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Immediate fantasy football takeaways from Sunday’s games

• Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers lead Baltimore Ravens: Both players scored twice and earned over 100 yards in the Ravens’ domination over the Denver Broncos.

• All Quentin Johnston does is score touchdowns: Johnston missed two weeks due to injury but has scored four touchdowns in his last four full games and reached 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career this week.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Estimated reading time: 20 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons

Rico Dowdle sees an increased role without Ezekiel Elliott: The Cowboys’ third all-time leading rusher was inactive for disciplinary reasons.

Elliott has reportedly missed multiple team meetings and has been tardy for several others. Dalvin Cook was activated off the practice squad for a second straight week. In most games this season, Dowdle and Elliott rotated by drive, while Hunter Luepke played in passing situations. Luepke kept his role this week, but Dowdle was the primary early-down back on most drives.

Cook didn’t play his first offensive snap until the fourth drive, and the only drive Dowdle didn’t play was the seventh one. Dowdle looked great in the role, making it likely he will keep playing a larger role on offense rather than remaining in a rotation by drive. He ran 12 times for 75 yards and caught five passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. Elliott may have played his last snap with the Cowboys. While this is generally great news for anyone who has Dowdle, it’s at least possible the Cowboys will make a move for a running back at the trade deadline on Tuesday.

Monitor Drake London’s health: London suffered a hip injury late in the first quarter and was ruled out before the second half.

The Falcons’ wide receiver rotation is usually extremely straightforward, as London and Darnell Mooney played 93% of the Falcons’ offensive snaps or more each week and Ray-Ray McCloud III played at least 88% of those snaps, as the Falcons run more 11 personnel than everyone else. Nothing changed to start this game, as all three wide receivers played all 11 snaps on the first two drives.

London’s injury occurred at the end of the drive after he scored a touchdown. He finished the day with two receptions for 27 yards on six routes. KhaDarel Hodge took over London’s spot completely. Hodge caught his only target for nine yards. 

If London misses time, Hodge could be a short-term target in deeper leagues, as the Falcons have a favorable matchup against the New Orleans Saints, who are hurting at cornerback. McCloud is the better target considering he’s been ahead of Hodge on the depth chart all season. The Falcons’ schedule is more difficult from Weeks 11-13, which includes the Falcons’ bye week, so a Falcons wide receiver should mainly be considered for a team that needs a wide receiver next week.

Kyle Pitts’ reduced snaps continue: Pitts played less than 55% of the Falcons’ offensive snaps for a second straight week.

Pitt playing time was relatively normal for the first six drives, playing 27 of a possible 35 snaps. At this point, the Falcons were ahead 21-10. The Falcons largely abandoned the passing game after that, so Charlie Woerner was on the field for 18 of the last 22 snaps. Pitts was on for four plays, all pass plays.

This was very similar to last week when Pitts played 21 of 33 snaps in the first half (the Falcons were up by a touchdown) but went with Woerner for 23 of 29 snaps in the second half while mostly running with the ball.

It’s relatively common for teams to take out some star players more often when they have a lead, particularly in favor of those who are better blockers. However, in back-to-back weeks, the Falcons have done this earlier than most teams. Two of the Falcons’ three games during the fantasy playoffs are against the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, where the game script could be similar to these last two weeks. Ideally, Pitts can have one more good before your league’s trade deadline so he could be a trade-high candidate that week.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Jake Ferguson played over 80% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps for the second-straight game after playing less than 80% in each of his first five games this season.
  • CeeDee Lamb appeared to suffer an injury after a third-down target, but he was able to return for the last two minutes of the game.
  • Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury at the end of the third quarter and was ruled out for the game. Cooper Rush took over. If Prescott misses time, that would be a downgrade for all of the Cowboys’ skill players in fantasy.

Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens

  • Zay Flowers: 5 receptions, 127 yards, 2 touchdowns
  • Derrick Henry: 23 carries, 106 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 reception, 27 receiving yards

Diontae Johnson makes his Ravens’ debut: The Ravens traded for Johnson earlier in the week from the Carolina Panthers.

The Ravens eased Johnson into action during their blowout victory, as they rotated wide receivers more than usual. On the first eight drives while the team still used their starters, the Ravens only ran nine plays out of 11 personnel. Johnson was in for two of those plays, taking Nelson Agholor’s place. On both plays, he and Rashod Bateman lined up on the outside with Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews on the inside.

Johnson was more frequently used in 12 personnel, where he played four of 12 snaps in Flowers’ place. The Ravens used Flowers, Bateman, Tylan Wallace and Johnson in a four-man rotation while deploying 21 personnel. Johnson played seven of 22 snaps there. A lot of his work came in the second half when the Ravens were already up 24-10.

Flowers played 95% of Baltimore’s 12 personnel snaps and 72% of the team’s 21 personnel snaps over the first eight weeks, which was down to 58% and 45% respectively, ignoring the last two drives when backups played. If this game were more competitive, Johnson probably would have barely played and Flowers’ playing time would have been fine. However, if Johnson is going to play more once he gets more practice, it looks like some of it could come at Flowers’ expense.

It was noteworthy that the team didn’t use nearly as many 22 personnel as usual, which meant the wide receivers were on the field more while tight ends played fewer snaps, particularly for Isaiah Likely, who can be dropped. If anything, Johnson will be running more routes going forward while Likely runs less.

Johnson will need to overtake Agholor in 11 personnel to have fantasy value this season. He will also need to take a decent amount of snaps from Flowers in 12 and 21 personnel. Even then, it might not be consistent enough of a role for him to have fantasy value. He would need to become one of Lamar Jackson’s favorite targets.

Ravens fourth-round rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker made his offensive debut with one snap in the third quarter. Even if he starts to play a dozen snaps per week, it would further complicate the wide receiver room.

Javonte Williams plays fewer snaps than usual: Williams has averaged under 4.0 yards per carry in three of his last four games.

Williams’ rushing grade has dipped below replacement level this season. He doesn’t have a carry above 20 yards all season, and his longest run in this game was seven yards. For the second time this season, there were reports Audric Estime would get more involved in the offense. That ended up not being true in either case, as Estime didn’t play his first offensive snap until the last six minutes of the game when the Broncos were down by 31 points. Theoretically, those reports have come out in an attempt to motivate Williams.

A month ago, it seemed like Williams could be a league winner, but at this point, it seems like the Broncos are moving closer to being a committee. Considering Bo Nix is playing well and the Broncos are in the playoff race, it’s at least possible the Broncos make a move for a running back before the trade deadline.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Undrafted rookie Chris Collier was the Ravens’ third running back. Fifth-round rookie Rasheen Ali missed the first five weeks, played Week 6 on special teams only and has been inactive the last three weeks due to an ankle injury.
  • Last season’s rookie sensation at running back Keaton Mitchell was a full participation in practice all week but wasn’t activated to the 53-man roster yet.
  • The Ravens used backups on their final two drives, which meant no snaps for Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews or Isaiah Likely during those final six plays.
  • Courtland Sutton failed to reach 70 receiving yards in each of his first seven games but has reached 100 yards in each of his last two.

Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills

  • De’Von Achane: 12 carries, 63 yards, 1 touchdown, 8 receptions, 58 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
  • Ray Davis: 4 carries, 20 yards, 2 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown

Bills adjust without Amari Cooper: The recent addition to the Bills missed this game due to a wrist injury.

On the bright side, Curtis Samuel was able to return from his pectoral injury that kept him out last week. For the second straight week, Jalen Virgil was called up from the practice squad to be the fifth wide receiver.

Mack Hollins was the only receiver to play notably more snaps, mostly earning the snaps back he lost to Cooper a week ago. They couldn’t just go back to their rotation from before the Cooper trade because their primary backup outside wide receiver, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, is no longer on the roster.

