Fantasy Football Week 11 RB Start Decision: Ty Chandler vs. Darrell Henderson vs. James Conner vs. Khalil Herbert vs. Devin Singletary vs. Isiah Pacheco vs. Jaylen Warren vs. Jerome Ford vs. Aaron Jones
Determining if Ty Chandler is a player you should be starting over Darrell Henderson, James Conner, Khalil Herbert, Devin Singletary, Isiah Pacheco, Jaylen Warren, Jerome Ford and Aaron Jones in week 11.
Minnesota Vikings’ running back Ty Chandler has been a popular waiver wire name this week, and now he’s part of several trending decisions on the FantasySP start/sit tool.
Let’s put Chandler up against Los Angeles Rams’ Darrell Henderson, Arizona Cardinals’ James Conner, Chicago Bears’ Khalil Herbert, Houston Texans’ Devin Singletary, Kansas City Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Jaylen Warren, Cleveland Browns’ Jerome Ford and Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Jones.
Who is the best starting option of the group? Let’s get into it.
Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including predictive waiver analytics to help prioritize waiver pickups, projections, auction values, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy football trade analyzer to break down trade scenarios.
Why You Should Start Ty Chandler
The reason Chandler is a popular waiver wire guy this week is because he performed well in relief of the injured Alexander Mattison.
Chandler played 32 offensive snaps last week and got 15 touches. He rushed 15 times for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Mattison, who still has not cleared concussion protocol and has been limited at practice, was on the field for 33 snaps and got nine touches. He rushed eight times for 27 yards and caught one of his two targets for 6 yards.
The status of Mattison will obviously affect Chandler’s value. If Mattison doesn’t suit up, Chandler should be the workhorse back. If Mattison plays, I’d expect him and Chandler to split the snaps and touches.
Chandler has passed Mattison in the week 11 projections. It’s a favorable matchup for whatever back is on the field, as the Denver Broncos allow the most fantasy points to opposing backs, although they have been much better of late.
Why You Should Start Darrell Henderson
Henderson might be in for his last decent fantasy showing, as Kyren Williams is eligible to return to the field in week 12. Henderson has been splitting the running back duties with Royce Freeman with Williams out.
The Rams last played in week 9. Henderson played 34 snaps and got 12 touches. Freeman was at 24 snaps and 12 touches.
Henderson was a touch more productive, rushing for 19 yards on 10 carries and adding two receptions for 16 yards. Freeman tallied 32 rushing yards on 12 attempts. LA played without quarterback Matthew Stafford in that contest, and the Rams’ offense was abysmal because of it. Stafford is trending toward playing this week against the Seattle Seahawks.
Henderson is the 22nd-ranked back in the weekly projections. Freeman comes in 34th. It’s a very favorable matchup, as Seattle allows 25 fantasy points a game to backs, which is tied for the fourth most.
Why You Should Start James Conner
Conner returned from an injury in week 10 and looked pretty solid for the Cardinals. He played 41 snaps and got 16 touches.
Conner finished with 73 rushing yards on 16 attempts. He got all four of the team’s red zone carries.
The Arizona lead back comes in seventh in the weekly projections for his matchup with the Texans. That’s an average matchup, as the Texans allow 22 fantasy points per week.
Why You Should Start Khalil Herbert
Herbert is working his way back from an injury and practiced in full on Thursday. Herbert hasn’t played since week 5.
In his five games this season, Herbert topped 75 rushing yards twice - his last two contests. He’s reached 50 scrimmage yards in all but one contest.
Backs Khari Blasingame and D’Onta Foreman are also on the injury report, so the status of every back will be worth watching as the game against the Detroit Lions approaches.
Herbert is ranked 37th in the projections, which is two slots behind Foreman. Roschon Johnson is ranked 48th. This isn’t a great matchup for the Chicago backs, as the Lions only allow 16 fantasy points to backs per week. That’s tied for the third fewest in the league.
Why You Should Start Devin Singletary
Singletary served as the Texans’ workhorse in week 10 with Dameon Pierce out with an injury. Singletary was on the field for 61 snaps and got 31 of the back’s 33 touches overall.
