After stepping down briefly to allow others to enjoy the spotlight, I'm back on the perch.
Capped by strong Sunday night efforts from Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and tight end Zach Ertz (in a losing effort), I reclaimed the top spot. Wentz was just 10th among Week 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.com scoring system, but he was the highest producer picked by our 10-person panel. Ertz paced all tight ends, and I also was the only competitor to take Nick Chubb, the Browns rookie who paced all running backs.
The logjam in what has been a highly competitive race all season now lies from sixth through ninth places, with those four fine folks all separated by less than six points. Spectrum News sports director Mike Solarte remains in ninth but moved into that pack with the second-strongest week that included Ertz. Jordan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer remains in the cellar but did record the fourth-best week – although she also must endure the dubious distinction of being the first person to get negative points from one of her picks (Curtis Samuel had minus-0.1 points).
Bryan Strickland |
Max Henson |
Bill Voth |
Jordan Gross |
Jim Szoke |
|
Total Pts (rank) | 834.52 (1st) | 739.62 (7th) | 738.63 (8th) | 766.90 (5th) | 741.06 (6th) |
Last week | 110.10 (1st) | 58.16 (8th) | 56.95 (10th) | 68.62 (5th) | 57.74 (9th) |
QB | P. Mahomes | Roethlisberger | D. Watson | C. Wentz | J. Goff |
RB | C. McCaffrey | C. McCaffrey | C. McCaffrey | M. Ingram | C. McCaffrey |
RB | D. Johnson | J. Howard | K. Hunt | A. Jones | D. Johnson |
WR | T. Hill | B. Cooks | O. Beckham | A. Cooper | A. Jeffrey |
WR | C. Davis | C. Davis | A. Cooper | S. Shepard | D. Baldwin |
TE | E. Engram | Z. Ertz | Z. Ertz | G. Olsen | E. Engram |
Jourdan Rodrigue |
Mike Solarte |
Kelsey Riggs |
Josh Klein |
John Halpin |
|
Total Pts (rank) | 686.54 (10th) | 735.74 (9th) | 788.82 (4th) | 815.08 (2nd) | 808.24 (3rd) |
Last week | 74.02 (4th) | 83.72 (2nd) | 68.92 (6th) | 80.54 (3rd) | 58.66 (7th) |
QB | R. Wilson | C. Wentz | M. Mariota | R. Wilson | P. Mahomes |
RB | M. Ingram | C. McCaffrey | D. Johnson | D. Henry | T. Gurley |
RB | T. Coleman | A. Collins | M. Ingram | A. Collins | D. Johnson |
WR | DJ Moore | T. Hill | C. Samuel | DJ Moore | DJ Moore |
WR | K. Golloday | A. Jeffrey | T. Lockett | K. Allen | O. Beckham |
TE | E. Engram | O.J. Howard | O.J. Howard | T. Kelce | A. Hooper |
For Week 11, previous leader John Halpin said he's "pushing a big pile of chips in the middle of the table," and it would appear so with the fantasy football analyst responding to an off-week with Patrick Mahomes, Todd Gurley, David Johnson and Odell Beckham Jr. all in his lineup. I'm going to be pretty aggressive in this one-and-done format myself, also going with Mahomes and pairing him with Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill. This also seems like the week to take Johnson with the Cardinals facing the Raiders. In addition, I'm banking on two fantasy up-and-comers in Titans wide receiver Corey Davis (in a big game against the Colts) and Giants tight end Evan Engram (in a big opportunity against the Bucs defense). Those two represent potential bargains in daily fantasy this week.
As for my Panther, I'm going to roll Christian McCaffrey out there for the second time (you must pick one Panther each week and can take each individual three times). McCaffrey is a popular pick this week. Cam Newton is not, but there could be a couple of reasons for that – many panelists have already used him multiple times, and those who still have him available might be holding on for potentially juicier matchups.