All your favorite NFL Fantasy analysts (and the other ones, too) spend all week pouring over data, slugging through hours of game film and debating amongst each to give you the best advice on what to do with your fake football squads. In this space, however, as the work week comes to an end we'll crank up the heat a bit more than usual and go off the map. Every week, our analysts will drop their boldest predictions and inevitably dance around their desks with idiotic grins if they ever happen to come true. If said predictions go belly up, we shall never speak of them again.
Alex Gelhar: Kareem Hunt goes for 150 total yards and two touchdownsKareem Hunt goes for
This makes so much sense there's probably a zero percent chance it happens. But Andy Reid is 16-2 in his career coming out of a bye week. I'd expect him to do a little soul searching during that break and realize that he has a phenomenal young back on his offense whom he has neglected to give touches of late. Reid loads up Hunt with a sizable workload in Week 11 and the dazzling rookie helps give the Giants one more reason to mentally drift into the offseason. Hunt rips apart their run defense that has allowed 350 total yards and three touchdowns to opposing backs over the last two weeks and just lost Damon Harrison.
Marcas Grant: Jarvis Landry will go for 125 yards and a touchdown
It's been nearly 11 months since everyone's favorite PPR receiver has broken the century mark in receiving yards. To find a week where he topped 100 yards AND scored a touchdown, you have to flash all the way back to Week 3 of last season. In other words ... it's been awhile. But against a woebegone Buccaneers defense, this should be the week that Landry and his mighty 7.7 yards per catch average (T-131st among qualifiers) puts up a crazy fantasy number.
James Koh: Tyrod Taylor outscores Nathan Peterman in Week 11
After Peterman outscored Tyrod in Week 10, Taylor will return the favor in Week 11 versus the Chargers. I'm not sure how it's going to happen... maybe Peterman has four turnovers and no touchdowns and puts up a negative number. Maybe Peterman fails so spectacularly that the coaching staff goes with Tyrod as a quarterback reliever. Maybe LeSean McCoy goes so insane-o on the ground, and the Bills smash the Chargers so hard that Tyrod comes in for mop-up duty in the late fourth quarter and scores a meaningless rushing touchdown. I don't know how but the Karma gods have to do something to right the wrong that was Taylor getting benched for absolutely no good football reason.
Michael Fabiano: The Chiefs will have a top-five fantasy player at QB, RB, WR, TE, K
Have you seen the Giants defense lately? I mean, C.J. Beathard looked like Joe Montana against the weakened version of Big Blue last week! So why not go all in on the Chiefs (who Montana used to play for)? I'll predict that Alex Smith, Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill (or another Chiefs WR), Travis Kelce and Harrison "Butt-kicker" Butker will all finish in the top five at their respective positions. This actually happened three times (PPR scoring) during the 2015 season. The Patriots did it twice, and the … Giants did it once. Weird, huh?
Cynthia Frelund: Julio Jones has not one, but two touchdowns against the Richard Sherman-less (and potentially Kam Chancellor-less) Seahawks defense
It's been three games since he's seen the end zone and only has one score for the year so far.
Not bold enough? Fine, also add in a touchdown for David Njoku against the Jags.
Adam Rank: Blaine Gabbert throws for 279 and 2 touchdowns
Now does his name sound like one of the dudes encouraging Zach Siler to make Laney Boggs prom queen in "She's All That" and whatnot? He does. But he can actually be a good quarterback. Our own Mike Mayock had him ahead of Cam Newton coming into the draft. And then Bruce Arians was defending the dude this week, saying that he played on some (expletive) teams. And he's not lying. So I'm going to give Blaine a chance here. He scored close to 20 points the last time he made a start. The Texans have allowed the most points to fantasy quarterbacks since Week 7. I like this.
Matt "Franchise" Franciscovich: Giovani Bernard out scores Joe Mixon in fantasy.
We just watched the Patriots running backs carve up Denver's defense as pass-catchers, and if Cincinnati has any sense left of how to game plan, they'll use Bernard's skillset to their advantage. Mixon will still be the volume back, but if Bernard lines up as a receiver and can see some targets out of the backfield, I think he definitely finds the end zone while Denver's defenders worry about A.J. Green and Tyler Kroft. It's bold because Bernard has posted five or fewer fantasy points in each of his last five games.
Matt Harmon: There will be less than 45 points scored in the Raiders vs. Patriots game in Mexico City
It's everyone's favorite shootout of the week but something has me doubting it ends up happening. Maybe the fact that it will take place in a different country has me spooked. Although, I think I just don't trust the Raiders offense all that much. They've had two players on all offense all year who have been consistent week-to-week producers in Michael Crabtree and...Jared Cook. I'm sure the Patriots offense will smash this poor Raiders stop unit, but I'm not sure Oakland comes through with their end of the bargain.
