Stars of Week 11 

QB:      Aaron Rodgers, GB: 22-36, 341 yards, 3 TDs 

RB:      Jonas Gray, NE: 37 carries, 201 yards, 4 TDs

WR:     Mike Evans, TB: 7 catches, 209 yards, 2 TDs

TE:      Coby Fleener, IND: 7 catches, 144 yards, 0 TDs

Aaron Rodgers predictably torched the Eagles’ secondary, and makes it back to back weeks as the top QB. Jonas Gray ran roughshed over the Colts in the Sunday night game - we’ll take a closer look at Gray below. As mentioned last week, Mike Evans is the new #1 WR for the Bucs – so move over Vincent Jackson. Coby Fleener took the top TE nod this week with a valiant effort against the Patriots.

Week 11 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we’ll take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Ryan Mallet, QB - HOU: 20-30, 211 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT

Analysis: In a move that probably should have happened a few games back, Ryan Mallet took over the starting QB duties for the Texans from Ryan Fitzpatrick. Mallet played well overall, and his performance gives reason for the Texans to be optimistic. Mallet flashed his potent arm and also showed good chemistry with Andre Johnson. Only two teams have a bye remaining, so you likely won’t need a fill-in QB going forward. But for those of you in larger leagues or who otherwise need a QB for whatever reason, then Mallet could be an intriguing option, especially with the Titans and Jaguars coming up on the schedule (after the Texans face the Bengals next week). Mallet should be viewed as a QB2.

- Jonas Gray, RB – NE                                     

Analysis: No one ever knows which Patriots’ RB will be the lead guy from week to week. So with Gray blowing up against the Colts, can we feel fully confident that Gray will dominate the carries? Still, the answer is no. Gray should be owned in all leagues, and most likely started in most, but you need to account for the risk of Belichick frustrating you once again. Gray can be looked at as a risky RB2 going forward, but don’t overreact. If you do start Gray, it would be best to go with a safer play with your other RB spot. That’s if you can afford to do so, that is – not too many of those guys left.

- Charles Sims, RB – TB: 13 carries, 36 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis: The Bucs manhandled the Redskins on Sunday, but the running game did not contribute in a major way. Nevertheless, we can gleam important information from what took place among the Bucs’ RBs. As predicted here, Charles Sims took a bigger chunk of the carries than did Bobby Rainey to the tune of a 13 to 5 ratio. While Sims did not assert himself with his performance, look for him to continue to get the majority of the carries going forward. The Bucs are playing for next season, and need to see what they have in Sims. They already know what they have in Rainey – a solid RB, but most likely not a player in their long term plans.

- Jordan Matthews, WR - PHI: 5 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD                                                          

Analysis: Jordan Matthews continued to show promise for the Eagles, now having posted strong weeks back to back (138 yards and 2 TDs last week). Matthews is the real deal, and has clearly supplanted Riley Cooper as the second wide receiver option for the Eagles.  Matthews won’t supplant Maclin, but you should expect WR3 numbers for the remainder of the season. He’s a great talent playing in a potent offense.  Sanchez running the offense won’t limit Matthews’ performance – not in Chip Kelly’s offense, anyway. 

- Kenny Britt, WR – STL: 4 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD

Analysis:         Kenny Britt has emerged as the number one target for the Rams. That’s not the same thing as being the number one target for a team like the Packers, so let’s not get too excited here. But, Britt has shown nice chemistry with Shaun Hill, and he led the team with targets this past week against the Broncos.  Britt should be considered a low-end WR3/high-end WR4 for the rest of the season. He’s always had the talent to be a good WR. We’ll see if he’s finally taking the next step down the stretch.

Rapid Fire Pickups 

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.

QB:                  Mark Sanchez, PHI

RB:                  Latavius Murray, OAK

RB:                  Theo Riddick, TB                  

WR:                 Charles Johnson, MIN

WR:                 Jarvis Landry, MIA

TE:                  Jacob Tamme, DEN (if Julius Thomas misses any time) 

Week 12 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. Andrew Luck

3. Drew Brees

4. Peyton Manning

5. Jay Cutler

6. Tom Brady

7. Matthew Stafford

8. Tony Romo

9. Colin Kaepernick

10. Russell Wilson

11. Mark Sanchez

12. Philip Rivers

13. Ryan Tannehill

14. Matt Ryan

15. Josh McCown

16. Joe Flacco

17. Robert Griffin III

18. Andy Dalton

19. Alex Smith

20. Kyle Orton

Running Backs

1. DeMarco Murray

2. Jamaal Charles

3. Arian Foster

4. Eddie Lacy

5. Matt Forte

6. Marshawn Lynch

7. Mark Ingram

8. LeSean McCoy

9. Justin Forsett

10. Rashad Jennings

11. Denard Robinson

12. Jeremy Hill

13. Andre Ellington

14. Alfred Morris

15. Ryan Mathews

16. Trent Richardson

17. Frank Gore

18. C.J. Anderson

19. Tre Mason

20. Isaiah Crowell

21. Joique Bell

22. Chris Ivory

23. Lamar Miller

24. Jonas Gray

25. Jerick McKinnon

26. Shane Vereen

27. Giovani Bernard

28. Bishop Sankey

29. Terrance West

30. Darren Sproles

31. Charles Sims

32. Fred Jackson

33. Branden Oliver

34. Reggie Bush

35. Bryce Brown

Wide Receivers

1. Demaryius Thomas

2. Calvin Johnson

3. Jordy Nelson

4. Dez Bryant

5. A.J. Green

6. T.Y. Hilton

7. Randall Cobb

8. Brandon Marshall

9. Alshon Jeffery

10. Julio Jones

11. Mike Evans

12. Jeremy Maclin

13. Sammy Watkins

14. Josh Gordon

15. Golden Tate

16. Odell Beckham Jr.

17. Mike Wallace

18. Jordan Matthews

19. DeSean Jackson

20. DeAndre Hopkins

21. Emmanuel Sanders

22. Torrey Smith

23. Andre Johnson

24. Reggie Wayne

25. Julian Edelman

26. Percy Harvin

27. Vincent Jackson

28. Anquan Boldin

29. Mohamed Sanu

30. Keenan Allen

31. Michael Floyd

32. Doug Baldwin

33. Brandon LaFell

34. Steve Smith Sr.

35. Rueben Randle

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski

2. Jimmy Graham

3. Antonio Gates

4. Martellus Bennett

5. Julius Thomas

6. Larry Donnell

7. Jason Witten

8. Coby Fleener

9. Travis Kelce

10. Owen Daniels

11. Delanie Walker

12. Kyle Rudolph

13. Zach Ertz

14. Jordan Reed

15. Mychal Rivera

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM. He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.