Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Last-Minute Outlook for Flex Players

The home stretch that is Sunday morning is the most stressful time of all for fantasy football owners.

Late injury news, lineup shuffles and more birth an environment that even a week's worth of great preparation cannot counter at times. Week 11 is not as frantic, with the only notable bye going to the Dallas Cowboys, but still, a cheat sheet to help weather the storm would be nice, right?

Main slots in a lineup are likely locked no matter what at this point, but the flex play is always tricky. Just remember that position, then let matchup reign supreme.

Below is a one-stop shop for backs, wideouts and tight ends with a flex play in mind.

Week 11 Flex Rankings

Rank	Player/Team/Opp
1	Le'Veon Bell, PIT (at TEN)
2	Matt Forte, CHI (vs. MIN)
3	Jamaal Charles, KC (vs. SEA)
4	Jordy Nelson, GB (vs. PHI)
5	Mark Ingram, NO (vs. CIN)
6	Demaryius Thomas, DEN (at STL)
7	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN (at STL)
8	Marshawn Lynch, SEA (atKC)
9	Calvin Johnson, DET (at ARI)
10	LeSean McCoy, PHI (atGB)
11	Eddie Lacy, GB (vs. PHI)
12	Antonio Brown, PIT (at TEN)
13	Randall Cobb, GB (vs. PHI)
14	DeSean Jackson, WAS (vs. TB)
15	Julio Jones, ATL (at CAR)
16	Rob Gronkowski, NE (atIND)
17	T.Y. Hilton, IND (vs. NE)
18	Alshon Jeffery, CHI (vs. MIN)
19	Jeremy Maclin, PHI (at GB)
20	Alfred Morris, WAS (vs. TB)
21	Martavis Bryant, PIT (at TEN)
22	Roddy White, ATL (at CAR)
23	Frank Gore, SF (at NYG)
24	A.J. Green CIN, (at NO)
25	Jimmy Graham, NO (vs. CIN)
26	Jeremy Hill, CIN (at NO)
27	Ahmad Bradshaw, IND (vs. NE)
28	Mike Evans, TB (at WAS)
29	Ryan Mathews, SD (vs. OAK)
30	Odell Beckham, NYG (vs. SF)
31	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU (at CLE)
32	Anquan Boldin, SF (at NYG)
33	Steven Jackson, ATL (atCAR)
34	Antonio Gates, SD (vs. OAK)
35	Golden Tate, DET (at ARI)
36	Brandon Marshall, CHI (vs. MIN)
37	Rashad Jennings, NYG (vs. SF)
38	Julius Thomas, DEN (at STL)
39	Travis Kelce, KC (vs. SEA)
40	Mohamed Sanu, CIN (at NO)
41	Greg Olsen, CAR (vs. ATL)
42	C.J. Anderson, DEN (at STL)
43	Terrance West, CLE (vs. HOU)
44	Brandin Cooks, NO (vs. CIN)
45	Shane Vereen, NE (at IND)
46	Sammy Watkins, BUF (at MIA)
47	Dwayne Allen, IND (vs. NE)
48	Andre Ellington, ARI (vs. DET)
49	Jerick McKinnon, MIN (at CHI)
50	Julian Edelman, NE (at IND)
51	Kelvin Benjamin, CAR (vs. ATL)
52	Ben Tate, CLE (vs. HOU)
53	Jordan Matthews, PHI (at GB)
54	Brandon LaFell, NE (at IND)
55	Mike Wallace, MIA (vs. BUF)
56	John Brown, ARI (vs. DET)
57	Bryce Brown, BUF (at MIA)
58	Justin Hunter, TEN (vs. PIT)
59	Alfred Blue, HOU (atCLE)
60	Matt Asiata, MIN (at CHI)
61	Bishop Sankey, TEN (vs. PIT)
62	Jonathan Stewart, CAR (vs. ATL)
63	Kyle Rudolph, MIN (at CHI)
64	Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TB (at WAS)
65	Theo Riddick, DET (at ARI)
66	Vincent Jackson, TB (at WAS)
67	Pierre Garcon, WAS (vs. TB)
68	Malcom Floyd, SD (vs. OAK)
69	Keenan Allen, SD (vs. OAK)
70	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI (vs. DET)
71	Martellus Bennett, CHI (vs. MIN)
72	Andre Johnson, HOU (at CLE)
73	Larry Donnell, NYG (vs. SF)
74	Montee Ball, DEN (at STL)
75	Jared Cook, STL (vs. DEN)
75	Coby Fleener, IND (vs. NE)
76	Michael Crabtree, SF (at NYG)
77	Timothy Wright, NE (at IND)
78	James Jones, OAK (at SD)
79	DeAngelo Williams, CAR (vs. ATL)
80	Jordan Reed, WAS (vs. TB)
81	Mychal Rivera, OAK (at SD)
82	Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN (at CHI)
83	Vernon Davis, SF (at NYG)
84	Doug Baldwin, SEA (at KC)
85	Davante Adams, GB (vs. PHI)
86	Reggie Wayne, IND (vs. NE)
87	Charles Clay, MIA (vs. BUF)
88	Joique Bell, DET (at ARI)
89	Jarvis Landry, MIA (vs. BUF)
90	Trent Richardson, IND (vs. NE)
91	Jonas Gray, NE (at IND)
92	Kendall Wright, TEN (vs. PIT)
93	Carlos Hyde, SF (at NYG)
94	Isaiah Crowell, CLE (vs. HOU)
95	Charles Sims, TB (at WAS)
96	Tre Mason, STL (vs. DEN)
97	Andrew Quarless, GB (vs. PHI)
98	Anthony Dixon, BUF (ar MIA)
99	Darren McFadden, OAK (at SD)
100	Markus Wheaton, PIT (at TEN)

