Week 10 was filled with blowouts and low scores, but that doesn’t mean it was uneventful. Plenty of star players made their mark. Now is the time to finalize trades and lineups for the end of the season. These are fantasy football lessons for Week 11.
Fantasy Football Lessons for Week 11 and Beyond
Kyler Murray Is Turning It On
Last season, the Arizona Cardinals were one of the worst teams in football. A big reason for that was Kyler Murray’s absence for half the season while recovering from his ACL tear. Now that he is back and healthy, the Cardinals have found their rhythm. They’ve won four games in a row and lead the NFC West.
The running game has been solid, but Murray has been the star. He had his best game this past week, throwing only two incompletions and scoring two rushing touchdowns. He’s topped 21 fantasy points in three of his last four games. Murray is playing some of the best football of his career, and fantasy managers who managed to draft him in the seventh round or later will be delighted.
Murray has a bye in Week 11 but has a favorable schedule from now on. The Cardinals play the Seahawks twice, a bottom-third team in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, a struggling Patriots team, and the Panthers, the fifth-worst team against quarterbacks. Murray has a league-winning upside due to his schedule and rushing ability. He’s a top-six fantasy quarterback going forward.
Bijan Robinson Has Elevated into Fantasy Superstardom
Bijan Robinson came into the NFL with high expectations. He was a top-ten pick in real life and a consensus top-ten fantasy pick, which is extremely rare for a rookie running back. Robinson disappointed relative to expectations in 2023. He was the RB17 in points per game and failed to crack 1,000 rushing yards.
Robinson was on a similar pace through five weeks this season but has kicked it into new gear in the past month. In the past five weeks, he’s averaged 24.7 fantasy points per game, easily making him the RB1 for that period. This is the fantasy production many expected from him, especially after being a top-five pick in most leagues.
Robinson is seeing elite volume, having 20 or more touches in his last four games. His pass-catching gives him a solid floor, and he’s been getting into the end zone more as well. Robinson faces the Raiders, Giants, and Commanders during the fantasy playoffs, one of the easiest playoff schedules for running backs. He’s a top-five fantasy player for the rest of the season.
Christian McCaffrey is Officially Back
Christian McCaffrey had a legendary 2023 fantasy season. Coming into this season, he was the consensus first pick in drafts due to his other-worldly production and people believing that his health issues were behind him. Despite this, he was ruled out indefinitely with Achilles tendinitis and placed on injured reserve. The 49ers were not leaking much information to the public, which led many to believe that McCaffrey would not play until the playoffs, and if he did, his volume would be limited.
McCaffrey made his triumphant return in Week 10 and showed no such signs. He played 88% of snaps and had six catches on seven targets. The 49ers did not waste their time easing him in and through him straight into the fire. His production should only go up as he regains fitness and rhythm. He’s a workhorse; all the backfield action goes through him.
McCaffrey is matchup-proof, but it helps that the 49ers don’t play against a top-ten defense in fantasy points allowed to running backs until Week 17. It took a long time, but having McCaffrey could very well pay off in this final stretch of the season. There are concerns about re-injury, but as long as he is healthy, he’s a top-five fantasy running back.
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