Insane? No. I think the 11 is still a solid buy for most people, especially those that don't fall into the enthusiast camp. It has the biggest battery/screen combo you can get for the price right now (running iOS). It has a great camera and battery life (some might argue the normal pictures from the 11 series are better and more natural than the 12/13 series). It's likely to be the last great LCD screen from Apple as well, which especially matters to those with PWM issues. I don't have PWM issues, but my eyes still prefer a quality LCD to OLED when going back and forth.
It does have the Intel modem, but I don't think that's an issue unless you just live in the fringe of your carrier's coverage, and spend all of your time there. And even then, anecdotally speaking, it's not always as bad as some say it is.
But, if a year from now you think you might care more about 5G and Apple support, you might skip on the 11. Mid-band 5G is already making a difference in a lot of areas, so a year from now it could be even better and worth having. And based on the past few years, Apple is only likely to support it for 2, maybe 3 more years.