Only two teams are on bye in Week 11, but with the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints not playing, this means that guys like Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren, Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara are all out. That, in addition to all of the prevalent injuries around the league, means fantasy football managers will have to rely heavily on sleepers to carry them to victory in this crucial week.
These six sleepers are players who managers can realistically start and expect starter-level production from in Week 11.
QB Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
This has the potential to age very poorly, I will admit that. It's no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders are a mess, and Geno Smith's subpar season is the biggest reason why. With that being said, this isn't a bet on Smith as much as it's a bet against the Dallas Cowboys' defense.
The Cowboys have allowed 25 points per game to quarterbacks this season, the most in the NFL by a wide margin. I'm not saying I expect Smith to score 25 points, but who's to say he can't get to 20? His offensive line leaves a lot to be desired, but even after trading Jakobi Meyers, Smith does have guys like Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty and Tre Tucker to target. There should be enough there for Smith to have a good day against one of the league's worst defenses.
RB RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos
RJ Harvey hasn't had the rookie season some fantasy managers hoped for, but in fantasy football, it isn't about how you start, it's how you finish. Harvey has scored over 16.6 points twice in the last three weeks, and is poised for a big game in Week 11.
J.K. Dobbins, the Denver Broncos' starting running back, is out with a foot injury, opening the door for Harvey to take the reins. Harvey has had double-digit carries just once this season, and was able to run for 48 yards on 14 carries on the ground and reel in four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown in the air that day, scoring 19.8 PPR points.
Even if the Broncos play from behind against the Kansas City Chiefs in this Week 11 matchup, Harvey has the potential to make an impact in the passing game, as he's scored three touchdowns in the air in the last four weeks. All signs point to Harvey having a big game and potentially earning more touches the rest of the way if he can live up to the hype.
RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
Kareem Hunt is in a similar spot to Harvey, as the Kansas City Chiefs' starting running back, Isiah Pacheco, is out with a knee injury. This should allow Hunt, a player who has been surprisingly serviceable even with Pacheco in the mix, to have a big day.
Hunt has at least 12.5 fantasy points in back-to-back games and three of his last five, and those contests were all played with Pacheco healthy. If he's able to be startable even with Pacheco in the mix, shouldn't he be able to find a way to put points on the board with more touches, even against a tough Denver Broncos defense?
The matchup isn't ideal, but this is a bet on volume. Hunt should be very involved, and thus, should rack up a good amount of points, even if it isn't always pretty.
WR Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
If I'm willing to take the gamble on Smith having a big game, I might as well expect his No. 1 receiver to play well too, right? Tre Tucker's first game as the Raiders' WR1 after the Meyers trade didn't go well, as he had just two catches on three targets for 28 yards, but that was against an outstanding Broncos defense.
This, once again, is a bet on the Cowboys defense doing what it does: allow a whole bunch of yards and points. While Tucker has had his ups and downs this season, he does have four games in which he's reached double digits in points. He should get there at a bare minimum against this Cowboys defense with more targets at his disposal.
WR Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are another team in disarray, but with Marvin Harrison Jr. set to miss Week 11, who, exactly, is Jacoby Brissett supposed to throw to? Trey McBride should have a good game, but with Harrison out, Michael Wilson figures to be Arizona's No. 1 receiver, meaning he, too, should have a decent game.
This is admittedly risky, as Wilson hasn't hit double figures once this season, but he was targeted seven times in Week 10, and Harrison was targeted an average of 11 times in the last two weeks. Wilson should see an uptick from those seven targets to nine or 10 at least, giving him ample opportunity to get to double figures.
This, combined with a fairly favorable matchup against a banged-up San Francisco 49ers defense, should result in Wilson rewarding managers who start him.
TE Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Trusting Pat Freiermuth when the Pittsburgh Steelers like to involve both Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington at the tight end position doesn't sound appealing at all, but the opponent matters in fantasy football. Pittsburgh's Week 11 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, is a perfect fit to allow a tight end breakout.
The Bengals have allowed 16.1 fantasy points per game to tight ends this season, the most in the NFL. The team that's allowed the second-most points per game, the Jacksonville Jaguars, has allowed 11.8 points per game to tight ends. The Bengals are in another stratosphere of bad when it comes to defending tight ends, and we've even seen this with Freiermuth.
The veteran had his best fantasy performance of the season by a wide margin in Week 7 against these Bengals when he had five receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns, good for 28.1 PPR points. Freiermuth hasn't done much else the rest of the year, and there's always the chance that Smith or Washington is the tight end to have a big day against the Bengals, but Freiermuth is the TE1, and we've seen him dominate this matchup already. History repeating itself, or at the very least, Freiermuth having a good week, would be far from shocking.