7	64
38	Sheldon Day	JAX	15	14	16	11	7	63
39	Tom Johnson	MIN	17	17	11	11	7	63
40	Dan Williams	OAK	15	13	16	12	7	63
41	Darius Latham	OAK	16	14	15	11	7	63
42	Stacy McGee	OAK	15	14	16	11	7	63
43	Bennie Logan	PHI	15	14	15	12	7	63
44	John Jenkins	SEA	14	15	17	10	7	63
45	Vernon Butler	CAR	14	15	15	11	7	62
46	Maliek Collins	DAL	15	14	15	11	7	62
47	Terrell McClain	DAL	16	13	14	12	7	62
48	Khyri Thornton	DET	15	13	16	11	7	62
49	David Onyemata	NO	14	14	16	11	7	62
50	Clinton McDonald	TB	14	15	15	11	7	62
51	Akeem Spence	TB	13	14	16	12	7	62
52	Rodney Gunter	ARI	15	13	15	11	7	61
53	Will Sutton	CHI	14	13	15	12	7	61
54	Cedric Thornton	DAL	14	13	16	11	7	61
55	Vince Wilfork	HOU	14	12	17	11	7	61
56	Shamar Stephens	MIN	14	13	15	12	7	61
57	Jay Bromley	NYG	14	13	16	11	7	61
58	Xavier Williams	ARI	13	11	17	12	7	60
59	Domata Peko	CIN	14	13	15	11	7	60
60	Stephen Paea	CLE	15	14	13	11	7	60
61	Tyeler Davison	NO	13	12	17	11	7	60
62	Tony McDaniel	SEA	14	13	15	11	7	60
63	Glenn Dorsey	SF	16	12	15	10	7	60
64	Austin Johnson	TEN	14	15	14	10	7	60
65	A'Shawn Robinson	DET	13	14	14	11	7	59
66	Alan Branch	NE	14	13	14	11	7	59
67	Jihad Ward	OAK	14	14	13	11	7	59
68	Kyle Love	CAR	13	12	15	11	7	58
69	Beau Allen	PHI	14	13	14	10	7	58
70	Dontari Poe	KC	14	11	15	10	7	57
71	David Parry	IND	14	11	15	9	7	56
72	Cam Thomas	LA	13	12	13	10	7	55
73	Destiny Vaeao	PHI	14	12	12	10	7	55
74	Pat Sims	CIN	12	11	13	11	7	54

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Grady Jarrett—bye
• Jonathan Babineaux—bye
• Eddie Goldman—inactive
• Sylvester Williams—bye
• Leonard Williams—bye
• Tyrunn Walker—inactive
• Al Woods—inactive
• Corbin Bryant—inactive
• Corey Peters—inactive
• Sharrif Floyd—inactive
• Paul Soliai—inactive
• Zach Kerr—insufficient snaps

3-4 Outside Linebackers

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Two edge-rushers from the AFC South stole the show at 3-4 outside linebacker in Week 11. Derrick Morgan of the Titans and Jadeveon Clowney of the Texans stood out.

Morgan lived in the Colts backfield Sunday, with 1.5 sacks and nine other pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He earned the week's top pass-rushing grade. A day later, Clowney was similarly unblockable in Mexico City against the Raiders. The former No. 1 overall pick did the majority of his damage against the run. In fact, few players in the game are more disruptive in the run game than Clowney, who earned the week's top run-defense grade. 

Other standouts included Ahmad Brooks and Nick Perry, who both played strong individual games for struggling defenses. Brooks and Perry consistently do the little things, such as setting the edge and collapsing the pocket, that rarely show up in the box score. Clay Matthews and Justin Houston, two standout rushers returning from injury, were both quiet in their comebacks.

Za'Darius Smith, who struggled as a pass-rusher and run-stopper against the Cowboys, earned the week's worst grade.

