Tag: waiver wire

Three NFL players the Dolphins should strongly consider on waivers

Three NFL players the Dolphins should strongly consider on waivers

The NFL’s wave of roster cuts begun yesterday and with it comes no shortage of temptations for the Miami Dolphins. If the Dolphins are intent to work over the waiver wire from yesterday’s cuts, there are a number of talents who would be home run propositions for the team given where Miami sits in their roster rebuild. Who, among Friday’s reported cuts, makes the most sense for the Dolphins?

Here are three waiver wire candidates the Dolphins should consider.

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

RB Dare Ogunbowale

Pass catching ability. Special teams skills. These are the hallmarks of Ogunbowale’s game — and that makes him an enticing option for the Miami Dolphins. Yes, the Dolphins boast Jordan Howard and Matt Breida at the top of the depth chart. But Ogunbowale is a more experienced version of Patrick Laird — and Ogunbowale offers an impressive resume on the special teams units. The only reason Ogunbowale is on the waivers is because Tampa Bay signed Leonard Fournette to go along with 2020 3rd-round pick Ke’Shawn Vaughn and 2018 2nd-round pick Ronald Jones — making the former Wisconsin Badger an unfortunate casualty to more prominent names in the running game.

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Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: NFL schedule release edition

This week in Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly, we take a look at the 2020 NFL schedule release.

The NFL schedule release is always a big event for die-hard football fans and that includes elite fantasy football owners too. It is key to see when the top players have bye weeks, do they have games in good weather later in the year, key matchups, and to figure out how you can best maximize your fantasy football team based on the new NFL schedule.

In this week’s Fantasy Football Weekly, let’s look at all that and more as we dive into the 2020 NFL schedule.

Detroit Lions Fantasy Focus

The Detroit Lions have a very tough start to their schedule, an early bye week, and no primetime night games. They do have 15 out of 16 games that should be in good weather or a dome, 14 of the 16 games are 1:00 PM EST starts, and a heavy home schedule to end the season.

I’d expect the good weather and dome games to favor the current multi-dimensional Lions offense and should allow them to throw it very well throughout the year. I also think that will help their run game too where they should see a marked improvement on the ground with fantasy rookie standout D’Andre Swift from Georgia now in a Lions uniform.

Fantasy performers to focus on for the Lions would be hard to identify as I’m not sure there will be many top-scoring stars for Detroit when it comes to fantasy football. In this case that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I see this as a very balanced offense that will spread the ball around to many different players each week. I could see a bit of a dip for Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, but increased production for Kerryon Johnson and T.J. Hockenson.

This schedule isn’t an easy one, but it does have some good fantasy football elements for the Detroit Lions. The key will be playing well through that first stretch of tough games, staying healthy, and spreading out defenses with all their weapons. I expect their players to be solid fantasy football players in 2020, but not guys that will win your league for you.

Team Bye Weeks

Week 5: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers

Week 6: Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks,

Week 7: Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans

Week 8: Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

Week 9: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles

Week 10: Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers

Week 11: Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers

Week 12: No Teams On Bye

Week 13: Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Intriguing Lions Fantasy Football Games

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, Sunday, September 13, 2020 (Home and Season Opener), 1:00 PM, EST

Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers, Sunday, September 20, 2020, 1:00 PM, EST

New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions, Sunday, October 4, 2020, 1:00 PM, EST

Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, October 25, 2020, 1:00 PM, EST

Houston Texans at Detroit Lions, Thursday, November 26, 2020, 12:30 PM, EST

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions, December 27 or 28, 2020 (TBD)

Final Word

It may seem like a minor thing, but the NFL schedule can have a major impact on your fantasy team. I still say take the best players in your draft and figure out the bye weeks as you go, but making sure you don’t have multiple top players on a bye week later in the season could be a key to you making the playoffs or your team being on the outside looking in.

Another strategy I’ve seen is to load up on bye weeks for all your top players and then even if you lose that week all of your players are then available for all other weeks. This strategy is pretty risky and doesn’t leave much room for injuries or trades to make it work as intended. I feel you should use the information above though to make good decisions while in your drafts, but the NFL schedule is only one of the many factors to be considered and shouldn’t be the reason you win or lose your championship.

You can find Derek on Twitter @DerekOkrie for all your offseason fantasy football needs.

