Seems like Aaron Jones will be ok! ✅

Make sure to tune into the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast! Faraz and Zach break down everything you need to know about this past weekend’s fantasy football action, from Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s big day to D.J. Moore’s cold streak continuing.

Need to get the essentials covered in less time? No worries – head over to our Instagram and catch the full Week 10 fantasy takeaways post!

• Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said that QB Cooper Rush will start for the team in Week 11 vs the Texans

  • Nobody liked that. The Cowboys offense has gone from solid, to struggling, to downright floundering over the course of three games since the bye, and things hit rock bottom against the Eagles with Cooper Rush averaging two yards per attempt in a game where Dallas looked afraid to run a route past the sticks. As a result, the fantasy values of everyone involved have sunk in dramatic fashion, including Ceedee Lamb’s, who’s just barely getting by relying on sheer volume. Rush is not a fantasy starter or a real life starter by any stretch of the word, and it looks like we could be heading for an offensive product in Dallas that should be avoided at all costs the rest of the way. QB Dak Prescott, while not officially ruled out by the team for the rest of the season, is expected to miss the rest of the games this year with a hamstring avulsion he suffered in Week 9 against the Falcons. As has been the case since the end of last year, help is not on the way for the Cowboys from a personnel perspective. Ceedee Lamb is a risky WR2 play with a trapdoor floor that could bottom out at any time, while the rest of the Cowboys offense will likely find themselves among the players to avoid in the coming weeks. The only hope at this point for anything better than the status quo is a switch to Trey Lance at QB, who has proven to be a less-than ideal starter in limited action, himself.

• Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell says that he ‘feels good’ about having Aaron Jones available for their game this weekend vs the Titans

  • Things weren’t looking good on Sunday when Jones needed to be carted off the field with a rib injury, but it appears that he should be good to go moving forward after he was able to return to finish the game against the Jaguars. Despite his production being down over the past few weeks, Jones has received locked-in RB1 utilization as the clear lead back in Minnesota’s offense. As a result, fantasy managers can start him with confidence in Week 11 even in a relatively tough matchup against Tennessee. In other news further down the depth chart, RB Ty Chandler has apparently conceded his role as the Vikings’ RB2 behind Jones to the recently acquired Cam Akers, who handled the majority of the meaningful work in the backfield for as long as Jones was out of the game this past weekend. As a result, Chandler can be dropped until further notice as a result of his falling to the RB3 spot. Akers remains unlikely to be anything more than a change-of-pace back as long as Jones is healthy, but he does have appeal as a potential plus handcuff and should continue to be rostered as a result.

• Bears HC Matt Eberflus says that the team is ‘in the middle of’ evaluating a possible change at offensive coordinator

  • Hopefully this is just a sugarcoated way of saying that Chicago is in the process of getting Waldron’s bags all packed up before they announce that they’re moving on this week. The Bears have scored just one offensive touchdown since their Week 7 bye and Caleb Williams has looked flustered and uncomfortable in three straight games. Waldron was unable to capitalize on the war chest of weapons in Seattle during his time there, and the same issue seems to be occurring in Chicago. Needless to say, an offense that features the likes of D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet, and D’Andre Swift shouldn’t be having the issues the Bears have been having, even with a rookie quarterback under center. Whatever momentum the Bears and Caleb Williams had going into the bye has evaporated into thin air – remember, Williams rattled off two top-6 fantasy finishes in Weeks 5 and 6. Until the Bears get things corrected on offense or there’s a change at playcaller, all components of the Bears’ passing attack can fairly be relegated to the bench. D’Andre Swift remains a borderline RB1 / solid RB2 play as his role remains well intact.

Demario Douglas (WR - New England Patriots)

• Douglas has definitively been a FLEX option in PPR formats under Drake Maye. With Maye healthy and a starter, Douglas has posted games of:

  • 6 catches (on 9 targets), 92 yards, and 1 TD: 21.2 fantasy points

  • 2 catches (on 3 targets), 14 yards: 3.4 fantasy points

  • 7 catches (on 9 targets), 35 yards: 10.5 fantasy points

  • 4 catches (on 5 targets), 50 yards: 9.0 fantasy points

• He's not blowing away the stat sheet, especially in terms of yardage or TD production, but he's established himself as a steady, stable option with production driven by volume.

• If you're looking for a potential league-winner, you're better to roll the dice elsewhere (i.e. Ricky Pearsall), but if you're in need of a viable weekly FLEX/WR3 option or someone to strengthen your WR depth, Douglas is your guy.

Ricky Pearsall (WR - San Francisco 49ers)

• He's been on my waiver wire targets list for a few weeks now, but he's now truly among the 'priority' options after a strong showing in Week 10, tallying 4 catches (on 6 targets) for 73 yards and a TD. That now makes back-to-back games of 4+ catches, 70+ total yards, and 11+ fantasy points.

• It still looks like it will be Kittle, Deebo, CMC, Jennings, and then Pearsall in terms of the pecking order in the receiving game, but it's an offense where even modest volume (as Pearsall has gotten) can provide quality fantasy production, or at the very least a semi-consistent FLEX option.

• The 2024 1st Round pick is now getting into the groove within the offense and that role could grow in theory as the season progresses. I like Pearsall as a WR3 the rest of the season with the potential to overtake Jennings as the team's WR2 by season's end (which would push him into a borderline WR2 category for fantasy purposes.

Audric Estime (RB - Denver Broncos)

• I had been warning that this could happen in Denver a few weeks ago once the writing was on the wall with Sean Payton's claims to push for more involvement from the rookies as the season progressed.

• That has come to fruition with Estime seemingly taking the starting RB job from Javonte Williams with the rookie leading the Broncos' backfield in carries (14), touches (14), and snap share (46%) by a wide margin in each category.

• The Broncos' starting RB is far from the most favorable RB position from a fantasy perspective, especially with the team drawing a bottom-5 playoff SOS for fantasy, but starting RBs definitely do not grow on trees for fantasy.

• Especially if you have a need at the RB position, Estime should be a priority pickup.