My last-second pick-up of Brock Osweiler in my two-QB league reeked of desperation. His and others' shocking performances headline another Monday morning rundown of yesterday's most impactful fantasy stories:
Bears -- There's no way Chicago fans saw this coming. Three costly turnovers marred an otherwise impressive offensive performance. Most notably, Tarik Cohen dominated, while Jordan Howard didn't have a reception for the second straight game. It's a troubling trend for Howard, who this offseason reportedly was to become a bigger part of the passing game. Not so.
Dolphins -- If Miami somehow makes the playoffs, Albert Wilson could be the reason. He almost single-handedly willed this victory and now has 359 receiving yards and four TDs on the year.
Chargers -- Melvin Gordon gets the MVP. But as far as fantasy goes, the formerly brilliant Mike Williams has disappeared the past three weeks, reminding us that he's far more useful in dynasty than in re-draft leagues.
Browns -- Jarvis Landry and Antonio Callaway combined for four receptions on 20 targets. Callaway is a work in progress, so his struggles at least make some sense. But ever since Baker Mayfield took over, Landry has been largely unstartable. This is a concerning trend given that he's clear-and-away Cleveland's #1 receiver.
Buccaneers -- The week I declare Peyton Barber is fantasy worthless is the week he finally goes off. An impressive performance for Tampa Bay's (temporary?) lead back. We'll know next week whether this was simply a case of Falcon-itis, in which everyone goes off against Atlanta.
Falcons -- Austin Hooper, ladies and gentlemen. As many of you remember, I took a lot of flack for declaring this preseason that the TE-26 ADP Hooper would be a top-14 fantasy tight end: www.fantasyfootballforwinners.com/p/bold-predictions.html. He's currently crushing even those lofty expectations. Oh, and I have to mention the injuries to Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu, which could keep one or both limited heading into Week 7.
Steelers -- After three straight sub-par outings -- and me pushing the seemingly foolish narrative that "he's no Le'Veon Bell" -- James Conner once again dominated touches and dominated his opponent. They've got Cleveland after the bye. If Bell hasn't returned by then, Conner is more than likely to finish the season as the team's bellcow.
Bengals -- Tyler Boyd is on pace for a 99/1,213/13 line. His preseason WR ADP was 111.
Seahawks -- As many of you know, I've had a "don't give up" attitude toward Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin. Wilson is quietly making a push for QB1 relevance, while an apparently healthy Baldwin finally gets a good game under his belt.
Raiders -- The worse get worser, or something like that. Following pre-game rumors that Oakland was shopping Amari Cooper, Cooper got knocked out early. If you've got him, at least wait 'til the trade deadline to see if a change of scenery can help.
Cardinals -- In Week 1, Christian Kirk caught one of two targets. The following four weeks: 4-for-5, 7-for-8, 4-for-5, and 3-for-4. Yesterday he caught six of seven balls thrown his way. That's right: he's never missed more than one target this year. It's a remarkable feat, and all the more uncanny given Arizona's basement-level QB play.
Vikings -- Latavius Murray finally got going. Ultra-patient managers can rejoice. But remember this came against the Cardinals.
Colts -- Marlon Mack came alive. I've been warning against him since August. I'm still not buying into him.
Jets -- Sam Darnold had his best game while completing 80% of his passes. His opponent was one of the league's worst against the pass. So we still need to see more out of Darnold before declaring him a safe two-QB-league starter. But he's looking like the most capable rookie QB out there. However, the bigger story is Quincy Enunwa's ankle injury; if it's severe, this mostly four-man receiving corps will become a more fantasy-friendly three-man group.
Panthers -- An ugly loss against a depleted Washington offense. Most notably, Greg Olsen returned and finished the game. That's something.
Redskins -- The offense ran through Adrian Peterson, and he didn't disappoint. Am still shocked at the way he's holding up, though it's important to note he was merely an RB3 this week and is barely an RB2 heading into Week 7.
Bills -- Rookie QBs ought to be given plenty of slack to find their groove. Even so, Josh Allen has been pretty bad -- not that he has much talent around him. So if his elbow injury sidelines him next weekend, Nathan Peterman or veteran Derek Anderson would get the nod, which might turn out to be addition by subtraction (they can't be much worse than Allen).
