This is what we know after watching Week 11 of the NFL season. The tight end position is dealing with injury and blew chunks. A handful of guys out wide stepped up, even if you are likely unsure what team they play for. In the backfield the Browns and Broncos might have produced some clarity. Maybe. Under center a young guy, a mid-career guy and an old timer are all worth a look.
*** Note: The number listed is not a dollar figure, instead it is a percentage. Therefore 20-25 means 20 to 25 percent of your budget. If you have $100 to spend go $20-25. If you have $1,000 to start you would be spending $200-250.
QUARTERBACK
Ryan Mallett, Texans
The Texans ran the ball like 118 times in Week 11. OK, it might have been like 54 times, but the point is that the Texans did what they could to limit the exposure of Mallett - and it worked. Mallet completed 20 of 30 passes for the Texans though he did toss a pick. He also threw for 211 yards and two scores. He settled in pretty nicely and didn't take a sack in a solid effort. Most heartening might be how he seemed unafraid to to throw into some tight windows, and that only help the outlooks of DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson.
Amount to Spend: 8-12 percent
Josh McCown, Buccaneers
Well maybe the Bucs were right to turn to McCown and bench Mike Glennon. A week after throwing for 301 yards and two scores McCown lit up the Bears for 288 yards and two scores on just 23 passes. He didn't turn the ball over and is turning Mike Evans into a superstar in his rookie season.
Amount to Spend: 12-15 percent
Drew Stanton, Cardinals
He was solid, for the most part, in Week 11. Stanton threw for 306 yards and two scores as he helped the Cardinals to a 14-6 victory over the Lions (the Cardinals are 9-1 for the first time since 1948). Stanton threw two picks, slowed as the game went on, and obviously has scatter-shot consistency with his targeting. Still, in this offense games of 250/2 should be doable for Stanton making him a legit second QB option in two QB leagues.
Amount to Spend: 10-15 percent
RUNNING BACK
Isaiah Crowell, Ben Tate, Terrance West, Browns
The Browns want to run the football yet they threw the ball 50 times in Week 11. The point is the Browns don't really seem to have a consistent plan. Just ask the coach. "We're not just going to pick one," was the response of HC Mike Pettine when he was asked who the teams lead runner is. "It's something we'll look at week to week. When you go in a game-plan situation you look at what gives us the best chance to win." Here's what we know. (1) At differing points this season Crowell, Tate and West were all "the guy." (2) In Weeks 9-10 West carried the ball 41 times. In Week 11 he saw five touches. (3) Crowell saw eight carries last two games of October. He's seen 26 carries his past two games. (4) Tate is pissed off that he's not "the guy." He's also producing nothing. He has two scores in four games but he's also carried the ball just 22 times for 28 yards the past three games. Crowell lost the ball again in Week 11 but the team continued to give him the pigskin. He's the runner you want right now, but honestly, that might change in seven days as the Browns offer the most vexing backfield situation in the NFL.
Amount to Spend on Crowell: 20-25 percent
Amount to Spend on Tate: 5-10 percent
Amount to Spend on West: 10-15 percent
Jonas Gray, Patriots
Gray is the best runner in the history of football. That is if you watched him run last night as Gray carried the ball 38 times for 199 yards. Stupendous. On top of that, yes there is more, he added four scores. Four. All inside the five yard line. Gray should be the bus driver for the Pats in the red zone and is a must add in every format. Some perspective though. (1) Shane Vereen is still going to see a ton of snaps and the Pats will feature Vereen at the expensive of Gray on many an occasion. (2) The Patriots hasn't scored on the ground since Week 5 and they had three rushing scores all year before the explosion by Gray. (3) Gray had eight carries inside the eight yard line Sunday night. There are only 18 players with more than eight carries inside the eight yard line all season. Here's more audio of me talking about him.
Amount to Spend: 30-35 percent
Roy Helu, Redskins
For the second straight week Alfred Morris went for 90-yards on the ground. Helu didn't even get a single carry against the Bucs in Week 11. Why mention him? Two fold. (1) Helu caught six passes for 57 yards an a score in Week 11. He's a decent PPR threat if you're in a pinch at the RB spot. (2) If Morris were to go down with an injury Helu would be a PPR monster that would be a top-20 runner every week. Worth rostering even in shallower leagues if you've got roster space.
Amount to Spend: 5-10 percent
Dan Herron, Colts
Trent Richardson ran the ball seven times for zero yards Sunday night. Just not good. Still, with reports suggesting that Ahmad Bradshaw has a broken foot that will likely keep him out of action 4-6 weeks (potentially the rest of the regular season), TRich becomes a lock down RB2 in fantasy. To support TRich the Colts will likely turn to Herron who could end up seeing anywhere from 5-10 touches a week in a support role behind Richardson.
Amount to Spend: 10-15 percent
Tre Mason, Rams
Mason has led the Rams in rushing yards every game he has played this year and in Week 11 he carried the rock 29 times leading to 113 yards. There's no question - he is the lead back with the Rams. He faces the Chargers and Raiders the next two weeks, and those teams can be beat on the ground. Gotta look at him as an RB2 as we prep for the fantasy playoffs.
Amount to Spend: 35-40 percent
Latavius Murray, Raiders
Let's be honest, the Raiders are horrible. They are 0-10, are scoring only 15.2 points a game (the worst in football) and they are averaging a historically horrific 63 yards a game on the ground. Darren McFadden is averaging 11.3 carries for 39.3 yards per game and Maurice Jones-Drew is done (33 carries for 70 yards). It's befuddling that the club hasn't attempted to get Latavius Murray more involved. A 6'3", 225 lbs physical beast, Murray is the only back on the club that might have a future with the team. He entered Week 11 with six carries before running four times for 43 yards against the Chargers. Can't see Murray taking over, and even if he did the Raiders are awful, so Murray is still more of a dynasty option than re-draft piece.
