Sometimes, a season-long bust narrative fits just fine into an individual week. That's the case with David Johnson in Week 11. Fantasy owners are probably already thinking of sitting Johnson, and against San Francisco, he's tougher to start than usual. He's not the only Arizona RB to make it on this list, either. We'll also caution you to avoid the hype on a running back returning from injury this week, Derrius Guice.
You can tell the 49ers and Patriots are two of the strongest defenses in the league because we're very much against their opponent this week. We don't like Carson Wentz or Zach Ertz against New England, and we're against Kenyan Drake, Johnson and Christian Kirk against San Francisco. Denver is also a tough passing matchup, hence the placement of Kirk Cousins on this list.
WEEK 11 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
In a week where defense streams are light, you might not have a ton of options there, but if you're taking our bust advice, it's pretty simple: Avoid D/STs against talented offenses if you can. It sounds simple, but it's also easy to get cute, and if you're trying to get into the fantasy playoffs, getting cute might not be the way to go.
We were spot on with Johnson a week ago, so hopefully we can continue being the DJ whisperers. We also nailed Kalen Ballage, who's increased workload didn't lead to more production. Jared Goff's struggles continued, too, as did JuJu Smith-Schuster's.
Mark Andrews didn't bust, though. He actually caught two first-half touchdowns. Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott also dueled pretty well on Sunday Night Football, leading to them pushing each other to decent outings, especially Prescott.
A not-so-gentle reminder before we get into it: Bust does not equal sit. Le'Veon Bell probably deserves to start for most fantasy teams. But there are more caution signs than normal around all of these players.
For our Week 11 sleeper picks, click here.
WEEK 11 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
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Week 11 Fantasy Busts: Running backs
Le'Veon Bell, Jets @ Redskins (Billy Heyen). Bell picked up a mysterious injury for the second straight week, and at this point, it's tough to know what's going on with this guy. He also didn't play well against the Giants when he was on the field. The biggest threat to Bell's week seems like it's Bell and not the Redskins.
Derrius Guice, Redskins vs. Jets (Vinnie Iyer). He’s set to return from his latest knee injury, but the Jets are tougher against the run than you think (see the Giants game). Plus, there’s no guarantee he’ll take significant touches away from Adrian Peterson.
Kenyan Drake/David Johnson, Cardinals @ 49ers (Matt Lutovsky). Drake ran wild against the 49ers in his Cardinals debut in Week 9, but with Johnson now active (not healthy, mind you...just active), Drake will lose playing time. Even if he gets 15-plus touches again, this still isn’t a favorable matchup, and you can’t simply expect a repeat performance, especially with this game in San Francisco. Johnson can't be trusted until we see him get regular snaps and actually look even 80 percent healthy.
WEEK 11 DFS LINEUPS:
Y! cash | Y! GPP | DK cash | DK GPP | FD cash | FD GPP
Week 11 Fantasy Football Busts: Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz, Eagles vs. Patriots (Heyen). Lamar Jackson is in a different stratosphere than Wentz at this point, so the fact that Jackson had a good game against New England doesn't mean Wentz will. Look elsewhere at QB for Week 11.
Jared Goff, Rams vs. Bears (Iyer). You cannot trust him at all anymore with no Brandin Cooks (concussion) and a disappearing Cooper Kupp.
Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Broncos (Lutovsky). Cousins managed multiple touchdowns last week against the Cowboys, but with 220 yards – mostly on dump-offs to Dalvin Cook – he clearly doesn’t have a ton of upside in tough matchups, especially without Adam Thielen (hamstring) ailing. Denver allows the third-fewest fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs, so expect Minnesota to once again attack on the ground.
Week 11 Fantasy Football Busts: Wide receivers
Christian Kirk, Cardinals @ 49ers (Heyen). It's tough to sit someone who just caught three touchdowns, especially if they were on your bench and you missed out. But you shouldn't rely on Kirk against Richard Sherman and the 49ers' dominant defense.
Alshon Jeffery, Eagles vs. Patriots (Iyer). He should be bottled up most in this game by New England’s deep and physical secondary. (Update: Jeffery has been ruled "out".)
Kenny Golladay, Lions vs. Cowboys (Lutovsky). Golladay salvaged his Week 10 with a 47-yard TD catch. Aside from that play, he caught two-of-eight targets for 10 yards. Obviously, Golladay has the talent to make at least one big play per game, which is why it’s so tough to sit him in any matchup, but with Jeff Driskel under center and a top-end Dallas pass defense on the other side, Golladay is a major boom-or-bust play this week.
MORE WEEK 11:
Waiver wire | FAAB planner | Trade values | Snap counts | Fantasy playoff SOS
Week 11 Fantasy Football Busts: Tight ends
Zach Ertz, Eagles vs. Patriots (Heyen). Double down on avoiding the Eagles' passing attack against the Patriots. Even if Ertz has a decent reception day, he probably won't find the end zone.
Kyle Rudolph, Vikings vs. Broncos (Iyer). He cools off mainly because they don’t need much of the big-time passing game to smash Denver.
Darren Fells, Texans @ Ravens (Lutovsky). Fells has been one of the best TD-producing tight ends this year, but he had just one catch for one yard in his last game, and two weeks before that he had just two targets. Against Baltimore, who’s allowing just 5.7 standard FPPG to TEs, Fells is even more TD-or-bust than usual.
MORE WEEK 11 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder
Week 11 Fantasy Busts: Defenses
New Orleans Saints @ Buccaneers (Heyen). With Marshon Lattimore hurting, this is a bet that the points put up by Tampa Bay outweigh any sacks or turnovers Jameis Winston allows.
Carolina Panthers vs. Falcons (Iyer). There could be more big plays at home, but the run defense is a concern to try to get those especially with Atlanta capable of playing clean and prolific offense in this matchup.
Chicago Bears @ Rams (Lutovsky). This isn’t as much of a pro-Rams pick (though they should be better at home) than it is an anti-Chicago pick. Over the past five games, Chicago has eight sacks, four takeaways, and is allowing 22 ppg. Even with Jared Goff struggling, Chicago has minimal upside.