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Cvg	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Derrick Morgan	TEN	27	15	9	21	8	80
2	Jadeveon Clowney	HOU	22	19	9	22	8	80
3	Ahmad Brooks	SF	24	13	9	20	8	74
4	Nick Perry	GB	22	16	9	19	8	74
5	Chandler Jones	ARI	23	12	9	22	8	74
6	Leonard Floyd	CHI	25	13	10	18	8	74
7	Markus Golden	ARI	17	17	10	21	8	73
8	Jamie Collins	CLE	19	14	10	21	8	72
9	Erik Walden	IND	22	14	9	19	8	72
10	Julius Peppers	GB	23	12	10	18	8	71
11	Brian Orakpo	TEN	23	13	9	18	8	71
12	Ryan Kerrigan	WAS	25	13	9	16	8	71
13	Trent Murphy	WAS	21	15	10	17	8	71
14	Terrell Suggs	BAL	22	13	9	18	8	70
15	Lorenzo Alexander	BUF	20	14	10	18	8	70
16	Pernell McPhee	CHI	22	13	9	18	8	70
17	James Harrison	PIT	23	12	10	17	8	70
18	Arthur Moats	PIT	24	10	9	18	8	69
19	Albert McClellan	BAL	20	13	10	18	8	69
20	Eli Harold	SF	19	12	10	20	8	69
21	Jerry Hughes	BUF	20	12	10	18	8	68
22	Alex Okafor	ARI	20	13	9	18	8	68
23	Sam Acho	CHI	19	12	10	19	8	68
24	Tank Carradine	SF	21	11	10	18	8	68
25	John Simon	HOU	19	14	9	17	8	67
26	Robert Mathis	IND	22	10	9	17	8	66
27	Whitney Mercilus	HOU	21	14	7	15	8	65
28	Dee Ford	KC	19	13	9	16	8	65
29	Willie Young	CHI	18	14	9	16	8	65
30	Preston Smith	WAS	18	12	9	18	8	65
31	Lavar Edwards	IND	20	12	9	16	8	65
32	Cam Johnson	CLE	18	14	9	16	8	65
33	Justin Houston	KC	19	11	9	17	8	64
34	Shaq Lawson	BUF	18	12	9	17	8	64
35	Clay Matthews	GB	18	12	9	16	8	63
36	Datone Jones	GB	18	13	9	15	8	63
37	Matt Judon	BAL	19	11	9	16	8	63
38	Anthony Chickillo	PIT	19	11	9	16	8	63
39	Tamba Hali	KC	19	12	9	15	8	63
40	Frank Zombo	KC	17	12	9	17	8	63
41	Jarvis Jones	PIT	18	10	10	16	8	62
42	Akeem Ayers	IND	17	10	10	15	8	60
43	Za'Darius Smith	BAL	18	8	9	15	8	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Elvis Dumervil—injury
• Lerentee McCray—insufficient snaps
• Corey Lemonier—inactive
• Joe Schobert—insufficient snaps
• Von Miller—bye
• Shane Ray—bye
• Shaquil Barrett—bye
• DeMarcus Ware—bye
• Kyler Fackrell—insufficient snaps
• Jayrone Elliott—inactive
• Bud Dupree—insufficient snaps
• Jerry Attaochu—bye
• Melvin Ingram—bye
• Kyle Emanuel—bye
• Tourek Williams—bye
• Aaron Lynch—injury
• Kevin Dodd—inactive
• David Bass—insufficient snaps

4-3 Outside Linebackers

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Many of this week's top performers were able to display their talents in the spotlight. Three of the top five performances this week were during Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football, including a surprising outing by Saints linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. 

On Thursday night, Ellerbe was asked to play a similar role to what Bruce Irvin does for the Raiders. He played a good chunk of his snaps near the line of scrimmage, often being asked to rush the passer from that alignment.

It worked. Ellerbe registered a sack to statistically validate what was a great night of blitzing and pass rushing. Further, he extended his play as a pass-rusher into his run defense and coverage ability, enabling him to look like the most competent player on a struggling Saints defense.

The most notable player this week is the aforementioned Irvin. As the Raiders duked it out with the Texans on the Monday Night Football stage, Irvin consistently harassed the Texans offense. Be it working back inside or flowing out to the edge to shut down possible big plays, Irvin did his part in containing the Texans rushing offense.

When asked to pass rush, Irvin was not entirely on his game, but the veteran came through in the clutch on the Texans' final offensive drive. Irvin weaseled his way to quarterback Brock Osweiler and forced the Texans to punt the ball with only a few minutes left, allowing the Raiders offense to run out the clock after receiving the punt.

Otherwise, Thomas Davis, Telvin Smith and K.J. Wright earned top spots once again, and Mark Barron had one of his "peak" weeks in what has been a roller-coaster season. The only notably poor performance came from Anthony Barr of the Vikings.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Bruce Irvin	OAK	17	22	11	22	6	78
2	Thomas Davis	CAR	20	21	7	22	6	76
3	Telvin Smith	JAX	20	19	9	21	6	75
4	Dannell Ellerbe	NO	18	19	12	20	6	75
5	Nigel Bradham	PHI	20	21	7	20	6	74
6	K.J. Wright	SEA	20	20	8	20	6	74
7	Sean Lee	DAL	19	20	8	20	6	73
8	Mark Barron	LA	19	18	8	20	6	71
9	Jonathan Casillas	NYG	17	20	8	20	6	71
10	Vincent Rey	CIN	18	18	8	20	6	70
11	Lavonte David	TB	18	19	7	20	6	70
12	Shaq Thompson	CAR	17	19	7	20	6	69
13	Justin Durant	DAL	17	18	8	16	6	65
14	Spencer Paysinger	MIA	17	17	7	18	6	65
15	Donald Butler	MIA	17	17	7	18	6	65
16	Karlos Dansby	CIN	18	15	7	18	6	64
17	Kyle Van Noy	NE	15	16	10	17	6	64
18	Shea McClellin	NE	16	16	9	17	6	64
19	Mychal Kendricks	PHI	16	16	8	18	6	64
20	Anthony Barr	MIN	14	16	9	18	6	63
21	Craig Robertson	NO	13	18	7	19	6	63
22	Antwione Williams	DET	14	18	7	17	6	62
23	Neville Hewitt	MIA	16	16	7	17	6	62
24	Chad Greenway	MIN	15	16	8	17	6	62
25	Devon Kennard	NYG	15	16	8	17	6	62
26	Myles Jack	JAX	15	17	7	16	6	61
27	Rob Ninkovich	NE	15	14	8	18	6	61
28	Keenan Robinson	NYG	14	16	7	18	6	61
29	Damien Wilson	DAL	14	17	7	16	6	60
30	Josh Forrest	LA	15	16	7	16	6	60
31	Brock Coyle	SEA	16	16	7	15	6	60
32	Daryl Smith	TB	14	15	7	17	6	59
33	Nick Vigil	CIN	15	13	8	16	6	58
34	Josh Bynes	DET	15	14	7	16	6	58
35	Malcolm Smith	OAK	14	15	7	16	6	58
36	Cory James	OAK	14	14	7	16	6	57

