If you drafted Tony Pollard in Round 1 or Round 2 you never thought you'd be seriously contemplating benching your RB1 in Week 11. But it's not a hard case to make. Pollard is RB26 on the season and hasn't topped 70 yards from scrimmage since Week 6. It is completely understandable to think about benching him, but I'm waiting one more week.

In Week 11 Pollard gets the Carolina Panthers, who have allowed the second-most Fantasy points per game to running backs this season. This is a matchup too good to pass up. Pollard did just face the Giants, so a matchup won't necessarily fix everything, but the Panthers are even worse and Pollard is still averaging 18 touches per game. 

Where things get really interesting is if Pollard is bad again this week. He'll have a short week to get ready for the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving. I'll probably rank him as a top-24 back in that game, but not as a must-start. In the next two weeks, he faces the Seahawks and Eagles, we could be in full-on bench mode by then.

The second question is if the Cowboys consider sitting Pollard a little more. Rico Dowdle has shown some juice this year and is my favorite stash candidate just in case. Hopefully, Pollard makes it a moot point against the Panthers this week.

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  • More Week 11 previews: QB | RB | WR | TE

You can find more in my weekly projections over at SportsLine. Now let's get to the rest of the Week 11 RB Preview:

Week 11 RB Preview

Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
RB Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 11 at this time. Here's what it means:

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Alexander Mattison RB
LV Las Vegas • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ty Chandler is expected to lead a committee if Mattison is out.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 3.86 -- Amongst backs with at least 45 rush attempts, Raheem Mostert's 3.86 yards after contact per attempt ranks No. 1.
  • 13 -- Tony Pollard's 13 goalline rushes rank second only to Ken Walker. He's getting the opportunities, he just can't punch it in.
  • 46.4% -- 46.4% of James Conner's carries have gone for at least five yards, the best mark amongst running backs with at least 45 carries.
  • 38% -- Jaylen Warren's 38% avoid rate leads the league. No wonder the Steelers named him the starter.
  • 23.5 -- De'Von Achane scored at least 23.5 PPR Fantasy points in each of his last three games before going on injured reserve. We expect him back in Week 11.
  • 38% -- David Montgomery's 38% snap share was well below his rate before his injury. I would be selling off the one long run he had in Week 10.
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Projections powered by Sportsline
Joe Mixon RB
HOU Houston • #28
Age: 28 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ BAL BAL -3.5 O/U 46

OPP VS RB

32nd

PROJ PTS

12.6

RB RNK

13th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

536

REC

26

REYDS

157

TD

4

FPTS/G

13.3
Tony Pollard RB
TEN Tennessee • #20
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ CAR DAL -10.5 O/U 42

OPP VS RB

1st

PROJ PTS

12.2

RB RNK

14th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

529

REC

29

REYDS

190

TD

2

FPTS/G

12.6
Najee Harris RB
PIT Pittsburgh • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ CLE CLE -4 O/U 36.5

OPP VS RB

3rd

PROJ PTS

10.5

RB RNK

23rd

YTD Stats

RUYDS

464

REC

18

REYDS

115

TD

3

FPTS/G

10.4
Devin Singletary RB
NYG N.Y. Giants • #26
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs ARI HOU -4 O/U 47.5

OPP VS RB

21st

PROJ PTS

8.4

RB RNK

25th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

359

REC

10

REYDS

53

TD

2

FPTS/G

7
Raheem Mostert RB
MIA Miami • #31
Age: 32 • Experience: 10 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs LV MIA -12 O/U 46.5

OPP VS RB

6th

PROJ PTS

14.6

RB RNK

20th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

605

REC

19

REYDS

151

TD

13

FPTS/G

19
Brian Robinson Jr. RB
WAS Washington • #8
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NYG WAS -10 O/U 37

OPP VS RB

7th

PROJ PTS

14

RB RNK

11th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

485

REC

20

REYDS

256

TD

8

FPTS/G

14.2
James Cook RB
BUF Buffalo • #4
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NYJ BUF -7 O/U 40

OPP VS RB

11th

PROJ PTS

9.8

RB RNK

24th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

615

REC

24

REYDS

222

TD

2

FPTS/G

11.8
Ty Chandler RB
MIN Minnesota • #32
Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ DEN DEN -2 O/U 43

OPP VS RB

7th

PROJ PTS

8.3

RB RNK

26th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

87

REC

5

REYDS

43

TD

1

FPTS/G

2.4
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 11 Adds (RB Preview)
Antonio Gibson RB
NE New England • #4
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NYG WAS -9 O/U 37

OPP VS RB

2nd

RB RNK

30th

ROSTERED

62%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

137

REC

30

REYDS

269

TD

2

FPTS/G

7.9
If you missed Devin Singletary and Ty Chandler, Antonio Gibson is likely your best shot left at running back in Week 11. He has three straight games with at least five targets and nine PPR Fantasy points. That makes him a fine option as a flex.
Jerick McKinnon RB
KC Kansas City • #1
Age: 32 • Experience: 10 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs PHI KC -2.5 O/U 45.5

OPP VS RB

32nd

RB RNK

43rd

ROSTERED

27%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

23

REC

17

REYDS

147

TD

3

FPTS/G

5.8
We're approaching the point in the season where McKinnon generally starts making his presence felt. Considering how bad the wide receivers have been, it makes all the sense in the world for McKinnon to start seeing more targets, especially against an Eagles defense that may be the league's best against the run.
Stashes (RB Preview)
Rico Dowdle RB
DAL Dallas • #23
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ CAR DAL -10.5 O/U 42

OPP VS RB

8th

RB RNK

NR

ROSTERED

38%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

212

REC

7

REYDS

57

TD

2

FPTS/G

5.1
Dowdle is mostly just playing in blowouts right now, but he's been more efficient than Tony Pollard this year and could see an uptick in his touches if Pollard struggles again in Week 11. At the very least, Dowdle should get more looks inside the five yard line, where Pollard has struggled the most.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
James Conner RB
ARI Arizona • #6
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ HOU HOU -4 O/U 47.5

OPP VS RB

18th

PROJ PTS

12.3

RB RNK

12th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

437

REC

8

REYDS

30

TD

2

FPTS/G

11.1
Conner shook off the rust in Week 10, now I expect him to work back into his bell cow role in Week 11. In his lst 12 healthy games before Week 10 Conner averaged 19 touches and 93 yards per game. That's a steal at $6,800 on FanDuel. My expectation is that this is the last chance you'll get this year to play Conner at a price below $7,000.
Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Tony Pollard RB
TEN Tennessee • #20
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ CAR DAL -10.5 O/U 42

OPP VS RB

23rd

PROJ PTS

12.2

RB RNK

14th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

529

REC

29

REYDS

190

TD

2

FPTS/G

12.6
The discourse around Pollard this week is entirely negative and for good reason. But this Panthers defense allowed 17 points to D'Onta Foreman, 12 to Salvon Ahmed, and two touchdowns a piece to Tony Jones and Tyler Allgeier. If Pollard is ever going to get going, this is the week.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections

My full set of Week 11 Fantasy Football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 11. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.