The main adjustment the Bills made was more two- and three-tight end sets, which meant fewer wide receivers on the field in general. They played 23% of their offensive snaps in 12 personnel over the first eight weeks, which jumped to 32%. They similarly hadn’t used 13 personnel the first five weeks, used it once per game the last three weeks and used it seven times in this game. This led Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and Quintin Morris to all play more than usual.

The Bills similarly started turning to a more run-heavy offense with more tight ends on the field in the second half of last season. Even when Cooper is back, they might keep using more tight ends on the field.

De’Von Achane‘s ascension continues: The Dolphins’ lead running back continues to see his snaps and touches increase despite the other Miami running backs’ health.

There was a concern heading into the season that the Dolphins might limit their 5-foot-9, 188-pound running back this season, even if Raheem Mostert was injured. In Weeks 3 and 4, it was clear Miami was comfortable giving Achane a large workload. Over the last three weeks, all of the Dolphins’ running backs were healthy, and Achane continued to start and play over 50% of Miam’s offensive snaps. Since then, his playing time has only increased.

Mostert only played 14 offensive snaps Sunday, which was the fewest for him in a game with the Dolphins. You couldn’t tell it from the box score, as he touched the ball on 12 of his 14 snaps, but he’s unlikely to maintain that high of a touch-to-snap rate going forward. This might be the time to sell high on Mostert because there’s a chance we’re talking about dropping him from fantasy rosters a week or two from now.

Jonnu Smith plays more snaps: Dolphins run blocking tight end Julian Hill was inactive for this game due to a shoulder injury.

Without Hill in the lineup, the Dolphins used more 11 personnel than usual, meaning fewer snaps out of 12, 21 and 22 personnel. Over the first eight weeks, Smith played 71% of the Dolphins’ 11 personnel snaps, 59% in 12, 16% in 21 and 27% in 22. Today, his rate in 11 personnel was roughly the same at 70%, but his rate in the other personnel groupings jumped to 100% in 12, 50% in 21 and 67% in 22.

This meant Smith was on the field more than any other game during his Dolphins’ career. He caught five passes for 46 yards. He has four games this season with at least five receptions for at least 45 yards, and he has 45 yards combined in his other four games. Smith might be a fine streamer option for the short term if Hill remains out, but it will be harder to trust Smith once Hill is back.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Ray Davis scored 17 PPR points, but his role was the same as every other game this season. He plays more in the big wins but less in the close games and losses. This was one of the close games, so he rarely played on offense. He just happened to make the most of his opportunities.  He could be a sell-high candidate, considering the Bills play the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions in three of their next five games.
  • Dolphins wide receiver River Cracraft started the season on injured reserve. He returned to practice this past week on a limited basis but was not activated to the 53-man active roster.
  • Jaylen Waddle appeared to injure his leg late in the fourth quarter, but he was able to return to the game.

New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers

  • Alvin Kamara: 29 carries, 155 yards, 6 receptions, 60 receiving yards
  • Chuba Hubbard: 15 carries, 72 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 0 receiving yards

Monitor Chris Olave’s health: Olave suffered a concussion that required him to be taken to the hospital.

The good news is he was alert and his vitals were good upon arrival at the hospital. The bad news is this is his fifth known concussion, per Draft Sharks, and his second in the last three weeks. Because of the frequency of the concussions and the precautions needed after his hit in this game, Olave could miss extended time.

The Saints wide receiver depth chart already looked different heading into this game. Bub Means, who had been Olave’s primary backup, landed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury this past week. Equanimeous St. Brown, who played 34 offensive snaps last week, was not elevated from the practice squad this week. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with the Saints after the Buffalo Bills released him, debuted with the team.

