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.
Three Down
QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
It all looked so good before the bye. Caleb Williams was improving every week. Whether digging into the film or analytics, there was overwhelming evidence that Williams was playing better football. And it translated to fantasy production. He scored 23.6 and 29.6 points in Weeks 5 and 6, and made for a premier waiver-wire target. But during the bye, the offense broke. Play-calling has been atrocious. The offensive line cannot protect the quarterback or open run lanes. Caleb Williams has become erratic and indecisive. Wide receivers cannot separate. On Tuesday morning, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron joined a long list of scapegoats for the Bears' never-ending woes. Maybe a midseason change is what's needed. But this team needs more than an OC change to get back on track. Many fantasy managers emptied their FAAB wallets to pick Williams up, but you can safely release him back to the waiver wire again.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
He's the per-game WR8 in PPR scoring, but Amon-Ra St. Brown's season feels like a house of cards ready to collapse. His usage has not been anywhere near what we've seen historically. St. Brown looked like his old self in Week 2, pulling a ludicrous 18 targets. From the start of his rookie breakout until that Week 2 match, St. Brown averaged 10.0 targets per game, scoring roughly one touchdown every 14 targets. Since that 18-target explosion in Week 2, he's averaged just 6.1 targets per game, not seeing double-digit targets in a single outing. He's making up for the lack of usage with an alarming touchdown rate, scoring about once on every six targets, more than double his career rate. That is unsustainable. With a dominant run game and the emergence of Jameson Williams, the weekly floor and ceiling for Amon-Ra St. Brown could quickly collapse. You're still starting him every week because of his talent and the offensive environment he's in, but there's reason to sell high before the trade deadline.
RB Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
Footballguys staffer Jeff Bell refers to offenses as "clean" and "dirty." An example of a clean offense would be the Los Angeles Rams. The backfield touches are going to Kyren Williams. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua will dominate the target share. The Eagles, Texans, and Dolphins are other offenses that would classify as clean. In clean offenses, you can reasonably expect where the touches will go. Using this "clean and dirty" analogy, there isn't a filthier offense than the Denver Broncos. We see a different target earner nearly every week. Their tight-end depth chart is a constant shuffle. And their backfield might be the hardest to predict. Javonte Williams has shown instances of workhorse volume this year. But we've also seen heavy doses of Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Michael Burton, and, most recently, rookie Audric Estime. Estime handled a massive opportunity share in Week 11, totaling 14 carries to Williams' one. Williams saw a couple of targets as well. But going forward, it's hard to trust any Broncos running back in your lineup. Throw a waiver bid on Estime if you need a running back, but don't be shocked if the tides turn again soon.
In today's episode of The Football Fantasy Football Show, Alfredo Brown and I discuss Trey Benson, Caleb Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and much more.