Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Top 50 Flex PPR Players

It's 10 minutes until opening kickoff on Sunday, and the empty flex position is just staring at you, mocking your indecisiveness. You know the right move can be the difference between a week of bragging rights and another crushing defeat, but you can't shake the gnawing fear that a player will score three touchdowns on your bench while the starter does nothing.

Almost all fantasy football players are familiar with the feeling.

In theory, players should be loaded with knowledge heading into Week 11 of the NFL season, but fantasy football cares nothing for your logic or reasoning. After all, Ryan Mathews just ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Week 10 after tallying a combined 25 yards on the ground in his previous two games.

In an effort to fight through the unpredictability and randomness, here is a look at a projection for the top 50 points-per-reception league players in Week 11, factoring opponent and overall skill level into the rankings.

Only running backs and wide receivers were used for flex consideration in accordance with NFL.com's standard leagues. 

Schedule

Date	Matchup
Thursday, Nov. 17	New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Sunday, Nov. 20	Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
Sunday, Nov. 20	Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, Nov. 20	Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions
Sunday, Nov. 20	Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, Nov. 20	Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, Nov. 20	Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, Nov. 20	Chicago Bears at New York Giants
Sunday, Nov. 20	Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, Nov. 20	Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, Nov. 20	New England Patriots at San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, Nov. 20	Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, Nov. 20	Green Bay Packers at Washington
Monday, Nov. 21	Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders (in Mexico City)

Rankings

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL	BAL
2	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT	CLE
3	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT	CLE
4	DeMarco Murray, RB, TEN	IND
5	LeGarrette Blount, RB, NE	SF
6	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG	CHI
7	A.J. Green, WR, CIN	BUF
8	Amari Cooper, WR, OAK	HOU
9	Dez Bryant, WR, DAL	BAL
10	Allen Robinson, WR, JAX	DET
11	LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF	CIN
12	Mike Evans, WR, TB	KC
13	T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND	TEN
14	Latavius Murray, RB, OAK	HOU
15	Jay Ajayi, RB, MIA	LA
16	Stefon Diggs, WR, MIN	AZ
17	Brandin Cooks, WR, NO	CAR
18	David Johnson, RB, AZ	MIN
19	Lamar Miller, RB, HOU	OAK
20	Spencer Ware, RB, KC	TB
21	Davante Adams, WR, GB	WAS
22	Kelvin Benjamin, WR, CAR	NO
23	Jordy Nelson, WR, GB	WAS
24	Doug Baldwin, WR, SEA	PHI
25	James White, RB, NE	SF
26	Michael Crabtree, WR, OAK	HOU
27	Jordan Howard, RB, CHI (if plays)	NYG
28	Todd Gurley, RB, LA	MIA
29	Theo Riddick, RB, DET	JAX
30	Golden Tate, WR, DET	JAX
31	DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU	OAK
32	Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA	LA
33	Frank Gore, RB, IND	TEN
34	Ryan Mathews, RB, PHI	SEA
35	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI	SEA
36	Terrelle Pryor, WR, CLE	PIT
37	Rishard Matthews, WR, TEN	IND
38	Rob Kelley, RB, WAS	GB
39	Terrance West, RB, BAL	DAL
40	Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN	BUF
41	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, AZ	MIN
42	Carlos Hyde, RB, SF (if plays)	NE
43	Kenny Britt, WR, LA	MIA
44	Julian Edelman, WR, NE	SF
45	Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN	BUF
46	Darren Sproles, RB, PHI	SEA
47	Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR	NO
48	C.J. Prosise, RB, SEA	PHI
49	Cameron Meredith, WR, CHI	NYG
50	Michael Thomas, WR, NO	CAR

Players to Watch

Cameron Meredith, WR, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears wide receiver Cameron Meredith is a player to watch heading into Week 11 because he is an under-the-radar fantasy candidate who usually isn't seen as a game-changing presence. 

That could change against the New York Giants after the Bears announced No. 1 receiver Alshon Jeffery is suspended four games for violating the league's performance-enhancing substances policy.

Meredith now becomes Chicago's top wide receiver with 381 yards through the air this season. Fantasy owners will take a high-risk, high-reward approach if they elect to start the 6'3" target considering there is no real track record in place after he tallied 120 receiving yards as a rookie in 2015.

He did have some breakout games earlier in the season with back-to-back weeks of 130 receiving yards and 113 receiving yards. While that was with Brian Hoyer under center, Jay Cutler no longer has his favorite target on offense and could look toward Meredith as a red-zone weapon because of his height and ability to high-point passes.

The Giants' pass defense was an abysmal 27th in the league before Monday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals and will give Chicago opportunities to move the ball through the air.

Meredith may not be the obvious candidate to put up big numbers in fantasy circles, but he is someone to eye for the flex spot with a favorable matchup.

DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray is second in the NFL with 930 rushing yards behind only Ezekiel Elliott's 1,005.

He already has five games with more than 100 rushing yards this season and also has a touchdown in five straight contests and 11 total scores on the season. One of those touchdowns was a passing one when he found Delanie Walker for a 10-yard score on Sunday.

Murray is a fantasy stalwart in 2016, and the Titans offense as a whole is rolling after putting up 47 points against the Green Bay Packers.

Albert Breer of The MMQB reacted to Murray's performance in that game (123 rushing yards, 33 receiving yards and two total touchdowns):

One primary reason Murray has been so effective as a fantasy weapon on the Titans is an offensive line that Football Outsiders ranked as the third-best run-blocking unit in the NFL through Week 9. That is the type of consistency up front fantasy players need for their running backs, and it isn't going to change in Week 11 when the Titans face the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts defense was 22nd in the league in rushing yards allowed per game and 29th in points allowed per game after Sunday's action.

They will have difficulty slowing Murray down, especially since Titans coach Mike Mularkey said, "DeMarco feels better this week than he did this time last week, which is a good sign that he's in the healing process," when discussing the running back's toe injury, per Jim Wyatt of Tennessee's official website.

Look for the Titans to seize an early lead against a vulnerable defense and utilize a healthy Murray and the ground attack in an effort to work the clock. The result will be another massive fantasy performance for the NFL's second-leading rusher.

Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Cleveland Browns are 0-10 and now have to find a way to stop one of the most dynamic playmakers in the league. They won't, which means fantasy players fortunate enough to have Antonio Brown on their team will be in for a big day.

Cleveland's defense was 31st in the league in points allowed per game and 26th in passing yards allowed per game after Sunday's slate. Those numbers may get worse after facing Brown, who already has 831 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on the campaign.

He is also fresh off a season-high 154 receiving yards in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Simply put, Cleveland will have no answer for the superstar, and fantasy players will receive the performance they expect from Pittsburgh's top receiver. The only reason running back Le’Veon Bell is ahead of him is because the Steelers will grab a quick lead and work the clock with the rushing attack.

Look for Pittsburgh's offensive weapons to dominate Week 11 against the worst team in the league.