For the third Monday in a row, let’s roll through Sunday’s games, highlighting each team’s most notable fantasy storyline:
Lions – After missing several games with a knee injury, Eric Ebron has reasserted himself as a legitimate TE1 in a pass-friendly offense. He’s had 4+ catches and 42+ yards in every game this season. Not even a brutal road matchup against the Vikings slowed him down, which bodes well for the stretch run.
Vikings – Ronnie Hillman has further muddled Minnesota’s troublesome backfield, leading the team yesterday in yards and nearly leading in carries. My early-season prime target, Jerick McKinnon, has been too hurt and too ineffective to take over. It’s subtraction by addition, as Hillman’s continued usage will render him, McKinnon, and Matt Asiata almost useless in fantasy leagues going forward.
Steelers – Ben Roethlisberger’s return had the unintended effect of making this year’s Ravens look like the Ravens D of old—at least until midway through the fourth quarter. Keep an eye on Ben’s practices this week. If he’s not a near-elite performer most weeks with the weapons around him, he’s not returning draft value.
Ravens – With another fantasy outburst on Sunday, Mike Wallace has reached WR1 production on the season. I’ve pushed him often this season, especially when Steve Smith has been out or playing hurt. Don’t expect a letdown; Wallace is and will continue to be Baltimore’s #1 receiver.
Jets – Despite a favorable schedule, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked like Week 9’s worst starting QB for most of the game. It’s time for the Jets to throw in the towel and see if they have anything useful in Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty, and as a result land some better draft picks next spring.
Dolphins – Each week that passes, it becomes clearer that Ryan Tannehill is holding back what otherwise would be a promising young offense. Those leaning on Jarvis Landry (me included) have rode the wrong horse. This team is now the Vikings with a worse defense and a better running game.
Eagles – Zach Ertz finally got going—of course, one week after I declared him persona non grata in fantasy lineups. Few TEs are better at their best. If you’ve patiently held onto him, now’s a good time to bail if you can land a positional upgrade elsewhere.
Giants – I could write extensively about the passing game, which erupted as expected. I tried to trade for OBJ and Sterling Shepard last week, but came up short. The more interesting story is that the running game actually took another step back, if that was even possible. Aside from a 14-yard run and 15-yard catch, Paul Perkins had 18 yards on 12 touches. Rashad Jennings wasn’t any better. While Perkins remains a solid rookie stash, he’ll be worthless as long as the Giants keep abandoning the running game.
Cowboys – Jason Witten came out of nowhere to dismantle the Browns, catching eight of 10 balls for 134 yards and a score. He more than doubled his best yardage game of 2016. Feel good if you started him. Feel bad if you keep starting him expecting TE1 production.
Browns – The warning heading into Week 9 was that Cody Kessler is no Josh McCown. You have to admire the rookie for jumping into a (literally) no-win situation and showing an Alex Smith-like ability to limit turnovers. Unfortunately, he’s also shown an Alex-Smith like ability to diminish the talent around him. Neither Terrelle Pryor nor Corey Coleman nor Gary Barnidge are must-starts with Kessler at the helm; only one of the three will be useful any given week.
Jaguars – This week I want to know how Jacksonville views Chris Ivory after his costly goal-line fumble essentially ended their comeback attempt. Fortunately for him, T.Y. Yeldon also lost one. Ivory was clearly the lead RB, earning more carries than in any game all year. Any question concerning whether you should start Yeldon can best be answered “no” for the foreseeable future.
Chiefs – I warned that Charcandrick West was overrated. 13 carries for 39 yards later, he’s droppable as soon as Spencer Ware returns—and possibly before then.
Panthers – Most notable here is that Cam Newton hasn’t had many Cam-like performances this season. His last one came against the Saints, which yesterday made Colin Kaepernick look like a Hall-of-Famer. Circle Week 11 on your fantasy calendar: Carolina will be at home against the Saints.