Singletary rushed 30 times for 150 yards and a touchdown. He added an 11-yard catch on two targets.
Pierce hasn’t practiced yet this week, so his status isn’t looking good for Sunday’s game with the Cardinals. Singletary ranks as RB21 in the projections. Pierce is a distant 36th.
Arizona’s defense struggles mightily to slow opposing backs, allowing 27 fantasy points per game, so this is a very favorable matchup.
Why You Should Start Isiah Pacheco
A back that doesn’t have a favorable matchup is Pacheco. He’ll be facing the best defense in the league, the Philadelphia Eagles. They allow only 14 points to backs per week.
Pacheco has pretty much dominated the backfield for the Chiefs this season. He’s up to 333 snaps played and 148 touches. Jerick McKinnon has played 188 snaps, but has only 29 touches, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire has 39 touches across 81 snaps played.
Both the backup RBs are on the injury report, but they practiced in full on Thursday, so they are likely going to play on Monday.
Pacheco is ranked 26th for this week, while McKinnon is 45th.
Why You Should Start Jaylen Warren
Warren has become a pretty reliable fantasy player despite splitting snaps and touches with Najee Harris this season. Harris leads the team with 301 snaps and 134 touches, with Warren is at 255 snaps and 102 touches.
Warren has rushed 71 times for 364 yards and two touchdowns. He’s added 31 receptions on 39 targets for 218 more yards. Warren has six red zone carries to 12 for Harris.
Harris is the top-ranked Pittsburgh back this week at 27th, but Warren isn’t far behind at 32nd. They have a tough matchup with the Browns, who allow just 16 fantasy points per week.
Why You Should Start Jerome Ford
On the other sideline is Browns’ No. 1 back Ford. He’s the team leader in touches (145) and snaps (349) this season after the injury to Nick Chubb.
Ford might even be more involved going forward after the season-ending injury for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Backup RB Kareem Hunt should also play more, and already takes away scoring chances from Ford, with six rushing touchdowns this season. Hunt has 14 red zone carries to only four for Ford.
Ford slots in 14th in the weekly projections, while Hunt is 30th. They have a pretty average matchup against the Steelers, who allow 23 fantasy points per week.
Why You Should Start Aaron Jones
Jones has been more involved over the past couple weeks as he continues to deal with injuries. He got 17 touches across 38 offensive snaps last week. Backup AJ Dillon got 10 touches and played 34 snaps.
Jones rushed for 35 yards on 13 carries and added four catches for 19 yards on six targets. He got three red zone carries, while Dillon had two.
Jones has a favorable matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers allow 25 fantasy points per week, with backs doing a lot of damage as pass catchers, something Jones excels at. Jones’ favorable matchup has him eighth in the projections, while Dillon is 33rd.
Final Numbers and the Recommended Start
This is mostly about Chandler, so let’s see how fantasy owners are approaching things when he is involved. Owners are starting Chandler over Herbert and Warren, while taking Henderson, Conner, Singletary, Pacheco, Ford and Jones over him.
Those numbers could obviously change later in the week when the status of some of the backs involved - or their teammates - get revealed, so check the start/sit tool for the latest numbers.
As for who I like this week, I’m going to roll with Jones as my top back. I like him to post one of his best fantasy outings of the season against the Chargers’ defense.
I would then take Singletary, as I believe he will again be the lead back this week. If Pierce plays, I’d drop him down the list a spot or two. I would stick with backs who should serve as workhorses and go with Conner next.
If Mattison does not play, Chandler would slot in here. I like Ford next of the bunch in a run-focused contest with the Steelers. I’d take the other back in that contest, Warren, with my next choice. If Mattison does play, Chandler would go here.
Give me Henderson for the next spot. He’s got a favorable matchup, but he’s limited by Freeman, and the Seahawks also aren’t all that great against the pass, so they won’t need to rely on the run game.
For my last choice, I’d take Pacheco over Herbert. Pacheco’s matchup is brutal, but he should add some value as a pass catcher. I don’t like Herbert coming off the injury, as in the best case scenario, I see him splitting the workload with another Chicago back.
