Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame member Bob Harris and Gary Davenport have well over 40 years of experience as fantasy football analysts, with three Football Writer of the Year Awards between them. They know their stuff—or at least that's what they tell themselves.
Each week during the 2025 season, Harris and Davenport are going to come together here at Footballguys to answer five of that week's biggest fantasy questions.
It's Week 11 of the 2025 fantasy football season, which means it's time to throw on some sweatpants and limber up for the stretch run to the fantasy playoffs. It's a pressure-packed time of year—one where 7-3 starts can be squandered by a skid and a 4-6 struggler can turn a hot month into a playoff spot.
With that added pressure, every lineup decision becomes even more important. Every call is a make-or-break decision. The stakes are as high as ever.
The suspense just made Davenport faint.
It happens.
Quarterback Quandaries
At this point in the season, quite a few fantasy managers are rolling out quarterbacks they didn't expect to be in Week 11.
Of the quarterbacks ranked outside the top-15 this week at Footballguys, which signal-caller would you be most comfortable starting over the season's last month? Which desperation play outside the top-20 is the best one-week fill-in?
Harris: I get it, things haven't been going well for Jordan Love and the Packers' passing attack since Tucker Kraft went down with a season-ending knee injury. He's been QB24 over the last two weeks.
But the first eight games?
As ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky suggested, Love's start to this season -- 13 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 70.9 percent completion rate -- was reminiscent of his eight-game stretch to finish the 2023 season (with 18 touchdowns and just one interception).
He was QB11 the first eight weeks of the season. And he was at his best in favorable matchups.
Against the Steelers in Week 8, Love completed a career-best 20 straight passes on the way to going 29-for-37 for 360 yards and three touchdowns. He became the first Packers quarterback with 350 yards passing, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in a game since Aaron Rodgers in 2021 at the Vikings.
Love got plenty of help from Kraft and the return of Christian Watson, who had four catches for 85 yards in his first game since tearing an ACL in last season's regular-season finale.
Kraft is gone, but the Giants are a favorable matchup.
Over the last four weeks, their defense has allowed an average of more than 26 fantasy points per game to the position. They struggle to defend the deep ball, and, as NFL.com's Michael F. Florio points out, generate pressure and sacks at below-average rates. In all, the Giants have allowed six different quarterbacks to finish with 20-plus points.
Love could be next on that list.
Digging deeper--Tempted though I might be to roll out the Giants starter this week, Jameis Winston gets the call with Jaxson Dart ruled out, the smarter play is Miami's Tua Tagovailoa.
There's a reason he's ranked at QB22, but despite a poor overall season, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins show up at times.
It was just last week they showed up against the Bills, getting out to a 16-0 start and never looking back.
Tagovailoa was efficient and also hit a few deep balls to finish with 173 yards on 15-of-21 passing. Not pretending he was great, but the matchup in Madrid against a struggling Commanders defense should work in his favor. Washington has allowed the most passing yards, most touchdowns, and is tied (with Jacksonville) for the second-most fantasy points per game -- 21.0 -- allowed to QBs in 2025.
Davenport: This feels a little bit like cheating—Jared Goff's ranking of QB21 has a lot more to do with a tough matchup in Philadelphia than the quarterback or the weapons around him. But Goff also ranks outside the top-12 at his position in fantasy points per game 10 weeks into the season, so he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire.
Goff isn't going to suddenly catch fire and go on a month-long rampage where he posts top-five fantasy numbers. But Goff was QB6 last year for a reason—he's a solid NFL starter playing on a team loaded with offensive firepower. In Dan Campbell's first game calling the plays last week, Goff threw for 320 yards and three scores and ranked fifth in fantasy points at his position.
For the second part of this question, I am going to cheat a little (sue me)—Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders sits at QB20 on the nose this week. But the fact that he's ranked even that high after throwing for 143 yards and an interception last week in Denver belies just how favorable this week's matchup with the Dallas Cowboys is.
Simply put, the Cowboys are abysmal defensively—only the Cincinnati Bengals have allowed more yards and points per game, and no team in the league is surrendering more fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Even Smith should be able to have a decent day against this tissue paper unit.
Running it Back
The running back position has been disconcertingly calm this season, at least relative to some other positions.
Variation on the same question—which back a little ways down the rankings do you believe fantasy managers can ride all the way into the postseason? Who is the best one-game band-aid for Week 11?
Harris: I'll start at RB24--with a caveat: Rachaad White is in for a rebound week as long as Bucky Irving doesn't return to action.
Irving worked on a limited basis in a Wednesday walkthrough session and was on the field Thursday. It's a reach that he'll return from more than a month off, but it's possible. Check before committing to White.
But if there is no Irving, White will make us forget all about the three-game run that led to him scoring an average of just nine points per game. Despite the disappointing outcomes, White has averaged 16 touches per game in the five contests Irving has missed with foot and shoulder injuries. This week, he'll make more of those touches against a Buffalo defense that's giving up the fifth-most rushing yards, most rushing TDs (tied), and sixth-most fantasy points per game to the position.
If I need an emergency play, Arizona's Emari Demercado might be the guy.
As SBNation's Nick Simon noted this week, Demercado has re-emerged as a top backfield option for the Cardinals over the past few weeks, and he was one of the few positives in the team's 44-22 blowout loss to the Seahawks last Sunday. He was explosive on the ground by racking up 64 rushing yards off just four carries and also caught three targets for 40 receiving yards in the setback.
In addition, starter Bam Knight was hurt late in the loss to Seattle, and his status this week is uncertain. Whatever the case, the 49ers' defense has been hit hard by injuries and hasn't been all that stingy the last month. I'd be fine taking a shot on Demercado, our RB28 this week.
Davenport: Agree on White, although as my esteemed colleague noted, he has an expiration date. With that said, the Bills have been surprisingly abysmal against the run this year, and if the Bills get a lead, White also handles pass-catching duties out of the backfield in Tampa.
Looking a little longer out, though, Woody Marks of the Houston Texans has the potential to be a sizable boon to fantasy managers who have had a hole blasted in the backfield. The Texans aren't going to morph into a rushing juggernaut. Nick Chubb also isn't going away. But Houston's offense has improved of late (even without quarterback C.J. Stroud), and Marks' 16 touches, 75 yards and a score last week would appear to indicate he's the clear No. 1 back in Houston now.
For this week alone, I'll throw a dart all the way down to RB39 and Chris Rodriguez Jr. of the Washington Commanders. Before hurting his shoulder last week, Rodriguez drew the start ahead of Jacory Croskey-Merritt, including a goal-line score. The third-year pro is off the injury report ahead of El partido del domingo en Madrid, and the Miami Dolphins are 26th in run defense, allowing almost 140 yards per game on the ground.
