Week 11 is here, and this is the part of the season where playoff dreams finally start taking shape. Even if you are sitting pretty with a comfy record, don’t ease up now; keep stacking those Ws and secure that first-round bye. And if you are already out of the playoff race? No worries. These picks make for some spicy DFS plays, too. Every week, the Footballers roll out the guys who can swing matchups, spark a run, or keep a season alive. It’s that time again. Here are the Ballers’ Starts of the Week.
Andy’s Starts of the Week
QB – Justin Herbert @ JAX
Herbert is heating up, and the schedule keeps tossing him softballs. He’s currently the QB4 in FPPG and leads all QBs in total points. That perfect blend of a pass-happy Chargers offense and Herbert’s sneaky rushing floor makes him one of the easiest starts of the week. The Chargers rank 3rd in Pass Rate Over Expectation. The volume is absolutely bonkers. The matchup against the Jaguars puts Herbert over the top this week. The Jags are 30th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs and have given up six straight top-12 finishes:
- QB1 Davis Mills
- QB6 Geno Smith
- QB5 Matthew Stafford
- QB9 Sam Darnold
- QB2 Patrick Mahomes
- QB11 Brock Purdy
If you’ve got Herbert, you are starting him with zero hesitation. This has wheels-up, top-5 upside written all over it.
RB – Rico Dowdle @ ATL
Andy has jumped on the Rico Dowdle bandwagon. Since Week 5, the only RB with more rushing yards than Rico is Jonathan Taylor. That’s it. That’s the list. And speaking of JT… after he hung 200+ rushing yards on the Falcons, the secret’s officially out: Atlanta is a run funnel. They might be elite against the pass (fewest passing yards allowed per game), but on the ground? It hasn’t been pretty. Over the last month, ATL ranks 31st in Rush Success Rate allowed, 30th in Yards After Contact allowed, and 31st against fantasy RBs. Rico’s heating up at the perfect time, and this matchup is tailor-made for another big day.
WR – Tee Higgins @ PIT
This one is easy: when Joe Flacco starts, Tee Higgins produces. Full stop. In games without Flacco, Higgins is giving you just 6.9 fantasy points and 32 yards per game. But with Flacco under center, Higgins turns into a weekly difference-maker — averaging 17 PPG and 81 yards across four starts. That’s elite WR2/low-end WR1 output. Andy points out that we’ve already seen this exact matchup deliver. Back in Week 7, Higgins dropped 6/96/1 on 10 targets versus Pittsburgh. The Steelers are still 31st in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs. Higgins is a must-start.
TE – Zach Ertz vs MIA (in Spain)
Zach Ertz just keeps chugging along. He’s TE11 on the season, and in an offense held together with duct tape and hope, he has become the steadying presence they lean on. Last week, he posted a 23% target share in the loss to Detroit. That kind of volume is rare at TE, and you take it every time. The Dolphins are getting cooked by TEs this year: 29th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed, 31st in receptions allowed, and 30th in receiving yards allowed. If you are rolling into Week 11 looking for a safe TE start with volume and matchup on his side, Ertz is your guy. De Nada.
Jason’s Starts of the Week
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
QB – Dak Prescott @ LV
Dallas comes out of the bye and rolls straight into a Monday Night shootout in Vegas. The matchup has the highest total of the week (50.5), with the Cowboys carrying a 27-point implied team total —one of the best on the slate. The matchup is tailor-made for Dak. The Raiders run zone coverage 84% of the time, the highest rate in the NFL. Meanwhile, Dak has been lighting up zone this year. He is 5th in completion percentage and 4th in TD passes. A high-scoring environment against a defense playing the exact coverage Dak dices up…. Jason loves that.