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• De'Vondre Campbell—bye
• Philip Wheeler—bye
• DeAndre Levy—injury
• Darron Lee—bye
• Mike Catapano—bye
• Jordan Jenkins—bye
• Jaylon Smith—injury

Inside Linebackers

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Luke Kuechly has remained one of the best overall players in the NFL this season, despite the difficulties the Panthers have endured. He continued to shine as a defensive leader, working to keep the Panthers defense afloat with a young and inexperienced secondary.

Unfortunately, Kuechly suffered an apparent concussion that brought Thursday night's game to a halt and looked significant given Kuechly's on-field emotions. His performance, particularly as one of the best defenders in the league, has become so routine that we have begun to take it for granted. He consistently puts Panthers defenders in the correct alignment, all while diagnosing what is happening in front of him and playing with undeniable passion. 

It shouldn't be something we gloss over. As we've seen with great linebackers in the past, much like former San Francisco 49er Patrick Willis, playing time and health can be fleeting.

Kuechly was playing well before his injury, but the top spot goes to Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Shazier, who looked to be completely healthy Sunday. Shazier was above-average in coverage, against the run and especially rushing the passer.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Defense (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 35)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Inside Linebacker Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ryan Shazier	PIT	20	31	12	12	6	81
2	Luke Kuechly	CAR	21	31	11	11	6	80
3	Jerrell Freeman	CHI	21	30	10	11	6	78
4	Dont'a Hightower	NE	18	30	12	12	6	78
5	Jordan Hicks	PHI	21	29	9	12	6	77
6	Bobby Wagner	SEA	19	31	11	10	6	77
7	Lawrence Timmons	PIT	18	29	13	10	6	76
8	Kevin Minter	ARI	18	30	11	11	6	76
9	Zach Brown	BUF	20	29	9	11	6	75
10	Nate Stupar	NO	18	28	11	11	6	74
11	Su'a Cravens	WAS	18	27	11	11	6	73
12	Danny Trevathan	CHI	20	25	10	11	6	72
13	Deone Bucannon	ARI	17	28	10	11	6	72
14	D'Qwell Jackson	IND	18	26	11	11	6	72
15	Benardrick McKinney	HOU	19	26	9	12	6	72
16	Avery Williamson	TEN	16	27	11	11	6	71
17	Preston Brown	BUF	18	28	9	10	6	71
18	Paul Posluszny	JAX	17	27	11	10	6	71
19	Will Compton	WAS	16	27	10	11	6	70
20	Derrick O. Johnson	KC	17	27	9	11	6	70
21	Sean Spence	TEN	19	25	10	10	6	70
22	Kiko Alonso	MIA	18	25	10	10	6	69
23	Ramik Wilson	KC	18	26	9	10	6	69
24	Wesley Woodyard	TEN	15	29	9	10	6	69
25	Eric Kendricks	MIN	17	25	9	11	6	68
26	Zach Orr	BAL	13	27	11	11	6	68
27	Blake Martinez	GB	16	26	9	11	6	68
28	Kwon Alexander	TB	17	25	9	10	6	67
29	Edwin Jackson	IND	17	24	9	11	6	67
30	Kelvin Sheppard	NYG	16	26	9	10	6	67
31	Mason Foster	WAS	16	25	8	11	6	66
32	Chris Kirksey	CLE	17	26	9	8	6	66
33	C.J. Mosley	BAL	14	27	10	9	6	66
34	Brian Cushing	HOU	17	25	8	9	6	65
35	Elandon Roberts	NE	15	24	9	11	6	65
36	Gerald Hodges	SF	15	24	9	11	6	65
37	Alec Ogletree	LA	16	25	9	9	6	65
38	Vontaze Burfict	CIN	15	22	11	10	6	64
39	Anthony Hitchens	DAL	17	22	9	10	6	64
40	Perry Riley	OAK	18	23	9	8	6	64
41	Joe Thomas	GB	16	22	9	10	6	63
42	Michael Wilhoite	SF	16	23	8	10	6	63
43	Demario Davis	CLE	15	23	9	10	6	63
44	David Mayo	CAR	14	24	8	10	6	62
45	Nick Bellore	SF	15	22	8	9	6	60
46	Tahir Whitehead	DET	14	20	9	9	6	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Deion Jones—bye
• Todd Davis—bye
• Brandon Marshall—bye
• Corey Nelson—bye
• David Harris—bye
• Julian Stanford—bye
• Denzel Perryman—bye
• Jatavis Brown—bye
• Joshua Perry—bye
• Jake Ryan—injury
• Max Bullough—insufficient snaps
• Nick Kwiatkoski—insufficient snaps
• Antonio Morrison—insufficient snaps
• Josh Forrest—insufficient snaps
• Stephen Tulloch—insufficient snaps
• Tyler Matakevich—insufficient snaps

Cornerbacks

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes was one of the top overall players from Week 11. Rhodes earned a high grade for his performance against the Arizona Cardinals’ talented receiving corp as he carefully tiptoed the line of being physical and effective. The Vikings are known to be aggressive in their secondary under head coach Mike Zimmer, and Rhodes has continued his development.

