Fantasy Football Week 11 Cheat Sheet: Waiver, Rankings, Projections and More

With the fantasy playoffs on the horizon, it is time to bust out the cheat sheets for Week 11.

The amount of data can be overwhelming for owners this time of year now that 10 weeks of action are in the books.

Look at the Philadelphia Eagles. Mark Sanchez is suddenly a viable commodity at quarterback thanks to injury. His arrival has elevated the status of Jordan Matthews, but it's also thrown Jeremy Maclin owners for a loop.

Now multiply that situation by 32. Not every team is in such dire fantasy straits, but the point stands that owners must evolve with the league or be left in the dust.

Fret not, though. Rankings, sleepers, waiver options and more can certainly be broken down in digestible form. Some call it cheating, others call is efficiency.

Skill Position Rankings

Rank	QB	RB	WR	TE
1	Peyton Manning, DEN	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	Calvin Johnson, DET	Rob Gronkowski, NE
2	Aaron Rodgers, GB	Matt Forte, CHI	Antonio Brown, PIT	Jimmy Graham, NO
3	Drew Brees, NO	Arian Foster, HOU	Jordy Nelson, GB	Julius Thomas, DEN
4	Andrew Luck, IND	Jamaal Charles, KC	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	Greg Olsen, CAR
5	Tom Brady, NE	Marshawn Lynch, SEA	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	Antonio Gates, SD
6	Philip Rivers, SD	Mark Ingram, NO	A.J. Green, CIN	Martellus Bennett, CHI
7	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	LeSean McCoy, PHI	Julio Jones, ATL	Dwayne Allen, IND
8	Cam Newton, CAR	Alfred Morris, WAS	Pierre Garcon, WAS	Mychal Rivera, OAK
9	Matt Ryan, ATL	Eddie Lacy, GB	Randall Cobb, GB	Jared Cook, STL
10	Robert Griffin III, WAS	Frank Gore, SF	Brandon Marshall, CHI	Travis Kelce, KC

By way of luck or savvy trades, owners with some of the top names in the land of fantasy football continue to sleep easy and feast on a week-to-week basis.

Owners who scooped Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers early in drafts were likely criticized for not taking a running back, but what does it matter now that he has scored 24 or more points in each of his last four games and six times overall?

Even his coach thinks Rodgers is playing at his highest level ever, per the team on Twitter:

The same can certainly be said for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, even though owners may feel let down by his measly six points last week.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

It is hard to complain, though, as Bell had scored in double digits in each of the seven games prior to last week. He is due for a major rebound, too, considering he gets to take on a Tennessee defense that surrenders the sixth-most points to backs this season.

Calvin Johnson owners got a similar return to form last week by way of 17 points after weeks of inaction from the league's best receiver. NFL.com's Chris Wesseling puts it best:

Expect the dominant comeback story to continue, too. Arizona is Megatron's next opponent—and it enters already surrendering the ninth-most points to wideouts this season.

For those not fortunate enough to own one of the big three at tight end, Greg Olsen of the Carolina Panthers has been a consistent consolation prize. As one of Cam Newton's favorite targets, the veteran has breached double digits six times this season, including last week thanks to six catches for 119 yards.

Some are obvious, some not so much. Regardless, the top players at the skill positions either have great matchups or defy that factor on a weekly basis. There should be no hesitation with any of the above names.

Sleeper Projections

Pos.	Player	Team	Opp.	Projection
QB	Robert Griffin III	WAS	TB	260 Pass Yds, 3 TD
RB	Ryan Mathews	SD	OAK	75 Rush Yds, 1 TD
WR	Brandon LaFell	NE	IND	66 Rec Yds, 1 TD
TE	Travis Kelce	KC	SEA	50 Rec Yds, 1 TD
D/ST	Washington	WAS	TB	3 Sacks, 3 Turnovers

Not only is Washington's Robert Griffin III a great waiver-wire add, he just so happens to be a top Week 11 sleeper to boot.

RG3 made his return in Week 9 before a bye and wound up with a cool 14 points, an encouraging sign that he may be well back on his way to elite fantasy status in an offense that includes talented wideouts such as Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson.