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Check out game-by-game score predictions from around the NFL Wires network:

Buf / Mia / NE / NYJ // Bal / Cin / Cle / Pit // Hou / Ind / Jax / Ten // Den / KC / LV / LAC //// Dal / NYG / Phi / Was // Chi / Det / GB / Min // Atl / Car / NO / TB // Ari / LAR / SF / Sea

7 fantasy football waiver wire claims to make ahead of Week 16

Seven targets to target, claim and add on the fantasy football wavier wire ahead of Week 16.

It’s championship weekend in fantasy football. Maybe you’re out, but maybe you have a title to play for.

Injuries, suspensions and other circumstances don’t care about that, though. Week 16 might be the perfect time for one last ditch late season move to make ahead of the big weekend.

Here are seven wavier wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 16:

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

The Dolphins and Bengals faceoff in a meeting of bottom-feeders in this one. While it’s tough to bet on the Dolphins to win games this year, it’s easy to bet on Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing the ball a lot. In nine games since returning as his team’s starter, he’s averaging 37.6 pass attempts per game and gets a few yards here and there on the ground. Beating the Bengals usually requires running the ball, but the Dolphins don’t really have a run game, either.

Percent owned in ESPN fantasy leagues: 15.7%

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8 fantasy football waiver wire claims to make ahead of Week 15

Fantasy Football: Adds, waivers, wavier wire for Week 15.

Need a fresh face for your fantasy football roster this week even if it’s the postseason?

It’s never too late for a few extra points to continue to add to your win column. Don’t stop searching for pieces now.

Here are eight waiver wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 15:

Ryan Tannehill #17 of the Tennessee Titans. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

QB Ryan Tannehill

Folks still aren’t picking up Ryan Tannehill, but that’s fine, we’ll keep adding him here. The Titans’ new starter, and probably going forward to next season too, had another multi-touchdown outing last week against the Raiders with three. That’s four games in a row with multiple sores. He did have an interception, but it was his first one since Week 9. This week he has the Texans, who were upset and lit up by Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock last week.

Percent owned in ESPN fantasy leagues: 40.1%

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Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: Week 13 Preview

Lions Wire’s weekly examination of what happened in fantasy football last week and a look forward at what to watch in the upcoming week.

As fantasy football owners we all have a multitude of things to be thankful for. Maybe you are thankful for drafting Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, or Michael Thomas high in your fantasy drafts. Or, maybe you took some sage advice (wink-wink), waited to draft a quarterback and then snagged Lamar Jackson with one of your late-round picks.

Hopefully, you are thankful when you look at the standings in your fantasy league and you have more wins than losses. If you haven’t been derailed by injuries or bad roster moves, please be thankful.

As we turn the page to Thanksgiving and the fantasy playoffs, let’s take a look at Week 13 in the National Football League.

Bears at Lions fantasy focus

Football at 12:30 pm on Thanksgiving is a tradition in Detroit. Often it doesn’t matter what the Detroit Lions record is headed into this game they often seem to play well on this big day where they have the national stage. I don’t see this year being any different.

The Lions have had a tough season and have been riddled by injuries all year. They are starting their backup quarterback, a running back they found a couple weeks ago, and a defense that has been missing key pieces all year as well. For all these reasons, I feel they will come out and play one of their better games this season. They will give us something to cheer about right before the turkey comes out of the oven.

Fantasy players to watch in this one are Bo Scarbrough (RB Lions), Allen Robinson (WR Bears), Danny Amendola (WR Lions), David Montgomery (RB Bears), and Tarik Cohen (RB Bears). Don’t be surprised if the Lions pull out a couple of trick plays and change up their defensive schemes to try to get a win in this game that we are all so thankful to have in Detroit.

