Week #11 of the NFL season is now over, and it’s time to look at the daily fantasy football busts and diamonds from over the weekend. Hopefully you were only enlisting the good surprises within your roster and were able to avoid the bad ones. If not, don’t worry. We’ll look at whether some of these surprises could have been avoided or not, and what you should do about these players in the coming weeks.
Busts were out there
Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Dalton has been struggling a bit as the season wears on, and although the Buffalo Bills have a strong defense, no one really expected him to struggle this much. He threw 43 passes, but only had 24 completions. There was just one passing touchdown, along with a rushing one. However, the extra points that he received from his rushing TD were lost thanks to the 2 interceptions he threw. He was sacked once and had a fumble. The plus is that Dalton had 10 yards of rushing, but this was not nearly enough to compensate for his lackluster 207 yards in passing.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Carolina Panthers
Benjamin was targeted only 4 times in the Week #11 game against the New Orleans Saints, and caught 3 of those passes. He posted 56 yards, but there were no touchdowns to help boost his statistics. Benjamin was the top receiver for the Panthers this week, but because they relied so much more on their rushing game than usual, Benjamin’s game really suffered. This was unusual, but it was largely because QB Cam Newton played a subpar game. In the future, this isn’t likely to happen. As long as you can get a competitive price on Benjamin and the defense that the Panthers are going against is average or worse, then Benjamin may still be of use in the future.
Diamonds do Shine Week to Week
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott is having a monster season for the Dallas Cowboys, but this was one of his standout games. He threw for 301 yards with 3 touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Prescott threw 36 passes, 27 of which were for completions. He also picked up an extra 16 yards in rushing. He was sacked once, but that was the only negative stat against him. This was the Cowboy’s ninth straight win, and it was one where Prescott relied on his passing ability more than he typically does. For Cowboys fans, this is good news, but for those that rely on Prescott in their single day fantasy leagues, it might be bad news. He is a very talented young QB, and this means that his price is likely to start increasing.
Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Bell is consistently one of the top running backs in the NFL, but this was an exceptional game for him. He had 146 yards rushing, a touchdown, 8 receptions on 9 targets, and an extra 55 yards passing. Bell has a ton of fantasy potential, and even when he’s the most expensive RB in the league, he is worth considering, especially when the Steelers are paired up against a team that’s as weak as the Cleveland Browns defensively.
Malcolm Mitchell, WR, New England Patriots
Mitchell had 98 yards receiving on 4 catches. He was targeted 5 times. Additionally, he also picked up a touchdown for the Pats. For someone that was averaging about 11 yards per game before this, this was a monster game. The big question you should be asking about him is, will he ever perform like this again? That’s not really clear. While Mitchell certainly showed that he’s capable of a strong game, with TE Rob Gronkowski not present, he had opportunities that he normally wouldn’t have. If Gronk is back next week, than Mitchell is probably not a strong pick. But if he isn’t there’s a chance that Mitchell might be used heavily again. Either way, he’s likely to be an extremely cheap draft pick.