After a bye, RG3 gets the Tampa Bay defense, which allows the fifth-most points to quarterbacks this season. Considering the unit gave up 13 points to Minnesota and 16 to Cleveland, a dual-threat RG3 should feast.

The same goes for San Diego's Ryan Mathews, provided he is really back in action. That has been the expectation for quite a while now, as explained by Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego:

Owners have not heard from Mathews since Week 2. A better return matchup is hard to find, though. Not only do the Raiders surrender the third-most points to backs, they surrendered 20 to the Chargers earlier this season, as backup Branden Oliver rumbled for 101 yards and a score.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Speaking of players coming off a bye, it is imperative to not forget about New England's Brandon LaFell, owned in just 68.1 percent of leagues.

LaFell has slowly emerged as one of Tom Brady's favorite targets and has four trips to double digits in his last six outings, including two in a row. In what should devolve into a shootout against Indianapolis, LaFell is a wideout to start in all leagues without hesitation.

Rounding out the list at tight end—an unreliable position, to say the least—is Kansas City's Travis Kelce. Like most at the erratic position, he has had an up-and-down fantasy year, but only because the coaching staff continues to hold him back.

As Football Perspective points out using advanced data, Kelce is one of the most reliable players in the league at the spot when used:

It is impossible to ignore Kelce in Week 11, coaching issues or not.

This week Kelce gets a superb matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, a team that does most things well—except defend tight ends. The Seahawks surrender the fourth-most points to the position this year, something the staff in Kansas City is surely aware of at this point.

Like any and all strong sleepers, Kelce has a great matchup that outweighs other moving pieces.

Waiver-Wire Targets

Pos.	Player	Team	ESPN Ownership percentage*
QB	Mark Sanchez	PHI	37.1
QB	Robert Griffin III	WAS	32.0
QB	Josh McCown	TB	3.9
QB	Michael Vick	NYJ	5.2
RB	C.J. Anderson	DEN	2.8
RB	Joseph Randle	DAL	4.4
RB	Tre Mason	STL	45.7
RB	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	23.7
RB	Carlos Hyde	SF	20.3
RB	Bryce Brown	BUF	6.3
RB	Theo Riddick	DET	3.1
WR	Jordan Matthews	PHI	24.1
WR	John Brown	ARI	7.7
WR	Preston Parker	NYG	0.1
WR	Jarvis Landry	MIA	7.7
TE	Mychal Rivera	OAK	39.7
TE	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TB	1.2
TE	Andrew Quarless	GB	2.1

The aforementioned Sanchez needs to get some love on the waiver wire this week.

Sanchez posted a cool 12 points on short notice after Nick Foles went down with an injury in Week 9. This past Monday was a 21-point explosion against Carolina, which only confirms that he will be a solid producer in Chip Kelly's offense, even if that means owners just keep him stashed on the bench.

One mostly available option who should get starting looks from most owners at this point is St. Louis Rams running back Tre Mason. Chatter about a committee in St. Louis is mostly dead at this point thanks to the talented rookie, who is one week removed from leading the Rams in carries (14), receptions (four) and targets (six).

USA TODAY Sports

Sooner rather than later, Mason will break through in a major way for owners when the matchup is right.

One man already breaking out for his 7.7 percent of owners is Arizona's John Brown—regardless of who is under center.

Brown has now made three trips to double digits this season, most recently scoring 13 off five catches for 73 yards and a score. Those concerned that a switch to Drew Stanton under center will hurt Brown need look no further than a note from ESPN Stats & Info:

If owners are in dire need of a tight end, grabbing Green Bay's Andrew Quarless is not a horrible pickup at this juncture, thanks to a red-hot Aaron Rodgers.

Quarless cashed in on one of Rodgers' six touchdowns last Monday to wind up with seven points. As arguably the No. 1 tight end on the depth chart, he is due plenty of looks in the red zone on the best offense in the NFL.

Really, though, owners cannot go wrong with any of the names listed. The waiver wire is customizable to an owner's needs, offering high-upside stashes to spot starters and everything in between.

The trick is knowing the need and getting there first.

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