Olave played eight of the first 12 snaps, while Mason Tipton and Cedrick Wilson Jr. were the second and third receivers. Valdes-Scantling played his first snap before Olave left the game. The Saints were fully healthy at tight end, so the mix of health at tight end and injuries at wide receiver left them using 11 personnel on just six snaps, all in the second half. After the injury, Tipton, Valdes-Scantling and Wilson were used in a three-man rotation, led by Tipton. Undrafted rookie Jermaine Jackson made his offensive debut after Olave’s injury, as he played exclusively on special teams in his previous games.

We can expect Valdes-Scantling and Tipton to be the primary receivers for as long as Olave is out. This likely means the team will rely even more heavily on its running backs and tight ends than usual. They had five players with at least 25 receiving yards in this game: two running backs, two tight ends and Wilson.

Saints down two of three running backs: Kendre Miller landed on injured reserve on Saturday due to another hamstring injury, while Jamaal Williams was doubtful due to a groin injury.

The Saints signed Jordan Mims to the 53-man roster from the practice squad to take Miller’s spot as the primary backup running back. The injuries led the Saints to rely more heavily on Kamara than ever. He touched the ball 35 times in this game, which was a new career high.

Mims received a few snaps and carries. Taysom Hill ran the ball five times, which was typical for him. The injuries at wide receiver over the season have led Hill to be used more as a receiver. His four receptions were tied for the second-most in a game in his career. He lined up four times at quarterback, seven times at running back, 10 times at tight end, 10 times in the slot and four times out wide.

Ideally, Williams would return next week, but if anything, his role would decline rather than ascend. For as long as Olave is out, Kamara will be the biggest priority in the offense, and Hill will be the second-biggest priority. This makes Hill the top waiver wire option at tight end.

Panthers adjust wide receiver rotation: Diontae Johnson was traded to the Baltimore Ravens this past week, putting more emphasis on the rookie wide receivers.

Last week, veteran David Moore and rookie Jalen Coker played the clear majority of snaps in 11 personnel, while Xavier Legette and Jonathan Mingo played over 60% of the team’s offensive snaps. Moore and Legette were the primary receivers in two-receiver sets, but all four players played significant snaps.

This week, Legette was back to playing nearly 90% of Carolina’s 11 personnel snaps, while Coker led a rotation with Mingo for the third spot. In two-receiver sets, Moore and Legette played nearly every snap. While Coker led the wide receiver room in receiving yards, he only caught two passes for 36 yards, and he saw a clear decline in snaps in both two and three-receiver sets. On the other hand, Legette’s playing time was fairly normal for a starting NFL wide receiver, and he scored a touchdown.

Adam Thielen was limited in practice earlier in the week, but he didn’t practice Friday and was not brought to the 53-man roster. There is a chance Thielen has played his last snap with the Panthers and is traded on Tuesday. If he’s not traded, he is likely at least rotating slot snaps, which would mean fewer snaps for Coker.

Legette is the clear waiver option in the offense, as he has the most potential over the second half of the season given his role and the Panthers’ schedule.

 

Ja’Tavion Sanders sets new career highs: The fourth-round rookie caught four passes for a career-high 87 yards.

While this was great news for Sanders, it’s important to note Tommy Tremble was inactive due to a back injury. In the two games Tremble has played this season where he wasn’t returning from an injury or suffering an injury, he played over 85% of Carolina’s offensive snaps while Sanders played 35% or less. Even after Sanders caught six passes for 61 yards in Week 7, Tremble returned to the starting lineup in Week 8 while Sanders played 36% of the team’s offensive snaps.

The one bright note, along with the stat line, is Sanders played even more than he did earlier in the season. His 61 yards two weeks ago and 87 yards this week are both better than Tremble has ever achieved in a game in his four-year NFL career. It would make a lot of sense to let Sanders keep the role he had this game even when Tremble is healthy, but we thought the same thing after his performance two weeks ago.

