Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: An Early Look Ahead

Some performances in Week 10 weren't surprising. We're not going to bat an eyelash when Drew Brees, Robert Griffin III, Demaryius Thomas, Peyton Manning, Brandon Marshall or Marshawn Lynch have huge games.

Some players we should have perhaps seen coming. Nick Foles and Riley Cooper have been trending upward, while Pierre Thomas has seen his usage increase significantly over the past several weeks.

And, of course, some performances we never saw coming. Tavon Austin scoring three touchdowns? Ryan Fitzpatrick notching 23 fantasy points in standard-scoring leagues in relief duty? Mark freaking Ingram rushing for 145 yards and a touchdown?

Never saw them coming. Here, of course, we are interested in those players we should see coming, and those players that, based on their talent and the matchups they face, grade out as top-10 players at their position this week. 

Let's take an early look at this week's rankings.

Notes: All point totals for standard-scoring leagues. Points against stats via ESPN. The Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams are on bye.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Robert Griffin III	Washington	Philadelphia Eagles	28
2	Nick Foles	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington	25
3	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	New England Patriots	24
4	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	Pittsburgh Steelers	22
5	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	San Francisco 49ers	21
6	Peyton Manning*	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	20
7	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	Minnesota Vikings	18
8	Andy Dalton	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	17
9	Case Keenum	Houston Texans	Oakland Raiders	17
10	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16

Quarterback Notes

No position is trickier than quarterback this week, as several of the game's top options all have brutal matchups.

Matt Stafford takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers (fourth in pass defense). Drew Brees faces the San Francisco 49ers (ninth in pass defense). Peyton Manning gets to match wits with the Kansas City Chiefs (sixth in pass defense). Cam Newton will try to throw and run past the New England Patriots (12th in pass defense). 

All are players who are still worthy of being started given their talent, but all could all see their usual production dampened by tough matchups. 

Robert Griffin III faces a Philadelphia Eagles team that is 31st in pass defense and has allowed opposing quarterbacks in standard-scoring leagues to score 15 or more fantasy points six times this year, so he tops this list for good reason. 

But the impressive Nick Foles (16 touchdowns, no interceptions this season) is also an amazing play against Washington's defense, currently 26th in pass defense and allowing opposing quarterbacks to score 18 or more fantasy points five times. 

Finally, Case Keenum sneaks into the top 10 this week. He may not be winning, but he's registered an impressive 60 fantasy points in his three starts and has a very promising matchup against the Oakland Raiders.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington	22
2	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	Minnesota Vikings	21
3	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	Denver Broncos	19
4	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings	Seattle Seahawks	18
5	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	New Orleans Saints	17
6	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	Pittsburgh Steelers	17
7	Alfred Morris	Washington	Philadelphia Eagles	16
8	Matt Forte	Chicago Bears	Baltimore Ravens	15
9	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	14
10	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	New York Giants	13

Running Back Notes

LeSean McCoy has seen his fantasy value take a slight hit with Nick Foles under center, but he's fresh off rushing for 155 yards against the Green Bay Packers and faces a Washington defense that has given up 18 or more fantasy points to opposing running backs eight times this season. 

There aren't too many surprises in the top 10—trust your studs this week—but Giovani Bernard's ascension into the rankings might turn some heads.

Bernard had 22 touches to BenJarvus Green-Ellis' nine on Sunday and turned that usage into 95 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. The Cleveland Browns give up an average of 15.3 fantasy points to opposing running backs, so Bernard should post solid numbers again this week.

The bigger questions at running back will be what to do with the top options that didn't make this list. Do you trust Stevan Ridley against the Carolina Panthers, Knowshon Moreno against the Kansas City Chiefs or Chris Johnson against the Indianapolis Colts? At this point, can you trust Ray Rice or C.J. Spiller at all?

There aren't many pressing questions at RB1, but RB2 is a bit of a minefield this week. 

Wide Receivers 

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	Pittsburgh Steelers	23
2	DeSean Jackson	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington	20
3	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	Baltimore Ravens	19
4	Josh Gordon	Cleveland Browns	Cincinnati Bengals	18
5	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons	16
6	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	15
7	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	15
8	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	Oakland Raiders	14
9	Pierre Garcon	Washington	Philadelphia Eagles	14
10	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	Jacksonville Jaguars	13

Wide Receiver Notes

Larry Fitzgerald? Larry freaking Fitzgerald? The same player that has reached double-digit fantasy points just four times this season but has scored six or fewer fantasy points the other five weeks makes this list?

