Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

I'll be straightforward with you, folks—this week's fantasy rankings will probably break the Internet. Yeah, I said it. 

Below, I'm going to expose some of the top matchups for you to exploit. My stats will be revealing. I promise, I'll have you popping champagne after your Week 11 win if you follow my advice. 

That's right, Internet, it's high time somebody broke you. And hey, fantasy football enthusiasts might as well win their matchups this week, too.

Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 16	Time (ET)
Monday, Nov. 17	Time (ET)
Tampa Bay at Washington	1 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago	1 p.m.
Houston at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Seattle at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Atlanta at Carolina	1 p.m.
Cincinnati at New Orleans	1 p.m.
Denver at St. Louis	1 p.m.
San Francisco at NY Giants	1 p.m.
Oakland at San Diego	4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at Green Bay	4:25 p.m.
Detroit at Arizona	4:25 p.m.
New England at Indianapolis	8:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Tennessee	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Aaron Rodgers	25
2	Peyton Manning	24
3	Tom Brady	23
4	Andrew Luck	22
5	Drew Brees	20
6	Philip Rivers	18
7	Matt Ryan	18
8	Colin Kaepernick	17
9	Matt Stafford	17
10	Russell Wilson	16
11	Ben Roethlisberger	16
12	Mark Sanchez	16
13	Robert Griffin III	15
14	Jay Cutler	15
15	Andy Dalton	14
16	Cam Newton	13
17	Eli Manning	12

Well, this one was pretty easy.

Aaron Rodgers is one of the hottest players in fantasy football at the moment—and in the NFL, period—with 1,710 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, just two interceptions and 155 fantasy points in his last six games. That's absurd production, folks. To put those numbers into perspective, only seven other quarterbacks have more than 155 fantasy points this season.  

Now he faces a Philadelphia Eagles defense that has given up two or more touchdown passes in eight of nine games, 300 or more passing yards in four of their last seven games and 18 or more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks six times. 

In a game that has shootout written all over it, expect Rodgers to post enormous numbers.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Matt Forte	22
2	Le'Veon Bell	21
3	Arian Foster*	19
4	Ahmad Bradshaw	17
5	Jamaal Charles	17
6	Mark Ingram	16
7	Giovani Bernard*	16
8	LeSean McCoy	15
9	Marshawn Lynch	15
10	Alfred Morris	15
11	Frank Gore	14
12	Andre Ellington*	14
13	Eddie Lacy	13
14	Ryan Mathews*	13
15	Ronnie Hillman*	12
16	Rashad Jennings*	12
17	Steven Jackson	11
18	Darren Sproles	10
19	Shane Vereen	10
20	Jerick McKinnon	9
21	Terrance West	9
22	Trent Richardson	9
23	Branden Oliver	7
24	Darren McFadden	7
25	Isaiah Crowell	6
26	Bishop Sankey	6
27	Ben Tate	5
28	Matt Asiata	5
29	Joique Bell	5
30	Bobby Rainey	5

People talk about DeMarco Murray's unbelievable start to the season, or Arian Foster's recent brilliance, or even LeSean McCoy's surprising struggles. But one player we don't talk about enough is Le'Veon Bell. 

Bell has posted double-digit fantasy points in eight of 10 games and scored at least nine points nine times. And he's done all of that while scoring just three touchdowns, largely because he's been a yardage monster this season, totaling 1,213 yards from scrimmage this year, second only to Murray.

He should add to that tally against a Tennessee Titans defense that has given up 353 rushing yards and four touchdowns to opposing running backs in their last two games. The Titans have also given up 24 or more fantasy points to opposing backs five times this season. 

Bell owners should be rewarded quite nicely this week, in other words.

Mark Ingram owners should be feeling pretty good, too. Ingram has 59 total fantasy points in his past three games and has rushed for a whopping 392 yards in that time, giving the New Orleans Saints another much-needed dimension to their offense.

Now, he goes against a floundering Cincinnati defense that has allowed 20 or more fantasy points to opposing running backs in five of their last six games. At home, against a defense that has surprisingly become porous against the run, Ingram should continue his streak of huge fantasy performances. 