Sanders is worth picking up off the waiver wire in hopes that he keeps this role and remains an important target in the Panthers offense.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks was a full participant in practice all week with his knee injury. The Panthers must activate Brooks to the 53-man roster by mid-next week, or he will be ineligible to play for the team this season. Reports emerged early Sunday that the plan is for him to play next week.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Cincinnati Bengals

  • Mike Gesicki: 5 receptions, 100 yards, 2 touchdowns
  • Chase Brown: 27 carries, 120 yards, 5 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown

Chase Brown takes the old Joe Mixon role: Zack Moss was inactive due to a neck injury, allowing Brown a chance to shine.

Brown and Moss were the only running backs to take a snap for Cincinnati this season. Brown was the clear early-down and short-yardage back throughout the game, which was similar to how Mixon was used throughout his Bengals’ career before Brown emerged roughly one year ago. On third downs, the Bengals used a mix of Trayveon Williams and tight end Drew Sample in the backfield. Last season on third-and-3-plus, Williams and Sample each played over 50 snaps in the backfield, while Mixon and Brown played a combined 32 snaps.

Even if Moss misses another game, we can expect Brown to play fewer snaps. The Bengals didn’t have a single snap in a two-minute drill, and they could have been in more third-and-medium or -long situations. We would have seen a little more Williams and Sample in a more normal game. Regardless of Moss’ health, Brown needs to stay in fantasy starting lineups.

Bengals dig down wide receiver depth chart: The Bengals didn’t have three of their top six wide receivers for this game.

Tee Higgins missed his second straight week due to a quadricep injury, while backup wide receiver and return specialist Charlie Jones was inactive due to a groin injury. Last week, Jermaine Burton was one of the team’s top-three receivers, so it seemed like he would have another large role this week. Instead, he was a surprise inactive after missing a walk-through on Saturday.

Ja’Marr Chase and Andrei Iosivas were two of the top three wide receivers, as usual. Trenton Irwin was the third wide receiver, as he was in the first two weeks of the season when Higgins was out. Kendric Pryor, who has spent the last two years on the Bengals’ practice squad, was elevated and played his first career regular-season snaps as the fourth wide receiver. He split time with Irwin. A combination of the losses at wide receiver and game script led the team to use more two-tight-end sets than usual.

This week made it less likely Burton will have a large role in the offense in the near future, which just means the Bengals’ usual star players will maintain their high target shares.

Monitor Erick All’s health: The Bengals rookie tight end suffered a knee injury and was eventually ruled out.

This was the same knee that he tore last October, which ended his college career. All started this game in his usual role, as one of the primary tight ends in 12 personnel while occasionally playing in 11 personnel. After the injury, Mike Gesicki started playing more consistently in 12 personnel, while fourth-string tight end Tanner Hudson joined the 12 personnel rotation.

Drew Sample, who usually joins All in 12 personnel, played a lot more than usual, which had nothing to do with All’s injury. His increase in playing time occurred in 11 personnel, taking snaps away from Gesicki. Sample is the better blocker, and the game script allowed the team to run more often than usual, including more runs out of 11 personnel. Gesicki’s lost snaps in 11 personnel outweighed his gains in 12 personnel, leading him to play less than usual.

Gesicki only ran five routes out of 11 personnel but one ended up as his first touchdown with the Bengals. His increase in 12 personnel snaps led to a touchdown and two other first downs. If All’s injury is serious, Gesicki should be playing more than he had been during competitive games because he will keep playing more in 12 personnel while reverting to his usual role in 11 personnel. 

All of his good games so far have come when Tee Higgins was out, so there is a chance his targets will decrease significantly once Higgins is back. An increase in snaps and routes certainly shouldn’t hurt his chances of being a viable fantasy starter.

Ameer Abdullah leads the Raiders’ backfield in snaps: Alexander Mattison is no longer as safe of a start as he was over the last month.

On the Raiders’ first drive, Mattison played nine snaps, while Zamir White played three snaps late in the drive, including two goal-line snaps and a touchdown. This was similar to early in the season when White was the starter. He would have long drives but Mattison would come in near the end and vulture those touchdowns.