Amount to Spend: 7-12 percent
Juwan Thompson, Broncos
Turns out Ronnie Hillman, thought to be out a couple of weeks with a foot injury, could miss up to six weeks according to a report from Adam Schefter. That kills his season obviously. Montee Ball injured his groin immediately upon entering game action Sunday and it seems like he will miss 2-3 weeks. That leaves Anderson and Thompson as the two backs to target in the Broncos' dynamic offense. Anderson only carried the ball nine times for 29 yards in a disastrous loss to the Rams, but was he dynamite PPR weapon catching eight passes for 86 yards. Meanwhile, Thompson touched the ball once (five yard catch). Pretty much have to write this effort off. Both men need to be added, but there's no doubt that if you were thinking that Thompson is a dart throw while Anderson is a potential weekly play I would be in agreement.
Amount to Spend on Thompson: 5-10 percent
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WIDE RECEIVER
Kenny Britt, Rams
Britt only saw seven targets catching four passes. Who cares. However, when you also note that he has 128 yards an a touchdown, things start to get interesting. Shaun Hill gives all the Rams wideouts a better chance to succeed, he almost hit Britt on a second score that would have gone for more than 70-yards, though it's still hard to look at Britt and think he's anything more than a WR 4/5 type.
Amount to Spend: 12-15 percent
Michael Floyd, Cardinals
Please tell me you aren't one of the people that dropped Floyd last week? Please tell me that wasn't you. Floyd couldn't have been started in Week 11. You were to correct to bench him. You missed out on two touchdowns. That hurts. Still, he only had five targets, only caught two passes, and only had 54 yards. Add Floyd if he's on waivers, but he's still nothing other than a boom/bust WR3 moving forward.
Amount to Spend: 15-20 percent
Charles Johnson, Vikings
A workout warrior, Johnson finally had a nice game with the Vikings having to deal with injuries to Greg Jennings and Jarius Wright. Johnson caught six balls for 87 yards against the Bears which gets you excited. If either/both of the other wideouts are unable to play in the Vikings next game a bit more excitement. Still, Teddy Bridgewater has thrown four touchdown passes in seven games and has failed to reach 190 passing yards in three of his last five starts. A low level add.
Amount to Spend: 7-10 percent
Taylor Gabriel, Browns
Gabriel caught five passes for 92 yards while Andrew Hawkins went 6-97-1. Gabriel has been doing some really nice things out of the slot for the Browns, so why am I not excited? Obviously Josh Gordon returns from suspension in Week 12, and there's also the expectation that Jordan Cameron will be able to return from a concussion. Also have to figure the Browns don't plan on throwing 50 passes a week like they did in Week 11. Be careful not to overpay for Gabriel.
Amount to Spend: 5-10 percent
Kenny Stills, Saints
Kinda out of nowhere it turns out that Brandin Cooks broke his thumb in Week 11, an injury that will likely cost Cooks 2-6 weeks (his agent suggested the most likely outcome is a 4-5 week absence). Someone will have to step up for the Saints, and most likely that will be Stills. A big play threat, Stills will be asked to do more work underneath running higher percentage routes, and that should lead to Still potentially attaining WR3 value in the short run.
Amount to Spend: 25-30 percent
TIGHT END
Charles Clay, Dolphins
In his last three games Clay has failed to hit 66 yards while averaging 47 yards a game. Not much to see there. But, he's established himself as a solid PPR weapon for a position that often lacks much week-to-week consistency as he's caught at least five passes in 3-straight games (17 total receptions).
Amount to Spend: 10-12 percent
Coby Fleener, Colts
Dwayne Allen was hurt Sunday night with the dreaded high ankle sprain. Hard to know how much time he will miss but high ankle sprains often cost players anywhere from 3-6 weeks. In the highest volume passing attack in football (43.6 passes per game), Fleener becomes a must add as long as Allen is down. With Allen out of the mix Sunday night Fleener went nuts for seven receptions and 144 yards giving him back-to-back games of at least 75 yards on a total of 18 targets. Long a disappointment, Fleener might finally ascend to the levels predicted for him with Allen on the shelf.
Amount to Spend: 15-20 percent
Garrett Graham, Texans
With the tight end position blacked out in Week 11, Graham's effort stood out. He caught two balls for 34 yards an a score. Both catches game on one drive in the second quarter. If you start two tight ends have at it.
Amount to Spend: 1-5 percent
Jermaine Gresham, Bengals
He scored twice including once when he fumbled at the one yard line before falling on the ball in the end zone. He saw two targets... for 13 yards. Move on.
Amount to Spend: 5-10 percent
Jacob Tamme, Broncos
Early word out of Denver is that Julius Thomas' ankle issue is not a high ankle sprain. That's the good news. At the same time we don't have a clear cut outline for his return to game action (there is still a chance he plays in Week 12). In the high volume Broncos offense the loss of Thomas would open up a spot of potential significance for someone. The Broncos also lost Emmanuel Sanders to a thunderous hit in Week 11 that caused a concussion and it's uncertain if he will be ready to play in Week 12. Look for Tamme to step into the void (maybe Wes Welker too). Did you know that in Week 11 Tamme was targeted a team high 10 times by Peyton Manning? Bet you didn't. Tamme isn't Thomas, and he's not a lock down goaline target either, but he could get enough run to sneak into bottom end TE1 territory - could.
Amount to Spend: 8-10 percent
Listen to Ray Flowers' show Monday through Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear me Sunday nights, 7-10 PM EDT.