Most leagues have trade deadlines hitting this week, so this can be your last opportunity to move some premium players around. Let's discuss some players move up and down as we head into Week 11.
Three Up
QB Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
On one hand, it's important not to overreact to a single game. On the other hand, Kyler Murray's Week 10 performance was exactly what his staunchest supporters have always envisioned. The game moved in slo-mo for Murray as he diced up a Jets defense for 266 yards, completing a ludicrous 22 of 24 pass attempts. In addition to a touchdown through the air, he ran in two. The Jets defense looked stout early in the season and has slowly declined over the last few weeks. But they were embarrassed on Sunday, with Murray easily marching his offense down the field. This isn't the first boom game Murray has had this year. He torched the Rams for 266 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2. He threw for 307 and two touchdowns in a win against Miami in Week 8. We haven't seen a significant sample of Murray in the Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing offense, but we've seen dashes of the potential. Murray has had a handful of bad performances this year, but more consistency as he familiarizes himself with the offense could push him into the elite tier of quarterbacks.
RB Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
The whole Cardinals offense is trending up after the rout of the Jets, but rookie running back Trey Benson deserves adulation alongside his quarterback. Early in the season, Benson was running poorly. He was dancing in the backfield, hoping for a huge hole to show off his game-breaking speed. But it didn't happen. In the one game he saw double-digit touches early in the season, he averaged less than one yard per carry. In Week 10 though, he looked like a completely different runner. He was much more decisive, quickly turning his runs upfield. He generated 5.3 yards after contact per attempt, almost never going down on first contact. Benson showed enough yesterday that he will likely see more touches going forward. He'd need an injury to James Conner to be fully unleashed, but the upside in the event of an injury is immense.
WR Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots
After a forgettable season and a half to start his career, Kayshon Boutte has suddenly found himself in a role as the Patriots' WR1. He seldom comes off the field, logging 96 and 97 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 9 and 10. He's pulled exactly six targets in three straight games. The production so far has been pretty meager: 47, 18, and 26 yards over his last three games. But he's left some big plays on the field, including one where he got behind Jaylon Johnson this Sunday for a would-be touchdown, but Drake Maye's throw came up short. Boutte was once thought of as an elite receiver prospect. Going into the 2022 season, many draft pundits had him on their board as the class's WR1. But a disappointing and injury-plagued season caused him to fall into Round 6 on the 2023 NFL Draft. The Patriots' wide receiver room is not a deep or talented bunch, and Boutte has done enough to fix himself atop it.
