Fantasy Football 2017: Who to start and sit in Week 11

Hopefully your fantasy team hasn’t been blowing it like the Bengals have this season. There are only about three weeks separating you from the playoffs, so here are the players you should start and sit this week in fantasy to get closer to clinching a spot in the post-season.

Week 11 bye weeks: Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers

Must starts

LeSean McCoy (Bills RB): The Chargers run defense isn’t great, and with the Bills benching Tyrod Taylor in favor of Nathan Peterman, McCoy should expect quite the workload. The volume of touches here may be what puts McCoy over the edge this week.

Alshon Jeffery (Eagles WR): The Eagles offense has been on fire this season. A huge part of that is that Jeffery and Carson Wentz have been a match made in heaven. The two have connected for five touchdowns this season, including two in their last game against the Broncos.

Favorable matchups

Melvin Gordon (Chargers RB): As someone who owns Gordon I picked up Austin Ekeler this week as more of a handcuff. It is something to keep an eye on, but I still believe the Chargers go with Gordon more this week against the Bills who got pounded by the Saints last week and allowed six rushing touchdowns to New Orleans.

Jarvis Landry (Dolphins WR): Landry has scored a touchdown the past two weeks, and Tampa Bay has been pretty fair to receivers. Landry hasn’t caught a pass of over 20 yards yet this season, but the Dolphins love to get him involved underneath.

Good but not great

Marshawn Lynch (Raiders RB): Lynch is coming off probably his best game of the season with two touchdowns. The Raiders will be playing against the Patriots whose defense has tightened up slightly since the opening of the season. Lynch should have a fairly nice output considering the Patriots will try and dare the Raiders to run the ball while taking away their pass catchers. Note: this game is in Mexico City, so it’s a home game for the Raiders, but hardly.

Jeremy Maclin (Ravens WR): This may be the first and last time I recommend a Ravens’ receiver. They are going up against the Packers, and if there was ever a matchup based play for Maclin this would be the week.

Blaine Gabbert (Cardinals QB): This is more of a bold prediction combined with a lack of options. The waiver wire looks pretty bleak this week as far as quarterbacks go. Brett Hundley isn’t a viable option against the Ravens, so Gabbert in a good matchup may be your best bet. The Texans have a terrible secondary, and Gabbert actually has weapons around him.

Jay Cutler (Dolphins QB): If you refuse to pick up Gabbert, hoping good Cutler shows up is your next best option. Cutler was downright awful last week, but against Tampa Bay he has a new chance to hopefully put up a nice output for your fantasy team.

Tyler Kroft (Bengals TE): If you need a replacement at tight end you should look no further than Kroft this week. The Broncos can’t cover tight ends. They just can’t. Kroft probably won’t put up huge number given his situation, but he should be a solid plug and play this week.

Unfavorable matchups

Todd Gurley (Rams RB): Gurley going up against the Vikings is a recipe for disaster. The Texans have been outstanding against the run. Gurley still has hope by getting involved in the passing game, but this should be a rough week for him.

A.J. Green (Bengals WR): The Broncos have two of the best corners in the league. The Bengals offense is also a mess right now. It is hard to bench Green because—like we saw last week— he only needs one play to really make it worth playing him. But, keep in mind that this might not be a big scoring week for the Bengals’ star wideout.

Just sit them

Adrian Peterson (Cardinals RB): Peterson is going up against the Texans who have been very stingy against the run this season. Just leave him on your bench this week because it’s not likely to be a good day for the recently-traded back who had a record-breaking (in a bad way) game last week.

Jordy Nelson (Packers WR): This goes for all Packers receivers. The Ravens secondary is very good. You should sit all of your Packers receivers. Aaron Rodgers is not playing. This is simple. Hundley isn’t good enough to beat this defense.