Rams – Lance Kendricks continues his unlikely run at TE1 production. When you’re a heavily targeted TE, you’ve got a lot going for you.
Colts – Jack Doyle had a big game despite Indy having a healthy slate of receivers. He was second on the team with five catches and appears to be in sync with Andrew Luck. Doyle has now jumped Dwayne Allen on my Colts fantasy pecking order.
Packers – The opponent’s D was as soft as it gets, but Ty Montgomery once again showed Green Bay they might not need a true running back for the rest of the season. I’ve been a vocal non-believer. I was wrong.
Titans – The most interesting fantasy story was Derrick Henry hurting his calf in warmups and sitting out what could have been another impressive fantasy performance. If you missed out on Henry during the run-up to elite-handcuff status, now’s the time to buy low.
Chargers – Melvin Gordon earned an incredible 36 touches Sunday, giving him 27+ in four straight games. That’s a red flag, plain and simple.
Saints – While Tim Hightower out-touched Mark Ingram on Sunday, Ingram was by far the better RB. I tried to buy low this past week after a Week 8 fumble sent him to the sidelines. Now it’s too late; Ingram should be an RB1 from here on out.
49ers – DuJuan Harris was far better than expected, tightening his grip on the backup RB job whenever Carlos Hyde returns. Although his production came against New Orleans’ bad D, he’s now a top 10 RB handcuff behind one of the league’s most injury-prone RBs.
Broncos – When trading Devon Booker last week, I was scared off by his brutal fantasy playoff schedule. I didn’t foresee a clunker against one of the league’s worst run defenses. While there’s no reason to panic, remember that Booker is a rookie on a team that has trouble moving the ball (for example, 28th in the league in third-down conversions). Aside from a dream matchup next week against the Saints, time’s running out for Booker to be an RB1.
Raiders – It was Latavius Murray vs. the defending Super Bowl champs last night: 127 total yards and three TDs. I’d urged folks to trade him last week and was clearly wrong. Although DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard combined to match Murray’s touch total, Murray netted three one-yard scores to turn an otherwise impressive game into a memorable one.
Lions – After missing several games with a knee injury, Eric Ebron has reasserted himself as a legitimate TE1 in a pass-friendly offense. He’s had 4+ catches and 42+ yards in every game this season. Not even a brutal road matchup against the Vikings slowed him down, which bodes well for the stretch run.
Vikings – Ronnie Hillman has further muddled Minnesota’s troublesome backfield, leading the team yesterday in yards and nearly leading in carries. My early-season prime target, Jerick McKinnon, has been too hurt and too ineffective to take over. It’s subtraction by addition, as Hillman’s continued usage will render him, McKinnon, and Matt Asiata almost useless in fantasy leagues going forward.
Steelers – Ben Roethlisberger’s return had the unintended effect of making this year’s Ravens look like the Ravens D of old—at least until midway through the fourth quarter. Keep an eye on Ben’s practices this week. If he’s not a near-elite performer most weeks with the weapons around him, he’s not returning draft value.
Ravens – With another fantasy outburst on Sunday, Mike Wallace has reached WR1 production on the season. I’ve pushed him often this season, especially when Steve Smith has been out or playing hurt. Don’t expect a letdown; Wallace is and will continue to be Baltimore’s #1 receiver.
Jets – Despite a favorable schedule, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked like Week 9’s worst starting QB for most of the game. It’s time for the Jets to throw in the towel and see if they have anything useful in Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty, and as a result land some better draft picks next spring.
Dolphins – Each week that passes, it becomes clearer that Ryan Tannehill is holding back what otherwise would be a promising young offense. Those leaning on Jarvis Landry (me included) have rode the wrong horse. This team is now the Vikings with a worse defense and a better running game.
Eagles – Zach Ertz finally got going—of course, one week after I declared him persona non grata in fantasy lineups. Few TEs are better at their best. If you’ve patiently held onto him, now’s a good time to bail if you can land a positional upgrade elsewhere.