White continued to rotate in more than he had in other recent weeks, while Mattison played 11 of 18 snaps on the first two drives compared to White’s seven snaps. White ran the ball on six of those seven plays, while Mattison only had four carries at that point. That was White’s last offensive snap. Mattison played all six snaps on the third drive, and then Ameer Abdullah came in for the last minute of the first half for a four-play drive. 

The Bengals got the ball to start the third quarter and scored, so the Raiders were playing from behind by two scores over the rest of the game. Abdullah had been the Raiders’ primary running back over the first eight weeks when the team was down by at least two touchdowns, and that continued to be the case in this game.

It seems like if the Raiders had kept the game closer, White could have been the lead running back, and once they were down by too much, it was Abdullah. That doesn’t leave a lot of room to trust Mattison.

Miscellaneous Notes

Los Angeles Chargers @ Cleveland Browns

Jerome Ford returns to the Browns: Ford had missed the last two weeks due to a back injury.

This was the first game all season where the Browns had all of their running backs at their disposal. Instead of having four running backs active, they elected to make D’Onta Foreman a healthy inactive.

Ford took the passing-down role back from Pierre Strong Jr. This meant not only playing third downs but also a lot of the early-down snaps late in the game. The Browns were down by 17 points at halftime and only scored a touchdown in the last minute of the game. In the first half, Nick Chubb was the clear early-down back with 15 snaps on first and second downs compared to Ford’s six.

While Ford led the team in snaps, it’s fine to consider dropping him from your fantasy roster, as he only touched the ball three times. The rotation is similar to the Baltimore Ravens with Ford in the Justice Hill role, but the Browns offense isn’t playing nearly as well. There is also a third running back cutting into both lead backs playing time.

The main reason to consider keeping Ford is he could win the early-down role back at some point this year. Chubb has averaged 3.3 yards per carry or fewer in all three games this season.

Chargers reach full strength at wide receiver: The Chargers were down three potential wide receivers in recent weeks, but all three were available for this game.

Quentin Johnston missed the last two weeks due to an ankle injury, while Derius Davis was out due to a hamstring injury. Johnston returned to his starting role this week, while Davis was active as a backup. D.J. Chark was activated off injured reserve and was a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday, but the Chargers chose to make him inactive while elevating Jalen Reagor off the practice squad. It’s unclear if Chark just needs a little more time, or if he will be a healthy inactive in future weeks.

While Ladd McConkey, Johnston and Joshua Palmer were the clear top three wide receivers, only McConkey was consistently on the field for passing plays. Johnston is still a waiver wire option considering this was his first 100-yard game, and he was showing sparks before the injury, but it’s also possible he loses playing time if Chark starts playing.

Hayden Hurst returns from injury: Hurst had missed the last two weeks due to a groin injury.

While Hurst was active, he didn’t play nearly as much as he did early in the season. Will Dissly has been the Chargers’ most effective receiving tight end this season, and Hurst’s return didn’t have a major impact on Dissly’s playing time.

Hurst primarily played in 11 personnel, taking six of 33 snaps. Dissly played 25, including all 14 of the third-down snaps. While it’s possible Hurst needs more time to recover from injury, it seems like Dissly is the Chargers’ main receiving tight end going forward. While Dissly had a quiet game against the Browns, who have been good against tight ends, Dissly had a 26.5% target rate over the first eight weeks, which was second-best behind Evan Engram among those with double-digit targets. Dissly should remain one of the top waiver-wire options at tight end despite only catching two passes for nine yards in this game.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Chargers backup wide receiver Brenden Rice was placed on injured reserve on Saturday. Considering how many other wide receivers are on the roster and healthy, it’s possible he would have been cut had he not landed on injured reserve.
  • Chargers backup tight end Stone Smartt was inactive due to an ankle injury.
  • There was a short time in this game when Kimani Vidal led the team in carries, but he ultimately ran five times for seven yards. Gus Edwards is eligible to return to practice next week, and it’s possible Vidal will go back to being a healthy inactive once Edwards returns.