Well, yes, mostly because he has a tasty matchup against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that has given up 20 or more fantasy points six times to opposing wide receivers. Fitzgerald has been all or nothing this year, but against the Jags he'll shine. 

Now on to the usual suspects.

In his past three games, Calvin Johnson has 29 receptions for 567 yards and five touchdowns. That's a full season's worth of production for a lot of wide receivers. Until further notice, Megatron tops these rankings by default.

DeSean Jackson torched Washington for seven receptions, 104 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Don't be surprised if he reprises that performance and then some. His teammate, Riley Cooper, should be owned and started in all formats as long as Nick Foles is under center, but it seems hasty to inject him into the top 10 for the moment.  

Should A.J. Green owners be worried about the Joe Haden factor? Perhaps—Green was held to seven receptions for 51 yards in their first meeting this season. Then again, he's also scored double-digit fantasy points in five straight weeks.

Green's upside is capped by the matchup with Haden, but expect him to still produce solid numbers. 

Tight End

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	San Francisco 49ers	17
2	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers	17
3	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	Cincinnati Bengals	15
4	Vernon Davis*	San Francisco 49ers	New Orleans Saints	14
5	Jordan Reed	Washington	Philadelphia Eagles	13
6	Tony Gonzalez	Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13
7	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	11
8	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	Miami Dolphins	10
9	Timothy Wright	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons	9
10	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	New England Patriots	9

Tight End Notes

Even when Jimmy Graham has a down game, he still produces. Now, he didn't score a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys and seemed to be on a limited snap count, but he still caught five passes for 59 yards. Even injured, he remains one of the safest options in fantasy. 

The Patriots have a tough matchup against a very good Panthers defense, but that shouldn't slow Rob Gronkowski down. Gronk now has three games and a bye week under his belt, so expect him to have a very nice afternoon against Carolina. 

Julius Thomas owners might be concerned about a matchup with a Chiefs defense allowing just 2.9 fantasy points per week to opposing tight ends, tops in the NFL. But Thomas has been a red-zone dynamo, with nine total touchdowns on the year. 

He probably won't do much in the yardage department, but don't be shocked if he finds the end zone. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Seattle Seahwks	Minnesota Vikings	18
2	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	16
3	New York Jets	Buffalo Bills	15
4	Arizona Cardinals	Jacksonville Jaguars	14
5	Detroit Lions	Pittsburgh Steelers	12
6	New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers	11
7	Green Bay Packers	New York Giants	10
8	New York Giants	Green Bay Packers	10
9	Carolina Panthers	New England Patriots	9
10	Indianapolis Colts	Tennessee Titans	8

Defense/Special Team Notes

Yes, the New York Giants make this list.

They've now scored 12 or more fantasy points in three straight weeks, and next up is a Green Bay Packers team led by Scott Tolzien. It's a very, very risky play, but given the way this defense has produced in fantasy over the past three games and how terrible the Packers are on offense without Aaron Rodgers, it's a play with a lot of upside.

You will notice one very prominent fantasy defense, the Kansas City Chiefs, doesn't make this list at all. If for any reason Peyton Manning can't play, then obviously the Chiefs become a top-five option; but if Manning is playing, you would be wise to bet on the Denver offense winning that battle. 

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Steven Hauschka	Seattle Seahawks	Minnesota Vikings	16
2	Alex Henery	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington	15
3	Kai Forbath	Washington	Philadelphia Eagles	15
4	Nick Folk	New York Jets	Buffalo Bills	14
5	Adam Vinatieri	Indianapolis Colts	Tennessee Titans	13
6	Matt Prater	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	12
7	Robbie Gould	Chicago Bears	Baltimore Ravens	11
8	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	Chicago Bears	10
9	Mike Nugent	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	9
10	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers	9

Kicker Notes

Just six kickers reached double-digit points this past week, meaning if you had one of those players, you earned a nice little advantage over the competition. As always, target a consistent performer with a quality matchup and you should earn a few easy points for your team. 

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