In 41 coverage snaps, Rhodes intercepted one more pass than he allowed the Cardinals. His two interceptions included a game-changing pick-six on quarterback Carson Palmer. One of the biggest criticisms of Rhodes’ play early in his career has been the lack of turnovers forced, but he came up big. He was called for two penalties in the secondary, but his sticky coverage and big plays outweighed the minor hiccups.

The three worst performers of the week may have come from the same secondary. The Green Bay Packers' trio of Micah Hyde, Quinten Rollins and Ladarius Gunter were atrocious against the Washington Redskins, routinely blowing their positioning to allow for easy completions. In total, they allowed 15 of 17 targets and three touchdowns and were credited just once with a shutdown coverage. Green Bay has many issues, but the lack of progress from its young stable of corners has been among its biggest.

All the Chiefs corners struggled, but a week ago, Steven Nelson was the best cornerback for NFL1000. This week? Not so much. Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston picked on him constantly. He allowed six completions on 12 targets—with each reception going for a first down. He was beat eight times in coverage, and to top it off, he had a penalty that netted Tampa Bay another first down. Suffice to say, the Chiefs missed Marcus Peters on Sunday. 

The Ravens were missing their star cornerback, Jimmy Smith, and the Ravens duo of Tavon Young and Shareece Wright did not respond well. They combined to give up 14 catches on 17 targets for 170 yards, five first downs and two touchdowns.

A week ago, Logan Ryan of the Patriots was the worst cornerback we graded. Playing exclusively in the slot, albeit against lesser competition, Ryan was more comfortable this week. When he was the primary target, Ryan didn’t allow a catch in five targets. There were a couple of routes where it looked like he was the receiver. In zone, Ryan read Colin Kaepernick’s eyes and nearly came up with an interception.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

React: Reaction/Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Cornerback Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	React	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Xavier Rhodes	MIN	24	25	18	6	9	82
2	Logan Ryan	NE	24	23	18	6	9	80
3	Richard Sherman	SEA	22	23	17	7	9	78
4	Byron Maxwell	MIA	22	23	17	6	9	77
5	Sean Smith	OAK	24	23	16	5	9	77
6	Stephon Gilmore	BUF	20	24	16	7	9	76
7	Adam Jones	CIN	23	22	16	6	9	76
8	Tony Lippett	MIA	23	23	17	4	9	76
9	Eric Rowe	NE	23	23	16	5	9	76
10	Janoris Jenkins	NYG	21	22	17	6	9	75
11	Ronald Darby	BUF	22	22	16	5	9	74
12	David Amerson	OAK	22	22	16	5	9	74
13	Artie Burns	PIT	22	24	15	4	9	74
14	Brice McCain	TEN	20	22	17	5	9	73
15	Briean Boddy-Calhoun	CLE	21	21	15	6	9	72
16	Malcolm Butler	NE	20	22	16	5	9	72
17	Dre Kirkpatrick	CIN	21	21	16	4	9	71
18	Brandon Carr	DAL	19	20	18	5	9	71
19	Alterraun Verner	TB	18	20	18	6	9	71
20	Patrick Peterson	ARI	19	20	16	6	9	70
21	Trumaine Johnson	LA	18	18	17	6	9	68
22	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	NYG	18	17	18	6	9	68
23	Ross Cockrell	PIT	20	19	15	5	9	68
24	Trae Waynes	MIN	18	17	17	6	9	67
25	Kareem Jackson	HOU	17	18	16	6	9	66
26	Josh Norman	WAS	16	17	18	6	9	66
27	Bashaud Breeland	WAS	18	17	17	5	9	66
28	Jamar Taylor	CLE	18	17	16	5	9	65
29	Lamarcus Joyner	LA	17	18	16	5	9	65
30	Vernon Hargreaves	TB	16	17	17	6	9	65
31	Orlando Scandrick	DAL	17	17	16	5	9	64
32	Darius Slay	DET	18	18	14	5	9	64
33	Peyton Thompson	JAX	17	17	16	5	9	64
34	William Gay	PIT	18	17	15	5	9	64
35	Bryce Callahan	CHI	16	16	16	6	9	63
36	Eli Apple	NYG	16	17	16	5	9	63
37	Joe Haden	CLE	17	15	16	5	9	62
38	Nevin Lawson	DET	17	16	15	5	9	62
39	Bobby McCain	MIA	17	15	16	5	9	62
40	Jimmie Ward	SF	15	17	16	5	9	62
41	Rashard Robinson	SF	16	16	16	5	9	62
42	Marcus Cooper	ARI	14	16	17	5	9	61
43	Darqueze Dennard	CIN	16	16	15	5	9	61
44	Davon House	JAX	17	16	15	4	9	61
45	Nolan Carroll	PHI	16	15	16	5	9	61
46	Jason McCourty	TEN	16	16	15	5	9	61
47	Perrish Cox	TEN	15	17	15	5	9	61
48	Tracy Porter	CHI	16	15	15	5	9	60
49	Johnathan Joseph	HOU	16	14	15	6	9	60
50	Prince Amukamara	JAX	15	16	15	5	9	60
51	Terence Newman	MIN	15	15	16	5	9	60
52	Tramaine Brock	SF	16	16	15	4	9	60
53	Kendall Fuller	WAS	14	16	15	6	9	60
54	Quandre Diggs	DET	15	14	15	6	9	59
55	Darius Butler	IND	16	14	15	5	9	59
56	Sterling Moore	NO	15	14	15	6	9	59
57	Jeremy Lane	SEA	14	16	15	5	9	59
58	Nickell Robey-Coleman	BUF	15	14	15	5	9	58
59	Kevon Seymour	BUF	14	16	15	4	9	58
60	Josh Shaw	CIN	15	15	14	5	9	58
61	Neiko Thorpe	SEA	14	15	15	5	9	58
62	Daryl Worley	CAR	14	14	15	5	9	57
63	Anthony Brown	DAL	14	14	15	5	9	57
64	A.J. Bouye	HOU	14	15	14	5	9	57
65	E.J. Gaines	LA	14	14	15	5	9	57
66	Ken Crawley	NO	14	14	15	5	9	57
67	Tavon Young	BAL	15	13	14	5	9	56
68	B.W. Webb	NO	14	13	15	5	9	56
69	Leodis McKelvin	PHI	14	14	14	5	9	56
70	Cre'von LeBlanc	CHI	13	14	14	5	9	55
71	Vontae Davis	IND	15	13	13	5	9	55
72	Jalen Ramsey	JAX	14	13	15	4	9	55
73	Captain Munnerlyn	MIN	14	13	14	5	9	55
74	Jude Adjei-Barimah	TB	13	14	14	5	9	55
75	Robert McCain	CAR	13	13	14	5	9	54
76	Rashaan Melvin	IND	13	14	13	5	9	54
77	James Bradberry	CAR	12	13	13	6	9	53
78	Kenneth Ackers	KC	13	12	14	5	9	53
79	D.J. Hayden	OAK	14	12	13	5	9	53
80	Jerraud Powers	BAL	12	12	15	4	9	52
81	Shareece Wright	BAL	13	12	13	5	9	52
82	Ladarius Gunter	GB	12	11	14	5	9	51
83	Justin Bethel	ARI	11	12	12	5	9	49
84	Quinten Rollins	GB	11	12	12	5	9	49
85	Phillip Gaines	KC	12	11	13	4	9	49
86	Steven Nelson	KC	11	11	12	5	9	48
87	Micah Hyde	GB	11	12	11	4	9	47
88	Jalen Mills	PHI	11	11	13	3	9	47

