Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Matchups We Love and Player Stat Projections

For those NFL fantasy football owners in contention, the final step of a long week of preparation is narrowing down the best lineups possible. 

Matchups are a huge part of this. After tough calls on the waiver wire and sifting through what seems like an endless stream of information while monitoring injuries and other news, much of the decision-making process comes down to playing the players in the best situations. 

Look at Thursday Night Football, where Ben Roethlisberger threw four touchdowns and scored 28.96 points in a blowout of the Tennessee Titans. Big Ben hasn't been the most reliable quarterback this year by any stretch, but it was an obvious must-play scenario against a Titans unit ranked among the 15 worst against the position in terms of points allowed on average. 

Let's rank every position for the rest of the week using the same theme to help the process. 

Week 11 Schedule

Arizona  at Houston 

Baltimore at Green Bay

Detroit at Chicago

Jacksonville at Cleveland

Kansas City at N.Y. Giants 

L.A. Rams at Minnesota 

Tampa Bay at Miami

Washington at New Orleans 

Buffalo at L.A. Chargers 

Cincinnati at Denver 

New England  at Oakland 

Philadelphia at Dallas 

Atlanta at Seattle

Quarterbacks

Player	Projected Points
Tom Brady	21
Alex Smith	20
Carson Wentz	19
Russell Wilson	18
Drew Brees	17
Jared Goff	16
Derek Carr	16
Matt Ryan	15
Matthew Stafford	15
Dak Prescott	14
Kirk Cousins	14
Philip Rivers*	13
Blake Bortles	13
Case Keenum	12
Andy Dalton	11

Big Ben isn't the only up-and-down quarterback headed for a huge day. 

Look at Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs—a guy with only four trips above the 20-point mark seems destined for a fifth coming out of a bye despite a road game. 

It helps when said road game comes against the hapless New York Giants, the defense coughing up the most points to opposing quarterbacks on average this season. The Chiefs figure to take a run-heavy approach in the cold, but that hasn't stopped Smith from throwing multiple touchdowns in five games, including a 19.42-point outing in Dallas before the bye. 

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Owners know more about Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles, an MVP contender at this point who has thrown multiple touchdowns passes in seven games so far and hit above the 20-point mark five times. 

Wentz hasn't been a lock every week, hence outings of 13.24 and 15.08 points. But Wentz next gets those Cowboys that Smith performed well against a few weeks back, and it's hard to avoid liking the situation. 

The Cowboys rank in the middle of the pack against quarterbacks thanks to some cupcake matchups, but it's telling that guys like Carson Palmer and Trevor Siemian have scored north of 20 points on the unit—Wentz should be the latest: 

Running Backs

Player	Projected Points
Kareem Hunt	19
Melvin Gordon	19
LeSean McCoy	19
Leonard Fournette*	18
Mark Ingram	17
Jay Ajayi	17
Alvin Kamara	17
Jordan Howard	15
Tevin Coleman	14
Todd Gurley	13
Marshawn Lynch	12
Lamar Miller	12
Jerick McKinnon	11
Chris Thompson	11
Orleans Darkwa	11
Latavius Murray	11
Joe Mixon	11
Isaiah Crowell	11
Kenyan Drake	10
Dion Lewis	10
Adrian Peterson	9
Doug Martin	9
Ameer Abdullah	8
C.J. Anderson	8
Rex Burkhead	8

It's the same theme at running back, where owners shouldn't give up on guys who haven't had huge performances lately. 

Look at Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon. He hasn't impressed often over his last three outings, scoring five or fewer points in two. But there's a 19-point outburst in there as well, and in Week 10, he took 16 carries and also led the team in targets, so all the great usage needs is a great matchup. 

Gordon has that too thanks to a game against the Buffalo Bills, the team allowing the second-most points to backs this year. Maybe he doesn't hit his season high of 28.3, but Gordon is in for a big day. 

It's a similar story on the other side of the field for LeSean McCoy. He has a total of 8.25 points over his last two games, yet before that he had a minimum of 22 over two. 

Now Shady gets to be the focal point of the offense as it turns to a new quarterback under center. He'll do so against a Chargers unit allowing the seventh-most points to backs, meaning he's much more likely to hit the 20-point mark than score in single digits. 