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jordy Nelson	23
2	Demaryius Thomas	20
3	Randall Cobb	19
4	A.J. Green	18
5	Emmanuel Sanders	17
6	Julio Jones	17
7	DeSean Jackson	16
8	Calvin Johnson	15
9	Antonio Brown	15
10	Jeremy Maclin	14
11	Golden Tate	13
12	Kelvin Benjamin	12
13	Brandon Marshall	12
14	Pierre Garcon	10
15	Alshon Jeffery	10
16	Mohamed Sanu	9
17	T.Y. Hilton	9
18	DeAndre Hopkins	9
19	Roddy White	9
20	Odell Beckham Jr.	8
21	Martavis Bryant	8
22	Mike Evans	8
23	Anquan Boldin	8
24	Brandon LaFell	7
25	Julian Edelman	7
26	Andre Johnson	7
27	Jordan Matthews	6
28	Vincent Jackson	6
29	Michael Crabtree	6
30	Rueben Randle	6
31	Reggie Wayne	5
32	Brandin Cooks	5
33	Kendall Wright	5
34	Justin Hunter	5
35	Larry Fitzgerald	5

I may love Ingram against the Cincinnati Bengals, but I also love A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu against the struggling New Orleans secondary. The Saints just gave up 12 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown against San Francisco's middling wideouts, and have given up 25 or more fantasy points to opposing receivers six times this year.

I'm not worried about last week's horrible showing against the Cleveland Browns. Green has always been a consistent performer in fantasy, while Sanu has really emerged as a dangerous No. 2 option. Expect much better results for both players than they offered last week. 

And then there is DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon facing a terrible Tampa Bay defense giving up 28.6 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per week, worst in the NFL. Jackson is obviously a weekly starter, as he's capable of getting behind any secondary for a long touchdown reception, but Garcon is the trickier call to make. 

I'm hoping that having the week off and a chance to regain his chemistry with Robert Griffin III will do a world of good for Garcon, who has been a pretty huge disappointment this year. If ever there was a week for him to get back on track, this is it. 

Oh, and while I didn't focus on them here, I obviously love Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb against Philly's poor secondary. Who do you think is going to catch all of those Rodgers touchdown passes?

Tight Ends 

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jimmy Graham	15
2	Rob Gronkowski	15
3	Julius Thomas	14
4	Antonio Gates	12
5	Dwayne Allen	11
6	Greg Olsen	10
7	Travis Kelce	10
8	Kyle Rudolph	9
9	Delanie Walker	8
10	Coby Fleener	8
11	Martellus Bennett	8
12	Jordan Reed	7
13	Larry Donnell	6
14	Heath Miller	6
15	Mychal Rivera	6

There are no bad matchups for Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham or Julius Thomas. Always remember that. 

There are bad matchups for the rest of the tight ends in the league, however, and also some great ones. And this year, one of the great ones is facing the Chicago Bears, a defense giving up 12.6 fantasy points to opposing tight ends, easily the worst mark in the league.

In Week 5, they gave up eight receptions, 88 yards and two touchdowns to Carolina's tight ends. In Week 7, it was 91 receiving yards and a score against Miami's tight ends. In Week 8, New England's tight ends totaled 16 receptions, 220 receiving yards and four touchdowns. And last week, the Bears gave up two touchdowns to Green Bay's tight ends.

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Here's a quiz for you casual football fans: Name one tight end on the Packers. It's OK, I'll wait.  

So that's the evidence I'm presenting you before saying that I really like Kyle Rudolph this week. Yes, the same Kyle Rudolph who has been injured and hasn't played since Week 3. I'm fully expecting Rudolph to hit the ground running and notch a touchdown against a Bears defense that has basically been giving them away to opposing tight ends this year.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Defense	Projected Points
1	Seattle Seahawks	15
2	Detroit Lions	12
3	Arizona Cardinals	12
4	Denver Broncos	11
5	Pittsburgh Steelers	10
6	San Francisco 49ers	10
7	Minnesota Vikings	9
8	Washington	8
9	San Diego Chargers	8
10	Cleveland Browns	7

For what feels like the first time this season, I'm not picking the team facing the Jacksonville Jaguars! Of course, that's because the Jaguars are on a bye. Let's not get hung up on technicalities—just take this small victory, Jacksonville fans.

But even if the Jags weren't on a bye, I'd probably pick the Denver Broncos this week. The St. Louis Rams were already giving up 13.6 fantasy points to opposing defenses per week, 31st in the NFL, and then they tweeted this:

So yes, I'm all about the Broncos this weekend against an already mediocre St. Louis offense with Shaun Hill under center. Enjoy your reprieve, Jacksonville fans.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	15
2	Adam Vinatieri	13
3	Cody Parkey	12
4	Mason Crosby	12
5	Steven Hauschka	11
6	Shaun Suisham	10
7	Graham Gano	9
8	Phil Dawson	9
9	Chandler Catanzaro	8
10	Shayne Graham	8

Oh, let's see...

Stephen Gostkowski is already the top kicker in fantasy this year and is likely to benefit from a shootout this week. How do I know it will be a shootout?

Because Tom Brady plays quarterback for the New England Patriots and Andrew Luck plays quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. That's how I know this will be a shootout. Start Gostkowski with confidence, he'll likely be a busy man in this one.

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than a passing drill against the Chicago Bears defense.