Yahoo DFS Football: Week 11 Picks

Yahoo DFS Football: Week 11 Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.

The Week 10 NFL main slate begins Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST and features 12 games. The Rams and Broncos are on bye, while three games fall outside the main slate this week. The action kicks off Thursday at 8:20 p.m. with the Patriots and Falcons, while Steelers-Chargers (Sunday night) and Giants-Buccaneers (Monday night) clashes wrap up the slate. There are plenty of sources of value to choose from, including players taking on larger roles and those facing hapless defenses. The Week 11 suggestions include three of the league's most heavily targeted wide receivers, as well as intriguing budget options at quarterback, running back and tight end.

TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)

QB: Justin Fields, CHI vs. BAL ($21): Fields looked more like a running back trying to play under center than a quarterback for his first few starts, but the rookie first-round pick has started to figure things out as a passer, and his fantasy value will always be ahead of the curve relative to his real-life value thanks to his hefty rushing totals. After setting a career high with 103 rushing yards and contributing touchdowns both through the air and on the ground against the 49ers in Week 9, Fields backed that effort up with a career-high 291 passing yards in Pittsburgh in Week 10. Having shown that he can produce against a pair of quality defenses, the dual-threat quarterback's primed for success against a reeling Ravens team that has been outscored 94-61 over its past three games while needing overtime to avoid an 0-3 record in that span. Locking in Fields at just $21 against a Baltimore secondary that's allowing a league-high 283.3 passing yards per game will also allow you to spend big at other positions.

RB: Jeff Wilson, SF at JAX ($14): Wilson got 10 rushing attempts in his season debut last week, which was a far cry from the workload of Elijah Mitchell, who carried the ball 27 times. Mitchell emerged from Monday's game with a broken finger though, which should lead to a larger role for Wilson in San Francisco's run-heavy offense against a 2-7 Jaguars team that's allowed nine rushing touchdowns to running backs. Wilson will be an obvious play if Mitchell's sidelined altogether, but he'll also make for an intriguing value pick even if Mitchell plays. Assuming the 49ers get up big as expected, they'll have little reason to feed their banged-up starter and risk him further aggravating the injury. That should lead to a busy afternoon for Wilson, who averaged 4.8 yards per carry and scored 10 scrimmage touchdowns in 12 appearances last season.

WR: Adam Thielen, MIN vs. GB ($24): Thielen has seemingly had a quiet season across from the flashy Justin Jefferson, and yet he has managed to find the end zone seven times and been targeted at least seven times in all but one game as a consistent part of Minnesota's offense, especially in the red zone. Those seven receiving touchdowns are tied for fifth league-wide, and Thielen found paydirt 14 times last season, so he's likely to keep scoring at a high rate. Green Bay's defense has been lights out recently, but with the Packers likely to focus on containing Jefferson and running back Dalvin Cook, Thielen could easily get lost in the shuffle and emerge with a touchdown or two.

Other Against-the-Grainers

QB: Russell Wilson (SEA, $29), Cam Newton (CAR, $26), Kyler Murray (ARI, $34)

RB: Antonio Gibson (WAS, $16), Michael Carter (NYJ, $17), D'Andre Swift (DET, $24)

WR: Allen Robinson (CHI, $13), Michael Pittman (IND, $20), Corey Davis (NYJ, $17)

TE: Dalton Schultz (DAL, $18), Zach Ertz (ARI, $17)

DST: New York Jets (vs. MIA, $12), Carolina Panthers (vs. WAS, $16)

CASH GAMES (H2H, 50/50s and DOUBLE UPS)

QUARTERBACK

Patrick Mahomes, KC vs. DAL ($36): For all the talk of Mahomes struggling, he still has 2,940 passing yards and a 25:10 TD:INT through 10 games, trailing only Matthew Stafford in passing yards and Tom Brady in touchdowns. He's also a threat with his legs, as Mahomes has already topped 200 yards on the ground for the fourth consecutive season since taking over as Kansas City's starter under center. Dallas' playmaking defense has been adept at taking the ball away, but the Cowboys still allow more passing yards than league average at 252.8 per game. Coming off a 406-yard, five-touchdown performance against the Raiders in prime time, Mahomes should once again pile up production in what's expected to be by far the highest-scoring game of the week, with an over/under of 56 points.

RUNNING BACK

Nick Chubb, CLE vs. DET ($32): Chubb's expected to clear the COVID-19 protocols in time since he's fully vaccinated, but if he doesn't, then D'Ernest Johnson ($25) would have the Browns backfield to himself again and would be worth paying up for. Assuming Chubb returns, he'll reclaim the lead role in Cleveland's backfield. Even if Johnson sticks around in a prominent change-of-pace role similar to the one that had been occupied by Kareem Hunt prior to his calf injury, Chubb's average of 103 rushing yards per game and six rushing scores in seven appearances suggest he'll make for a phenomenal play against a Lions defense that's allowing 109.9 rushing yards per game to running backs and has allowed 16 scrimmage touchdowns to the position in nine games.