Washington Commanders @ New York Giants

Commanders turn to a three-man committee without Brian Robinson: The Commanders’ lead running back was declared inactive after a concerning warmup.

The Commanders sophomore-back has played less than 50% of the team’s offensive snaps in each of the last four weeks, including being inactive in Week 6.

Washington started the game with a two-man rotation between Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols, similar to what the team did in Week 6. Ekeler played every snap on the first two drives but slowly but surely, McNichols started playing more. At halftime, Ekeler totaled 23 snaps to McNichols’s 16 and Chris Rodriguez Jr.‘s one, who was elevated off the practice squad. The Commanders only ran 31 plays, and there were several where two running backs were on the field simultaneously.

The Commanders spent the entire time either tied or with a lead. This led the team to turn more toward Rodriguez in the second half to keep their two healthy running backs well-rested. Rodriguez led the team in rushing yards with 52, and eight of his 11 carries happened in the fourth quarter. He should be left on the waiver wire, as he is still the fourth running back on the depth chart despite what the box score looks like.

Theo Johnson scores his first touchdown: The Giants tight end has become a sneaky waiver wire target.

The fourth-round rookie has played enough snaps to be a fantasy starter all season. He averaged 28 routes per game over the first four weeks but was only targeted on 6.3% of his routes. Two of his seven targets were uncatachable and another two were dropped.

Over the last five weeks, his routes per game have increased slightly to 32 per game. He was rotated out slightly more than usual this week, mostly for run situations. His target rate over the five weeks has increased to 11.9%. Particularly in this game, his target rate was 27.3%, which led to three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown, although the 35-yard touchdown occurred in the last three minutes.

While his increased target rate might not be the start of a new trend, the Giants have, by far, the best schedule for tight ends over the rest of the season. Four of their next seven opponents are against teams in the top six at allowing fantasy points to tight ends. The other three range from somewhat favorable to average. Even if Johnson can maintain a 20% target rate during that stretch, he could be a fantasy starter.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Zach Ertz played less than usual, likely because of the Commanders’ lead. He played 67% of the Commanders’ offensive snaps in the first half, which was typical, but only nine of 31 snaps in the second half. This is consistent with what Washington has done all season. He’s played over 80% of the team’s offensive snaps in the Commanders’ two losses and under 60% of those snaps in their two other recent blowout wins.
  • Tyrone Tracy played 72% of New York’s offensive snaps, a slight step up from the last two weeks.
  • Giants backup wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton was inactive this week due to an Achilles injury.

New England Patriots @ Tennessee Titans

  • Rhamondre Stevenson: 10 carries, 16 yards, 1 touchdown, 5 receptions, 38 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
  • Tony Pollard: 28 carries, 128 yards, 3 receptions, 26 receiving yards

 

 

Patriots solidify starting wide receivers: The Patriots rotated their wide receivers less in this game than in any other game this season.

In every game, the Patriots had at least four receivers play double-digit snaps. It was often five receivers with double-digit or four receivers with 30 or more snaps. This week, it was simply Kayshon Boutte and Kendrick Bourne as the two outside receivers while Demario Douglas played in the slot as usual.

We started to see the Patriots go in this direction last week, except with different backup wide receivers. This week, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker were the backups. Polk missed last week due to a concussion, but his playing time was already declining. Baker was active last week but had only played on special teams. This was Baker’s first game with offensive snaps since Week 2.

This left both K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton as healthy inactives. Both names have been brought up in trade rumors. One or both receivers may be moved on Tuesday.

It’s hard to get too excited about any of their wide receivers considering none of them reached 45 receiving yards this week, but if Drake Maye becomes a more consistent passer, then one of these receivers could become an option.

