Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 11: Smartest Matchups to Exploit, Sleeper Plays and More

Some lineup decisions are easy: You start your studs and bench your byes. This week, the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans get a break from football and are thus ineligible for action.

As for the less obvious lineup decisions, we've used matchups and recent performances to prognosticate how Week 11 might shake out. 

Each offensive position has three starts, three sits and analysis of one smart sleeper. The starts and sits are generally players on the fringe, outside of the top tier of fantasy performers. And the sleepers are each owned in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues (prior to "Waiver Wednesday").

Quarterback Starts and Sits:

Start: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (at Miami Dolphins) 

Start: Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)

Start: Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders (vs. Cincinnati Bengals)

Sit: Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)

Sit: Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. New England Patriots)

Sit: Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (vs. Chicago Bears)

Quarterback Sleeper: Sam Darnold, New York Jets (22 percent owned, at Washington Redskins)

Darnold hasn't been great, or even good, since coming back from his bout with mononucleosis. But he just had his best fantasy game of the season, carries a live arm and gets to face another favorable matchup this week in Washington.

Against the New York Giants, Darnold threw for 230 yards and a touchdown while adding another 25 yards and a score on the ground. His yardage (217.8 per game) has been nearly as unimpressive as his touchdown-to-interception (seven-to-nine) rate, but he hasn't thrown fewer than 30 passes in a game once this season and Washington has holes. 

While their emphasis on the run slows the game's tempo down and therefore limits opposing volume, passing attacks have found little resistance in Washington's secondary: It allows the highest completion rate (72.5 percent) and seventh-highest touchdown rate (100.7) to opposing quarterbacks. Darnold's yardage and passer rating have increased in each of the Jets' past four games, and this an appealing opportunity to continue the upswing.

Running Back Starts and Sits 

Start: Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills (at Miami Dolphins)

Start: Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals (at Oakland Raiders)

Start: David Montgomery, Chicago Bears (at Los Angeles Rams)

Sit: Sony Michel, New England Patriots (at Philadelphia Eagles)

Sit: Latavius Murray, New Orleans Saints (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Sit: David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals (at San Francisco 49ers)

Running Back Sleeper: Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons (4 percent owned, at Carolina Panthers)

Hill is the right call here. The Panthers have allowed 17 touchdowns (most in the league), 5.2 yards per carry (most in the league) and 136.7 rushing yards per game (fourth-most in the league) this season. After Devonta Freeman went down with an ankle sprain that could sideline him for a couple of weeks, Hill put up 71 yards and a touchdown against a normally stout New Orleans Saints front. 

Hill has shown some versatility and juice in his three-year career's small sample size, averaging five yards per carry and a 75 percent catch rate. The 6'1" 24-year-old has an incredible matchup in Week 11 for a team that likes to use their running back but is without both Devonta Freeman and Ito Smith.

Wide Receiver Starts and Sits:

Start: Mohamed Sanu, New England Patriots (at Philadelphia Eagles)

Start: John Brown, Buffalo Bills (at Miami Dolphins)

Start: Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens (vs. Houston Texans)

Sit: Alshon Jeffery, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. New England Patriots)

Sit: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (at San Francisco 49ers)

Sit: Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings (vs. Denver Broncos)

Wide Receiver Sleeper: Auden Tate, Cincinnati Bengals (19 percent owned, at Oakland Raiders)

Tate hasn't had fewer than six targets since Week 2 and hasn't played fewer than 90 percent of the offense's snaps since Week 3. Most importantly, he's 6'5" and dwarfs nearly every defender. 

Despite unimpressive touchdown and catch rates, Tate has shown some ball skills—even with Jeff Driskell (albeit in the preseason). 

The Raiders have allowed the third-most receiving yards per game (300.2) and second-most receiving touchdowns (25) in 2019. They do have some of the league's taller corners, but Tate's usage in a trigger-happy offense is likely to engender some quality production in Week 11. 

On the other side, Hunter Renfrow (10 percent owned) is a fun option against a Bengals secondary that isn't much more impressive.

Tight End Starts and Sits:

Start: Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers (vs. Atlanta Falcons)

Start: Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Start: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (vs. Houston Texans)

Sit: O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers(vs. New Orleans Saints)

Sit: T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions (vs. Dallas Cowboys)

Sit: Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers (at Cleveland Browns)

Tight End Sleeper: Noah Fant at Minnesota Vikings (15 percent owned)

Tight end is a mysterious position in fantasy football. It feels like nearly every tight end outside of the top four is liable to post a dud on any given week, so we're shooting for upside here. Fant has delivered two huge, eye-opening plays this season: an uncomfortably agile 25-yard scamper off of a screen in Week 4 and a 75-yard demolition derby in Week 9.  

In the two weeks since Emmanuel Sanders was traded, Fant has played 84 percent of the team's snaps and averaged 6.5 targets, four receptions, 70.5 yards and 0.5 touchdowns—all best marks for a two-game stretch by the rookie. The numbers may be buoyed by that 75-yarder, but you can't discount that possibility for a 21-year-old who posted a 4.51-second 40-yard-dash in March.

The usage is rising, the talent is peeking through more consistently and the big-play ability is obviously there. This week, the matchup is also palatable. The Vikings have given up the second-most targets (95), third-most receptions (64) and seventh-most yards (575) to tight ends in 2019. Like Tate, Fant is a promising prospect despite remaining at the mercy of inexperienced quarterback play.