Week 11 is here, so it's time to take a look at a few players who aren't consensus fantasy starters that I believe can help you win your matchup. These players are ranked outside the top 12 at QB and TE, outside the top 24 at RB, and outside the top 36 at the WR position, so they are likely either on your bench or even on waivers. If you're desperate due to byes or injuries, this list is a great place to start when considering waiver adds or trade targets to help you this week. 

The main things I'm looking for in a weekly sleeper candidate are usage that is trending in a positive direction and a favorable matchup. Players that are expected to step into a larger role due to injuries on their team can also qualify, but the biggest beneficiaries of those situations probably won't meet the criteria to be considered sleepers. 

Sleepers to know for Week 11

QB Drake Maye, Patriots

After waiting until Week 6 to take over the starting QB job, New England's rookie has made the most of a bad situation. Maye doesn't have the best weapons or offensive line, but he has still managed to put up consistently solid fantasy performances. 

In games that he has played 100% of the snaps, Maye hasn't finished worse than QB16. And he's topped the 20 fantasy point mark twice.

Importantly, the Patriots have not tried to hide him, allowing Maye to drop back more than 40 times in three of the four games he started and finished. When New England is trailing, they are willing to throw the ball — which is ideal for compiling the stats that make a good fantasy performance. 

What makes Maye particularly interesting is that he is a willing and capable runner who has scrambled on 10% of his dropbacks so far this season. This could easily lead to four or five rushing attempts for Maye, and it only takes one big run to to basically guarantee him a good fantasy day.

On paper, the Rams don't look like a great matchup for opposing QBs, ranking 17th in fantasy PPG allowed to the QB position, but they also aren't a defense that worries opposing offenses. What I'm more focused on is the fact that the Rams are favored by 5 points, which suggests New England could yet again find themselves in a trailing game script. 

The Patriots are also playing at home against a West Coast team that has to travel across the country, so the other game script that seems realistic to me would be the Patriots jumping out to an early lead if the Rams come out flat. 

RB Braelon Allen, Jets

This is a pretty deep sleeper pick, as Allen ranks outside the top 36 RBs in the Fantasy Life Week 11 rankings, so be sure to reference those rankings to see if you have a clearly better option to turn to. If you're desperate, I think we could see Allen pop up for a decent game in this contest. His usage really dipped for a few weeks, but over the last three games he has had a reasonable snap share and handled 34% of the carries. 

Part of this call is also narrative-driven, as I expect the Jets to come out angry after a humiliating 31-6 loss to the Cardinals last week. Their season is essentially on the line every week at this point, so I'm expecting a bounceback. With the Colts turning back to Anthony Richardson, we could see the Jets dominate time of possession because many Richardson drives end in either a three-and-out or a long TD. 

The Colts are dead last in time of possession as a result, which should help boost the Jets' total number of plays run. We know Breece will get his touches, but if the Jets run more plays than usual, it should directly benefit Allen. If I'm right about the Jets coming out fired up after last week then we could also see them playing from ahead for most the game with the potential for garbage time in the second half. 

Lastly, the Colts are a pretty soft run defense, allowing the third-most rushing yards per game to opposing RBs. This combination of more plays for the Jets offense against a bad run defense gives Allen a decent shot to hit double digit fantasy points for the first time. 

WR Rome Odunze, Bears

The Bears offense has been a disaster since their bye, averaging just 9 points per game over their last three games. This caused them to fire OC Shane Waldron and promote Thomas Brown to the position. While Brown doesn't have the best track record, it is difficult for this offense to get any worse, and the weapons are much better in Chicago than they were when he called plays in Carolina.

My main reason for optimism is that Odunze has been a full-time player with nearly a 90% route participation rate and a 24% target share over the last three games. If this offense gets going at all, Odunze should benefit in a big way. He's seeing plenty of downfield targets, which means he doesn't even need to get there through volume if he can haul in one or two big plays. 

The Bears face a Green Bay defense that is middle of the pack against opposing WRs, but more importantly Chicago is a pretty big (5.5 point) underdog in this game. The most likely outcome is the Packers get out to a lead and force the Bears to throw to keep up, which gives Odunze more opportunities to deliver for fantasy managers. Of all the sleepers this week, I view Odunze as having the widest range of outcomes, so plan accordingly when setting your starting lineup. 

TE Pat Freiermuth, Steelers

As much as I hate to admit it, Russell Wilson has been pretty good for the Steelers. He has played clean, efficient football and kept the offense moving, which has been great for all of the fantasy-relevant pieces in this offense, particularly George Pickens. One player who hasn't benefited quite as much is TE Pat Freiermuth, who was basically invisible in Wilson's first two games. In Week 10, he got it going a little bit with a TE10 finish in PPR scoring. 

Despite the fact that Freiermuth hasn't been heavily featured since Russ took over, I'm excited about his prospects in Week 11. This is primarily because the Baltimore Ravens are a major pass funnel defense. The Ravens have given up the most fantasy points to opposing WRs and the eighth-most to opposing TEs. Plus, they are one of the best rush defenses, giving up just 56.8 rushing yards per game. On top of that, both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have been on the injury report this week. 

All of these factors make me think the Steelers will have to attack through the air in this game. Behind Pickens, the Steelers don't have a clear cut second weapon in the passing game. Mike Williams should continue to play a bigger role each week, but we know Freiermuth is going to run at least 70% of the routes. Even with a relatively modest target share, it should be easy for him to get to five targets in this game, which is plenty to deliver a usable fantasy performance.