Start/Sit

Start
Sam Darnold (QB Jets)
Saquon Barkley (RB Giants)
Julio Jones (WR Falcons)
Jack Doyle (TE Colts)

Sit
Carson Wentz (QB Eagles)
Chris Carson (RB Seahawks)
Tyler Lockett (WR Seahawks)
Kyle Rudolph (TE Vikings)

Top-3 projected players by position

Quarterbacks
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
Lamar Jackson, Ravens
Jameis Winston, Buccaneers

Running Backs
Christian McCaffrey, Panthers
Leonard Fournette, Jaguars
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys

Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas, Saints
Tyreek Hill, Chiefs
Davante Adams, Packers

Tight Ends
George Kittle, 49ers
Travis Kelce, Chiefs
Darren Waller, Raiders

Team Defenses
Panthers
Bears
Steelers

Waiver wire options

Dwayne Haskins (QB Redskins)
Devlin Hodges (QB Steelers)
Rashaad Penny (RB Seahawks)
Jonathan Williams (RB Colts)
Mecole Hardman (WR Chiefs)
Deebo Samuel (WR 49ers)
Jack Doyle (TE Colts)
Mike Gesicki (TE Dolphins)

Intriguing games and players in Week 13

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, Thursday 12:30 PM, EST

  • CHI: Tarik Cohen (RB), David Montgomery (RB)
    DET: Danny Amendola (WR), Bo Scarbrough (RB)

Buffalo Bills at Dallas Cowboys, Thursday 4:20 PM, EST

  • BUF: Josh Allen (QB), Devin Singletary (RB)
    DAL: Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Michael Gallup (WR)

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons, Thursday 8:20 PM, EST

  • NO: Alvin Kamara (RB), Tre’Quan Smith (WR)
    ATL: Matt Ryan (QB), Julio Jones (WR)

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • CLE: Kareem Hunt (RB), Nick Chubb (RB)
    PIT: Vance McDonald (TE), Benny Snell (RB)

San Francisco 49ers at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • SF: Tevin Coleman (RB), George Kittle (TE)
    BAL: Lamar Jackson (QB), Mark Ingram (RB)

New England Patriots at Houston Texans, Sunday 8:20 PM, EST

  • NE: Tom Brady (QB), Julian Edelman (WR)
    HOU: Deshaun Watson (QB), Kenny Stills (WR)

Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, Monday 8:15 PM, EST

  • MIN: Dalvin Cook (RB), Kirk Cousins (QB)
    SEA: Rashaad Penny (RB), Josh Gordon (WR)

Now What

This might be the final week you have to either make or miss the playoffs. If so, do all you can to score one more point than your opponent and hope you don’t have a crucial injury that costs you the week. Do all you can to win, as that is all that matters, but also enjoy these last few weeks of fantasy football.

I hope you enjoy this great holiday. Family, food, and football. It doesn’t get much better than that. We all have many things to be thankful for. Be thankful if you didn’t draft Odell Beckham (WR Browns), Joe Mixon (RB Bengals), and Kerryon Johnson (RB Lions) in most of your leagues like I did.

In all seriousness though, this is the time of year where we all count our blessings and remember to be grateful. Please cherish the time you have with those close to you this Thanksgiving. Indulge in homemade food and as always please enjoy both your football and fantasy football this holiday season.

7 fantasy football wavier wire claims to make ahead of Week 13

Fantasy football wavier wire claims ahead of Week 13 of the NFL season.

Need a fresh face for your fantasy football roster this week?

It’s never too late for a few extra points to add to your win column.

Here are seven waiver wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 13:

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

QB Sam Darnold

Another week, another 34 points, another addition of Sam Darnold on the waiver wire player to pick up list. Folks still aren’t pick up on Darnold, but he’s now a huge add and immediately start with the Bengals en route. It’s easy to envision the Jets and Darnold not putting up 34 point for the fourth-straight game, that’s because they have a look at surpassing that, easily. In those three games, he has seven touchdowns, one interception and 838 passing yards. He should stay out of the tabloids, though.

Percent owned in ESPN fantasy leagues: 18.9%

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7 waiver wire pickups in fantasy football for Week 13

Waiver wire pickups for Week 13.

Week 12 in the NFL brought a lot of teams that were flying high down to reality. With many talented players on a bye week, it provided lineup issues and possibly even last second waiver wire adds.

Some leagues have playoffs starting this week while others will begin over the next few weeks. Even so, the waiver wire will be important with handcuffs and injuries at the most important positions.

With trade deadlines having passed, here are the top waiver-wire pickups for Week 13:

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

RB Rashaad Penny — 29.1% rostered (ESPN)

Penny finally had his breakout career game on Sunday against Philadelphia as he finished with 14 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks have shown to give a lot of attention to the run in recent weeks but with Chris Carson still having issues holding on to the ball, Penny will be a more focused piece of this offense.

