Will Fuller's fourth-quarter exit with a knee injury could be the biggest fantasy story heading into the weekend. The 24-year-old is one of the league's best injury-prone talents, as well as one of the top #2 team receivers -- a guy who could be a consistent WR2/3 if he could just stay on the field. If he's out for the year, Keke Coutee (81% available in ESPN leagues) will be must-rostered in most leagues heading into Week 9, while virtually unknown rookie Vyncint Smith would be thrust into major snaps.
This raises the question: what should the 5-3 Texans do if Fuller's placed on Injured Reserve? Do they sign Dez Bryant? Or someone like Kamar Aiken or even Anquan Boldin? There are plenty of worse flyers out there than Dez, both on the field and in fantasy. For Houston, five very winnable games remain: home matchups against the Titans, Browns, Colts, and Jaguars, as well as a road contest vs. the Jets. Winners of five straight, and with a playoff berth coming into view, they'd need another reliable receiver.
Yesterday I thought Deshaun Watson's best realistic performance would be as a top 6-8 QB. Instead he'll likely finish in the top 3 with his third dominant start of the season. He remains an enigma heading into the season half of the season, as partially collapsed lungs apparently don't heal overnight. So you keep rolling him out there knowing he's a higher injury risk than your average QB, and also knowing he's capable of being fantasy relevant regardless of what ails him.
Rookie Jordan Thomas joined the "Where did that TE come from?" group -- an ever-growing club in 2018. Thomas was a late-round draft pick this year with limited upside. Unless he's suddenly better than he looked on his college tape, he's not likely to supplant the injured Ryan Griffin, and even if he does, Thomas would be an entirely TD-dependent option going forward.
Lamar Miller was a must-start as expected. Ever since D'Onta Foreman was eligible to come off the PUP, Miller has run brilliantly. Next up is Denver's porous run D. Patient fantasy managers are being rewarded. If Miller can be at least decent during this two-game road trip (and if Foreman remains sidelined), he'll have three favorable home games in a row starting Week 12.
Also, Houston's DST disappointed. A strangely called penalty game kept a first-quarter Miami drive alive, leading to the first of two touchdowns, which was more than I expected last night. A trick play produced the other one. And a strip-sack returned for a touchdown was somehow reversed (not sure about that one). Despite injuries, and despite being unable to stop the run, the Texans DST made Brock Osweiler play like Brock Osweiler. This very well could have been a top-8 performance. Instead they were surprisingly unstartable.
Speaking of Brock, he crashed back to earth as anticipated. Now the question is whether he's done enough the past three weeks to replace Tannehill if Miami's "franchise" QB returns Week 9. The answer: there's no way the Fins will bench Tannehill if he's healthy. At least not yet. So all you Brock fans need to hope Tannehill isn't quite ready, because's Miami's backup is primed for a nice rebound at home against the Jets.
As alluded to above, Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore had their way with Houston. I was wrong in thinking Drake wouldn't be a trustworthy fantasy start. However, as I've shared repeatedly in recent weeks, he's remained a must-roster RB given his upside. The reality is, Gore will not lead this team as the season progresses. Drake is more talented and more versatile. We saw it last season. We saw it last night. Despite Miami stupidly limiting his touches all season long -- reminiscent of the way this team ridiculously constrained Lamar Miller during his first few NFL seasons -- Drake is primed for a fantasy-useful second half of the season.
Danny Amendola was startable as predicted. But I didn't see DeVante Parker's breakout coming. A deflected pass converted a good night into a great one. Regardless, he looked like a #1 receiver for the first time in ages. And given this team's injury woes (Albert Wilson, Kenny Stills), a seemingly healthy Parker is in a position to sustain some relevance. Of course, he could also be traded if Miami decides the playoffs are a longshot (hint: they're on the verge of being a longshot).
And I can think of one team that, if today's MRI goes poorly, will be in desperate need of a receiver.
This raises the question: what should the 5-3 Texans do if Fuller's placed on Injured Reserve? Do they sign Dez Bryant? Or someone like Kamar Aiken or even Anquan Boldin? There are plenty of worse flyers out there than Dez, both on the field and in fantasy. For Houston, five very winnable games remain: home matchups against the Titans, Browns, Colts, and Jaguars, as well as a road contest vs. the Jets. Winners of five straight, and with a playoff berth coming into view, they'd need another reliable receiver.
Yesterday I thought Deshaun Watson's best realistic performance would be as a top 6-8 QB. Instead he'll likely finish in the top 3 with his third dominant start of the season. He remains an enigma heading into the season half of the season, as partially collapsed lungs apparently don't heal overnight. So you keep rolling him out there knowing he's a higher injury risk than your average QB, and also knowing he's capable of being fantasy relevant regardless of what ails him.
Rookie Jordan Thomas joined the "Where did that TE come from?" group -- an ever-growing club in 2018. Thomas was a late-round draft pick this year with limited upside. Unless he's suddenly better than he looked on his college tape, he's not likely to supplant the injured Ryan Griffin, and even if he does, Thomas would be an entirely TD-dependent option going forward.
Lamar Miller was a must-start as expected. Ever since D'Onta Foreman was eligible to come off the PUP, Miller has run brilliantly. Next up is Denver's porous run D. Patient fantasy managers are being rewarded. If Miller can be at least decent during this two-game road trip (and if Foreman remains sidelined), he'll have three favorable home games in a row starting Week 12.
Also, Houston's DST disappointed. A strangely called penalty game kept a first-quarter Miami drive alive, leading to the first of two touchdowns, which was more than I expected last night. A trick play produced the other one. And a strip-sack returned for a touchdown was somehow reversed (not sure about that one). Despite injuries, and despite being unable to stop the run, the Texans DST made Brock Osweiler play like Brock Osweiler. This very well could have been a top-8 performance. Instead they were surprisingly unstartable.
Speaking of Brock, he crashed back to earth as anticipated. Now the question is whether he's done enough the past three weeks to replace Tannehill if Miami's "franchise" QB returns Week 9. The answer: there's no way the Fins will bench Tannehill if he's healthy. At least not yet. So all you Brock fans need to hope Tannehill isn't quite ready, because's Miami's backup is primed for a nice rebound at home against the Jets.
As alluded to above, Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore had their way with Houston. I was wrong in thinking Drake wouldn't be a trustworthy fantasy start. However, as I've shared repeatedly in recent weeks, he's remained a must-roster RB given his upside. The reality is, Gore will not lead this team as the season progresses. Drake is more talented and more versatile. We saw it last season. We saw it last night. Despite Miami stupidly limiting his touches all season long -- reminiscent of the way this team ridiculously constrained Lamar Miller during his first few NFL seasons -- Drake is primed for a fantasy-useful second half of the season.
Danny Amendola was startable as predicted. But I didn't see DeVante Parker's breakout coming. A deflected pass converted a good night into a great one. Regardless, he looked like a #1 receiver for the first time in ages. And given this team's injury woes (Albert Wilson, Kenny Stills), a seemingly healthy Parker is in a position to sustain some relevance. Of course, he could also be traded if Miami decides the playoffs are a longshot (hint: they're on the verge of being a longshot).
And I can think of one team that, if today's MRI goes poorly, will be in desperate need of a receiver.