Taysom Hill is expected to start for the Saints in Week 11 against the Falcons with Drew Brees (ribs) out, which is somewhat of a surprise. We were all expecting Jameis Winston would start, but Sean Payton is going with Hill. And this could be fun, or frustrating, depending on several factors.
Let's start with his value as a Fantasy quarterback, which is all he is on CBS Sports. I would only start him in two-quarterback and Superflex leagues unless you're desperate, and I would expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 Fantasy points if things go well. We know he'll run, which is great, and hopefully he can connect with his receivers for enough success to boost his production.
But I'm not sold on Winston just sitting on the bench despite the ESPN report that he will not be part of any offensive packages. I still think Winston plays at some point in the game, especially if the Saints are trailing, which could limit Hill's upside.
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However, if we take that report as gospel, Hill could be better than expected as a Fantasy asset. Payton loves Hill and will be creative with his playcalling, and Hill gets the benefit of throwing to elite weapons in Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, as well as Emmanuel Sanders and Jared Cook.
Let's keep in mind that Atlanta has allowed five of its past six opposing quarterbacks to pass for at least 313 yards, with four of them scoring multiple touchdowns. The Falcons also have allowed four rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks this year.
Now, for those of you who can use Hill as a tight end on other sites, he could be amazing with that eligibility. If he has the chance for anything above 15 Fantasy points, he's going to potentially be the No. 1 tight end in all leagues. The only tight end I would rank ahead of Hill is Travis Kelce, but Hill could easily be better given how much potential he has as the starting quarterback for the Saints.
You can also use Hill as a tight end on FanDuel, and he'll be popular at $4,500 but likely worth it. He's clearly a sleeper in all seasonal and daily leagues, and Payton will do everything he can to make Hill successful. For those of you who start him -- at quarterback or tight end -- hopefully he delivers a big game against the Falcons this week.
As for Kamara, I wouldn't worry about his Fantasy value. He's still a top-three running back in all leagues against the Falcons.
Thomas gets downgraded to a low-end No. 2 Fantasy receiver, but hopefully Hill targets Thomas early and often to help him finally have a quality outing in 2020, which has been marred by injuries and a lack of production. I was more hopeful for Thomas if Winston had played.
Cook is more of a borderline starter at tight end, and Sanders is only worth using in three-receiver leagues. We'll see how they do with Hill, but it's hard to trust them given their recent struggles, even with Brees under center.
Now, let's look at some other sleeper options for Week 11, as well as DFS options to use on DraftKings and FanDuel this week.
More Week 11: Start 'Em & Sit 'Em | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: RB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: WR | Waiver Wire | Biggest Questions | Trade Values | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | PPR Cheat Sheet | Non-PPR Cheat Sheet | Rest-of-Season Rankings | Cut List | Believe It or Not | Winners & Losers | FFT Newsletter
Week 11 Sleepers
Burrow should be getting help on the offensive line with Jonah Williams and Bobby Hart expected to return this week. Hopefully, the extra protection helps against Washington, and Matthew Stafford just had 276 passing yards and three touchdowns against this defense in Week 10. Prior to scoring just 16 Fantasy points in Week 10 at Pittsburgh, Burrow had scored 60 points in his previous two games against Cleveland and Tennessee.
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Rivers is actually playing well coming into Week 11 against the Packers and could be a streaming option in deeper leagues. He's scored at least 18 Fantasy points in three of his past four games, and we'll see how he does if the Colts are chasing points. It also helps that Rivers is starting to get strong play from rookie Michael Pittman. I don't mind Rivers in a potential shootout with Aaron Rodgers.
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Cousins is always a risky Fantasy option because of his lack of pass attempts, but he has scored at least 21 Fantasy points in three of his past four games, including two of those with 36 passes against Atlanta in Week 6 and at Chicago in Week 10. We'll see if Dalvin Cook runs all over the Cowboys in Week 11, but Cousins is worth streaming in deeper leagues with the hope this game becomes a potential shootout.
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Smith only has 28 Fantasy points in his past two games against the Giants and Lions, but he's passed for 715 yards over that span on 87 attempts. Now, he only has one touchdown and three interceptions in those games, but hopefully the touchdowns will come if he continues to average 43.5 passes per game. He has a good matchup against Cincinnati in Week 11, and the Bengals have allowed three of their past four opposing quarterbacks to pass for at least 297 yards and three touchdowns.
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This is a great matchup against a Texans defense that has been destroyed by opposing running backs all season. Houston allows the most rushing yards in the NFL, and six running backs have already rushed for at least 100 yards in a game against the Texans, including Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt last week. And James Robinson was 1-yard shy of that mark in Week 9. Houston also has allowed five rushing touchdowns in its past four games. Burkhead has 37 PPR points in his past two games with 18 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown, along with seven catches for 46 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets over that span. He's a solid flex in all leagues this week.
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McKissic has an insane 29 targets in his past two games against the Giants and Lions, and he should continue to see plenty of passes in his direction against the Bengals this week from Alex Smith. McKissic has converted those targets into 16 catches for 108 yards, and he also added 11 carries for 23 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He's a low-end starter in all PPR leagues and a flex option in 0.5 PPR and non-PPR formats.
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Bernard in this category because with Joe Mixon (foot) out again in Week 11 it should be another quality outing, and Bernard is a must-start Fantasy option in all leagues. Prior to facing the Steelers last week, Bernard averaged 20.5 PPR points in the first two games Mixon missed. Bernard has that kind of upside in Week 11 against Washington now that he's again the starter.
