RADIO
Last week brought unexpected fantasy football surprises and busts. Mike Riggall analyzes overreactions to Jeff Driskel, Bo Scarbrough, Jonathan Williams and more.
In Week 11, Josh Allen scorched the Dolphins Defense for three touchdowns through the air and one touchdown on the ground, finishing as the No. 1 quarterback on the week. As expected, Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott finished as top-five quarterbacks, while Sam Darnold rebounded in a "get well" matchup against the Redskins. Kyle Allen and Tom Brady both had decent matchups and failed to come through, both barely finishing as QB2s, which is a little concerning since only 28 teams had games this week.
Devante Parker was a WR1 on the week as he continues to break out. In the same game, John Brown scored two touchdowns and went over 100 yards to finish as the No. 1 wide receiver on the week. The Arizona defense continues to surrender serious points to the tight end position, giving up 17.4 PPR points to Ross Dwelley who started in place of the injured George Kittle. After coming through in Week 10 against the Cardinals, OJ Howard failed to register a catch against the Saints and was actually benched in the game because he badly bobbled a pass which was subsequently intercepted. It may be time to finally give up on Howard if you haven't already.
At the running back position, there weren't many surprises. Christian McCaffrey failed to score, but he touched the ball 25 times and gained 191 yards of total offense in the Panthers' loss to the Falcons. The Buccaneers are very good against the run, which was concerning for Alvin Kamara heading into the week, but he was able to get it done in the passing game. Kamara hauled in all 10 of his targets for 47 yards, finishing as a top-five running back on the week. Josh Jacobs did well against the Bengals, gaining 124 yards of offense on 26 touches, but he failed to score and came up a bit small in a matchup where he was expected to explode. Last week is now in the rearview mirror, and now we need to look ahead and evaluate how to move forward to Week 12.
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Jeff Driskel (QB, DET)
Week 11 Stats: 15-of-26, 209 yards, 2 TD, 8 carries, 51 yards, 1 TD
Heading into Week 11, the Cowboys Defense had given up the fifth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season and in general, the outlook for the Lions offense was poor. Driskel, however, is a very capable runner and scored 11.1 of his 27.46 fantasy points while running the football.
Bottom Line: Driskel can get it done with his legs and he will face the struggling Redskins Defense in Week 12. If Matthew Stafford misses next week, Driskel could be a decent streamer.
Sam Darnold (QB, NYJ)
Week 11 Stats: 19-of-30, 293 yards, 4 TD
Sam Darnold took advantage of a great matchup against a struggling Redskins secondary and came through with four touchdowns. Darnold threw for 9.8 yards-per-attempt this week which marked just the second time this season he registered a yards-per-attempt over eight. Partially thanks to a leaky offensive line, Darnold simply isn't looking down the field much on his throws.
Bottom Line: Darnold is extremely hard to trust and should only be used in Week 12 against Oakland if you're desperate. Oakland is surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season, but keep in mind that Darnold came up extremely small against the struggling defenses of the Giants and Dolphins in Weeks 9 and 10.
Deshaun Watson (QB, HOU)
Week 11 Stats: 18-of-29, 169 yards, 3 carries, 12 yards
Deshaun Watson is the No. 4 quarterback on the season and has now registered three very poor fantasy performances. In Week 2, Watson only scored 12.86 fantasy points against a Jaguars Defense that still featured Jalen Ramsey and a fierce pass rush. In Week 4 he struggled in the passing game against the Panthers but he did score once on the ground. In Week 11, Watson was harassed all game by the Ravens Defense and they shut him down completely.
Bottom Line: The Texans' offensive line is better than it has been in the past, but they still struggle to protect Watson at times. As a result, bad games from Watson will happen on occasion. You need to roll Watson out there each and every week regardless of the matchup because he's capable of coming through in any situation.
Deebo Samuel (WR, SF)
Week 11 Stats: 10 targets, 8 catches, 134 yards
In Week 11, the San Francisco wide receivers had soft matchups against a Cardinals Defense that had given up the 10th-most fantasy points to the position on the season. Samuel led the team in targets with 10 and came through with 134 yards. George Kittle was out and Emmanuel Sanders was limited, only playing 46.8% of the snaps and seeing just five targets.
Bottom Line: Deebo Samuel is the real deal and will be a stud for the 49ers for years to come, but for 2019, things need to set up well for him to come through. Samuel is still the third target in San Francisco's passing game when Kittle and Sanders are both fully healthy.
Randall Cobb (WR, DAL)
Week 11 Stats: 7 targets, 4 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD
Amari Cooper was targeted eight times in Week 11 but was only able to haul in three of them for 38 scoreless yards. Randall Cobb and Michael Gallup both had soft matchups in Week 11, avoiding Darius Slay for the most part, and both came through.
Bottom Line: Cobb has capitalized off of some good matchups recently, going over 100 yards and scoring a touchdown two weeks in a row. Keep in mind that Cobb has come up small most of the year and has cracked 10 PPR points just three times on the season.
Tony Pollard (RB, DAL)
Week 11 Stats: 2 carries, 12 yards, 4 targets, 4 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD
In Week 11 Ezekiel Elliott touched the ball 18 times compared to six touches for Tony Pollard. Elliott played 89.2% of the Cowboys snaps compared to just 17.6% for Pollard. Although Pollard did come through for fantasy due to his 25-yard touchdown catch, he is not cutting into Elliott's work. Pollard simply happened to break a long one for a touchdown when he subbed in for Elliott.
Bottom Line: Pollard remains and high-end handcuff and if you own Ezekiel Elliott you absolutely need to own Pollard. Pollard should not be considered as a starter moving forward barring an injury to Elliott.
Jonathan Williams (RB, IND)
Week 11 Stats: 13 carries, 116 yards, 1 target, 1 catch, 31 yards
Marlon Mack was on his way to a big day, rumbling for 109 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries before going down with a hand injury. With Jordan Wilkins injured, former Buffalo Bills running back Jonathan Williams stepped in and routinely gashed the Jaguars Defense on the ground. If Mack misses time moving forward, Williams is an extremely viable option.
Bottom Line: Williams needs to be a top waiver wire add heading into Week 12. If Wilkins continues to miss time, he will be the man in the Colts backfield.
Bo Scarbrough (RB, DET)
Week 11 Stats: 14 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD
Bo Scarbrough surprisingly led the Detroit backfield in Week 11 playing 49% of the snaps. Ty Johnson played on just 29% of the snaps while JD McKissic, who was supposed to get a fairly large workload, played a mere 23% of the snaps.
Bottom Line: The Lions backfield is an absolute mess. If you are in a deeper league or truly desperate for help at the running back position, Scarbrough can be used as a touchdown-dependent flex play.
Ryan Griffin (TE, NYJ)
Week 11 Stats: 5 targets, 5 catches, 109 yards, 1 TD
Ryan Griffin has been a common subject in this column during the 2019 season. In the past, cold water had been thrown on any optimism surrounding Griffin's performances because of the impending return of Chris Herndon. With Herndon on IR, it's now safe to assume that Griffin will receive decent volume in the passing game moving forward.
Bottom Line: Ryan Griffin has now scored four touchdowns on the season and is the No. 15 tight end in fantasy. If you need help at the position, Griffin is a viable option moving forward, especially given the conservative nature of the Jets offense.