Giants – I could write extensively about the passing game, which erupted as expected. I tried to trade for OBJ and Sterling Shepard last week, but came up short. The more interesting story is that the running game actually took another step back, if that was even possible. Aside from a 14-yard run and 15-yard catch, Paul Perkins had 18 yards on 12 touches. Rashad Jennings wasn’t any better. While Perkins remains a solid rookie stash, he’ll be worthless as long as the Giants keep abandoning the running game.
Cowboys – Jason Witten came out of nowhere to dismantle the Browns, catching eight of 10 balls for 134 yards and a score. He more than doubled his best yardage game of 2016. Feel good if you started him. Feel bad if you keep starting him expecting TE1 production.
Browns – The warning heading into Week 9 was that Cody Kessler is no Josh McCown. You have to admire the rookie for jumping into a (literally) no-win situation and showing an Alex Smith-like ability to limit turnovers. Unfortunately, he’s also shown an Alex-Smith like ability to diminish the talent around him. Neither Terrelle Pryor nor Corey Coleman nor Gary Barnidge are must-starts with Kessler at the helm; only one of the three will be useful any given week.
Jaguars – This week I want to know how Jacksonville views Chris Ivory after his costly goal-line fumble essentially ended their comeback attempt. Fortunately for him, T.Y. Yeldon also lost one. Ivory was clearly the lead RB, earning more carries than in any game all year. Any question concerning whether you should start Yeldon can best be answered “no” for the foreseeable future.
Chiefs – I warned that Charcandrick West was overrated. 13 carries for 39 yards later, he’s droppable as soon as Spencer Ware returns—and possibly before then.
Panthers – Most notable here is that Cam Newton hasn’t had many Cam-like performances this season. His last one came against the Saints, which yesterday made Colin Kaepernick look like a Hall-of-Famer. Circle Week 11 on your fantasy calendar: Carolina will be at home against the Saints.
Rams – Lance Kendricks continues his unlikely run at TE1 production. When you’re a heavily targeted TE, you’ve got a lot going for you.
Colts – Jack Doyle had a big game despite Indy having a healthy slate of receivers. He was second on the team with five catches and appears to be in sync with Andrew Luck. Doyle has now jumped Dwayne Allen on my Colts fantasy pecking order.
Packers – The opponent’s D was as soft as it gets, but Ty Montgomery once again showed Green Bay they might not need a true running back for the rest of the season. I’ve been a vocal non-believer. I was wrong.
Titans – The most interesting fantasy story was Derrick Henry hurting his calf in warmups and sitting out what could have been another impressive fantasy performance. If you missed out on Henry during the run-up to elite-handcuff status, now’s the time to buy low.
Chargers – Melvin Gordon earned an incredible 36 touches Sunday, giving him 27+ in four straight games. That’s a red flag, plain and simple.
Saints – While Tim Hightower out-touched Mark Ingram on Sunday, Ingram was by far the better RB. I tried to buy low this past week after a Week 8 fumble sent him to the sidelines. Now it’s too late; Ingram should be an RB1 from here on out.
49ers – DuJuan Harris was far better than expected, tightening his grip on the backup RB job whenever Carlos Hyde returns. Although his production came against New Orleans’ bad D, he’s now a top 10 RB handcuff behind one of the league’s most injury-prone RBs.
Broncos – When trading Devon Booker last week, I was scared off by his brutal fantasy playoff schedule. I didn’t foresee a clunker against one of the league’s worst run defenses. While there’s no reason to panic, remember that Booker is a rookie on a team that has trouble moving the ball (for example, 28th in the league in third-down conversions). Aside from a dream matchup next week against the Saints, time’s running out for Booker to be an RB1.
Raiders – It was Latavius Murray vs. the defending Super Bowl champs last night: 127 total yards and three TDs. I’d urged folks to trade him last week and was clearly wrong. Although DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard combined to match Murray’s touch total, Murray netted three one-yard scores to turn an otherwise impressive game into a memorable one.