Fantasy Football Week 11 Running Back Preview: Rookie RBs heating up and players to target

We spent the first half of the season telling you to be patient with the rookies despite their lack of production. I hope you listened. In Week 10, TreVeyon Henderson broke out with 150 total yards and two touchdowns. You surely knew about that already. What you may not know is that he isn't the only rookie soaring up the rankings.

Woody Marks didn't have the splash plays Henderson did; he didn't even have his best Fantasy day of the season, but it may have been his most encouraging outing. Marks played a season-high 80% of the Texans' offensive snaps, had 16 touches, and scored 16 Fantasy points. Now he gets the Titans in Week 11. In Week 4 against the Titans, Marks scored 27.9 Fantasy points while playing 56% of the snaps. 

Unlike Henderson and Marks, RJ Harvey didn't do anything encouraging in Week 10. But J.K. Dobbins is nursing a foot injury that could keep him out against the Chiefs. For the season, Harvey has 50 of the 53 running back rush attempts that have not gone to Dobbins. He's also been their best pass-catching back. If Dobbins is out, Harvey could outscore Henderson and Marks this week. 

The rookies are breaking out right about the time they usually do, and by the time we get to Sunday, we could have five rookie running backs ranked inside our top 20 for Week 11. 

Now let's get to the rest of the Week 11 RB Preview:

Week 11 RB Preview

• 25 -- Alvin Kamara had 25 touches in Week 10. He had 15 in the prior two weeks combined. At the very least, we need to hold Kamara through his bye.
• 15.4% -- Emari Demercado's 15.4% explosive rush rate ranks first amongst backs with at least 25 rush attempts. If Trey Benson misses another week, expect Demercado to be the Cardinals' best back.
• 9.4% -- Tyrone Tracy has a 9.4% avoid rate. Amongst running backs with at least 50 rush attempts, only Chuba Hubbard has a lower rate.
• 49.3% -- Kareem Hunt's 49.3% success rate is second only to James Cook at running back.
• 76.9% -- Ashton Jeanty has 76.9% of the Raiders red zone rush attempts, the highest mark in the league. The Raiders should have a few more red zone looks than normal against the Cowboys.
• 5.47 -- The Bengals are giving up 5.47 yards per rush to opposing running backs. Jaylen Warren is a borderline RB1 this week.
• 15.78 -- The Rams are giving up a league-low 15.78 PPR points to running backs this season.
• 70.8% -- Aaron Jones played a season-high 70.8% of the Vikings offensive snaps. He's an RB2 as long as he stays healthy.

Week 11 Adds (RB Preview)

Emari Demercado RB ARI Arizona • #31 Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs SF SF -2.5 O/U 48.5 OPP VS RB 21st RB RNK 25th ROSTERED 47% YTD Stats RUYDS 233 REC 6 REYDS 52 TD 1 FPTS/G 4.8 As of Tuesday morning Trey Benson is still on injured reserve and Zonovan Knight is dealing with a knee injury. That leaves Demercado and Michael Carter as the Cardinals top two running backs. For the season Demercado is averaging nine yards per rush and has a 46% success rate. Carter is averaging 2.7 yards per carry and has a 39% success rate. I am ranking Demercado as a low-end RB2 if Benson and Knight are both out.

Sean Tucker RB TB Tampa Bay • #44 Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ BUF BUF -5.5 O/U 48.5 OPP VS RB 26th RB RNK 36th ROSTERED 12% YTD Stats RUYDS 129 REC 5 REYDS -4 TD 2 FPTS/G 3.3 If Bucky Irving doesn't return this week, Tucker has an excellent opportunity against a Bills defense that is giving up the third-most yards per carry to opposing running backs. Tucker has 22 touches in his last two games and has been more effective as a rusher than Rachaad White as of late. I would still rather start White in full PPR, but Tucker is a fine flex in that format.

Stashes (RB Preview)

Blake Corum RB LAR L.A. Rams • #22 Age: 24 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs SEA LAR -3 O/U 48.5 OPP VS RB 13th RB RNK 43rd ROSTERED 32% YTD Stats RUYDS 307 REC 4 REYDS 15 TD 1 FPTS/G 4.7 Corum is no more than a flex for as long as Kyren Williams is healthy, but he is one injury away from a feature role in one of the best offenses in football. Corum has the fourth-highest explosive rush rate amongst backs with at least 50 carries.

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Josh Jacobs RB GB Green Bay • #8 Age: 27 • Experience: 7 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ NYG GB -7.5 O/U 43.5 OPP VS RB 30th PROJ PTS 19.8 RB RNK 3rd YTD Stats RUYDS 608 REC 28 REYDS 237 TD 11 FPTS/G 19.6 The Packers are down several pass catchers and facing the worst run defense in the NFL as 7.5-point favorites. They may run the ball 35 times in this game, with at least 20 of those attempts going to Jacobs. Jacobs has scored a touchdown in every game but one this season. I wouldn't be surprised if he scores twice in Week 11. He should be in all of your cash game lineups.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Travis Etienne RB JAC Jacksonville • #1 Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs LAC LAC -3 O/U 44 OPP VS RB 14th PROJ PTS 14.1 RB RNK 15th YTD Stats RUYDS 656 REC 21 REYDS 130 TD 4 FPTS/G 13.7 Etienne remains one of the most underrated running backs in Fantasy. He has 47 opportunities in the Jaguars' two games since the bye, and his recent pass game involvement insulates him from a bad game script. He has 21 targets in his last five games, and the Chargers have given up 23 catches to running backs in their last five games.

My full set of Week 11 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 11. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.