A major injury and dozens of mammoth shifts in player values. As always on Monday morning, let's run through the most notable fantasy impact for each Sunday team, using Saturday's column as a launching point:
Texans -- Saturday: "I'd be surprised if CJ Stroud can feed both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, leaving managers to guess whether Noel's Week 7 breakout (paired with Higgins' Week 7 o'fer) are indicators of what's to come." Sunday: I'm officially surprised. Stroud fed Higgins and Noel, as well as Xavier Hutchinson. Even Braxton Berrios had his best performance (catches and receiving yards) in more than two years. We'll see if this is a one-off or the start of a new trend.
49ers -- Saturday: "Is 32-year-old George Kittle still a must-start TE?" Sunday: He scored, so I suppose that's what matters. But it's also his fourth straight game (dating back to last season) with five or fewer targets. There's nothing "must-start" about five or fewer targets. The bigger test will come when Ricky Pearsall and (presumably) Brandon Aiyuk return.
Ravens -- With Lamar Jackson inactive and now reportedly questionable for Week 9, Baltimore needed a win to help ensure this team still has semi-realistic playoff aspirations, which in turn would help keep their top fantasy assets on the field into December.
Bears -- Saturday: "Caleb Williams has all the playmakers he needs to be a great fantasy QB. But he remains somewhat middling (QB13 in points per game) and has the second-worst completion percentage among the top 23 fantasy quarterbacks. Can he elevate his receivers in a very favorable matchup?" Sunday: Last year, Chicago was 7th in red-zone efficiency (getting a touchdown on drives that reach the red zone). Entering yesterday, they were 26th. After going 1-of-3, they'll drop lower. The difference between Willliams being a deeper-league streamer vs. a weekly starter might come down to how he and his offense capitalize on scoring opportunities.
Panthers -- Saturday: "Is 2024 first-rounder Xavier Legette pushing to be Carolina's #1 WR over 2025 first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan?" Sunday: Nope, at least not yet.
Bills -- Saturday: "James Cook averaged 1.25 touchdowns and three catches in Buffalo's first four games (all victories). He didn't score or get a reception in their last two contests (both losses). I'm betting that the Bills feature him more prominently through the air -- elevating his floor -- in a nearly must-win game." Sunday: Heckuva performance.
Eagles -- Saturday: "If you're desperate for a WR streamer, Jahan Dotson is one of Week 8's top 'unrosterable' fliers due to AJ Brown's absence. The fairly speedy Dotson has averaged a 65% snap share the past three weeks and hasn't dropped a pass since 2023 (about 70 targets ago)." Sunday: Well, it took 54 minutes before he caught his first pass, but he made it count. More importantly, while Saquon Barkley insists he'll be good for their next game (Week 10), Tank Bigsby looked fantastic and apparently (finally) has earned the coveted handcuff role.
Giants -- Cam Skattebo's injury is the big news, clearly. Today's podcast episode (link at the bottom) walks through the ramifications beyond Tyrone Tracy.
Patriots -- Saturday: "For sixth or seventh time, Rhamondre Stevenson vs. TreVeyon Henderson. Because even if I don't mention them, something notable surely will happen." Sunday: A breakout performance for Henderson . . . and then he fumbled. Probably won't impact him going forward. Stevenson has a 52-154 (2.96 YPC) rushing line the past four weeks. Henderson should now be the 1A as long as he can keep it.
Browns -- Saturday: "Last weekend I shared that the last Cleveland WR to collect double-digit fantasy points was Cedric Tillman in Week 2. That's still the case. Per today's podcast episode, I believe Jerry Jeudy is a prime real-life trade candidate, because the Browns probably would get more value unloading him than they would keeping him." Sunday: The first zero-target game of Jeudy's career, and James Thrash was the only WR to register a catch (2-31 receiving line).
