Still better than Field Yates, Week 11 Fantasy Football Picks

Just wanted to say sorry about last week, I forgot the never trust Jay Cutler for anything rule.

Must Start QBs

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh: Big Ben is coming off a huge game where he threw for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys. One of the most consistent QBs in all of football, Big Ben is almost a guarantee to provide solid fantasy numbers each and every week. This week he plays the one and only Cleveland Browns. That should be enough for you to know he is a must start this week and is in line for an absolute monster game. Start Ben and the rest of the Steelers stacked offense this week and watch the fantasy points rack up.

Blake Bortles, Jacksonville: Teenage mutant ninja Bortles has had a pretty disappointing year overall this season, but has recently shown signs that he might be turning it around after all with good games in the past 3 weeks and a very favorable upcoming schedule for the next couple of weeks. He has thrown for at least 2 touchdowns and 250 yards in each of his last 3 games and now gets a fantastic matchup against the Detroit Lions Sunday where he could very well go off. A big part of his recent success has been the reemergence of star wide receiver Allen Robinson who had 9 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown last week against the Houston Texans. The Lions seemingly struggle week in and week out at shutting down opposing wide outs, and it has proven to be their weaknesses all season. I’m expecting a big day out of Robinson and Bortles this week and their success and the Jaguars recent success as a whole to continue Sunday.

Start RBs

LeGarrette Blount, New England: LeGarrette Blount has been one of the biggest surprises in all of fantasy this season. The New England Patriots starting running back has already scored 12 touchdowns in only 9 games and has seen a huge workload in just about every game making him a very dominate play week in week out. This week he plays the San Francisco 49ers (the worst run defense in all of football) in a dream matchup for his owners. And with Gronk not expected to suit up Sunday it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Patriots have a run heavy mindset against the very weak 49ers run defense. Blount should have one of his best games of the season this week and is an elite RB1 in any format.

Latavius Murray, Oakland: Coming off a bye this week Latavius Murray gets a very favorable matchup against the Houston Texans. Murray has seemed to find a groove recently as he has put together a string of good games together in a row in recent weeks. Two weeks ago Murray torched arguably the best defense in all of football the Denver Broncos for 114 yards and 3 touchdowns. Murray seems to be set for another very good game Sunday and deserves to be started in all leagues in all formats.

Must Start WRs

Steve Smith, Baltimore: Will Steve Smith ever truly age or see a decline in his play? This is the age old question that NFL scouts, analysts, and insiders have been pondering for years now. Week in and week out Smith goes about answering that question the only way he knows how: absolutely dominating defenses like he has for over a decade. After suffering a season ending injury last year, Smith decided he would not retire like he had planned on doing prior to the start of the season, and he came back again for yet another year. Recently Smith has been getting back to his old ways after a slow start to the season and seems to be back in his zone. This week he plays the Dallas Cowboys in a game that should see a lot of passing from the Ravens which means another big day out of Smith is very possible. Start him this week, and if he is somehow available in your league, get ahold of him before someone else seizes the opportunity.

Doug Baldwin, Seattle: Seattle’s yearly mid season surge is finally upon us, and Russell Wilson’s favorite target Doug Baldwin is an essential part of their success each and every year. After starting off the new season on fire, it seemed like this was the year he was truly going to cement himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL. Keep in mind last season he ended the year with 14 touchdowns (12 in the last 8 games of the season). But Russell Wilson’s early struggles and various injuries have really played a big part in Baldwin’s numbers and his less than impressive stats so far this season. Things took a really good turn last week though in the Super Bowl 49 rematch against the New England Patriots where he found the end zone 3 different times. Baldwin has a tendency to find the endzone in bunches if he and Wilson are on the same page, and based off of last week it looks like the two are clicking on all cylinders. This week he heads back to Seattle to play the Philadelphia Eagles, who throughout their last few seasons have had their fair share of secondary issues, in particular at the corner back position. A streaking Wilson and a confident Baldwin could be a very bad combo for Philadelphia this week.

Must Start TEs

Martellus Bennett, New England: Martellus Bennett’s season has made most of his owners scratch their heads and ponder what to do with him. Hopefully if you are an owner of Bennett you were smart enough to draft him as your backup and not stuck starting him week in and week out. The former star tight end for the Chicago Bears has been downgraded to a backup role in New England’s offense with the presence of the one and only Rob Gronkowski still around and dominating secondary’s. Overall his struggles have come down to just a lack of opportunities and the talent is without doubt still there. Well the good news is, it is unlikely Gronk plays this week, meaning Bennett will be in line for the start. The last time he started for the Patriots he went OFF and found the end zone 3 times in his best game of the season. If that isn’t enough,. he is also playing the San Francisco 49ers, one of the worst all around defenses in the league. It helps anytime you have Tom Brady throwing you the ball.

Eric Ebron, Detroit: The Detroit Lions starting tight end Eric Ebron has shown many doubters this year that he is soon going to be one of the best tight ends in this league. The third year pro out of North Carolina has caught 14 passes for 171 yards combined in the last two weeks and put up very solid fantasy numbers at a position that is very thin in terms of consistent fantasy scorers. This week he gets a fantastic matchup against the iffy Jacksonville Jaguars defense. The Jaguars get torched by the pass seemingly each week and now that Ebron seems to have gained the full trust of his quarterback Matt Stafford he could finally become the elite weapon the Lions need.

Sneaky Streamer Start

Jamison Crowder, Washington: Jamison Crowder has quietly been one of the most consistent wide receivers in all of fantasy this season. The second year wide out for the Washington Redskins has already scored 5 touchdowns and went undrafted in just about every single fantasy league. With 2 touchdowns and 13 receptions in the past two games, Crowder seems to be in the zone right now and shouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon due to his very favorable matchups coming up in the next few weeks. This week he plays the Green Bay Packers whose secondary has looked like that of a Pop Warner team in the past few weeks, including last week where they allowed a total of 47 points to the Tennessee Titans. Yes you read that right…the Tennessee Titans. Start Crowder this week with confidence as I’m expecting him to find his way into the end zone for the third straight week.