Kyler Murray looks like he’s progressing toward playing in Week 11. He has participated in three straight practices, dating back to his limited participation last Friday, and while there are still hurdles to clear, it looks like his chances of returning from his two-game absence due to his ankle injury are increasing.

Which actually creates a surprisingly difficult decision for Fantasy players who have Murray on their team: Should you actually start him? Given the way the Cardinals have handled him so far, sitting him even though he has had a chance to play, you have to assume they won’t start him until he is very nearly fully healthy. However, “very nearly fully healthy” is a lot different than, you know, actually fully healthy. Especially when it comes to a player like Murray.

Murray isn’t Lamar Jackson when it comes to his rushing production, but it’s a big part of what has made him a special Fantasy quarterback, and that part of his game really hasn’t been there for much of this season. He scored a touchdown in his first three games on the ground and rushed for 39 yards in his fourth, but he has just 38 yards combined over his past four — overlapping with a shoulder injury he has played through. He’s still averaged 6.5 carries per game in that span, so it’s been more about a lack of effectiveness than an unwillingness to run.

The problem is, the ankle injury might impact both. He has eight passing touchdowns in that four-game span and is averaging 21.5 Fantasy points per game, which is startable, but not necessarily what we’ve come to expect. And, if he’s adding on a bad ankle on top of that, expectations probably have to be lowered. Especially if DeAndre Hopkins doesn’t play, as he continues to sit out practice. 

Which is all to say, if Murray plays in Week 11 against the Seahawks, he’ll be ranked in the fringe-QB1 range for me. He could have a huge game, but it’s by no means guaranteed right now. The good news is, you won’t have to make a decision on that until Sunday, because I wouldn’t start either Thursday QB over him. 

Here are my QB rankings for Week 11. To see the rankings from Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings, make sure you head here.  

Week 11 QB Rankings

1. Lamar Jackson @CHI — The Ravens didn’t really have an answer for the Dolphins blitz-heavy approach, but I’m not concerned that’s going to be an issue moving forward. He’s got the best weapons of his career at his disposal, the Ravens are throwing more than ever, but he’s still arguably the best rushing QB in the NFL. There just isn’t anyone right now who can match his weekly upside, in my eyes.
2. Patrick Mahomes vs. DAL — This should be the biggest shootout of the weekend, and the Chiefs made the adjustments they needed in Week 10 to overcome their recent struggles. There are still some questions about whether this offense can be as consistently good as it was in the past if explosive plays are harder to come by, but that doesn’t make me want to downgrade Mahomes much at all. 
3. Josh Allen vs. IND
4. Tom Brady vs. NYG — Brady was another elite QB who uncharacteristically struggled in Week 10, and that was against a great matchup with Washington. It’s fair to wonder if Chris Godwin’s injury along with the absences of Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown might have been too much to overcome, but you also have to believe Brady isn’t going to have two bad games in a row. 
5. Dak Prescott @KC — The other end of that shootout, Prescott looked much better in Week 10 after his struggles in the previous game, so my expectations are sky-high for this one. 
6. Jalen Hurts vs. NO — This is a tough matchup, but the Saints haven’t really been tested by a true running quarterback, so we don’t exactly know how they’ll hold up. I’m a bit iffy on Hurts being this high, but he’s also averaged 10.3 rush attempts per game since the Eagles moved to a more run-heavy approach, and I’m just as iffy on everyone else behind him, more or less. Give me the consistent rushing floor and ceiling he brings.  
7. Joe Burrow @LV — Burrow struggled in his last game before the bye, and it’s a bit surprising to see him leading the NFL in interceptions through nine games. He’s playing extremely well overall despite that, but with little rushing upside and a likely unsustainable touchdown rate, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was a little worse moving forward than he’s been so far. 
8. Justin Herbert vs. PIT — Herbert’s average intended air yards per attempt has been below 7.0 in three of the last four games, which might help explain why the upside hasn’t been as high of late. He seems to have hit a bit of a wall here, and it’d be nice to see the Chargers make a point of getting Mike Williams involved more because they’ve missed his big-play abilities during Herbert’s struggles. 
9. Aaron Rodgers @MIN
10. Russell Wilson vs. ARI — All the talk of how much Wilson worked to come back early from his finger injury, and the description of it as nearly “miraculous” may have elided the fact that he might not have been fully ready to return in Week 10. He sure didn’t look right, at the very least. This is why you often want to give players coming back from surgery a get-right game before throwing them in your lineup. Hopefully, Week 11 goes better. 
11. Kyler Murray @SEA
12. Tua Tagovailoa @NYJ — As Heath Cummings noted in his QB preview for Week 11, Tagovailoa has averaged 23.3 Fantasy points in his four complete games this season. The Dolphins just aren’t really situated to have a run-heavy approach, so Tagovailoa should continue to throw it plenty in a great matchup. 
13. Ryan Tannehill vs. HOU — The only concern here is that Tannehill likely won’t have to throw it much in this one, so you’re hoping Tannehill can have one of those high-efficiency games. Getting A.J. Brown more involved coming off his one-catch Week 10 would be nice. 
14. Derek Carr vs. CIN
15. Cam Newton vs. WAS — When I did my first run through the rankings, Newton came out as QB8. Obviously, I am excited. I had to tamper that excitement just a bit, but I still think Newton is a fine starting option in a great matchup. 
16. Daniel Jones @TB — Jones will hopefully have his full complement of weapons available this week for the first time all season, really, and we saw flashes of really promising things from this passing game early on. They’ll probably have to throw a lot to keep up in this one, so Jones isn’t a bad sleeper. 
17. Kirk Cousins vs. GB
18. Justin Fields vs. BAL — Fields is averaging 57.3 yards per game over the past four games, which is exactly the kind of usage we wanted to see from him all along. He’s still a bit of a work in progress as a passer, and this isn’t a great matchup, but I’m still holding out hope for a big stretch run. 
19. Mac Jones @ATL 
20. Jimmy Garoppolo @JAX
21. Tyrod Taylor @TEN — His first game back from injury was a disaster, but Taylor still had some appeal as a streaming option thanks to his rushing abilities, especially if Tennessee’s pass defense regresses after some surprisingly good games of late. 
22. Mike White vs. MIA
23. Baker Mayfield vs. DET
24. Taylor Heinicke @CAR

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