Yahoo DFS Football: Week 11 Picks

Yahoo DFS Football: Week 11 Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.

The Sunday-only NFL main slate for Week 11 features 11 games, excluding the Bills, Browns, Dolphins, 49ers, Jets and Patriots (bye), Packers-Seahawks (Thursday Night Football), and Chiefs-Rams (Monday Night Football). That's a lot of fantasy star power being taken off the table, but there are still plenty of options ready to pop in Sunday's games, including an undervalued star running back and a couple of veteran receivers facing familiar foes.

TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)

QB: Joe Flacco, BAL vs. CIN ($24): Flacco is the ultimate roll of the dice, as he may not even play given that he was on crutches during Baltimore's Week 10 bye. If he toughs it out, the affordable quarterback's looking at an ideal matchup, though. The Ravens have had an extra week to prepare a plan of attack against a beat-up Bengals defense that's allowing the most passing yards (313.3) and second-most points (32.0) per game this season. If things go right, Flacco will provide terrific value at $24 (like he did with 376 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Bengals in Week 2) while being used in few of your opponents' lineups. Keep in mind that this pick also comes with significant downside given his injury status.

RB: David Johnson, ARI vs. OAK ($26): Johnson has looked much better under the new offensive regime in Arizona, totaling 100 scrimmage yards in the first game after the change of offensive coordinators and exploding for 183 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in the second game last week. Oakland is one of the few teams that may be worse than the Cardinals, so Johnson should see plenty of usage on the ground against a defense that's been gauged for 141.0 rushing yards per game. Even if Arizona falls behind, Johnson's pass-catching ability will keep him involved, as was the case last week in Kansas City.

WR: Tyler Boyd, CIN at BAL ($20): Given how pretty much everything went wrong for the Bengals last week, Boyd could have done worse than the 65 yards he finished with. Dropped down to $20 against a stout Ravens secondary, Boyd will be an afterthought in many fantasy circles this week. Considering he's still operating as Cincinnati's No. 1 wide receiver with A.J. Green (toe) out and finished with 91 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting between these teams, Boyd has a great chance of vastly outperforming his valuation.

Other Against-the-Grainers

QB: Andrew Luck (IND, $34); Dak Prescott (DAL, $30)
RB: Dalvin Cook (MIN, $24); Doug Martin (OAK, $18); Adrian Peterson (WAS, $21)
WR: Antonio Brown (PIT, $30); Courtland Sutton (DEN, $18); John Brown (BAL, $20)
TE: Vance McDonald (PIT, $13); Michael Roberts (DET, $14)
DST: Oakland Raiders ($13); Pittsburgh Steelers ($18)

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

Quarterback

Carson Wentz, PHI at NO ($37)

Wentz will need to bring his A-game to have any hope of keeping up with New Orleans' high-octane passing attack. His stats this season suggest he'll be up to the task. Wentz has thrown multiple touchdown passes in each of his past six games, posting a 14:2 TD:INT over that span while averaging 315.5 passing yards. His average performance in that stretch has been terrific, and chances are Wentz will outperform that average against a Saints secondary that's been the second worst in the league with 296.1 passing yards allowed per game.

Running Back

Christian McCaffrey, CAR ar DET ($32)

Don't be surprised if McCaffrey finishes in the conversation for top running back performance again this week. He's had extra time to rest since Carolina's blowout defeat at the hands of the Steelers on Thursday Night Football -- a game in which McCaffrey scored three touchdowns even with the rest of the offense slumping. The second-year running back now has seven touchdowns over the past three weeks and has eclipsed 130 yards from scrimmage four separate times this season. A Detroit defense that's giving up 132.7 rushing yards per game will be at his mercy.

Ezekiel Elliott, DAL at ATL ($25)

After last week's terrific performance in Philadelphia, Elliott's price rose by precisely $0. Dallas will need to chew clock and keep Atlanta's high-flying offense off the field, and the easiest way to do that is by handing the ball off to your star running back against a run defense that's surrendering 119.9 yards per game. With an average of 121.9 scrimmage yards per game and six touchdowns already this season, Elliott is severely underpriced at $25. Take advantage of this opportunity.

Wide Receiver

Odell Beckham, NYG vs. TB ($39)

Beckham capitalized on a favorable matchup last week with two touchdowns in San Francisco, and a Buccaneers secondary that's allowing 291.9 passing yards per game doesn't have the talent to contain the enigmatic wideout. Though he costs a pretty penny, the sky's the limit for Beckham in a game that will require some fireworks from New York's passing game to match Tampa Bay's explosive aerial attack.

T.Y. Hilton, IND vs. TEN ($21)

Hilton is starting to get his burst back after missing some time due to a hamstring injury, and this home matchup with the Titans presents a nice buy-low opportunity. Tennessee has been among the 10 most generous defenses to wide receiving in terms of both yards (1,614) and touchdowns (11) allowed this season. Indianapolis' clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver has never finished with fewer than 861 yards in a season, so a strong final stretch can be expected with Hilton sitting on just 430 so far this season.

DeSean Jackson, TB at NYG ($17)

Jackson has cooled down after a hot start, but he still has at least 67 yards in six of nine games this season. The former Eagles speedster loves to face the Giants, whom he's tormented with countless big plays over the years. Given the poor form of this year's New York team, their old nemesis is likely to strike again.

Tight End

Jonnu Smith, TEN at IND ($11)

The Titans had high hopes for Smith when they picked him in the third round in 2017, and he's been thrust into a prominent role with Delanie Walker knocked out for the season by an ankle injury. It took Smith a few weeks to get adjusted to the top tight end role, but he's been rolling of late with touchdowns in each of the past two weeks to go with his best yardage outputs of the season (33 and 45). His upward trajectory should continue against a Colts team that's allowed 624 yards to tight ends this season – fifth most in the league.

Defense/Special Teams

Baltimore Ravens, BAL vs. CIN ($13)

This is a tough week to pick a defense with most of the top units facing difficult matchups and many of the best offenses to fade on bye, but the Ravens present a nice mix of safety and affordability. Regardless of Flacco's status, this unit should keep the game low scoring at home coming out of their bye, as the Ravens are allowing the second-fewest yards (305.0) and second-fewest points (17.8) per game. They're also in the top 10 when it comes to sacking the quarterback with 28, and the opposing Bengals are much less dangerous sans Green.

Honorable Mentions

QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick (TB, $34); Drew Brees (NO, $35)
RB: Alvin Kamara (NO, $32); Melvin Gordon (LAC, $38); Tevin Coleman (ATL, $23)
WR: Julio Jones (ATL, $31); Maurice Harris (WAS, $14); Alshon Jeffery (PHI, $26)
TE: Zach Ertz (PHI, $27); Jared Cook (OAK, $16)
DST: Los Angeles Chargers ($12); Chicago Bears ($20)

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.
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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.
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