Week 11 is upon us and it is officially crunch time. Most leagues are down to the final three or four weeks. As teams jockey for playoff position, there are several things to be aware of. First, we have another six teams on a bye this week. This will almost certainly throw a monkey wrench into the plans of many fantasy teams. The biggest impact on my personal Week 11 rankings, however, is the quarterback situation in Baltimore. Joe Flacco is questionable to play on Sunday due to a hip injury. If he is forced to sit, rookie Lamar Jackson would likely grab the baton. This would not be your typical quarterback change. If this move were to happen, it would have major implications on the entire Baltimore offense, both good and bad.
From strictly a fantasy perspective, Jackson would be an improvement over Flacco. Flacco has attempted over 42 passes per game, yet sits as just the QB21 on the year. He has only had one top-10 week, and that came all the way back in Week 1. The Ravens just do not have a high-impact offense. Flacco has averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt and has thrown just 12 touchdowns. He has also rushed for a grand total of 45 scoreless yards.
If Jackson were to play, he would probably exceed Flacco’s yearly rushing output in the first half on Sunday. As we all know, rushing production is a major boost to any quarterback’s fantasy football outlook. Jackson’s ability to run immediately would vault him into QB1 consideration. I have him at QB13 in my Week 11 rankings.
I also think Baltimore’s running back group would benefit. Surely there is no way the Ravens would let Jackson chuck it up over 40 times. They would likely employ a safe, ball-control offense against the Cincinnati Bengals in a game they should be able to control. If Jackson plays, I give Alex Collins and Ty Montgomery a huge bump in expected workload. Collins would be a borderline RB1 for me, and Montgomery, albeit it with an unclear role at the moment, would warrant Flex consideration.
On the flip side, such a move would be a major downgrade to Baltimore’s receiving corps. John Brown, this season’s WR23 heading into Week 11, would be heavily impacted. He sees an average of 7.4 targets per game. Brown always has the ability to beat a defense deep, and the Bengals are certainly ripe for the picking in that regard. But it would be a leap of faith to trust Brown with Jackson under center. Because of this, I have him as a low volume Flex play. Michael Crabtree and Willie Snead were already outside the top 40 and top 50, respectively, even with Flacco. Neither would be usable if Jackson gets the nod.
https://twitter.com/RavensMFL/status/1062613062191144961
Below are the rest of my Week 11 rankings. As with the situation in Baltimore, there is still much to be determined as the weekend approaches. Stay tuned to the latest news and check for updates as the week progresses. The staff at Fantrax and FantraxHQ has you covered, and you can comment below or follow me on Twitter with any specific questions you may have regarding your start/sit decisions.
Week 11 Rankings
Also check out our Week 11 Sleepers: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends
Mick Ciallela has been writing for FantraxHQ since July 2017. He has also written for Bleacher Report. He is a lifelong sports fan and has been an avid fantasy sports player for many years. Mick was the Overall Champion of both the 2016 Football Challenge – Roto and 2017 Play 3 Football contests hosted by CDM Sports. Mick was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York and currently resides in New London, Connecticut.
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