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Craig Mager—bye
• Trevor Williams—bye
• Casey Hayward—bye
• Brandon Flowers—bye
• Jason Verrett—bye
• Chris Harris Jr.—bye
• Bradley Roby—bye
• Aqib Talib—bye
• Aaron Colvin—injury
• Marcus Peters—injury
• Desmond Trufant—bye
• Robert Alford—bye
• Brent Grimes—injury
• Leon Hall—injury
• Delvin Breaux—injury
• Damarious Randall—injury
• Sam Shields—injury
• DeShawn Shead—injury
• Morris Claiborne—injury
• Darrelle Revis—bye
• Darryl Roberts—bye
• Buster Skrine—bye

Free Safeties

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Harrison Smith played against the Cardinals like he was sick of losing. Early in the first quarter, he collapsed a rushing lane, giving the back nowhere to go. Later in the quarter, Smith made a fantastic play on the goal line, bursting through his gap to make a tackle and save a touchdown. 

In the second quarter, he flew off the edge after originally lining up much deeper pre-snap to fill in on a run play and make a tackle. A few plays later, Smith blew up the lead blocker on a run, setting the edge and forcing the back to cut inside early.

In coverage, Smith was just as effective. He was part of a two-deep safety coverage as the Cardinals looked to hit a receiver down the middle of the field. Smith stayed over the top of the route, reading it perfectly before breaking down on the throw and contesting the catch point.

San Francisco safety Eric Reid had a disappointing game against the Patriots before he suffered a season-ending injury on one of the final plays of the game. Reid is one of the more talented safeties in the NFL, but he struggled against both the run and pass and with making tackles.

It started early in the first quarter as running back LeGarrette Blount burst through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary. Reid attempted to fill in from deep but whiffed on his tackle attempt. In the second quarter, Reid missed another tackle. This continued into the fourth quarter, where he again missed a tackle while trying to fill in from deep.

He struggled in coverage too. The Patriots worked a good matchup late in the second quarter, motioning receivers around and leaving Reid isolated against Julian Edelman. Edelman ran past Reid down the sideline, but Reid got away with it, as Tom Brady overthrew his receiver.