We aren’t at the point where the former first-round pick will be taking over the backfield, but head coach Pete Carroll hinted that more of a timeshare could be on the way in Seattle.

With a Monday night matchup against Minnesota on the horizon, look for Seattle to use Penny and other offensive pieces as they try to keep pace with San Francisco in the division race.

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Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: Week 12 Preview

Lions Wire’s weekly examination of what happened in fantasy football last week and a look forward at what to watch in the upcoming week.

When players say any given Sunday or next man up, they mean it. That is the life of an NFL player as well as a fantasy football owner. These were some of the names at the top of the fantasy football leaderboard for this past week in the NFL including Jonathon Williams (RB Colts), Gus Edwards (RB Ravens), Michael Gallup (WR Cowboys), and John Brown (WR Bills). Not the names you would predict by any means to start the week.

These types of situations often come due to injury and opportunity. Two keys things to look at as we head into Week 12 of the fantasy football schedule.

Where are the injuries to key players and who will those opportunities go to if the top player can’t go? The main one to keep your eye on right now is the injury to Marlon Mack (RB Colts). Who will fill that role at running back? I’ve always really liked Nyheim Hines (RB Colts) as a player who can catch a lot of passes out of the backfield, so keep your eye on him to see if he gets more opportunities.

Same with Michael Gallup (WR Cowboys) or Randall Cobb (WR Cowboys) if Amari Cooper (WR Cowboys) continues to battle injuries. Not a ton of other major injuries occurred in Week 11, so that bodes well for your fantasy football rosters heading into Week 12.

One other major thing to consider this week are the teams on a bye. No Patrick Mahomes (QB Chiefs) and their other top skill players. The Chargers are off as well, though not many of their players would normally start in your fantasy lineup anyway. The Vikings and Cardinals have the week to recover as well and we all know the Dalvin Cook (RB Vikings) owners will be scrambling to fill that void.

Lions at Washington fantasy focus

Washington is in a rebuild, but they do have some good young talent. Dwayne Haskins (QB), Darius Guice (RB), and Terry McLaurin (WR) just to name a few. Their record (1-9) is not good. The playing surface at their stadium is not good. Once again though due to the Detroit Lions injuries and porous defense, this could be another close game with fantasy points on both sides for the taking.

The Lions moved the ball pretty well against the Cowboys in Week 11, but their passing game is nowhere near as explosive as it was with Matthew Stafford at quarterback. Kenny Golladay and T.J. Hockenson saw a total of two passes last week. I would expect both of those players to be featured against Washington. Bo Scarbrough came out of nowhere to start at running back and appeared to run the ball well — we will see if he can continue that success in Washington this week.

Start/Sit

Start
Baker Mayfield (QB Browns)
Derrick Henry (RB Titans)
Odell Beckham Jr (WR Browns)
Zach Ertz (TE Eagles)

Sit
Dak Prescott (QB Cowboys)
Royce Freeman (RB Broncos)
John Brown (WR Bills)
Mark Andrews (TE Ravens)

Top-3 projected players by position

Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson, Ravens
Matt Ryan, Falcons
Jameis Winston, Buccaneers

Running Backs
Christian McCaffrey, Panthers
Nick Chubb, Browns
Derrick Henry, Titans

Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas, Saints
Mike Evans, Buccaneers
Julio Jones, Falcons

Tight Ends
Darren Waller, Raiders
Mark Andrews, Ravens
Zach Ertz, Eagles

Team Defenses
Bills
Bears
Saints

Waiver wire options

Brandon Allen (QB Broncos)
Jeff Driskel (QB Lions)
Nyheim Hines (RB Colts)
Bo Scarbrough (RB Lions)
Kelvin Harmon (WR Redskins)
James Washington (WR Steelers)
David Njoku (TE Browns)
Ryan Griffin (TE Jets)

Intriguing games and players in Week 12

Bye Weeks: Cardinals, Chiefs, Chargers, and Vikings

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, Thursday 8:20 PM, EST

  • IND: Eric Ebron (TE), Jack Doyle (TE)
    HOU: Deshaun Watson (QB), DeAndre Hopkins (WR)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • TB: O.J. Howard (TE),  Ronald Jones (RB)
    ATL: Julio Jones (WR), Matt Ryan (QB)

Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • SEA: Josh Gordon (WR), Chris Carson (RB)
    PHI: Miles Sanders (RB), Nelson Agholor (WR)

Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • DET: T.J. Hockenson (TE), Danny Amendola (WR)
    WAS: Dwayne Haskins (QB), Terry McLaurin (WR)

Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots, Sunday 4:25 PM, EST

  • DAL: Tony Pollard (RB), Ezekiel Elliot (RB)
    NE: N’Keal Harry (WR), Julian Edelman (WR)

Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday 8:20 PM, EST

  • GB: Davante Adams (WR), Jimmy Graham (TE)
    SF: Dante Pettis (WR), Tevin Coleman (RB)

Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Rams, Monday 8:15 PM, EST

  • BAL: Mark Ingram (RB), Lamar Jackson (QB)
    LAR: Jared Goff (QB), Brandin Cooks (WR)

Now What

This is the final week where bye weeks will impact your fantasy team, and also only a week or two until your playoffs likely start.

If you are in a standard league where your finish doesn’t impact your draft place in 2020 as much, try to win every game you can. If you’re in a dynasty league, try to be first or last. Nothing wrong with putting that Toilet Bowl Trophy on your mantel or office desk.

Here are a few quick fantasy football predictions for you. Deshaun Watson (QB Texans) will have a huge bounce-back game against the Colts on Thursday night football, T.J. Hockenson (TE Lions) will make a big impact for the Detroit Lions, Miles Sanders (RB Eagles) will continue to look more and more like a really solid fantasy running back, and here is the shocker of the day — Lamar Jackson will make some crazy play with his feet on Monday Night Football that will be talked about all week.

Only a few more weeks of fantasy football, so enjoy it. Look ahead if you already have a playoff spot locked up and plan for those big matchups. If you have had a rough season, it happens to the best of us — there is always 2020 and you always want to have your eye on young talent that can help your roster long-term.

That’s all for this week’s Fantasy Football Weekly, good luck everyone, I’m expecting the readers of this article to bring home some major hardware this year in their leagues.

6 waiver wire pickups in fantasy football for Week 12

Fantasy football waiver wire targets for Week 12.

Last week in the NFL we saw more injuries pile up, more players come out of nowhere and even more surprising matchups across the board in fantasy football. By now, guys have either proven themselves to be reliable or their inconsistency has landed them on the bench or dropped altogether.

As trade deadlines come and go, the waiver wire continues to be a vital part of a playoff run in fantasy football.

With four teams on a bye (Cardinals, Chiefs, Chargers, Vikings), here are six waiver wire pickups for Week 12.

(AP Photo/AJ Mast)

RB Jonathan Williams: <1% rostered (ESPN)

With Jordan Wilkins still out (ankle) and Marlon Mack suffering a broken hand in Indy’s 33-13 win against Jacksonville on Sunday, the Colts needed someone to step up big in the run game. Williams fit the bill.

He finished the day with 13 carries for 116 yards and also added a huge reception for 31 yards. With a short week before the Colts travel to Houston to face the Texans, the Colts do not have much time to get healthy. Williams and fellow back Nyheim Hines will carry the workload in the backfield for the time being.

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Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: Week 11 Preview

Lions Wire’s weekly examination of what happened in fantasy football last week and a look forward at what to watch in the upcoming week.

Fantasy football started off with a shocker on Sunday morning where headlines scrolled at the bottom of your television screen, “Matthew Stafford has been ruled Out“. He had played in 136 consecutive games, which was the longest active streak of any player at the quarterback position.

Stafford had been having an MVP type season and this came as a surprise as there were no indications throughout the week that he had any chance to miss this game. This had fantasy owners scrambling to fill their lineup prior to kickoff as Stafford has been one of the best values all year in 2019.

Before I jump into my Week 11 preview I wanted to highlight players like Amari Cooper, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes who once again put on a show this past week. The NFL always has some great highlights each week, so I thought I’d literally highlight some of the top plays from Week 10 to recap in this week’s Fantasy Football Weekly.

Toe Drag Swag for Amari Cooper (WR Cowboys), every week it feels like he pulls one of these off.

Throw it high and let it fly in the Windy City to Kenny Golladay (WR Lions).

This Cardinals combo connected three times on the day. This was number two for Christan Kirk (WR Cardinals) and Kyler Murray (QB Cardinals).

