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Fantasy Football Week 11 Start or Sit: Mychal Rivera

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By @davidrumseynfl

Oakland Raiders Tight End Mychal Rivera

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Why in the world would you start any player that’s on the Oakland Raiders? It really is a valid question. Teams that are 0-7 aren’t typically thought of as loaded with fantasy talent. Over the past few weeks, though, a possible fantasy option has been rising in Oakland. I’m sure it sounds weird to read, but stay with me. Fantasy football isn’t dependent on teams’ records, and even garbage time stats count. Now you can see why the Raiders’ players may not be completely worthless.

Mychal Rivera emerged as a top-10 tight end three weeks ago and has been producing top-five numbers the last two. Only Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham scored more points than him in Week 10. On a Raiders offense that doesn’t have much talent, Rivera has looked like one of the only formidable options, garnering a ton of targets. A solid tight end is something every young quarterback needs to build confidence. Rivera has become a great pass-catcher for Raiders rookie Derek Carr.

Looking at Week 11, the Raiders visit the San Diego Chargers who are coming off a bye. This may not sound great at first, but remember the Chargers got blown out two weeks ago, allowing 37 points to the Miami Dolphins. Don’t let Rivera’s goose egg against San Diego in Week 6 scare you. It wasn’t until two weeks later, against the Cleveland Browns, that he really found his place in the offense. Plus he has been consistent since then.

One thing worth noting about Rivera is that he is probably a little more valuable in PPR leagues than in non-PPRs. He’s caught at least six balls a game the past three weeks, so that’s at least six less points if your league isn’t PPR. He’s still been top 10 in yards, so it isn’t like he’s getting empty receptions. The best thing about Rivera is he has three touchdowns in the last two weeks. If he scores another one in Week 11, he’ll surely have enough yards to give you a pretty good game.

If you own Rivera, I think you have to start him this week and the rest of the year; at least until he shows us that the last three weeks were a fluke. If you have Gronk, Graham or Julius Thomas as well, you should start them instead, but you should look to trade Rivera now (if your deadline hasn’t passed) because you could probably get great value for him from someone desperate for a tight end.

David Rumsey is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter, and Add him on Facebook or Google.

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