10 RB sleepers to target for fantasy football Week 11
By Alex Wolfe
Rex Burkhead
RB, Patriots
A repeat offender here in the sleeper column, I’m starting to feel like I have a small obsession with Patriots running backs. First it was Dion Lewis, who made plenty of fantasy owners happy last weekend with his 55-yard, two touchdown performance last weekend. But not far behind him was Burkhead, who also appeared in this column last week and posted 63 yards and a touchdown of his own.
Take this from a Jets fan who sees plenty of the Patriots — Bill Belichick and Tom Brady like players that they can trust who play their butts off. Lewis fits that description, and so does Burkhead, who, despite not looking like a phenomenal athlete, has good vision and soft hands coming out of the backfield.
Over the last two weeks, Burkhead has averaged 11 touches per game. As a pass-catcher, he has caught every one of his 11 targets in the three weeks since he returned from injury in Week 7. With his versatility as a big runner and a receiver, he has taken some of Mike Gillislee’s usual power carries as well as some of James White’s receiving targets.
Burkhead is the type of guy that has a chance to provide you some really timely production in your flex spot, either during a bye week or in the fantasy playoffs. This week, he has a cushy matchup with the Raiders, who have allowed 4.1 yards per carry this season and were burned for 12 receptions by Miami’s Damien Williams/Kenyan Drake tandem last time out in Week 9.