Daily Fantasy Football Injury Update and Top Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings Week 11 - 11/19/17

Welcome back for another week of daily fantasy football. It's the final time this season we have to deal with bye weeks and the final four teams getting a rest are the Colts, Jets, 49ers, and Panthers. Also noteworthy is that the Patriots and Raiders game will be hosted at Estadio Azteca Stadium in Mexico City which is just over 2,000 feet more above sea level than Denver, Colorado. This will most definitely affect the kicking game so on FanDuel be sure to give strong consideration to Stephen Gostowski and Giorgio Tevecchio.

Before getting into my top stacks for the week, let's take a look at some of the key injuries to monitor.

• Phillip Rivers - Was questionable early in the week with a concussion but was cleared on Thursday and was a full participant in practice. He is good to go for Week 11 vs. Buffalo.
• Julio Jones - Was limited in practice this week but there is no concern for him missing the game Monday night vs. the Seahawks. He gets an upgrade this week with Richard Sherman out for the season.
• Jameis Winston - Remains out with a shoulder injury. Ryan Fitzpatrick will start for the Bucs this week.
• Alshon Jeffery - Dealing with an ankle injury but declared he will play this week and has been dealing with the injury for awhile.
• Devonta Freeman - Doubtful with a concussion. If out, and it is fully expected, Tevin Coleman becomes a top value in fantasy under $6K on both sites.
• Dez Bryant - Returned to practice on Thursday after not doing so until Friday last week. With Ezekiel Elliott out for the next five weeks, Bryant could see a nice boost for fantasy owners.
• Chris Hogan - He remained out of practice again this week and is doubtful to play when the Patriots travel to Mexico
• Marqise Lee - Limited in practice but that is nothing new for him over the past couple weeks. With Allen Hurns out with an ankle injury, Lee is once again in for a large target share vs. the Browns.
• Kenny Stills - Left Thursday's practice with a back injury. Stay tuned to the injury reports as Sunday approaches as his absence would a slight boost for Jarvis Landry and Devante Parker.
• Will Fuller - Expected to miss this week with a rib injury. This opens up Bruce Ellington as a nice punt play.
• Aaron Jones & Ty Montgomery - Both Packers backs are likely to be out this week(Jones for sure out) which will open up value for Jamaal Williams for bell-cow duties vs. the Ravens.
• Isaiah Crowell - Limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury but is expected to play through it. Either way, this opens up value with Duke Johnson as a nice value play.
• Jordan Reed - Will be a game-time decision with a hamstring injury. Vernon Davis remains a value option at tight end this week.

Let's now jump into the top stacks for Week 11 in the NFL.

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Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback - Alex Smith
Primary Targets - Travis Kelce, Tyreke Hill

The AFC West leading Chiefs get a terrific matchup this week vs. the 1-8 New York Giants who have all but packed it in this season. Alex Smith has done a great job shaking the "game manager" label this season as he has thrown for 300 or more yards three times after only doing it three times over the last three season combined. Even with breakout rookie running back Kareem Hunt in the backfield, he has still managed multiple touchdown passes in five of his nine games. This week he faces a Giants team that has allowed the third-most passing yards per game(267.8), rank 29th in DVOA vs. the pass, and have allowed the third-most DraftKings points and second-most FanDuel points per game to the quarterback position. My top target to stack with Alex Smith will be tight end Travis Kelce who leads the team with 7.6 targets per game and faces a Giants team that ranks 30th in DraftKings points and 31st in FanDuel points per game allowed to tight ends and have given up at least one touchdown to the position in every game this season. I will also be running a ton of stacks with Tyreke Hill who is second on the team with 6.6 targets per week and is an extremely explosive, high upside play(see video below from week 9) who has two 100+ yard games and four touchdowns this season.

Game Stack - New England Patriots vs. Oakland Raiders

Quarterbacks - Derek Carr & Tom Brady
Raiders Top Target - Amari Cooper
Patriots Top Target - Brandin Cooks

This game in Mexico has the highest total of the week(53.5) with a very high probability of being a shootout. Both teams rank Top 10 in DVOA passing(NE 1st, OAK 7th) while both defenses rank at the bottom of the league in DVOA vs. the pass(NE 32nd, OAK 30th). I don't think you can go wrong stacking either team and if you are stacking one, I think it makes perfect sense to correlation stack with the other teams top wide receiver.

The Patriots defense has been better lately limiting teams to just one touchdown in each of the last three weeks but allowed Josh McCown to throw for 354 yards and two touchdowns in week 6. Josh McCown! Derek Carr is, by far, a better quarterback and has been red-hot lately throwing for 300 or more yards in each of his last three games(1,030 total) with five touchdowns. With the Patriots clearly the better team and sitting as 6.5 point favorites, I feel the game script is perfect for Carr to get 40+ attempts and 300+ yards once again this week. While Cooper and Crabtree are priced similarly this week on both sites, I prefer Cooper who has clearly been Carr's favorite option lately with 38 targets over his last three games including his blowup game where he caught 11 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Patriots, I really don't see any scenario where Tom Brady doesn't reach the 300-yard mark vs. the Raiders defense that ranks dead last in DVOA vs. the pass. Father time has nothing on Brady as the 40-year-old, future Hall of Famer leads the league in passing with 2,807 yards and sits behind only Carson Wentz in touchdowns with 19. He loves to spread the ball around making it hard to stack him with one guy but I have a feeling it will be Brandin Cooks this week who is averaging over seven targets per game and can take the top off the defense.

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