Fantasy football flex plays separate the pretenders from the league winners on a weekly basis.
Going into Week 11, all owners have to do is look back to last week when flex play Jeremy Langford of the Chicago Bears tallied the highest point total of any position with 29. Fellow flex player and Kansas City Chiefs running back Charcandrick West wasn’t far off with 27.
To be fair, the flex position is the most difficult to nail down on a week-to-week basis with so many options available at various positions. Below, let’s rank the Week 11 options at each spot based on scoring in a points-per-reception (PPR) format.
Running Backs
If Langford and West were the hot breakout stars last week, Week 11 belongs to Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden.
McFadden’s career continues to undergo a renaissance of sorts with the Cowboys, especially since he’s taken over the lead back role over the course of his past four games.
In that span, McFadden has carried the ball 20 or more times in three games and in total caught 12 passes. In other words, McFadden continues to function as an every-down back going into a matchup with a miserable Miami Dolphins defense that struggles against backs.
McFadden is a bit of a household name whereas Danny Woodhead of the San Diego Chargers never gets enough credit.
He should in PPR formats. Just look at some perspective provided by Rotoworld’s Rich Hribar:
Woodhead has 45 grabs for 521 yards and three scores this year and also happens to average four yards per carry on the ground, making him one of the most consistent backs in all of football.
Hence the reason Woodhead is once again so far up the rankings here. Given his usage, he’s a must-play regardless of matchup, even more so in PPR formats.
Wide Receivers
When it comes to flex players who have paid off the most for owners this season, the first name that has to come to mind is Oakland Raiders wideout Michael Crabtree.
Crabtree fizzled out in San Francisco before joining Oakland and promising young quarterback Derek Carr. It’s a relationship that has blossomed by the week as the veteran now leads the team in targets with 85.
In fact, Crabtree doesn’t have a game with fewer than four catches this season and he’s gone for more than 60 receiving yards five times. He also happens to flaunt four touchdowns over the course of his past four outings, so it’s no wonder he’s one of the must-start players of the week going into a matchup against a Detroit Lions defense that simply cannot stop wideouts.
If Crabtree was the surprise of the season’s first half, New England Patriots backup Danny Amendola might end up ruling the second half.
Amendola has seven or more catches three times over his past five outings, but his usage rate is about to skyrocket with Julian Edelman out with an injury. He’s a lock for elite production each week as he steps in for a guy who posted no game with fewer than four catches or 50 yards and scored seven times.
Tight Ends
Is there any stopping Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen?
Olsen has been on absolute fire since his team’s Week 5 bye, catching four or more passes four times in five games, with the exception still turning three catches into 65 yards. He’s found paydirt in three of those games, too.
This week might be a big test for Olsen as he encounters Washington, a team that has played tight ends well. Then again, Washington’s so susceptible to getting torched by wideouts that teams haven’t had to look a tight end’s way.
Carolina, as always, will look at Olsen all over the field.
Also note McFadden’s teammate, Jason Witten. While he has four or more catches eight times this season, the veteran tight end hasn’t scored since Week 1 with a healthy Tony Romo under center, putting a severe limit on his upside each week.
Consider the limit gone with Romo back, so Witten’s going to return to PPR monster form.
All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of November 20. Cleveland, New Orleans, New York Giants, Pittsburgh on bye.
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