Later, he matched up against tight end Martellus Bennett on an out-breaking route. Bennett beat Reid off the snap, leaving Reid trailing behind him. Reid somewhat recovered his position until Bennett cut outside. Brady delivered the ball on time, and Reid had no chance.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 10)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Free Safety Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Harrison Smith	MIN	25	25	7	15	8	80
2	D.J. Swearinger	ARI	24	24	6	16	8	78
3	Corey Graham	BUF	25	24	5	16	8	78
4	Byron Jones	DAL	24	24	6	15	8	77
5	Clayton Geathers	IND	23	23	7	16	8	77
6	Ron Parker	KC	24	24	6	15	8	77
7	Adrian Amos	CHI	23	23	6	16	8	76
8	Mike Mitchell	PIT	24	23	5	16	8	76
9	Lardarius Webb	BAL	23	24	5	15	8	75
10	Tre Boston	CAR	23	23	6	15	8	75
11	Derron Smith	CIN	23	22	6	16	8	75
12	Glover Quin	DET	23	22	6	16	8	75
13	Maurice Alexander	LA	23	23	6	15	8	75
14	Duron Harmon	NE	23	23	5	16	8	75
15	Earl Thomas	SEA	22	24	5	16	8	75
16	Kentrell Brice	GB	22	24	5	15	8	74
17	Devin McCourty	NE	22	22	6	16	8	74
18	Isa-Abdul Quddus	MIA	23	21	5	16	8	73
19	Vonn Bell	NO	23	22	6	14	8	73
20	Kevin Byard	TEN	22	22	6	15	8	73
21	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	GB	22	22	5	15	8	72
22	Tashaun Gipson	JAX	21	21	6	16	8	72
23	Nat Berhe	NYG	22	21	6	15	8	72
24	Bradley McDougald	TB	21	20	6	16	8	71
25	Rashad Johnson	TEN	21	20	6	16	8	71
26	Corey Moore	HOU	22	21	4	15	8	70
27	Rodney McLeod	PHI	21	22	4	15	8	70
28	Steven Terrell	SEA	21	21	5	15	8	70
29	Will Blackmon	WAS	21	20	4	16	8	69
30	Michael Griffin	CAR	19	20	5	16	8	68
31	Robert Blanton	BUF	20	19	5	15	8	67
32	George Iloka	CIN	20	20	4	15	8	67
33	Ed Reynolds	CLE	19	19	6	15	8	67
34	Andre Hal	HOU	21	20	4	14	8	67
35	Michael Thomas	MIA	19	19	5	16	8	67
36	Jairus Byrd	NO	20	19	5	15	8	67
37	Andrew Adams	NYG	20	20	5	14	8	67
38	Jeff Heath	DAL	19	18	4	16	8	65
39	Reggie Nelson	OAK	19	20	4	14	8	65
40	Eric Reid	SF	18	19	5	15	8	65
41	T.J. Green	IND	18	19	4	15	8	64

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Ricardo Allen—bye
• Darian Stewart—bye
• Justin Simmons—bye
• Marcus Gilchrist—bye
• Dwight Lowery—bye
• Ibraheim Campbell—insufficient snaps

Strong Safeties

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Panthers veteran Kurt Coleman was the top-graded safety this week with his performance against the Saints. He made a number of flashy plays, including forcing a fumble and pulling in an interception.

The fumble came in the first quarter. The Saints faced 3rd-and-short and looked to hit their tight end on a stick route to pick up the first down. Coleman played off the line but quickly read the throw and broke on it. He arrived moments after the tight end made the catch, and his hit forced the ball loose. The Saints recovered the fumble, but behind the first-down marker, which forced them to punt. 

Having nearly created a turnover in the first quarter, Coleman made sure to get one himself in the second. He appeared to be playing as part of a two-deep safety look, but he started cheating on an inside route. After taking a few steps inside, Coleman recognized the threat of a corner route to the outside and quickly recovered to get back to the sideline. He was fortunate Drew Brees was a second late with the throw, but Coleman did well to get back outside and jump the route.

Coleman made his presence felt, particularly in the run game. The Panthers will be hoping to see more of this level of performance from Coleman down the stretch. If he can keep creating turnovers, perhaps he can be a spark for that defense.

Jaquiski Tartt's perfrmance against the Patriots was surprising. Tartt's role for most of this season has been as a nickel and dime linebacker. While he filled that role at times this week, he was also used effectively against tight end Martellus Bennett in man coverage.

In the first quarter, Tartt worked well with a teammate to bracket Bennett in the end zone. Tom Brady looked to Bennett as part of his progression, but with Tartt working as part of a double coverage to take away the big tight end, Brady had to look elsewhere.

In the second quarter, Tartt split out wide against Bennett. Despite surrendering five inches and about 50 pounds, Tartt played physical press coverage. He got a great jam with a strong punch to the chest, disrupting the route as Brady's pass sailed by.