D'Onta Foreman, TEN vs. HOU ($14): Foreman has looked like the top option in Tennessee's backfield since Derrick Henry's foot injury, rushing 16 times for 59 yards and catching both of his targets for 48 yards over the past two weeks. Those numbers don't jump off the page, but Foreman saw his touch total climb from five in Week 9 to 13 in Week 10, and with Adrian Peterson averaging only 2.3 yards per carry, the Titans will be well served to see whether Foreman can take over as their early-down and goal-line workhorse. Game script should lead to a run-heavy approach at home against the 1-8 Texans, who have allowed the second-most rushing yards (1,074) and fourth-most rushing touchdowns (nine) to running backs. At this salary, Foreman's a low-risk, high-reward play.

WIDE RECEIVER

Davante Adams, GB at MIN ($35): Aaron Rodgers proudly proclaimed "I still own you" to the Bears fans at Soldier Field after running in a touchdown during the Packers' Week 6 win, and Adams would be justified in doing the same to Vikings fans at U.S. Bank Stadium after he inevitably finds the end zone there. This will be the first of two meetings between the NFC North rivals this year, but Adams compiled a whopping five touchdowns to go with 21 catches for 209 receiving yards in their pair of matchups last season. In fact, you have to go back to Week 2 of the 2016 campaign to find the last time Adams didn't have either a touchdown or over 100 receiving yards against the Vikings, having done at least one of those things in each of his last eight appearances against Minnesota.

Brandin Cooks, HOU at TEN ($18): Most Texans games have followed a similar pattern, with Houston getting down big and peppering Cooks with targets in garbage time. There's little reason to expect this one to play out any differently, and the wideout will benefit from the added bonus of facing a shaky Titans secondary that's allowed 2,127 yards and 14 touchdowns to wide receivers -- most and second-most in the league, respectively. Cooks' 9.3 targets per game are tied for 10th-most league-wide with Washington's Terry McLaurin, and if you only consider players in Sunday's main slate, only Tyreek Hill (11.1), Davante Adams (10.9), Stefon Diggs (9.6), Deebo Samuel (9.6) and DJ Moore (9.5) average more. That's great company for Cooks.

DJ Moore, CAR vs. WAS ($20): Speaking of Moore, he's due for his best performance in a while. Carolina's heavily targeted No. 1 receiver got off to a terrific start before Sam Darnold's performance fell off a cliff, as Moore compiled 30 catches for 498 yards and three touchdowns over the first four weeks, including at least 79 yards in every game. He's failed to rack up more than 73 receiving yards in a game or score a touchdown since, despite being thrown to at least seven times in every game, but there's reason for optimism this week as Cam Newton gets set to make his first start at quarterback for Carolina since Week 2 of the 2019 season. Competent play from Newton and a matchup with a Washington defense that's allowing 279.3 passing yards per game -- third most in the league -- should allow Moore to finally make the most of his heavy volume. 

TIGHT END

Adam Trautman, NO at PHI ($10): Philadelphia has rocketed to the top of the list of most generous defenses against tight ends after allowing Denver's Noah Fant and Albert Okwuegbunam to combine for 136 receiving yards last week. The Eagles have now allowed the most catches (75), yards (733) and touchdowns (eight) to the position, and it's not particularly close. The reception total is particularly striking since no other defense has given up more than 60. So the question becomes, is Trautman good enough to capitalize on this ideal matchup? It's true that Juwan Johnson is a threat to siphon off red-zone targets, though all three of Johnson's touchdowns came in the first four weeks, but Trautman is the Saints tight end to target here as he's quietly shown a nice rapport with quarterback Trevor Siemian. Trautman has been targeted at least six times in each of the past three games, and he's caught nine of 13 targets for 79 yards over the last two.

DEFENSE

San Francisco 49ers, SF at JAX ($13): Of the decent or better defenses in favorable matchups on this slate, San Francisco is the cheapest. The 49ers just put together their best defensive showing of the season in Monday's 31-10 trouncing of the Rams, racking up 16.0 fantasy points thanks to two sacks and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. That success should carry over into a highly favorable matchup against a Jaguars offense that's scoring the second-fewest points per game overall (16.6), and just 11.0 points per game in the three weeks since Jacksonville's bye. In addition to struggling to score, the Jaguars have frequently turned the ball over, as teams with rookie quarterbacks are wont to do, coughing up nine interceptions and six lost fumbles.

Honorable Mentions

QB: Dak Prescott (DAL, $37), Joe Burrow (CIN, $28), Ryan Tannehill (TEN, $28)

RB: AJ Dillon (GB, $20), Myles Gaskin (MIA, $18), Ezekiel Elliott (DAL, $28)

WR: Stefon Diggs (BUF, $28), Tee Higgins (CIN, $15), Jaylen Waddle (MIA, $16)

TE: Cole Kmet (CHI, $15), Travis Kelce (KC, $30)

DST: Cleveland Browns (vs. DET, $16), Miami Dolphins (at NYJ, $16)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only NFL Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire NFL fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
Week 11 Friday Injury Report: Higgins Cleared, Collins Logs Full Practice
Week 11 Friday Injury Report: Higgins Cleared, Collins Logs Full Practice
NFL DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Week 11
NFL DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Week 11
Wide Receivers vs. Cornerbacks: Week 11 Matchups
Wide Receivers vs. Cornerbacks: Week 11 Matchups
Locker Week 11 Picks
Locker Week 11 Picks
Exploiting the Matchups: Week 11 Start/Sit and Fantasy Streamers
Exploiting the Matchups: Week 11 Start/Sit and Fantasy Streamers
Jeff on VSiN:  Week 11 NFL Bets
Jeff on VSiN: Week 11 NFL Bets