Texans -- In Week 1, Lamar Miller set the right tone with 20 carries for 98 yards. He hasn't come close to matching either total since. All eyes will be on D'Onta Foreman this week.
Rams -- Cooper Kupp was carted off in the second quarter with what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury. In the second half he returned from the locker room and actually saw some snaps. We should know by day's end what his status will be going forward.
Broncos -- Case Keenum continued his low-end QB2 campaign -- better than most preseason prognosticators, but not good enough to inspire confidence regardless of his opponent. Still, Emmanuel Sanders continues to rack up points as a surprising top-12 WR, while Demaryius Thomas is on the verge of entering the WR3 conversation.
Jaguars -- Amidst the carnage of this 40-7 defeat, T.J. Yeldon did as much with 11 touches (70 yards) as anyone could have expected. He was simply game-planned out of this one, and he should produce at an RB2+ level next week against Houston, unless Leonard Fournette returns. On a more minor but still important level, Niles Paul pulled in negative fantasy points before leaving the game early on crutches. Obviously a bad sign. I still believe he could have been a solid fantasy contributor.
Cowboys -- Did anyone start Cole Beasley? He's a highly capable receiver in an offense looking for a true #1. While I won't encourage everyone to run out and add him, Beasley is a heckuva lot more dependable than anyone else Dak Prescott's throwing to.
Ravens -- Michael Crabtree finally showed off his A-game. And what happened to John Brown? This is why I pushed him as sell-high, unsustainable WR2 a couple weeks ago.
Titans -- Baltimore sacked Marcus Mariota 11 times in this one. That's right: 11, one shy of the NFL record. So the only thing relevant here is that the league's least exciting offense (outside of perhaps Buffalo) proved its worth yet again.
Chiefs -- Last Monday I speculated in this column that Tyreek Hill couldn't be contained much longer. 142 yards and three TDs later . . .
Patriots -- Sony Michel's dominance is no longer surprising. But a continued mea culpa, as this summer I pushed against him harder than most. Don't let me live that down.
Bears -- There's no way Chicago fans saw this coming. Three costly turnovers marred an otherwise impressive offensive performance. Most notably, Tarik Cohen dominated, while Jordan Howard didn't have a reception for the second straight game. It's a troubling trend for Howard, who this offseason reportedly was to become a bigger part of the passing game. Not so.
Dolphins -- If Miami somehow makes the playoffs, Albert Wilson could be the reason. He almost single-handedly willed this victory and now has 359 receiving yards and four TDs on the year.
Chargers -- Melvin Gordon gets the MVP. But as far as fantasy goes, the formerly brilliant Mike Williams has disappeared the past three weeks, reminding us that he's far more useful in dynasty than in re-draft leagues.
Browns -- Jarvis Landry and Antonio Callaway combined for four receptions on 20 targets. Callaway is a work in progress, so his struggles at least make some sense. But ever since Baker Mayfield took over, Landry has been largely unstartable. This is a concerning trend given that he's clear-and-away Cleveland's #1 receiver.
Buccaneers -- The week I declare Peyton Barber is fantasy worthless is the week he finally goes off. An impressive performance for Tampa Bay's (temporary?) lead back. We'll know next week whether this was simply a case of Falcon-itis, in which everyone goes off against Atlanta.
Falcons -- Austin Hooper, ladies and gentlemen. As many of you remember, I took a lot of flack for declaring this preseason that the TE-26 ADP Hooper would be a top-14 fantasy tight end: www.fantasyfootballforwinners.com/p/bold-predictions.html. He's currently crushing even those lofty expectations. Oh, and I have to mention the injuries to Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu, which could keep one or both limited heading into Week 7.
Steelers -- After three straight sub-par outings -- and me pushing the seemingly foolish narrative that "he's no Le'Veon Bell" -- James Conner once again dominated touches and dominated his opponent. They've got Cleveland after the bye. If Bell hasn't returned by then, Conner is more than likely to finish the season as the team's bellcow.
