RADIO
Michael Florio's fantasy football sneaky starts, pivot plays, and post-waiver waiver pickups for Week 11 of the NFL season. Start 'em as under-the-radar fantasy sleepers this upcoming week.
It's Week 11 already. The fantasy football season is flying by. But for many of us, this is when the real interesting portion of the season happens. If your record is 4-6 or better, you are in the playoff hunt in your league. Many of the leagues I play in have the final playoff spot sitting at 6-4 or 5-5. With four weeks left in the regular season, you are very much still in the hunt even if you are just under .500, but you need to rattle off some W's.
There are once again four teams on bye and injuries continue to plague fantasy managers. Luckily, lineups should be easier to set than in past weeks as many players have returned and the teams on bye are just not as fantasy-friendly. But, if you need a pivot option, you have come to the right place.
If you are sitting pretty for the playoffs, you can look to use your roster spots to play the long game, but you still have to make sure your starting lineup is as strong as possible and this article should help.
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Quarterback Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Joshua Dobbs has scored 25 fantasy points in each of his first two games with the Vikings. One of those he didn’t even start. He has a rushing touchdown in four straight and has failed to run for 25 yards in just one game since Week 2. He has topped 40 rushing yards in seven games in that span. To put that into perspective, 40 rushing yards equates to 100 passing yards in fantasy land. He has the second-most rushing yards and third-most rushing TDs among all QBs. He may not be on the waiver wire anymore, but if you nabbed him, he is certainly in play this week.
Brock Purdy was dropped during his bye week in several spots. He made those who dropped him look silly last week. He had all his pieces around him for the first time in nearly a month and he and the offense looked right again. He topped 20 fantasy points for the fourth time this season against the Jaguars in Week 10. Now he gets a fantastic matchup against the Bucs, who have allowed the third-most passing yards this season and the most since Week 6.
Jordan Love is the top streaming option for those in deeper leagues where the two aforementioned options are rostered. He is coming off his best passing game of the season where he threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, he gets a great matchup against the Chargers, who have allowed the most passing yards this season and the second-most since Week 6. They’ve allowed the second-most fantasy PPG to QBs as well.
Running Back Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Devin Singletary is coming off his best game as a pro. He ran 30 times for 150 yards and a touchdown. He added an 11-yard catch on two targets as well, finishing with 23.1 fantasy points and a top-three finish on the week. Dameon Pierce could return this week but Singletary clearly isn’t going away. At the least expect a split but Singletary easily could have stolen the lead job last week. He is a streamer against the Cardinals, who have allowed the third-most fantasy PPG to RBs and the most rushing yards and TDs to the position since Week 6. He is a strong streaming option.
Darrell Henderson Jr. has one more week as a fantasy starter until Kyren Williams returns from IR. He was dropped during his bye in a lot of leagues so check if he is out there. Henderson has topped 11 fantasy points in two of his three spot starts while being on the heavy side of a platoon with Royce Freeman. Henderson has had valuable looks in the passing game and near the goal line as well. He has an extremely favorable matchup as well against Seattle, who have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards and fifth-most rushing touchdowns to backs since Week 6. They’ve allowed a league-high 5.2 yards per carry to backs in that span. Start him for another week.
Ty Chandler carried the ball 15 times for 45 yards and a touchdown last week. He played 30 snaps, while the other back Kene Nwangwu played just three. I do not love this backfield if Alexander Mattison suits up as they will eat off each other's plate on a team that throws often. But if Mattison sits, Chandler becomes a plug-and-play RB2 this week.
Rico Dowdle not only scored a touchdown last week, but he also scored more fantasy points than starter Tony Pollard. Dowdle played 29 percent of the snaps, carried the ball 12 times, and turned that into 79 yards and a touchdown. Much of it came after the Cowboys pulled ahead but that possible game script could repeat itself this week against the Panthers. It's such a good matchup as they have allowed the fifth-most rushing yards, most rushing touchdowns, and fourth-most receiving touchdowns to running backs. In total, they have allowed the second-most fantasy PPG. There is upside here for those looking to inject some life into their lineup.
Zach Charbonnet has played more snaps than Kenneth Walker III in three straight games. Charbonnet scored a season-high 10.2 fantasy points last week, carrying the ball six times for 44 yards. He ran 26 routes -- double the amount of Walker -- and was targeted five times. The floor is low with Charbonnet but he is getting more involved and brings upside for those searching for it on the waiver wire.
Wide Receiver Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Noah Brown joined CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, and Tyreek Hill as the only receivers with 150-plus yards in consecutive games this season. This offense continues to show it can sustain multiple pass catchers, especially considering C.J. Stroud leads the league in passing yards per game. If Nico Collins returns this week, Brown becomes a high-upside flex option. If Collins is out, Brown has to stay in starting lineups.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to be the third receiver for the Seahawks, but he has been more consistently involved as of late. In his last five games, JSN has averaged 5.6 targets, 4.2 catches, and 52.6 yards per game with two touchdowns in that span. JSN has now scored over eight fantasy points in all five of those games and 12 in three of his last four. The floor looks safe and there is more upside than we have seen so far. He is a strong pivot option this week.
Quentin Johnston led the Chargers receivers in snaps and tied for second in routes run. He saw just four targets, catching them all for 34 yards and a touchdown. It was his best game of the year and it could have been better as he had one catch bounce off his hands that could have been a big gain, potentially a touchdown. It didn’t show in the stat sheet because there was DPI on the play. He is an upside shot worth taking this week. If you miss out on him, Jalen Guyton, who had more targets and fantasy points as he also scored a touchdown, is a sneaky option this week.
Michael Wilson and Rondale Moore both get elevated with Kyler Murray back. Wilson just missed a touchdown last week and saw six targets. Moore caught five of his eight targets for 43 yards. Murray is simply going to raise all boats in this offense. Wilson is the preferred option of the two as he can win more downfield and in the red zone, but both are in play this week in a game where the Cards should have to throw.
Tight End Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Luke Musgrave has set a new high mark in yards in the last two weeks, with 51 in Week 9 and 64 in Week 10. He also caught his first touchdown in Week 9 and has topped eight fantasy points in two straight games. He could build off of that this week in a fantastic matchup against the Chargers. They have allowed the most yards to tight ends both on the season and since Week 6. They’ve allowed the seventh-most fantasy PPG to the position. He is a streaming option that should be available on a bunch of waivers this week.
Logan Thomas doesn’t bring much of a ceiling as he has topped 11 fantasy points just twice. The good thing is he topped 16 in those two games so he is capable of the random big game. But his floor is what makes him so appealing. He has scored at least seven fantasy points in all but one game. He has a great matchup against the Giants, who have been torched weekly. If you need a pivot option, you can do worse than Thomas.
Michael Mayer caught his first touchdown of the season last week. He brings a low floor but some upside here. In the last five games, he has scored 10.9 points or more twice and under four in the other three. But he gets the Dolphins this week and the Raiders will likely be chasing points. They will have to throw a whole bunch and that has Mayer in play in deeper leagues.
Tanner Hudson is solely for you deep-league maniacs who need a tight end to stream off the waiver wire this week. Hudson has scored at least 8.5 fantasy points in the past two weeks with Tee Higgins sidelined. He has been the Bengals tight end that has been most involved in the passing game. He has a tough matchup but if you are diving deep enough, he is an option.
Make sure to follow Michael on X, @MichaelFFlorio.
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