Notable Week 11 Flex Plays

Mohamed Sanu, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Fantasy owners need to refrain from holding grudges to survive.

Case in point—Cincinnati Bengals wideout Mohamed Sanu went out and scored two points last week on as many grabs. The effort was no fault of his own, though, as quarterback Andy Dalton had his worst career game in an epic collapse.

It is important to put the season as a whole in perspective rather than dwell on just a single week. Sanu still averages 72 yards per game. In fact, since Week 5, Sanu has been one of the best fantasy wideouts available:

WK	OPP	REC	YDS	TD	PTS
5	@NE	5	70	1	13
6	Car	10	120	1	18
7	@Ind	3	54	0	5
8	Bal	5	125	0	14
9	Jac	4	95	1	15
10	Cle	2	20	0	2

Owners should not fear that A.J. Green is back in the fold, either. Week 9 against Jacksonville saw Sanu and Green on the field together for the first time in a while and the Rutgers product still lead the team in receiving.

It may turn out to be much of the same story in New Orleans this week. The Saints allow the fifth-most points to wideouts this season and in three of their past four outings have allowed a minimum of 25.

Sanu is in for a major day in a game between a pair of bad defenses that is sure to turn into a shootout. He feasts while teams focus on Green, and his abilities after the catch put him over the top as an elite flex option.

Ryan Mathews, RB, San Diego Chargers

Kyle Rudolph, Montee Ball and Rashad Jennings are a few of the high-profile fantasy names returning from injury this week.

Mathews is the one to keep a close eye on, though.

Mostly absent this season due to injury, it is easy to forget that Mathews was a top-11 scorer at the position last season with 11 trips into double digits. Fresh off a recovery stint, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego offers some good news about San Diego's starter:

Keep in mind that Mathews is a reliable start in pretty much any matchup. A showdown against Oakland, though, is seemingly ripe for elite fantasy production.

On the way to surrendering the third-most points to backs this season, the Raiders have drummed up some eye-popping lines for owners:

WK	OPP	ATT	YDS	TD	PTS
1	@NYJ	24	174	1	30
2	Hou	45	189	1	24
3	@NE	28	78	0	8
4	Mia	27	124	2	23
5	BYE	-	-	-	-
6	SD	28	103	1	20
7	Ari	36	128	1	32
8	@Cle	23	38	1	10
9	@Sea	30	118	2	30
10	Den	23	111	0	23

At home, it is right to expect the Chargers to jump out to an early lead and then ride the ground game to get the victory, which would complete the sweep of the Raiders this season. Keep in mind that Branden Oliver, Mathews' replacement, breezed to 18 points against the Raiders in Week 6.

There has been nothing to suggest that Mathews will not see a normal workload. Among backs ripe for flex, Mathews is up there with the best of the best.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers

MIKE MCCARN/Associated Press

A smart flex play always comes with an elite matchup, so owners should feel comfortable with Jonathan Stewart despite the negative connotations that come along with the Carolina Panthers.

Many shy away from Stewart for a number of reasons, chief among those being his injury history and role in a committee with DeAngelo Williams.

But Stewart was back in the fray and healthy last week against Philadelphia, which allowed him to reel in 11 points for his 37.1 percent of owners. The output and usage was proof enough that he is still the back to own thanks to his presence in the passing game, which saw him catch all four of his targets for another 23 yards.

NFL.com's Chris Wesseling uses some advanced stats to point out that Stewart should probably see even more work each game:

As far as matchups go, it does not get any better than Stewart, either. He gets to welcome the Atlanta defense to town, a unit that has surrendered the absolute most points to backs this season.

In other words, Stewart is going to do his usual damage through the air, but also produce effectively on the ground against a defense that simply cannot stop the rush. Williams will get his attempts, too, but Stewart has proved time and again to be reliable when given attention. 

Add in a matchup, and well, Stewart is an ideal flex play for owners in need.

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