Texans Fantasy Football Picks For Week Eleven

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This week it's the battle of Tom Brady's former backups as Ryan Mallett and the Texans square off against Brian Hoyer and the Browns. Looking at the Browns' defense, Football Outsiders ranks them as seventh-best team against the pass and thirtieth against the run. Cleveland has allowed the third-lowest number of fantasy points to quarterbacks this season (12.8 per game), and they are middle of the pack against running backs (16.8) and wide receivers (20.9). The Browns have held tight ends in check with 5.0 fantasy points per game, though that won't matter with the Texans' lack of effectiveness using the tight end.

QB: Ryan Mallett - One Ryan replaces another Ryan. At least this Ryan has a cannon, albeit an inaccurate cannon. Mallett will be able to keep defenses honest and will hopefully prevent teams from loading the box on Arian Foster. Mallett won't be racking up the rushing yards with his legs, but he is an upgrade that will help the other weapons on the Texans' offense.

RB: Arian Foster - Foster already said this past week that he'll be ready to go against the Browns, but he is currently listed as day-to-day. Pick up Alfred Blue in the meantime to be on the safe side. If Foster does go, he will have a field day against the porous Browns run defense.

WR: Andre Johnson - Johnson is probably the hardest player to project this week. Was his performance against the Eagles a sign he has lost a step or a sign of the quality (or lack thereof) in quarterback play? I would lean towards the quarterback play and expect a similar amount of explosive plays to what we saw with the change to Case Keenum last season.

WR:  DeAndre Hopkins - 'Nuk gonna 'Nuk. The rise of DeAndre Hopkins as the Texans' number one passing threat has been steady. The addition of a quarterback that can actually throw the ball more than 15-yards down field will only help.

TE: Garrett Graham - At this point, I'm thinking about putting pictures of the Texans tight ends on milk cartons with "missing" over the top. Read David Corso's article on the Texans tight ends for more info.

K: Randy Bullock - It's going to be in the low 40s and possibly raining in Cleveland on Sunday.  That's not the ideal kicking situation for Randy Bullock.

Team Defense: Texans - The Texan come off a bye rested and Jadeveon Clowney is close to returning to action. All signs point to success, right? But the Browns have only turned the ball over eight times this season, and three of those came in one game. Cleveland sports a three-headed running back attack with Ben Tate, Terrance West, and Isaiah Crowell; I expect the Browns will keep their backs fresh to pound to the Texans soft underbelly against the run.

Summary: Ryan Mallett, when given time, will be able to add a facet to the Texans offense that Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn't - vertical passing down the field. Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins will only be helped by that fact. Pick up Alfred Blue and keep an eye on the injury report for Arian Foster. If Foster does go, expect a big day from him. Ignore the Texans tight ends and kicker. The Texans defense has a surprisingly tough matchup, so use other options if available.

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Editor's Note: FanDuel is hosting a one-week $500,000 fantasy football league this weekend. It's $10 to join and first place wins $40,000. League starts Sunday 1 PM ET and ends on Monday night. Here's the link.

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