Chigoziem Okonkwo’s role keeps expanding: He seems to have clearly took the receiving role from Josh Whyle.

For most of the season, Whyle was running a significant number of routes at tight end with Okonkwo off the field. From Week 1-6, Okonkwo was running 17-22 routes per week while Whyle ran 10-18, outside of one game where Whyle was injured.

In Week 7, Okonkwo ran a season-high 27 routes. He set a new season high last week at 29 and broke that record again today with 30. In contrast, Whyle only ran four routes this week. His target share has hovered between 13-18% all season, as more routes lead to more targets and more receptions.

His target rate will need to increase to trust him in fantasy leagues, but it’s worth noting the Titans play the Jacksonville Jaguars twice, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts from Weeks 14-17. Those are four games against teams in the top-10 at allowing fantasy points to tight ends. If Okonkwo continues to be trusted more in the Titans offense, he could have some big weeks when fantasy managers need him most.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Tony Pollard was questionable this week due to a foot injury and didn’t practice all week. Despite this, he ran a career-high 28 times in this game.
  • Tyler Boyd was also questionable for this game after not practicing all week due to a shoulder injury. As the game progressed, he got rotated out more often for Jha’Quan Jackson.
  • The Titans added undrafted rookie wide receiver out of Youngstown State Bryce Oliver to the active roster, replacing Mason Kinsey as the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart. Despite not being elevated from the practice squad in any game this season, he was signed instead of being a practice squad elevation.
  • Rhamondre Stevenson played around 75% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps for a second straight week, which is great news, but he’s been held under 2.8 yards per carry for the third straight game.

Chicago Bears @ Arizona Cardinals

Trey Benson scores 12 PPR points: The rookie running back was more involved in the Cardinals offense than usual.

Benson has run the ball at least five times in four games this season. Two were games the Cardinals won by 20 or more points and two were games the Cardinals lost by 20 or more points. In every game that has been anywhere close, Benson hasn’t been given many opportunities.

However, this week was a little different from those other games. Benson was on the field seven times in the first half when the game was still close. From Weeks 3-8, he had only played three first-half snaps at most. Benson also ran three times in the first half, which was the most for him in a game since Week 2. This led to his one-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

While Benson was used a lot in the fourth quarter, this game was a sign we could see a little bit more of Benson going forward. Regardless, Benson should be a waiver-wire target as one of the top handcuff options. The Cardinals have a top-five schedule for running backs over the next eight weeks and a top-three schedule during the fantasy playoffs.

D’Andre Swift rotated more than usual: Swift played less than 63% of Chicago’s offensive snaps for the second time this season.

In the first game where Swift was held under 63%, it seemed like Swift was destined for a smaller role. He was held to 3.0 yards per carry or less in each of his first three games. Since then, his rushing has largely been better.

He was held to 3.2 yards per carry this week, which was his first in a game since Week 3. However, his decrease in playing time this week was likely due to the game script. The Bears were down multiple scores heading into the fourth quarter, so he and Roschon Johnson split time in the fourth quarter. Johnson has been their receiving back for the last month, and the Bears were in more passing situations than usual.

Swift should bounce back next week against the New England Patriots, but he will be a sell-high candidate after that game. Five of his following six games are against division rivals, and the one exception is against the San Francisco 49ers. There could be a lot more games like this one over the next two months.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Bears backup running back Khalil Herbert was a healthy inactive for a second straight week, while Travis Homer was the third running back on the depth chart. Herbert is the running back most likely to be traded at the trade deadline.
  • The Cardinals only used their backups on offense for three plays in the fourth quarter. The only starters to play notably fewer snaps in the fourth quarter were James Conner and Greg Dortch. Dortch typically only plays in 11 personnel. The Cardinals used more multiple tight end sets in the fourth quarter than usual, leaving Dortch off the field.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Philadelphia Eagles

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Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks

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Indianapolis Colts @ Minnesota Vikings

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Table Notes
  • Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
  • Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
  • Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.

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