Wide Receivers

Player	Projected Points
Mike Evans	16
Doug Baldwin	16
Julio Jones	16
DeAndre Hopkins	16
Tyreek Hill	15
Larry Fitzgerald	14
Michael Thomas	14
A.J. Green	14
Brandin Cooks	13
Adam Thielen	13
Sterling Shepard	12
Golden Tate	12
Dez Bryant	12
Robert Woods	11
Amari Cooper	11
Alshon Jeffery	11
Michael Crabtree	11
Jarvis Landry	11
Devante Parker	11
Keenan Allen	10
Demaryius Thomas	10
Stefon Diggs	10
Emmanuel Sanders	9
Marvin Jones	8
Marqise Lee	8
Jeremy Maclin	8
DeSean Jackson	8
Davante Adams	7
Jamison Crowder	7
Cooper Kupp	7

Funnily enough, one game features two of the best wideout matchups to know as well. 

For instance, don't throw in the towel on DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans. 

Hopkins doesn't have breakout rookie Deshaun Watson under center anymore, but he's scored double-digit outings in each of his past three games while receiving a minimum of 11 targets in each, putting him at a minimum of 86 yards in each to boot. 

Now Hopkins sits at home against the Arizona Cardinals, a team allowing the fifth-most points to wideouts so far, which writes itself. 

So too does Larry Fitzgerald on the opposite sideline. The veteran hasn't had Carson Palmer, yet he has nine or more targets and 70 or more yards in each of his past two games. 

While he's on the road here, the fact the Texans manage to cough up the second-most points to wideouts should have owners high on him thanks to the usage. Without J.J. Watt to worry about, Fitzgerald's normal looks shouldn't go interrupted.

Tight Ends

Player	Projected Points
Travis Kelce	12
Rob Gronkowski	11
Zach Ertz	10
Jermaine Gresham	9
Jimmy Graham	9
Jared Cook	9
Evan Engram	8
Kyle Rudolph	8
Vernon Davis	7
Tyler Kroft	7
Cameron Brate	7
Hunter Henry	7
Austin Hooper	7
Charles Clay*	6
C.J. Fiedorowicz	6

It's hard not to gush about Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in Week 11. 

Kelce, coming off 19.3 and 13.3 points to put him at only four double-digit outings on the year, is rounding into form at just the right time ahead of the game against the Giants. 

As expected, the Giants struggled against tight ends just as they do anything else, allowing the most points on average to the position. The Giants haven't been able to match up well against most great athletes at the spot, a classification Kelce certainly fits into. 

Owners in need of help should stop sleeping on Jermaine Gresham of the Cardinals, too. The veteran has 8.3 or more points in each of his last two outings and doesn't figure to slow now going into a game against a Texans defense allowing the ninth-most points to the spot. 

The last two weeks have been Gresham's best games of the season, so it's clear he's developing a rapport with the offense after changes. It might not last long, but this matchup is too good to ignore.

Defense/Special Teams

Unit	Projected Points
Jacksonville Jaguars	10
Baltimore Ravens	9
Arizona Cardinals	9
Denver Broncos	9
Detroit Lions	8
Kansas City Chiefs	7
Seattle Seahawks	7
New Orleans Saints	7
Cincinnati Bengals	6
Los Angeles Chargers	6

Sometimes it just writes itself, right?

The Jacksonville Jaguars going into a game against the Cleveland Browns is as easy as it'll get all season when it comes to this area. 

These Jaguars boast 35 sacks, 11 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles while holding each of their last three opponents to less than 20 points. 

These Browns? They're winless and going back to rookie DeShone Kizer under center, who has four touchdowns against 12 interceptions this season. The Browns cough up the second-most points to defenses on average, with five units scoring in double digits against them so far. 

Expect a sixth with ease. 

Kickers

Player	Projected Points
Stephen Gostkowski	11
Jake Elliott	10
Justin Tucker	9
Brandon McManus	9
Harrison Butker	8
Greg Zuerlein	7
Will Lutz	7
Matt Bryant	7
Kai Forbath	6
Blair Walsh	6

It's a usual-names week at kicker, though owners should have something of a close eye on Brandon McManus of the Denver Broncos. 

McManus only has four double-digit outings to his name this year, though two of them have come over his past two performances. 

A game against the Cincinnati Bengals figures to make it five and three, respectively. These Bengals allow the seventh-most points to kickers this year, including allowances of seven or more in four games and counting with a high of 19. 

In what should be a defensive-minded game, McManus should have plenty of chances to post the top line of the week. 

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.