Fantasy Football Start or sit, Week 11: Start Cam Newton vs. Texans

Fantasy football starts and sits for Week 11 of the 2020 NFL season.

Now 10 weeks through the 2020 NFL season, we’re at a point I thought we may not reach at the beginning of the year. With only three weeks to go until the fantasy football playoffs, you likely have a good idea of who your every-week starters are and who is there only for backup. However, with bye weeks and injuries, there are the tough start and sit decisions to make every single week.

Looking ahead to Week 11, the Chicago Bears, San Fransisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and New York Giants are all on bye. Even though you hopefully do not have too many fantasy players from these teams, there are still always tough fantasy football start and sit decisions due to injuries and bye weeks.

Here are some players that you need to be making room for in your Week 11 fantasy football lineup along with those who should ride the bench.

Note: All stats and info via Fantasy Pros. 

Fantasy Football Starts for Week 11

QB Cam Newton, New England (vs. Houston)

Cam Newton has not thrown a passing touchdown since Week 3. Despite this, he has still managed QB1 finishes in Weeks 6, 8, and 9. Though it has been clear that this is not the same Cam Newton that won the MVP in 2015, he has still shown his running abilities and has become the Patriot’s go-to weapon at the goal line.

Even though he has shown himself capable of being fantasy relevant without high passing volume, I like his odds to find the end zone on the ground and through the air against a weak Houston defense in Week 11.

Projection: 234 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 47 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 interception, 23.1 fantasy points. 

RB Mike Davis, Carolina (vs. Detroit)

Ever since becoming a waiver wire hero filling in for Christian McCaffrey the first three weeks of his injury, Davis has barely put up FLEX worthy numbers, with 8.7 being his highest score the past four weeks in PPR scoring.

While some of this lack of success be attributed to harder run defenses, Davis has also looked like he has lost a step compared to earlier in the season. All that should be fixed by a Detroit defense allowing the most fantasy points to opposing running backs. Fire Davis up with confidence as an RB1 this week.

Projection: 112 total yards, 4 receptions, 1 touchdown, 19.2 fantasy points. 

WR Chase Claypool/JuJu Smith-Schuster/Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh (vs. Jacksonville)

After weeks and weeks of guessing whose turn it would be on any given week, we finally saw the Pittsburgh wide receiver trio all post WR1 performances in the same week. Even though this does not mean they should all be viewed as WR1s week in and week out, it confirms that Roethlisberger throws at a rate that can sustain three weekly startable wideouts.

This is especially true against Jacksonville, who has been weak against opposing wide receivers. Claypool is still the closest thing to a boom or bust play of the three, but Smith-Schuster and Johnson should both see double-digit targets like they did last week.

TE Austin Hooper, Cleveland (vs. Philadelphia)

Hooper was disappointing in his return to Cleveland, only turning in one reception for 11 yards. However, this can be chalked up to poor weather and a game script dominated by the Cleveland running backs.

Now Hooper draws a matchup against Philadelphia, who has been extremely strong against the running back but bleeding points to the tight end. Even though the Browns clearly operate in a run-first offense, Hooper still has the potential to be a TE1 the rest of the way considering the current state of the position.

Projection: 4 receptions, 56 yards, 1 touchdown, 13.6 fantasy points. 

Fantasy Football Sits for Week 11

QB Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee (vs. Baltimore)

After his first five games, Tannehill looked to be a locked-in QB1 the rest of the way. However, with tough matchups against Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Indianapolis, he has proved he is still not matchup proof. Unfortunately for Tannehill, he draws another tough matchup this week against Baltimore followed by an Indianapolis rematch the following week.

Even though he has shown he can smash in a plus matchup, he has yet to show any sort of upside when in a tough one. I would much rather go with a streamer with an easy matchup like Jameis Winston against Atlanta than roll with Tannehill.

Projection: 230 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 16.2 fantasy points. 

RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis (vs. Green Bay)

Even though there is still time left in the season, Taylor can already be chalked up to one of the biggest disappointments of the 2020 NFL season. After Marlon Mack went down in Week 1, it looked like Taylor had a grasp on the lead role. Fast forward to Week 11, and he has yet to top 27 rushing yards in his past three games.

The biggest problem lies with the fact he has been losing snaps to both Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins, both of whom look better than Taylor on the field. Even though he has a great matchup against Green Bay, the matchup is irrelevant if he is not on the field.

Projection: 43 total yards, 2 receptions, 5.3 fantasy points. 

WR Jarvis Landry, Cleveland (vs. Philadelphia)

When Odell Beckham Jr. went down, many hoped Jarvis Landry would immediately step into the volume-based WR1 role, similar to his time in Miami and pre-Beckham Cleveland. However, the fact of the matter is that this team will never have a high volume fantasy option at wideout as long as Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are in the backfield.

Now Landry gets a tough matchup against Philadelphia where he will likely be shadowed by Darius Slay.

Projection: 5 receptions, 58 yards, 8.3 fantasy points. 

TE Robert Tonyan, Green Bay (vs. Indianapolis)

Another midseason hype train gone off the tracks, Robert Tonyan went from being a possible top-five tight end to a player not even rostered in most leagues. Since his monster three-touchdown game in Week 4, he has not found the end zone and has only topped 33 yards receiving once.

Now he gets a matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, who are allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends. This is certainly a situation to avoid, even with the state of the tight end landscape.

Projection: 3 receptions, 31 yards, 4.6 fantasy points.