Parkour! Anthony Richardson is back as QB1 🐴

I wonder how many more times the Colts are going to be switching back and forth between Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco. One thing you don’t have to switch back and forth on (unlike the status of Colts WRs in your starting lineup): deciding whether or not you should listen to the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast! Tune in to today’s episode for Week 11’s QB and RB matchups episode!

• Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco reportedly unlikely to play in Week 11 vs Bills; WR Juju Smith-Schuster set to return

  • Kareem Hunt fantasy managers can exhale for now… but understand that change is coming in Kansas City’s backfield before the Christmas lights go up this year. Pacheco was designated to return from IR earlier this week, sending the fantasy community into a tizzy over the plummeting value of their Kareem Hunt shares. However, the understanding has been that Pacheco is still likely to miss another week or two as he ramps up to game speed, and this report echoes that sentiment. As long as Pacheco remains inactive, fantasy managers will be able to treat Hunt as a set-and-forget fantasy RB1. However, all bets are off once Pacheco returns, with the sophomore running back likely to work his way back into a primary role in the Chiefs’ backfield. In other news: WR Juju Smith Schuster is expected to make his return to action in Week 11 for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 7. Things have changed in the Chiefs’ WR room since the last time we saw Juju, as DeAndre Hopkins has entered the fray as a legit option in the receiving game alongside Travis Kelce. Juju likely won’t be the strong WR2 option we projected him to be pre-Hopkins and post-Rashee Rice injury (it was a glorious one-week run, though), but he should have some utility as a flex option in most leagues given WR Xavier Worthy’s struggles to establish himself as a target-earning fantasy WR. As for Hopkins, he likely remains the same upside WR3 play he became upon his arrival in Kansas City three weeks ago.

• Colts HC Shane Steichen announced that they will be turning back to QB Anthony Richardson as the team’s starting QB for the rest of the season

  • Parkour! It took all of two games for the pressure of being officially named the starter to make Joe Flacco look like a 39 year old backup quarterback. With two straight losses on the docket and just two touchdown passes and four interceptions to his name, Flacco is officially heading back to the bench in favor of Anthony Richardson, who’s set to draw the start this weekend against the Jets. Not exactly the ideal matchup to come back to, though the Jets have had their fair share of trouble as of late looking like the stifling defense they were earlier this season. With Richardson under center, we can rewrite the eulogies of Colts WRs not named Josh Downs until the inevitable revival of Joe Flacco in a week or two. Remember: Steichen had said when he originally benched Anthony Richardson that Flacco would be the starter for the rest of the season. Clearly, that isn’t the case at this point – and as a result, fantasy managers shouldn’t buy it that Richardson will hold onto the starting job the rest of the way. Richardson should only be inconsideration to start in the deepest of superflex leagues, while Downs profiles as a low-WR2/WR3 play. The Jets have been allowing more fantasy points to running backs over the past few weeks, and with the passing upside limited, Jonathan Taylor could find that the Colts lean on him more than usual this weekend. Overall, though, this is a clear downgrade for Indy’s offense and cuts the floor out from underneath just about everyone on the offensive side of the ball.

C.J. Stroud (QB - Houston Texans)

• Over the past month, the Texans have gone from being contenders for the top seed in the AFC to fighting to win the AFC South and position themselves within the AFC playoff picture, having dropped three of their last four games.

• The common theme in those: Nico Collins has missed all of them and Stefon Diggs has missed two of them. As a result, Stroud has struggled mightily, putting up a combined 39 fantasy points in those four games, never eclipsing 13 points in any of those weeks.

• The good news is Nico Collins will likely return in Week 11, just in time for one last push for the fantasy playoffs. And while I typically wouldn't recommend a short-term target that has a bye week like Stroud does, the schedule is so favorable that it's hard not to lean on him.

• Each of Stroud's next three games are against top-14 matchups for QBs, including top-4 matchups against the porous Cowboys and Jaguars defenses. If you're in need of some quality performances to get you into the playoffs, look no further than Stroud at the QB position (and he can likely be acquired relatively cheaply given his recent struggles).

• Schedule over the next 4 Weeks: @DAL, TEN, @JAX, BYE, Easiest SOS among QBs

Check out Tyler’s full takeaways post over on IG!

Ladd McConkey (WR - Los Angeles Chargers)

• We've seen the emergence of Ladd McConkey as a reliable weekly fantasy option over the past month, featuring 7+ targets in five of his last six games, 5+ catches in four of his last six games, and 7+ fantasy points in each of his last seven games. That comes even with the Chargers having faced the 5th-hardest SOS among WRs so far this season.

• The schedule softens a lot in the coming weeks, featuring the 5th-easiest SOS for WRs over the next month, including the Chargers' next three games against top-12 matchups for WRs and two of those coming against top-8 matchups (Baltimore, Atlanta). The only "sub-par" matchup on paper for McConkey is the Chiefs, who he has already tallied 17.7 points against in the game earlier this season.

• L.A. won't be able to sit back to ground-and-pound their way against the four offenses they're going up against the rest of the fantasy football regular season, and that is fantasy gold for McConkey.

• Schedule over the next 4 Weeks: CIN, BAL, @ATL, @KC, 5th-easiest SOS among WRs

Kareem Hunt (RB - Kansas City Chiefs)

• It's been a nice 'blast from the past' with Hunt this season, posting 14+ carries and 10+ fantasy points in each game he's played this year, and while his run as a starter is likely coming to a close with Isiah Pacheco returning to practice, you may be able to get a handful of quality starts out of Hunt while he's still in command.

• It's very unlikely Pacheco returns this week and one would anticipate Kansas City wouldn't rush him back to face Carolina of all teams, leaving Week 13 vs Las Vegas as the first realistic chance for him to play (with Week 14 being more realistic).

• That's two to three games of Hunt as a starter. In that stretch, he'll draw the easiest matchup for RBs in Carolina, the 2nd-easiest matchup for RBs in Buffalo, and possibly the 7th-easiest matchup for RBs in Las Vegas.

• As long as he's a starter, he'll be a top-10 option for fantasy. For those in desperation mode to try and simply make the playoffs, he's worth the gamble to try and pick up 2-3 wins here quickly, even if you know he won't be someone in your lineup beyond Week 13-14. The saving grace is you may be able to get him at a major discount if you can negotiate correctly, using the news of Pacheco returning to practice as a bargaining piece to try and get him for a 1-3 week span.

• Schedule over the next 4 Weeks: @BUF, @CAR, LV, LAC, 4th-easiest among RBs