Week 11 bold fantasy football predictions: The tight ends you don't want are the ones you need
Every week, our Yahoo fantasy crew will unveil their boldest predictions for the action ahead. With four teams on bye in the midst of the playoff push, you might be desperate, particularly at a thin spot like tight end. Well, our crew has some hot takes for that position and more. Now, on to the Week 11 predictions!
Carr an elite start against hapless Bengals
My track record in this collaborative feature is absolutely terrible to this point, so let's just [expletive] get wild: Derek Carr is about to deliver a top-three fantasy week. He's been remarkably steady lately, throwing 10 touchdown passes and just one pick over his last six games. This week, he's facing the winless Bengals, a team that ranks dead-last in Y/A allowed (9.0). Carr is about to blow up. Start your Raiders, people. - Andy Behrens
Drake tops 100 total yards, scores vs. 49ers
David Johnson is cooked. On his five disastrous touches last week in Tampa, the rusher fumbled, logged 10 total yards and generally resembled a player sprinting toward retirement. Postgame, Kliff Kingsbury said he yanked the rusher due to performance, not injury. Kenyan Drake, who out-touched DJ 16-6, looks like the featured back moving forward. He’s more spritely in every facet. So far in Arizona red, he’s tallied an impressive 4.32 yards after contact per attempt. This week, the rusher rematches with San Francisco, a team he axed on Halloween night to the tune of 162 combined yards and a score. No two games are ever the same, but the Niners have yielded 5.3 yards per carry and 145.7 total yards per game to RBs in their past three. - Brad Evans
Mitch throws one touchdown ... to Taylor Gabriel
I’m with Behrens. Time to finally take a note from Evans and let the “silly sauce” flow ...
Gabriel missed time in the middle of the season with a concussion, but since Week 8 he’s emerged as the Bears’ No. 2 WR. On the field for an average of 75 percent of the team’s snaps, the speedster has cleared 50 yards or scored in his last three games. In Week 11, he’ll likely draw coverage from Troy Hill, who has allowed a passer rating of 97.5 and given up four catches each week since filling in for Aqib Talib. Last Sunday, Diontae Johnson stole 60 yards from Hill. Of course, counting on Mitchell Trubisky to exploit any matchup requires a leap of faith, but given Gabriel’s 4.4 speed he only needs to get loose once in the red area of the field for a big gain. (FF: 4-59-1) - Liz Loza
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Gerald Everett, difference maker
In one of my leagues, Gerald Everett was recently dangled as a trade piece — but the manager didn’t realize the swap deadline had passed. It gnaws at me, because I’d like to go for Everett. On a Rams offense where the quarterback is spooked, the offensive line is a mess, and the field-stretching wideout isn’t healthy, Everett has become a key cog, a bailout option. Heck, over the last two months, Everett is quietly the No. 7 fantasy tight end (PPR scoring), and only Travis Kelce has more tight-end targets over that span.
Gerald Everett, league-winner? Too far. Gerald Everett, needle-mover? That, I can sign off on. He’ll start his push with 70 yards and/or a touchdown on Sunday night. (Oh, and if you want a possible waiver-wire look ahead; try Andy Isabella, just one-percent rostered in Yahoo.) - Scott Pianowski
Noah Fant finishes as a top-eight TE
No one has been more annoying to stream this year than Noah Fant. He’s run the 11th-most routes at the tight end position but is outside the top-20 in targets. Awesome. Even when he has been given opportunity, he’s spent most of the year messing it up. However, he’s coming off by far his best game of the season, taking three catches for 115 yards and a score against Cleveland in Week 9. Now coming out of a bye week, Fant has another chance to pick up more momentum with a new quarterback under center.
The matchup this week is right. While the Vikings have yet to allow a tight end touchdown, they’ve permitted the third-most catches to the position this year. Fant can be a safe tight end stream and frankly, this position is so gross that five or so catches can get you into the top-10 on a weekly basis. So was this that bold? Hard to say. But I did my job. - Matt Harmon
