Sit/Start Week 11: Reviewing All the Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Steelers@Browns

 

Game Info

Kickoff: Thursday, November 14 at 8:20 pm EST

Location: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH

Betting Odds: CLE -3 via Oddsshark

Network: FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime

Sleeper Spotlight: Kareem Hunt

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

 

Quarterback:

• Mason Rudolph (Sit)

 

In a short turnaround for the Steelers heading into Thursday Night Football in Cleveland, Mason Rudolph is not the QB to stream. He won’t necessarily hurt you, but you should be able to find another quarterback to start in a bye week bind. Rudolph has assumed the role as a true game manager for the Steelers and wins in recent weeks have come from the Pittsburgh defense.

 

Running Backs:

• James Conner (Start, RB1)
• Jaylen Samuels (Start, FLEX)
• Trey Edmunds (Sit)

 

The Terminator is set to return this week. James Conner has been a full practice participant after a two-game absence. Assuming he’s active, my take is that he’s healthy and ready to go, so fire him up with confidence as the Browns are allowing 135 rushing yards per game on average. That being said, this still may be a good week to (at best), flex Jaylen Samuels. There is always the unfortunate risk of a Conner re-injury, and it’s certainly better to continue to roster Samuels for the rest of the season.

 

Trey Edmunds, on the other hand, is not a viable option.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight End

• JuJu Smith-Schuster (Start, boom-or-bust WR3)
• Diontae Johnson (Sit)
• James Washington (Sit, desperation FLEX)
• Vance McDonald (Start, touchdown-dependent TE2)

 

JuJu Smith-Schuster has not had the season we all expected him to have. Chalk it up to no Ben Rothlisberger, or not having Antonio Brown lined up beside him anymore, but JuJu has not lived up to his default WR1 billing. The volume just isn’t there for him this season, as he has not been targeted more than nine times at all, and has only cracked the 100-yard mark once; by three yards. It’s come to the point where JuJu is considered a boom-or-bust WR3 in what’s ultimately a lost season.

 

I would consider James Washington a desperation flex option as recency bias. In last week’s win against the Rams, Washington led the Pittsburgh receivers in targets, receptions, and yards; not to mention he found the end zone. Diontae Johnson is boom-or-bust as well, but way more a sit candidate.

 

Vance McDonald finds himself in the TE2 radar but certainly swaying more to the touchdown-dependent side of the spectrum.

 

Cleveland Browns

 

Quarterback:

• Baker Mayfield (Sit)

 

Baker Mayfield certainly has not had the second-year himself, the Browns, and fantasy owners alike expected. Last week’s win against the Bills was the first game this season in which he had two passing touchdowns; it was Week 10! He’s turned the ball over at least once in all but two games (the last two played), and so the fantasy points are there on a positive note. However, with the Pittsburgh defense playing at the level that they have been, I can’t suggest starting Baker even at home this week.

 

Running Backs:

• Nick Chubb (Start, low-endRB1)
• Kareem Hunt (Start, FLEX)

 

No pun intended, but this offense must continue to run through Nick Chubb, even Kareem Hunt back in the fold. Both are startable this week, with Chubb being the clear RB1 and Hunt as a flex option. Chubb rushed for 116 yards on 20 carries last week against Buffalo, and in his Browns debut, Hunt caught seven of nine targets for 44 yards and carried the ball four times for 30 yards. It’s fairly evident that Hunt is going to factor into this offense the rest of the way, and I’m considering him my ‘sleeper spotlight’. However, you should not be hesitant to fire up Chubb every week.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:

• Jarvis Landry (Start, WR3 w/ WR2 upside)
• Odell Beckham Jr. (Start, WR2)
• Ricky Seals-Jones (Sit)

 

Jarvis Landry had himself a day against Buffalo, catching nine of 10 targets for 97 yards and a score. He’s been targeted 10 or more times in the last three games and is benefiting quite greatly from having OBJ on the field. Speaking of Odell Beckham Jr., my favorite QB List term comes into play. Your ROI – return on investment – for Beckham has not panned out in the slightest. He was supposed to feast with Mayfield, and it just has not come to fruition. He did see a season-high 12 targets after Mayfield outright suggested he would be “force-feeding” him last week, but all he did was turn that into five catches for 57 yards. Having only found the end zone once this season – Week 2! – it’s hard to consider benching him, but it’s even fairer to trust him as a WR2 at best.

 

There are no tight ends worth mentioning other than Ricky Seals-Jones, and even he should not be rostered, let alone streamed.

-Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)