Week 11 Monday Night Fantasy Football Takeaways: Joe Mixon Powers Texans to Win; Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin Emerges as Waiver Option

Week 11 of the NFL regular season wrapped up with a game between the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys.

The game went about as expected, but there’s still some fantasy football takeaways to discuss.

Explore the best in-season fantasy football tool to manage your team and get league rankings with the Fantasy Assistant. Use our  trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios with Fair Trade ratings. Need a fantasy expert on call for waivers specific to your league? Our AI Fantasy Expert can break down any player for you inside the Fantasy Assistant.

Joe Mixon is a Must-Start Fantasy Player

Mixon is the heart of the Houston offense. He had another monster showing on Monday.

He rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Mixon added 44 receiving yards on two receptions and four targets.

Mixon got back on track after only having 46 rushing yards in week 10, although he had 44 receiving yards and a touchdown in that contest to post a good fantasy score still. He’s gone over 100 rushing yards five times across the six games he’s played in since returning from an early-season injury.

He’s only failed to reach 100 total yards twice this season, and he’s scored at least once in all but one game. Mixon is back to being a fantasy star RB, and needs to be in your lineups regardless of the defensive matchup he’s got.

Collins Solid in Return

Nico Collins played for the first time since week 5 and posted 54 receiving yards on four receptions and seven targets. A monster fantasy performance was wiped out after a 77-yard touchdown grab was negated due to a penalty.

He tied Tank Dell (54 yards on four catches as well, along with a four-yard run) for the most targets among the Houston pass catcher. In time, I’d imagine that Collins goes back to being the clear No. 1 option in the Houston passing game, and that will leave him as one of the top fantasy wideouts every week.

I doubt you’d be able to buy low on Collins, but it’s at least worth asking. There’s too many fantasy owners who will look at Collins’ performance and be dissatisfied, which might allow you to not have to pay a king’s ransom for the wideout.

Stroud Fares Better

C.J. Stroud has struggled of late, with Collins’ absence definitely playing into that, but the quarterback had a bounceback showing this week.

He was 23-of-34 passing for 257 yards. Stroud didn’t toss a touchdown and he threw a pick, but it was a much better outing than he’s posted in weeks. He added 26 rushing yards on three scrambles to help offset the pick.

As Collins gets back into the swing of things, you can bet the touchdown passes for Stroud will increase. His trade value is low right now, making it a perfect time to buy Stroud - at least check on his asking price.

He’s got enough favorable matchups coming to expect Stroud to perform better down the stretch. See if you can land yourself a weekly starter for a depth player of yours.

Cowboys’ Offensive Leaders

Dallas’ offense was better this week than in week 10, but it didn’t lead to many points.

Cooper Rush threw for 354 yards, but it took him 32 completions and 55 attempts to get there. He tossed one touchdown and a pick. He’s a streaming option for fantasy, but just in deeper leagues and two-QB setups.

Rico Dowdle got 12 touches, but only finished with 34 yards. He had 28 rushing yards on 10 carries and six receiving yards on two grabs and five targets.

Dowdle is the clear top back for the Cowboys, but he’s only going to be a decent fantasy starting option against the most favorable defensive matchups going forward.

CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin were the top fantasy options for the Cowboys in this one.

Lamb had 93 yards on eight catches and 12 targets, and he added a 13-yard rush to finish with over 100 total yards. 

It was a fine fantasy performance, especially in PPR setups, but his fantasy ceiling is capped by having Rush at QB instead of Dak Prescott. Lamb’s scoring potential goes way down, and that takes Lamb off the must-start tier and puts him into the good starting option tier instead.

I’d still want to start Lamb most weeks, but I also think fantasy duds are a real possibility here and there, and I also believe there’s a chance he gets shut down with his injuries he’s dealt with. It could be time to sell high on Lamb.

Turpin had 86 yards and a score on three catches and targets. He had a 64-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.

He was coming off a no-target game, and this was easily his best fantasy showing of the season. Turpin now has been targeted three or more times in five of the past six games. He’s gone over 50 yards just twice in that span though.

Turpin is a waiver wire option after his big game, but once the bye weeks pass, Turpin won’t be that great of a fantasy starting option in standard leagues. He’s a decent deep league option for the remainder of the season, but a risky one given his inconsistencies this season and the current state of the Cowboys’ offense.

IDP Standouts

Houston’s Jalen Pitre and Dallas’ Eric Kendricks had nine combined tackles each.

Pitre also forced a fumble. With 64 tackles overall and a few splash plays mixed in, Pitre is a pretty solid IDP secondary option.

Kendricks has 87 tackles now on the season. He’s also made a few splash plays, which also makes him a good weekly starting option.

Dallas’ Malik Hooker had eight tackles and an interception. He’s got 46 total tackles on the season, making him a decent IDP cornerback option.

Houston’s Danielle Hunter had two sacks among his three tackles. With 7.5 sacks and 30 tackles on the season, he’s a pretty solid pass rushing fantasy option. He should be playing in deeper IDP setups at least.

Texans’ Derek Barnett had a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and touchdown return on Monday. He’s only got 12 tackles and three sacks on the season, so outside really deep leagues, Barnett is not a great IDP option.