NFL Player News

The top spot belongs to Will Anderson who is one of the best pass rushers we have seen in years. The second spot was a question but Brugler believes it to be Smith (6'3/235). He cites his twitchy athleticism as his best trait, something he uses to get to the quarterback and to stop the run. If he can improve his play strength, that will go a long way in securing a spot at the top of his edge rankings come April.

Williams returned from his two-game suspension last week with a quiet, 53-yard outing versus the Texans. He got back in the good graces of fantasy managers this week with his first 100-yard game since Week 1. The bulk of his production came on a 63-yard play-action strike over the middle of the field from Jared Goff. Williams turned on the jets for roughly 45 YAC after reeling in the pass. Williams finished well behind Amon-Ra St. Brown in targets but reminded fantasy players of his game-breaking speed once again. He will straddle the WR2/3 border in Week 12 against the Colts.

Boyd was on the injury report earlier in the week with a back injury, but he was able to play his usual role in the offense. The issue is just that his role hasn’t really increased since DeAndre Hopkins was traded away. As a result, Boyd remains off the fantasy radar.

Valdes-Scantling had another long score against Cleveland after going off last week for 109 yards and two touchdowns. MVS caught an underneath path and took it the distance (71 yards) against a seemingly uninterested Browns secondary. Running a pass route on 26 of the team’s 29 drop backs, MVS operated as the Saints WR1 with Chris Olave (concussion) sidelined. While Valdes-Scantling is unlikely to keep scoring long touchdowns in the conservative New Orleans offense, he should be rostered in most 12-team leagues and will profile as top-40 option in Week 12 against the Rams.

The Ravens did their part to hold Russ in check. Entering the day with eight completions on passes of 20-plus yards, Wilson only completed one such pass in Sunday’s victory, as the Ravens held him to short dump-offs and check-downs for most of the afternoon. The Steelers did not score a touchdown in this one, as all 18 of their points scored came courtesy of Chris Boswell, who was a perfect 6-for-6 on his field goal attempts. Wilson and the first-place Steelers now prepare to face the Browns on a short week as they look to extend their lead in the AFC North.

Pretty much all of Westbrook-Ikhine’s yardage came on a 98-yard touchdown in the third quarter. With the Titans on their own two-yard line, the Vikings sent a blitz and Levis fired a deep shot down the sideline where a coverage mistake by the defense left Westbrook-Ikhine behind the safety. You’ll take the fantasy production, and he remains the second-most-targeted player in the offense but days like this will be rare.

Ridley also had a 40-plus yard catch called back due to an illegal shift penalty on the Titans. He was actually targeted on a couple of plays that got called back due to penalties, so the box score does not fully reflect his overall involvement in this offense and rapport with Levis. He figures to be the focal point of the offense again next week against the Texans is a high-upside WR3 in fantasy.

Akers’ stats may not be overly impressive, but the workload was certainly something to watch. Jones didn’t leave the game with any injuries, but Akers just took on more work than we’ve seen in the past. He’s worth adding if you have Aaron Jones just in case this turns into more of a committee as the team looks to keep Jones fresh.

It was Johnson’s second touchdown of the season and his first score since Week 1 against Carolina. Johnson split tight end duties with Taysom Hill — who had eight catches on ten targets against Cleveland — and Foster Moreau, running a route on about half of Derek Carr’s drop backs. Johnson would be a viable fantasy option if Hill were to miss time.

Jones was held in check all afternoon and also split a lot more work with Cam Akers than we’re used to seeing. Jones had his opportunities and was stood up at the goal line multiple times during the game, but given how Green Bay limited his workload in the past, it’s a bit concerning that Minnesota used Akers so much today. There’s a chance this could become more of a committee in the final weeks of the season to keep both guys fresh.

St. Brown and Jared Goff executed the mind meld to perfection in Week 11. He is the first player this year to have a perfect catch rate on more than 11 targets. This wasn’t a dink-and-dunk game from St. Brown either. He had four gains of over 20 yards and averaged a phenomenal 14.6 yards per target. The funniest and only blemish on his box score is a four-yard loss on his lone rush attempt via a failed jet sweep. This was just St. Brown’s second 100-yard effort of the year but it was his eighth game in a row with a touchdown. He remains near the top of the WR1 ranks for his Week 12 matchup with the Colts.