The Tennessee Titans will face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Titans skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 11 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Will Levis, QB
On Sunday, Will Levis posted his first game with multiple touchdown passes, no interceptions, and 20+ attempts since his NFL debut. Good for him but meaningless for fantasy managers.
The impactful part of Levis’ Week 10 display was proof that he was watching what “worked” for this offense during his time on the shelf. Mason Rudolph funneled 38.5% of his targets toward Calvin Ridley in his starts, and Levis essentially mirrored that plan in his return to action (39.1% target share).
Levis facing the aggressive Vikings isn’t even a QB2 for me this week (yes, people, I’d still play him over a fringe WR3 in a Superflex setting), but his willingness to load his WR1 down with elite volume gives him a chance to impact fantasy leagues down the stretch.
Tony Pollard, RB
Tony Pollard has multiple catches in every game this season and at least four targets six times. I’d value his versatility more if his backup didn’t also pose a threat in the passing game, thus leaving us a coin-flip as to who gets the most usage in that regard. As for the run game …
Titans rushing production, Week 10:
- Pollard: Nine carries for 44 yards
- Tyjae Spears: Seven carries for 47 yards
- Will Levis: Five carries for 41 yards
Pollard is a low-end Flex play for me this week in a tough spot (MIN: sixth-best EPA defense against the run) with Spears again making this a committee situation. He’s my preferred back in Tennessee at this point, though that’s a bit damning with faint praise in an offense projected to score under 18 points on Sunday.
Tyjae Spears, RB
After missing three straight games, Tyjae Spears was on the field for a season-high 47.1% of the Titans’ offensive snaps. It’s an interesting development but not one that requires action on your part just yet. We are through 10 weeks, and the next time Spears reaches 11 expected PPR points will be his first. I’m going to need proof that this team views him as a back capable of handling reasonable volume before plugging him in.
That said, his 78.8% career catch rate and this franchise telling us that they value what he can do out of the backfield in space makes Spears an interesting DFS punt play in a tournament setting. I’m not going overboard on him, but if he’s on the field for half of their snaps and the aggressive Vikings force checkdowns in bulk, this is the type of player who could turn his 6-8 touches into 15 PPR points.
Calvin Ridley, WR
If you extend Calvin Ridley’s three games post-DeAndre Hopkins trade for a full season: 114 catches for 1,700 yards and 11 touchdowns.
I’m not expecting him to continue that level of production, the quarterback play is simply too sporadic. But it seems that Tennessee’s offense is finally running through their most talented player.
The 16.3 aDOT is going to result in peaks and valleys, but with a target share north of 38% over this three-week run, the sheer volume can overcome signal-caller inconsistencies.
The Joe Burrow/Ja’Marr Chase tandem creates special plays based on their connection while Amon-Ra St. Brown’s surgical route running is a pleasure to watch. Ridley with these Titans isn’t the greatest watch, but at the end of 60 minutes, I expect top-30 numbers to be there consistently for the remainder of the season.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine entered Week 10 having scored in four straight games in one of the more improbable streaks of the first half of this season and earning him a spot in this article.
His stay, however, may be short-lived. He was on the field for every Tennessee offensive snap last week against the Chargers, but without an end-zone target, he was predictably underwhelming (three catches for 31 yards). Westbrook-Ikhine is averaging under a yard per route and has earned a target on just 13.7% of his career routes.
The back end of your roster should remain fluid so that you can ride waves like what Westbrook-Ikhine did for a month. Of course, the other side of that coin is being content to move on from players like that once the production dries up. That is where we currently stand in this instance.
Minnesota Vikings at Tennessee Titans Trends
Minnesota Vikings
Team: After trailing for a total of 3:26 during their 5-0 start, the Vikings have trailed for over 107 minutes (roughly 45% of the time) in four games since. The culprit has been the second quarter—Minnesota has been outscored 35-0 in the second quarter since Week 7.
QB: Sam Darnold has thrown multiple interceptions in back-to-back games after not doing so in any of his first seven games of the season. He’s never thrown multiple picks in three straight games, and Christian Ponder (three straight in 2012) is the only Vikings QB this century with three straight multi-INT games.
Offense: The Vikings have a +58 point differential in first quarters this season, 26 points ahead of the second-place 49ers.
Defense: Minnesota’s volume blitzing gets the attention, but is it effective? They have the third-lowest pressure rate when bringing an extra defender (32.4%, better than only the Cardinals and Panthers).
Fantasy: Aaron Jones scored on his third carry of the season – he’s run for one touchdown on 139 attempts since.
Betting: After a 5-0 start against the spread, the Vikings are 1-3 ATS since.
Tennessee Titans
Team: The Titans have been out-scored 106-45 in their first three games against the NFC North this season.
QB: On Sunday, Will Levis posted his first game with multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions in a game with 20-plus attempts since his NFL debut.
Offense: The thought this preseason was that this offense would open up – they rank dead last in the pace of play.
Defense: The regression monster has hit the Titans – 2023’s best red zone defense ranks 26th through 10 weeks this season.
Fantasy: If you extend Calvin Ridley’s three games post-DeAndre Hopkins trade for a full season — 114 catches for 1,700 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Betting: The Titans are 0-4 ATS at home this season (failures to cover against the Jets, Packers, Colts, and Patriots) and are just 1-6-1 ATS in their past eight in front of their fans.