NFL Fantasy 2024 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Running backs for Week 11

Cook is an RB1, and his fantasy season has been more good than bad, but his recent production has taken a bit of a hit. He must worry about Ty Johnson stealing two-minute work, Ray Davis getting touches and Josh Allen potentially pilfering goal-line carries. Cook now has the toughest matchup a RB can have; the Chiefs have allowed the fewest total rushing yards and fantasy PPG to opposing backs. I thought seriously about listing Cook as a "sit" candidate. But given how banged up the Bills' receivers are, I am expecting a good number of targets to go Cook's way, which would be in line with both his season-long usage trend (he's averaging 17 opportunities per game) and his recent output against Kansas City (80-plus scrimmage yards in his last two games vs. the Chiefs, with five targets in each). Those factors keep him in play.

Like James Cook, Walker is a back whose normal status as an automatic "start" might look a bit questionable, thanks to a recent dip in fantasy production and a potentially tough matchup. But I would not overthink this one. Earlier this season, Walker finished with 20.9 fantasy points against the Niners because he had a career-high eight catches. In five career appearances opposite San Francisco (including playoffs), Walker has logged 12-plus carries three times and five-plus targets three times. Thus, the explosive back remains a strong start, especially after we just saw Tampa Bay's backs go off against the Niners in Week 10. 

I have been riding with Brown for a while now, and like Walter White once said, nothing stops this train! Brown has played over 80 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps in two straight games. In his last five games, he is averaging 15.4 carries and five targets. He has four touchdowns in that span. That is elite volume, and the explosive Brown is turning it into elite production. He has eclipsed 22 fantasy points in two straight contests, and he's averaging 17.4 fantasy PPG since Week 4. Now he gets the Chargers, who have not been as tough on the run recently as they were earlier this season. Since Week 6, they have allowed 4.8 yards per carry, allowing explosive runs (10-plus yards) to RBs at the highest rate in the NFL. Keep starting Brown. 

Hunt has scored double-digit fantasy points in each of his six appearances so far this season. He is averaging 18 fantasy PPG in his last five games. He's had plenty of work on the ground and near the goal line -- and then last week, he logged 10 targets, topping his combined total (eight) in his five previous games. More usage in the passing game would elevate him to near-elite fantasy status, at least until Isiah Pacheco returns. This uptick in receiving volume also could not come at a better time; the Bills have allowed the most catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns to opposing RBs. Hunt is a must-start. 

The Eagles have been tough against the run this season, but I don't care -- I am starting whoever starts for the Commanders on Thursday Night Football. Robinson is averaging over 14 fantasy PPG this season and has scored a touchdown in all but two of his seven appearances. He's missed three games, including the last two with a hamstring injury -- but Ekeler scored double-digit fantasy points in each of Robinson's absences, topping 17 in Weeks 9 and 10. Philly's defense is legit, but so is Washington's offense, which produces plenty of goal-line touches for the backs. This situation might be easier to manage if Robinson is out again, because Ekeler then becomes a straight start. Robinson would be a start if he plays, as long as there is no snap limitation, with Ekeler becoming a Flex option. 

Last week, Harris and Jaylen Warren split snaps down the middle, with each player logging 34. Harris paced the team with 21 carries, but all the pass-game work went to Warren, which is kind of reminiscent of how things were distributed last season. That might have been because of an ankle injury Harris suffered late (it is reportedly not believed to be serious), or maybe because Warren was as healthy as he'd been all season. Either way, it is not an ideal possible trend, with the Ravens on tap this week. Baltimore has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards to running backs in the NFL, giving up just 3.2 yards per carry, and boasting the lowest explosive-run rate. The Ravens' weakness against RBs is in the passing game, which is why Warren's presence hurts Harris' fantasy value so much this week. Add in the ankle injury, and Harris becomes a back you can sit, despite his recent production. 

Bigsby exited early in Week 10 with an ankle injury, leaving the bulk of the work against the Vikings for Etienne, who finished with 11 carries for 44 yards and one catch for negative-1 yards. The offense struggled to get anything going against Minnesota. Another tough matchup awaits this week against the always-physical Lions, who have allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards to opposing running backs and rank in the bottom six in the NFL in catches and receiving yards allowed to backs. If Bigsby doesn't play Sunday, Etienne gets a boost, though I would still try to stay away, given the state of the Jaguars' offense and the matchup -- and I would flat out avoid this backfield if both Bigsby and Etienne end up playing. 

UPDATE: Bigsby has been ruled out for Sunday's game.

The Cowboys' offense was rough in the team's first game this season without Dak Prescott. Dowdle saw volume, logging 12 carries and three targets, but he turned that into just 56 yards and finished with 8.6 fantasy points, his lowest total since Week 3. That was despite Dowdle seeing light boxes at a season-high rate of 92 percent, which was fitting for the matchup against the Eagles, who have used light boxes at the second highest rate in the NFL this season. Now the Cowboys face the Texans, who load the box at one of the highest rates in the NFL. Houston is also stingy when it comes to allowing catches to RBs. This is a week to retreat from Rico. 

Last week, Sean Payton finally lived up to his promise to get Estimé more involved! The rookie played 46 percent of Denver's offensive snaps against the Chiefs, putting up 14 carries for 53 yards. He did not see any involvement in the passing game, as that usage went to Williams -- and that is the problem I see here. Williams is not usable in fantasy at this point, but he could take enough work to be a thorn in Estimé’s side. Neither Estimé nor Willimas finished with more than six fantasy points -- and that was in a game that the Broncos led up until the end. How will the workload look when the game script is not so positive? The arrow is pointing up for Estimé, but it is still too soon to trust him in your starting lineup. 

The matchup might look appealing on paper, but do not let the Raiders' Week 10 bye make you forget how their backfield work was distributed the last time we saw them. In Week 9, Ameer Abdullah led the RBs in play time (49 percent of Vegas' offensive snaps) and finished with 26 yards from scrimmage. Mattison led the team in rushing attempts (nine) but finished with 36 yards (4.0 per carry). And most of the goal-line work went to Zamir White, who scored the lone rushing TD. It was an absolute nightmare fantasy scenario. Mattison scored just 3.6 fantasy points in that game and has been held to single digits in two straight. He was starting to look like a viable fantasy option while he was seeing pass-game and goal-line usage. But given what we saw in Week 9, and the fact that we haven't yet seen interim coordinator Scott Turner's offense in action, the Raiders' backfield is too volatile to trust.