NFL Week 11 fantasy football lineup decisions: Tyreek Hill, Calvin Ridley and more

Fantasy football managers overthink almost everything. They often need a calm, measured voice of reason to remind them of what makes sense. Take a deep breath. It’s fantasy football. Make practical decisions about lineups, trades, and food for the tailgating party and things will work out. Try to enjoy the ride. You wouldn’t believe the things fantasy managers overthink. Well, you are (presumably) a fantasy manager. OK, so maybe you would.

Fantasy managers tend to overreact when their early draft picks — or their very first picks — underperform, especially when the future looks statistically bleak. Then the fantasy managers say things like “I should just bench this guy for the rest of the season.” Nothing good can come of that. See, the draft was a long time ago. You have Lamb or Hill. You can’t get a WR1 in exchange for them. They probably aren’t top-10 WRs from here, but that doesn’t mean you decide in mid-November that you want to sit with them indefinitely. They have value. It always alwaysdepends on all your options for that week. A lot will change in week 15.

With Lamb, there is no more Dak Prescott, and backup QB Cooper Rush is nowhere near the same caliber. A young, strong Eagles secondary held Lamb to 21 receiving yards on his 10 targets. The goals are the key. Lambs should continue to get plenty of them. That’s the positive. Also, when Rush quarterbacked the Cowboys during his five starts in 2022 — Weeks 2 through 6 — Lamb had a slight to modest drop in production. He caught 31 of 49 targets in that stretch for 76 yards per carry. game with two touchdowns. Rush doesn’t have to be good to keep Lamb a relevant WR2 pick, and there’s nothing wrong with a relevant WR2 option.

Hill, finally reunited with his starting quarterback, is dealing with a torn ligament in his left wrist, which naturally will affect production. The Dolphins have adjusted their offensive approach so QB Tua Tagovailoa releases the football quicker to avoid the pass rush, and he is completing 77% of his passes. This is good, but not as compatible with Hill’s strength in getting open downfield. Hill has 18 targets in the three games with Tagovailoa back, three of his 13 receptions going for more than 20 yards along with a short 1-yard TD, but this is not the same Hill who topped 1,700 receiving yards the past two seasons. This is again a relevant WR2 option now. Hey, it could be worse.

My advice to fantasy managers is to avoid excessive thoughts/statements about three, four and five weeks from now, etc. Just deal with this week. Of course, think about the playoffs in December, but with lineups, it’s all about this week. Lamb faces a Texans defense that has allowed 21 TD passes, one shy of the league lead. Hill is facing the Raiders and they are definitely not good. If you’re going to sit on Lamb or Hill this week for the likes of the Browns’ Cedric Tillman, the Broncos’ Courtland Sutton or the Falcons’ Darnell Mooney, well, that’s reasonable and understandable, as those players have been productive and that can continue. I might not, but it’s your team. Just don’t go too low on Lamb, Hill and others who aren’t as valuable as they once were, and don’t make lineups too far in advance.

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What does QB change mean for CeeDee Lamb’s fantasy value?

Field Yates lowers CeeDee Lamb’s fantasy rankings due to quarterback change in Dallas.

Assume Calvin Ridley’s resurgence continues

Ridley has finished among the top 25 fantasy scorers at his position in each of his four full NFL seasons (excluding 2021 and 2022, when he played five games total). Even today, with double-digit PPR points in just four of his nine games, he’s about to do it again. Incredibly, Ridley entered Week 8 with just 45.2 fantasy points, averaging 7.5 per game. game, and he certainly let people know that he was unhappy with a profanity directed at reporters. The low point came in Week 6, right after the bye week, when his eight targets led to a reception. It’s hard to do.

Ridley enters this week’s game against the Vikings after scoring a cool 60.3 points over the past three games, and he has caught 20 of 32 targets (still not ideal) in that span and scored two touchdowns. It is not a large catch rate per goals, but that’s enough goals, and the Titans have clearly adjusted their offense to have the most dangerous performer. Ridley ranks an astounding 36th this season — tied with the Giants’ Darius Slayton — in catchable passes, but when a Titans QB throws, it tends to go to Ridley. He is number eight in percentage of team goals. He just needed more on target.

Young QB Will Levis returned in Week 10 from his three-game absence due to a shoulder problem to find Ridley for a 41-yard touchdown on the first series. The second TD came in the final seconds, pure garbage time, but it all counts. Levis was accurate against the Chargers, hitting 78% of his throws (although he only threw 23 times), but at least the Titans have shown a reasonable passing attack the last few weeks and a commitment to their best player. The Vikings are allowing the third-most PPR points to wide receivers this season. Levis doesn’t have to be Joe Montana to give Ridley another 20-point fantasy outing.

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Why Calvin Ridley is a strong fantasy option for Week 11

Field Yates and Daniel Dopp explain why Calvin Ridley’s volume and favorable matchup make him a good option for fantasy managers in Week 11.

QB Lamar Jackson leads a dominant Ravens offense that is averaging a league-leading 440.2 yards and 31.8 points, but a potentially key piece could add even more production. Mitchell averaged 8.4 yards per carry. rush as a rookie last season. He’s certainly not big (5-foot-8, 190 pounds) and he wasn’t drafted out of East Carolina, but Mitchell is certainly quick and elusive, and now that he’s recovered from his ACL injury, which was last December, fantasy managers have to pay attention. Mitchell made his season debut against the Bengals in Week 10. He should have a more special, significant role this week against the Steelers.

Mitchell averaged 7.2 yards per carry. rush his sophomore season (2022) in college and scored 15 total touchdowns, and fantasy managers first noticed him as a pro in Week 9, when the speedy rookie turned nine rushing attempts into 138 yards in a 37-3 rout of Seahawks, with a 60-yard jaunt and a 40-yard touchdown scamper among them. Gus Edwards (now a Charger) and Justice Hill combined for 18 touches in that game, and Mitchell still mattered. He earned about 10 touches per game. game in his last four contests, with nearly 10 PPR points per fight before he injured his knee.

Derrick Henry leads the league in rushing attempts, and you’d think the Ravens are well aware of this and want to keep the 30-year-old healthy for January. No, don’t assume Henry’s volume plummets, but assume Mitchell gets involved. Hill, with 24 rushing yards the past five games, isn’t doing much. Maybe you shouldn’t consider Mitchell in a standard league, but in a deeper one, remember four teams are on byes this week and six teams are off in Week 12. Mitchell could matter then.