Kansas City Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco (ankle) @ Buffalo Bills
Date/Time: Sunday, 4:25 pm Eastern
Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco resumed practicing on Wednesday, participating in a limited capacity for the first time since suffering a Week 2 ankle injury that required in-season surgery. He remained limited on Thursday. The injury reportedly included both a fractured fibula and ligament damage in his ankle. Fantasy managers should not expect Pacheco to face the Buffalo Bills in Week 11.
ESPN’s Stephania Bell states, “As Andy Reid had hinted yesterday, Pacheco [is] back at practice. [I don’t] expect him to return to game action this week. Fibula fracture/repair is tough on a running back and [Pacheco] will need some acclimation to football activities.”
Fill-in starter Kareem Hunt can be started as a volume-based RB2 against a Buffalo defense allowing 1.8 yards before contact per rushing attempt, the third-most among NFL teams, per ProFootballFocus.
Passing-down specialist Samaje Perine remains in control of both the third- and fourth-down role, as well as the two-minute drill. Per PFF Scores & Schedule, Kansas City is currently valued as a 2.5-point road underdog, which should yield a higher-than-normal snap share for Perine. He can be started as a PPR flex option in deep leagues.
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Seattle Seahawks TE Noah Fant (groin) and WR D.K. Metcalf (MCL) @ San Francisco 49ers
Date/Time: Sunday, 4:05 pm Eastern
Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant remains sidelined by a groin strain despite ostensibly resting through the team’s Week 10 bye. He appears unlikely to return for Seattle’s (4-5) Week 11 divisional showdown against the San Francisco 49ers (5-4). Seattle’s No. 1 perimeter wide receiver D.K. Metcalf is expected to return from his multi-week MCL sprain.
Though Metcalf should earn a usable target share, Seattle’s slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba stands to benefit from Fant’s absence by operating as quarterback Geno Smith’s lone interior, lay-up-target option.
San Francisco’s pass defense allows the league’s fewest yards per coverage snap to opposing perimeter wide receivers (5.65) but allows the league’s most yards per coverage snap to opposing slot receivers (10.38), allowing 1.2 more yards per coverage snap than any other team. Smith-Njigba possesses WR1 upside in Week 11.
Buffalo Bills TE Dalton Kincaid (knee) vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Date/Time: Sunday, 4:25 pm Eastern
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Edwin Porras details Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid’s knee injury in The Injury [Pro]ne Podcast’s Week 11 episode. Kincaid landed directly on his kneecap, with the knee bent, modeling “the exact mechanism that we saw with [Los Angeles Rams wide receiver] Puka Nacua,” who suffered a bursa sac injury, and possibly a PCL sprain, in an August training camp incident. Nacua aggravated the injury in Week 1 and was then confirmed to have suffered a PCL sprain after landing on the knee twice in the same manner.
While players risk suffering impact-related injuries when landing hard on their kneecap, the back of the knee’s connective tissue is also stressed by the impact’s force, thus threatening the PCL and the Semimembranosus bursa, among others. Kincaid clearly lands hard on his left kneecap, 26 seconds into this linked clip, in the same manner that Nacua did.
Dr. Porras expects Kincaid to miss “a week or two, at least.” Banged Up Bills also notes, “Kincaid has been working through a left knee ailment that appeared to be tendinitis based on the tape job back on October 30. The blow to the knee caused today’s issue, but prior issues in the knee could have been aggravated by the fall today.”
With Kincaid likely out of the lineup, slot receiver Khalil Shakir is the most likely player to directly benefit from Kincaid’s absence, in a dynamic similar to Fant and Smith-Njigba, outlined above.
It is important to note though, that Kansas City’s coverage weakness is in its patchwork No. 2 perimeter cornerback spot, with unheralded perimeter starter, cornerback Jaylen Watson currently on injured reserve. Kansas City largely covers slot receivers and tight ends with its three-deep safety rotation.
No. 1 perimeter wide receiver Amari Cooper (wrist) has a chance to play after practicing in a limited capacity on Wednesday and Thursday but No. 2 perimeter wide receiver Keon Coleman (wrist) has already been ruled out. No. 4 wide receiver Mack Hollins warrants DFS and deep-league flex consideration against Watson’s backups.
Tight end-needy fantasy managers should check their free agency pool to see if Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft was dropped during his team’s Week 10 bye week. He is available in 30.0 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 26.5 percent of ESPN leagues. Tucker is a superior player, even when Kincaid is healthy anyway, averaging 10.7 PPR points per game to Kincaid’s 8.2.
Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta (shoulder) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta was sidelined on both Wednesday and Thursday after suffering a Week 10 AC joint sprain after landing hard on his left shoulder. The 8-1 Lions are a 14.0-point home favorite this week, hosting a 2-8 Jacksonville Jaguars squad quarterbacked by backup Mac Jones.
Detroit has no real reason to ask LaPorta to play through the injury in what should be an easy victory even without him.
While running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery could both produce RB1 finishes this week, quarterback Jared Goff should also have an efficient and explosive outing. Jacksonville’s pass defense ranks 24th in quarterback pressure rate (30.4 percent) and tie for 20th in NFL sacks (21.0) while allowing the most expected points added (EPA) per play (0.226) and the fourth-most yards per coverage snap (6.94) among NFL teams.
As mentioned in Kincaid’s section above, fantasy managers should check on Kraft’s availability.
Atlanta Falcons WR Darnell Mooney (Achilles) @ Denver Broncos
Date/Time: Sunday, 4:05 pm Eastern
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney was worryingly added to Thursday’s injury report with an Achilles injury. He is listed as a Limited Participant (LP). When players are added to the report mid-week with an LP designation, it typically means the player suffered the injury in practice that day. The injury’s details have not yet been released but fantasy managers should brace for the worst; it is possible Mooney ruptured his Achilles in practice.
If Mooney is experiencing a non-season-ending tendinopathy issue, opting for a conservative rehabilitation plan seems likely. The 6-4 Falcons have Super Bowl aspirations, sitting atop the NFC South with a two-game lead. Atlanta’s training staff could allow the explosive field stretcher to rest for a week or two, to allow the inflammation to subside, before putting the tendon under load in a controlled manner again.
Both No. 1 wide receiver Drake London and Kyle Pitts would receive a slight target share boost if Mooney were to miss Week 11 and No. 3 wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III would warrant DFS and deep-league flex consideration. McCloud is an inefficient player but has been quietly productive as a tackle-breaker and as an occasional explosive-play contributor. Among 64 NFL wide receivers with at least 215 receiving snaps, McCloud ties for 12th in missed tackles forced receiving (seven) and ties for 46th in explosive pass plays (eight).