Bengals -- Saturday: "Can Joe Flacco -- who looked essentially finished seven years ago -- continue to be a (huge?) net plus for Cincy's recently ceiling-capped receiving corps?" Sunday: Yes, a net plus, and the defense let them down once again. Meanwhile, Ja'Marr Chase had 19 targets and Tee Higgins had only two. Higgins was last year's WR6 in points per game. Flacco's absurdly high attention toward Chase (54 looks in Flacco's three starts) is not sustainable.
Jets -- Saturday: "On the 'plucky' side, this team lost by only two points to the currently 4-2 Steelers, 5-2 Bucs, and 5-2 Broncos. On the 'current reality' side, is anyone -- even Breece Hall -- a fairly reliable fantasy starter against the beatable Bengals D?" Sunday: A win for the ages. Or rather, a win for the "aged," who've been waiting ages for a Jets victory. This was the Hall I had expected to see more often, and Fields somehow is back to being fantasy-relevant.
Falcons -- Saturday: "Kyle Pitts is tied for 25th in TE red-zone targets, compared to 11th in his breakout 2021 rookie campaign. . . . The challenge? Drake London and Bijan Robinson account for 52% of Penix's targets. Back in 2021, Pitts was Ryan's #1 target, in part because the other option were RBs Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Davis, as well as WRs Russell Gage and Olamide Zaccheaus." Sunday: A late Drake London scratch thrust Pitts back into the spotlight, and he caught all nine of his targets. For fantasy purposes, next year he needs to play on a team with no alpha WR.
Dolphins -- Saturday: "Miami plays again on Thursday, which will be their final game before the NFL trade deadline. I'm bracing for strange happenings between now and then, which might include reduced roles for Jaylen Waddle and/or De'Von Achane if they are, in fact, on the verge of leaving town." Sunday: Crushing Atlanta on the road counts as a "strange happening," though not what I was expecting. Waddle and Achane actually had normal loads, which can only increase their trade values.
Saints -- If Tyler Shough is named the starter over Spencer Rattler, it would probably be a negative for managers with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and possibly Juwan Johnson.
Buccaneers -- Saturday: "Tez Johnson is averaging 12.4 points in the past three weeks. On the podcast two weeks ago, I tagged him as the best fantasy bet among Tampa Bay WRs not named Emeka, Mike, or Chris. With two of those three sidelined, Johnson remains a fascinating streamer." Sunday: He led the team in catches (five) and yards (43). Also notably, Sean Tucker went toe-to-toe with Rachaad White.
Colts -- Alec Pierce now has 5+ targets in four of five games. Against Tennessee, it didn't matter because Indy demolished the Titans' defense. Against tougher D's, Pierce's presence will make it tougher for both Michael Pittman and Josh Downs to hit their ceilings.
Titans -- Saturday: "Tony Pollard vs. Tyjae Spears vs. none-of-the-above. So it goes for a team averaging less than one offensive touchdown per game." Sunday: Spears has played better since returning and seems poised to take over the 1A role.
Broncos -- Saturday: "Courtland Sutton remains the #1 wideout. WRs 2 thru 4 are 23 years old or younger and are still jockeying for consistency." Sunday: "Not so fast," says Troy Franklin, who now has 53 targets compared to 56 for Sutton.
Cowboys -- Saturday: "Who's Dallas's most valuable offensive player? Possibly the most unlikely dominant fantasy performer: Javonte Williams. . . . Is it sustainable?" Sunday: Facing his former team, Williams delivered for fantasy managers with two scores. On the cautious side, he has only one catch in three of his last four games. That makes him riskier than many bell-cow RBs.
Steelers -- Saturday: "Their TE trio collectively exceeded 50 fantasy points last week. They're on pace for 162 combined targets. Before last week, none of them were streamable. Is that still the case?" Sunday: For the first time all season, three Pittsburgh WRs led the way with 2024 third-rounder Roman Wilson finally breaking through. A negative game script might have been a factor. Or maybe the TE-heavy offense wasn't sustainable.
Packers -- Beyond Tyler Kraft's huge night, it's important to highlight Christian Watson's return, once again crowding a receiving corps that briefly opened up when Jayden Reed got hurt.
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