The Patriots tested Tartt again in the fourth quarter. They isolated Bennett out wide on a fade route, but that didn't faze Tartt. Like before, he got a great jam and then contested the catch point to ensure Bennett had no chance. With Eric Reid out for the remainder of the season, Tartt's role may expand.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 25)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Strong Safety Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Kurt Coleman	CAR	22	23	16	16	6	83
2	Landon Collins	NYG	21	21	15	16	6	79
3	Jaquiski Tartt	SF	21	20	16	16	6	79
4	Rafael Bush	DET	21	20	15	16	6	78
5	Karl Joseph	OAK	19	20	16	16	6	77
6	Kam Chancellor	SEA	20	19	15	16	6	76
7	Eric Weddle	BAL	19	19	15	16	6	75
8	Antoine Bethea	SF	19	20	15	15	6	75
9	Derrick Kindred	CLE	19	18	15	16	6	74
10	Mike Adams	IND	19	18	15	16	6	74
11	Eric Berry	KC	18	19	15	16	6	74
12	Kenny Vaccaro	NO	19	19	14	16	6	74
13	Chris Conte	TB	19	18	15	16	6	74
14	Tony Jefferson	ARI	18	19	15	15	6	73
15	Sean Davis	PIT	18	18	15	16	6	73
16	Daimion Stafford	TEN	17	19	15	16	6	73
17	Duke Ihenacho	WAS	19	17	15	16	6	73
18	Morgan Burnett	GB	18	17	15	16	6	72
19	T.J. McDonald	LA	18	18	14	16	6	72
20	Andrew Sendejo	MIN	19	17	15	15	6	72
21	J.J. Wilcox	DAL	19	18	14	14	6	71
22	Tavon Wilson	DET	17	19	14	15	6	71
23	Daniel Sorensen	KC	17	18	14	16	6	71
24	James Ihedigbo	BUF	17	17	14	16	6	70
25	Deon Bush	CHI	18	17	14	15	6	70
26	Miles Killebrew	DET	17	17	14	16	6	70
27	Bacarri Rambo	MIA	18	17	14	15	6	70
28	Patrick Chung	NE	18	17	14	15	6	70
29	Da'Norris Searcy	TEN	16	18	14	16	6	70
30	Shawn Williams	CIN	16	17	15	15	6	69
31	John Cyprien	JAX	16	16	15	15	6	68
32	Matt Elam	BAL	16	16	14	15	6	67
33	Demontre Hurst	CHI	16	16	14	15	6	67
34	Malcolm Jenkins	PHI	16	16	14	15	6	67
35	Quintin Demps	HOU	16	16	14	14	6	66
36	Eddie Pleasant	HOU	15	16	14	15	6	66
37	Jaylen Watkins	PHI	16	17	13	14	6	66
38	Donte Whitner	WAS	16	15	14	14	6	65

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Keanu Neal—bye
• T.J. Ward—bye
• Will Parks—bye
• Calvin Pryor—bye
• Jahleel Addae—bye
• Adrian Phillips—bye
• Barry Church—inactive
• Harold Jones-Quartey—insufficient snaps
• Robert Golden—insufficient snaps

Kickers

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The apocalypse came early for NFL kickers, with a record 12 extra points missed in Week 11. While the headline number is obviously one for concern, it also represents a quarter of all missed extra points this year. Prior to Week 11, kickers were averaging 3.6 misses per week. Bad weather and luck likely played a role this week, and kickers are likely to show improvement going forward. Nonetheless, only nine kickers have a score of 70 or above for this week. 

Buffalo's Dan Carpenter and Tampa Bay's Roberto Aguayo led the charge. They've both had their fair share of issues this season, but they were perfect this week. Carpenter banged through a 54-yard attempt as one of his three field goals, and Aguayo went 4-of-4 on field goals.

Carolina's Graham Gano, Dallas' Dan Bailey and Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski found themselves filling out the top five. Bailey has been a regular presence in this section of the leaderboard, and Gano and Janikowski have been taking turns in their appearances. Both Gano and Janikowski have talented legs, but at this point in their careers, they lack the consistency necessary to be top-flight kickers every week. Bailey is the model by which all other kickers are judged, with sixth-place Justin Tucker also a regular in the top performers.

But my, oh my, what a week it was for kickers struggling on extra points. Mike Nugent turned in the worst performance of the week, missing two extra-point attempts on his only two kicks of the day. Nugent has struggled this year, and it would not be surprising to see competition for the position in the offseason. But head coach Marvin Lewis confirmed he is sticking with the veteran at this point.

The normally outstanding Steven Hauschka also had a tough week and ended up in the bottom five, along with Cody Parkey, Connor Barth and Robbie Gould. Gould and Barth combined for three missed extra points and a missed field goal in vicious conditions in MetLife stadium. Parkey was another contributor to the missed-extra-point brigade, and Hauschka missed a 44-yard field goal.

Overall, this was a week NFL kickers would like to forget, and short memories will be in high demand heading into Week 12.

Grading Scale

Pwr: Kick Power (Graded out of 40)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 40)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Kicker Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Pwr	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Dan Carpenter	BUF	33	35	5	3	76
2	Roberto Aguayo	TB	32	36	5	3	76
3	Graham Gano	CAR	32	34	5	3	74
4	Dan Bailey	DAL	31	33	5	3	72
5	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	31	33	5	3	72
6	Justin Tucker	BAL	32	31	5	3	71
7	Chris Boswell	PIT	30	33	5	3	71
8	Nick Novak	HOU	30	32	5	3	70
9	Ryan Succop	TEN	31	31	5	3	70
10	Cairo Santos	KC	31	29	5	3	68
11	Kai Forbath	MIN	29	31	5	3	68
12	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	30	31	3	3	67
13	Andrew Franks	MIA	31	28	5	3	67
14	Phil Dawson	SF	28	30	5	3	66
15	Matt Prater	DET	30	27	5	3	65
16	Jason Myers	JAX	33	24	5	3	65
17	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	30	27	5	3	65
18	Wil Lutz	NO	32	23	5	3	63
19	Adam Vinatieri	IND	29	25	5	3	62
20	Greg Zuerlein	LA	31	23	5	3	62
21	Dustin Hopkins	WAS	32	22	5	3	62
22	Mason Crosby	GB	31	22	5	3	61
23	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	31	22	5	3	61
24	Cody Parkey	CLE	30	19	5	3	57
25	Steven Hauschka	SEA	31	16	5	3	55
26	Connor Barth	CHI	29	15	5	3	52
27	Robbie Gould	NYG	30	12	5	3	50
28	Mike Nugent	CIN	29	8	5	3	45