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Johnson was a disappointment in his first start in place of David Johnson (concussion) in Week 10 at Cleveland, but I'm expecting a bounce-back game this week against the Patriots. Duke Johnson played 95 percent of the snaps against the Browns and had 14 carries, but hopefully he'll be more involved in the passing game after no catches. His reception total will likely be the key to his success this week.
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The Jets are expected to lean on Perine more coming off their bye in Week 10, and hopefully that happens. Perine has one game this season with double digits in carries, which was Week 7 against Buffalo, and he scored a season-best 13 PPR points. This could be a good week to consider him a flex option against the Chargers, who have allowed a running back to score in four games in a row, with six total touchdowns allowed over that span.
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Meyers is a borderline starter in PPR and a solid No. 3 Fantasy receiver in non-PPR leagues. He's still looking for his first receiving touchdown, but he's scored at least 13 PPR points in three games in a row prior to Week 11. And he has 31 targets over that span.
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Prior to a tough matchup in Week 10 at Miami when Williams was held to two catches for 38 yards on five targets, he had scored at least 13 PPR points in three of his past four games. I expect him to get back on track against the Jets this week at home, and this should be a good week for Williams and Keenan Allen against this depleted secondary.
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I like Amari Cooper as a No. 2 Fantasy receiver this week, and Lamb isn't far behind now that Andy Dalton is back. In the one start Dalton made this season and was able to finish in Week 6 against Arizona, Lamb had seven catches for 64 yards on 11 targets. Cooper also played well with Dalton in that game with seven catches for 79 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets. I'm expecting both receivers to have similar success this week against the Vikings.
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Agholor is a complete dart throw against the Chiefs this week, and he'll need to score a touchdown to help your Fantasy roster. Now, he did score at Kansas City in Week 5 with two catches for 67 yards on two targets, and he has a touchdown in four of his past six games. But he only has one game this season with more than four targets, and hopefully this game becomes a shootout to help Agholor's volume from Derek Carr. I like Agholor as a boom-or-bust No. 3 Fantasy receiver this week.
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The matchup for the Panthers is bad against the Buccaneers, but Samuel could be looking at additional work with Christian McCaffrey (shoulder) out. Carolina has given Samuel at least three carries in five of his past seven games, and he has two rushing touchdowns over that span. He also just had season highs in targets (nine), catches (nine), yards (105) and scored a receiving touchdown for the second game in a row. He's had the ball in his hands at least seven times in four games in a row, and he's averaging 18.3 PPR points over that span. Consider him a flex this week against Tampa Bay.
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Thomas has six targets in consecutive games playing with Alex Smith, and he's scored at least 10 PPR points in three of his past four games. The Bengals come into this game No. 2 in Fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends.
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Hooper had to deal with bad weather in Week 10 against Houston, but hopefully that was the shake the rust off game after being out since Week 6 following an appendectomy. He only had one catch for 11 yards, but I'll still use him as a low-end starter against the Eagles, who have allowed six tight ends to score at least 10 PPR points against them this year.
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Thomas failed to find the end zone in Week 9 at the Giants for the first time since Week 5, but hopefully he can have more success this week. The Lions have allowed four total touchdowns to tight ends in their past two games, and Thomas should be a popular target for Alex Smith in this matchup.
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DraftKings
QB: Deshaun Watson (vs. NE) $6,500
RB: Mike Davis (vs. DET) $6,800
RB: Kalen Ballage (vs. NYJ) $5,600
WR: Jamison Crowder (at LAC) $6,100
WR: Brandin Cooks (vs. NE) $5,200
WR: Jakobi Meyers (at HOU) $4,900
TE: Hayden Hurst (at NO) $4,400
FLEX: Nick Chubb (vs. PHI) $7,000
DST: Dolphins (at DEN) $3,400I'll stack Watson and Cooks here, and both should be better than they were in Week 10 after playing in bad wind in Cleveland. I'll also play Meyers in that same game, and hopefully the Texans and Patriots put up plenty of points -- or at least those three guys.
Davis is the Start of the Week, and he has a tremendous matchup against the Lions, who allow the most Fantasy points to opposing running backs. And Ballage has a great opportunity against the Jets, and it helps that he's actually been great for the past two games. Chubb is an easy choice at flex given what he should do against the Eagles, and hopefully he doesn't step out of bounds this time when he has an easy touchdown, although that was the smart move for his team.
I'll play Crowder at the other receiver spot, and he should be a target hog against the Chargers. And Hurst should be a popular target for Matt Ryan in a potential shootout with the Saints.
FanDuel
QB: Justin Herbert (vs. NYJ) $8,500
RB: Mike Davis (vs. DET) $7,400
RB: Giovani Bernard (at WAS) $6,300
WR: Keenan Allen (vs. NYJ) $8,000
WR: Terry McLaurin (vs. CIN) $7,300
WR: Chase Claypool (at JAC) $6,400
TE: Taysom Hill (vs. NO) $4,500
FLEX: Kareem Hunt (vs. PHI) $6,700
DST: Chargers (vs. NYJ) $4,500I'll play Davis here again, and I also like Bernard with his matchup against Washington. Hunt also is a great flex option against the Eagles.
I'll stack Herbert here with Allen, and the Jets secondary is a mess. It should be a good game for all the Chargers skill players, but also the defense should play well against Joe Flacco at home.
My other receivers are McLaurin and Claypool, and both have the chance for big games in Week 11. And hopefully Hill delivers at tight end. He'll be popular, but I expect him to be successful since you're getting a starting quarterback in a tight end spot here.