Bengals -- Tyler Boyd is on pace for a 99/1,213/13 line. His preseason WR ADP was 111.
Seahawks -- As many of you know, I've had a "don't give up" attitude toward Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin. Wilson is quietly making a push for QB1 relevance, while an apparently healthy Baldwin finally gets a good game under his belt.
Raiders -- The worse get worser, or something like that. Following pre-game rumors that Oakland was shopping Amari Cooper, Cooper got knocked out early. If you've got him, at least wait 'til the trade deadline to see if a change of scenery can help.
Cardinals -- In Week 1, Christian Kirk caught one of two targets. The following four weeks: 4-for-5, 7-for-8, 4-for-5, and 3-for-4. Yesterday he caught six of seven balls thrown his way. That's right: he's never missed more than one target this year. It's a remarkable feat, and all the more uncanny given Arizona's basement-level QB play.
Vikings -- Latavius Murray finally got going. Ultra-patient managers can rejoice. But remember this came against the Cardinals.
Colts -- Marlon Mack came alive. I've been warning against him since August. I'm still not buying into him.
Jets -- Sam Darnold had his best game while completing 80% of his passes. His opponent was one of the league's worst against the pass. So we still need to see more out of Darnold before declaring him a safe two-QB-league starter. But he's looking like the most capable rookie QB out there. However, the bigger story is Quincy Enunwa's ankle injury; if it's severe, this mostly four-man receiving corps will become a more fantasy-friendly three-man group.
Panthers -- An ugly loss against a depleted Washington offense. Most notably, Greg Olsen returned and finished the game. That's something.
Redskins -- The offense ran through Adrian Peterson, and he didn't disappoint. Am still shocked at the way he's holding up, though it's important to note he was merely an RB3 this week and is barely an RB2 heading into Week 7.
Bills -- Rookie QBs ought to be given plenty of slack to find their groove. Even so, Josh Allen has been pretty bad -- not that he has much talent around him. So if his elbow injury sidelines him next weekend, Nathan Peterman or veteran Derek Anderson would get the nod, which might turn out to be addition by subtraction (they can't be much worse than Allen).
Texans -- In Week 1, Lamar Miller set the right tone with 20 carries for 98 yards. He hasn't come close to matching either total since. All eyes will be on D'Onta Foreman this week.
Rams -- Cooper Kupp was carted off in the second quarter with what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury. In the second half he returned from the locker room and actually saw some snaps. We should know by day's end what his status will be going forward.
Broncos -- Case Keenum continued his low-end QB2 campaign -- better than most preseason prognosticators, but not good enough to inspire confidence regardless of his opponent. Still, Emmanuel Sanders continues to rack up points as a surprising top-12 WR, while Demaryius Thomas is on the verge of entering the WR3 conversation.
Jaguars -- Amidst the carnage of this 40-7 defeat, T.J. Yeldon did as much with 11 touches (70 yards) as anyone could have expected. He was simply game-planned out of this one, and he should produce at an RB2+ level next week against Houston, unless Leonard Fournette returns. On a more minor but still important level, Niles Paul pulled in negative fantasy points before leaving the game early on crutches. Obviously a bad sign. I still believe he could have been a solid fantasy contributor.
Cowboys -- Did anyone start Cole Beasley? He's a highly capable receiver in an offense looking for a true #1. While I won't encourage everyone to run out and add him, Beasley is a heckuva lot more dependable than anyone else Dak Prescott's throwing to.
Ravens -- Michael Crabtree finally showed off his A-game. And what happened to John Brown? This is why I pushed him as sell-high, unsustainable WR2 a couple weeks ago.
Titans -- Baltimore sacked Marcus Mariota 11 times in this one. That's right: 11, one shy of the NFL record. So the only thing relevant here is that the league's least exciting offense (outside of perhaps Buffalo) proved its worth yet again.
Chiefs -- Last Monday I speculated in this column that Tyreek Hill couldn't be contained much longer. 142 yards and three TDs later . . .
Patriots -- Sony Michel's dominance is no longer surprising. But a continued mea culpa, as this summer I pushed against him harder than most. Don't let me live that down.