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Matt Bryant—bye
• Brandon McManus—bye
• Nick Folk—bye
• Josh Lambo—bye

Punters

Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

Top five mainstay Marquette King was the top punter in the NFL for Week 11, with his booming distance and his hang-time numbers overcoming his slightly above-average ball placement. King has had an outstanding 2016 campaign. A performance like this, while not locking up a top-three spot for the full-year rankings, likely moves him within a week or two of doing so. King's consistency this year has been the missing ingredient throughout his early career, and he's been proving that he belongs in the conversation for the top punter in the NFL. 

Sam Koch of the Ravens wound up in second place. Another typically strong directional game helped push him into this spot despite his average distance and his slightly above-average hang time. Accuracy has always been the hallmark of Koch's game, and this week was no different. The Ravens have significant problems on their punt coverage unit and have had them all year. But Koch's performance was not a factor in their struggles to contain returners.

Dallas' Chris Jones, Minnesota's Jeff Locke and Seattle's Jon Ryan joined King and Koch in the top five. Locke turned in a perfect score on hang time with his booming kicks in the warm confines of Minnesota's new stadium, which he likely appreciated at this time of year in the Midwest. Jones saw unusually strong numbers for hang time and accuracy propel him this week, while Ryan turned in one of his best performances of the year in what has been a below-average season for the normally solid veteran.

Niners punter Bradley Pinion struggled mightily with the elements in San Francisco over the weekend, with below-average grades in all aspects giving him the worst grade of the week. In particular, Pinion showed poor ball placement and distance, though his hang time was only marginally below average. Pinion is normally one of the strongest legs in the league, so his performance speaks volumes to the conditions he faced more than anything else.

Another strong-legged punter, Tampa Bay's Bryan Anger, ended up in the second-lowest spot, also turning in below-average grades across the board. Anger does possess the strongest leg in the NFL, and this was an out-of-charater performance for him. His accuracy tends to be hit-or-miss from week to week, though. Look for a bounce-back performance in the power categories next week, but his accuracy may still be an issue.

Washington's Tress Way, Cincinnati's Kevin Huber and Philadelphia's Donnie Jones filled the remaining spots in the bottom five. Jones was slightly below average in all areas, while Way had adequate ball placement and good hang time but terrible distance. Huber's lack of hang time was his undoing. None of these punters have had particularly strong years, though Huber has the leg to get himself out of the funk he has been in and turn things around for a struggling Bengals team.

Grading Scale

Dist: Kick Distance (Graded out of 20)

Hang: Kick Hang Time (Graded out of 20)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 45)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 5)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Punter Rankings Week 11

Rank	Player	Team	Dist	Hang	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Marquette King	OAK	19	19	33	3	3	77
2	Sam Koch	BAL	14	16	39	3	3	75
3	Chris Jones	DAL	15	18	36	3	3	75
4	Jeff Locke	MIN	19	20	29	4	3	75
5	Jon Ryan	SEA	16	16	37	3	3	75
6	Johnny Hekker	LA	14	14	40	3	3	74
7	Matt Darr	MIA	13	13	41	3	3	73
8	Colton Schmidt	BUF	13	13	40	3	3	72
9	Thomas Morstead	NO	13	17	36	3	3	72
10	Pat O'Donnell	CHI	19	17	29	3	3	71
11	Sam Martin	DET	15	17	32	3	3	70
12	Pat McAfee	IND	17	16	31	3	3	70
13	Dustin Colquitt	KC	16	19	29	3	3	70
14	Drew Butler	ARI	11	13	37	3	3	67
15	Jacob Schum	GB	12	13	35	3	3	66
16	Shane Lechler	HOU	17	15	26	3	3	64
17	Brad Nortman	JAX	12	15	29	3	3	62
18	Michael Palardy	CAR	18	13	23	3	3	60
19	Britton Colquitt	CLE	13	13	28	3	3	60
20	Brad Wing	NYG	13	12	29	3	3	60
21	Jordan Berry	PIT	16	10	28	3	3	60
22	Brett Kern	TEN	14	14	26	3	3	60
23	Ryan Allen	NE	12	11	30	3	3	59
24	Tress Way	WAS	8	16	29	3	3	59
25	Kevin Huber	CIN	13	11	26	3	3	56
26	Donnie Jones	PHI	13	13	24	3	3	56
27	Bryan Anger	TB	12	12	23	3	3	53
28	Bradley Pinion	SF	10	13	22	3	3	51

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Andy Lee—injury
• Matt Bosher—bye
• Riley Dixon—bye
• Lachlan Edwards—bye
• Drew Kaser—bye