Oh Henry, Derrick Henry (RB Titans) is rumbling and stumbling for another long touchdown run. You don’t normally see humans this big and this fast anywhere on the planet.

Patrick Mahomes (QB Chiefs) with the jump pass to Mecole Hardman (WR Chiefs) and he’s off to the races.

Lamar Jackson (QB Ravens) doing things that only Jackson can do.

This is so good you have to see it twice plus the call from Kevin Harlan, the play-by-play announcer, is classic too.

Cowboys at Lions fantasy focus

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys travel to Detroit this week to take on the Lions. Prescott has been up and down this season. When he’s right, he puts up huge fantasy numbers. When he’s off, he can look pretty pedestrian at the quarterback position.

I see this being a big game for Ezekiel Elliott (RB Cowboys). He should get the ball early and often. He’s been very solid and consistent all year but is coming off a bad game on national television against the Minnesota Vikings. I project him at over 100 yards and at least one touchdown.

For the Lions, Stafford could miss another few games, which could mean the offense will have its struggles. Needless to say, they have no one established at running back that you can play in fantasy football and their weapons outside are a bit hampered by the quarterback switch as well. I’m expecting the defense to play better than most anticipate and for a couple of gadget plays to possibly come into play on offense or special teams.

Most everyone sees this as an easy road win for the Cowboys. I’d tend to agree with that due to the Lions injuries but something tells me this will be an odd game. Something very unexpected will occur. The Lions will rise up to play a much better game at home than expected. Fantasy owners and fans across the league might be surprised about how this one shakes out on Sunday.

Start/Sit

Start
Josh Allen (QB Bills)
Joe Mixon (RB Bengals)
Marquise Brown (WR Ravens)
Jared Cook (TE Saints)

Sit
Kirk Cousins (QB Vikings)
Sony Michel (RB Patriots)
Alshon Jeffery (WR Eagles)
Vance McDonald (TE Steelers)

Top-3 projected players by position

Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson, Ravens
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
Deshaun Watson, Texans

Running Backs
Christian McCaffrey, Panthers
Dalvin Cook, Vikings
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys

Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas, Saints
Tyreek Hill, Chiefs
DeAndre Hopkins, Texans

Tight Ends
Travis Kelce, Chiefs
Hunter Henry, Chargers
Darren Waller, Raiders

Team Defenses
Vikings
49ers
Redskins

Waiver wire options

Nick Foles (QB Jaguars)
Sam Darnold (QB Jets)
Darius Guice (RB Redskins)
J.D. McKissic (RB Lions)
Josh Gordon (WR Seahawks)
Randall Cobb (WR Cowboys)
Dallas Goedert (TE Eagles)
Kyle Rudolph (TE Vikings)

Intriguing games and players in Week 11

Bye Weeks: Packers, Giants, Seahawks, and Titans

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, Thursday 8:20 PM, EST

  • PIT: James Washington (WR), Jaylen Samuels (RB)
    CLE: Richard Higgins (WR), Baker Mayfield (QB)

Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • DAL: Ezekiel Elliott (RB),  Jason Witten (TE)
    DET: Danny Amendola (WR), T.J. Hockenson (TE)

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • HOU: Deshaun Watson (QB), Kenny Stills (WR)
    BAL: Mark Ingram (RB), Marquise Brown (WR)

New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday 4:25 PM, EST

  • NE: Julian Edelman (WR), Muhammed Sanu (WR)
    PHI: Miles Sanders (RB), Zach Ertz (TE)

Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers, Monday 8:15 PM, EST

  • KC: Travis Kelce (TE), Damien Williams (QB)
    LAC: Hunter Henry (TE), Melvin Gordon (RB)

Now What

It’s that time of year where the weather will be a factor. Find a website where you can see all the weather across the league before setting your final lineup. I tend to prefer my kicker and wide receivers to have good weather and if possible in a dome. Avoid high winds when it comes to your quarterback. Wet weather often spells doom for your receivers. Snow can actually lead to some big plays for offensive players as they know where they are going and the defense doesn’t, so snowy conditions can actually benefit an offense at times depending on the severity.

Also, always look at matchups. The NFL is a matchup league and so is fantasy football. If you can play a running back that is going against one of the worst run defenses, do it. If you can play a tight end against a team that often struggles to contain that position, start that tight end. When you play good matchups it more often than not helps your fantasy team’s bottom line.