RB – Aaron Jones vs CHI
Sometimes you can feel when a player turns the corner, and last week felt like that moment for Aaron Jones. Since returning from injury in Week 8, the takeover has been steady. Jones is out-snapping, out-touching him, and out-gaining Jordan Mason. Fresh off the bye, Jones played a season-high 71% of the snaps. He finished as the RB12 against the Ravens. The Vikings clearly trust Jones. Now the story heads to Lambeau… with the Bears on deck. Chicago has been dead last in yards before contact and bottom-eight in schedule-adjusted points allowed to RBs. If there was ever a spot for Jones to rip off chunk gains untouched, it’s this one, and that’s precisely why Jason planted his flag and made him the RB Start of the Week.
WR – A.J. Brown vs DET (SNF)
When a superstar wideout tells you to “drop him in fantasy,” that’s your cue to start him everywhere. Brown is still the engine of this passing attack, owning a 26% target share and a 31% first-read share. When Philly throws, Brown is getting the opportunity. This week, there will be ample opportunity. The Lions never let off the pedal. They are the 3rd-most combined points per game (54). This is Sunday Night Football under the bright lights, high total, fast pace, and a defense that can be picked apart outside. Angry A.J. Brown in a shootout? Yeah – lock him in and enjoy the fireworks.
TE – Dalton Schultz @ TEN
Schultz has caught at least five passes for 50+ yards in four of his last five games. When General Mills drops back, Schultz is one of the first guys he looks for. Over the last two weeks, Schultz has been on the receiving end of 25% of Mills’ first-read targets. Only two TEs have commanded that level on the season: Trey McBride (34%) and Brock Bowers (25%). Houston rolls into Tennessee as 6.5-point road favorites, and Schultz profiles as a solid, trustworthy streaming option in a spot where the Texans should be moving the ball early and often.
Mike’s Starts of the Week
Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
QB – Joe Flacco @ PIT
In four starts as a Bengal, Flacco has logged finishes of QB15, QB4 (yep, against these same Steelers), QB8, and QB2 heading into the bye. The volume is outrageous: 43 pass attempts per game, 313 yards, and nearly three passing TDs every time he steps on the field. Flacco has already carved up the Steelers once this year. If you need a Week 11 spark at QB, fire up Flacco.
RB – Jaylen Warren vs CIN
Warren’s averaging 17 opportunities per game, sitting as the RB22 on the season, and he hasn’t dipped below two receptions in any matchup. The floor has been rock solid, but this week has ceiling-game written all over it. The Bengals defense? They’re a funnel to everything. Every position, every matchup, every week. Against the run, they are 31st in yards before contact allowed, 31st in Expected Points per Rush Attempt, and 32nd in schedule-adjusted fantasy points. We’ve already seen Warren torch this defense. Back in Week 7, he finished as the RB7 with a season-high 127 rushing yards. And now we’ve got coach chatter saying they “need to get Warren more involved.”
WR – Tyler Lockett vs DAL
Mike slipped on the titanium underpants, and you know what that means: it’s time to get crazy. Yes, Tyler Lockett. In the year 2025. As Mike’s Start of the Week. Last week, Lockett was the clear No. 2 option for the Raiders. He ran a route on 66% of dropbacks, saw six targets, caught five for 44 yards, and played 57% of snaps against Denver. Now he gets Dallas, a defense that is dead last in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs. Guys who don’t even have a pedigree are putting up numbers, allowing multiple receivers to hit 60+ yards every week over the last month:
- Washington: Jaylin Lane, Chris Moore
- Denver: Troy Franklin, Courtland Sutton
- Arizona (before the bye): Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson
Jason already has a waiver claim in for Lockett in a deep league. Sometimes you’ve got to get nasty.
TE – Colston Loveland @ MIN
Everybody on Chicago is banged up. Rome Odunze and DJ Moore both logged DNPs on Wednesday, and Cole Kmet was limited. That opens the door for Loveland to stay heavily involved. Over the last month, he’s run a route on 68% of dropbacks. Minnesota is a great matchup for TEs, ranking 29th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points to the position. Loveland is firmly on the streaming radar this week.
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/FVlbSeR
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