Week 11 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Latest Fantasy Football Lineup Advice for Sunday

We've reached a critical juncture in the 2024 fantasy football season. Managers are making their final pushes for the postseason. Injuries and bye weeks continue to take top fantasy options out of the equation.

The Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be on bye this week.

With options limited and the stakes high, managers must have every lineup decision count.

Here, we'll dive into some of the more difficult lineup decisions for Sunday and provide a few start-sit recommendations based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.

When things are going his way, few players have been more fantasy-reliable than Buffalo Bills running back James Cook. The talented dual-threat is a significant piece of Buffalo's offensive game plan more often than not.

However, Ty Johnson and rookie Ray Davis are both threats to steal touches away from Davis. This week also brings a matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs.

Yards may be tough to come by in this pivotal AFC grudge match.

However, Cook's PPR floor should allow him to overcome a tough matchup. While the 25-year-old caught just one pass in Week 10, he caught five balls on six targets the previous week, and Buffalo will likely need to use him as a receiver against Kansas City.

Bills receivers Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman are both dealing with wrist injuries, and Coleman was ruled out early in the week.

"I'm being told by the trainers, we still feel like he is improving," head coach Sean McDermott said of Coleman, per Alec White of the team's official website. "It's just not a situation where we expect him back this week."

With tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) also injured, there's a non-zero chance that Cook serves as Josh Allen's top target.

A breakout Week 7 performance against the Los Angeles Rams may have tricked some managers into believing that Alexander Mattison had returned to fantasy relevance. The Las Vegas Raiders back tallied three receptions and 123 scrimmage yards in that game.

However, Mattison quickly disappeared after that. He recorded just 15 rushing yards on 14 carries the following week, barely salvaging his fantasy performance with five receptions. In Week 9, Mattison saw just nine carries, no receptions and 36 yards.

Mattison is now involved in a full-on committee that also includes Ameer Abdullah and Zamir White. While he has a fairly favorable matchup in Week 11—the Miami Dolphins have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing RBs—it's impossible to trust the situation here.

The Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and there's no telling what sort of rotation new play-caller Scott Turner will use against the Dolphins.

Is anyone sitting Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase following last week's 11-catch, 264-yard, three-touchdown performance? That'll depend entirely on what other options are available.

Chase hasn't exactly been matchup-proof in 2024. Against the Raiders in Week 9, for example, he caught seven passes but produced just 43 yards. He had fewer than 60 yards in both Week 7 and Week 8, though he found the end zone in both of those games.

This week, the Bengals will visit the Los Angeles Chargers, who have allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers. Starting Chase won't be as easy of a decision as one might think, though we believe he can be trusted.

Joe Burrow is playing some of the best football of his career, and he's going to target Chase early and often—he's targeted his former LSU teammate at least 11 times in each of the past three weeks. With Tee Higgins expected to return to the lineup this week, Chase should draw just a little less defensive attention than he otherwise might.

Chase isn't going to replicate his Week 10 numbers, but he should pull through for managers with either a large number of receptions, a touchdown or both.

While the Raiders haven't done a whole lot well this season, they've done a good job of limiting opposing receivers on the perimeter. This creates a tough situation for Dolphins wideout Jaylen Waddle, who only occasionally operates from the slot.

Las Vegas, by the way, has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers this season.

Waddle has already been trending in the wrong direction, even with Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup. Opposing defenses have caught up with Mike McDaniel's offense, and they've largely taken Waddle out of the game plan.

The fourth-year receiver has found the end one only once this season, and that was in a Week 9 game in which he had negative yardage. On Monday, Waddle topped 50 yards for the first time since Week 1 but he finished with only 56 yards on three receptions and one carry.

It's time to place Waddle on the bench until/unless he proves that he can be trusted again.

*Fantasy scoring information from FantasyPros.