Bi-Weekly Fantasy Football Recap - Saturday 9/23
TLDR:
Don’t have time to read the entire newsletter? Check out the bullet points below for a quick recap of everything going on this week.
Player News:
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Says He Will Play Sunday’s Game With Steel Plate In His Shoe
RB Rachaad White Is The Only RB In The NFL Who Gets 100% Of Goal Line Work
Team News:
Browns’ Head Coach Says RB Jerome Ford Will Be Their Feature Back Now That Chubb Is Out
Vikings OC Says Team Hasn’t Lost Confidence In RB Alexander Mattison
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Not Ready To Crown Najee Harris The Bell Cow
Reddit Recap:
Injury Report:
Cowboys’ CB Trevon Diggs Will Miss The Remainder Of The Season
Both RB Derrick Henry and WR DeAndre Hopkins Miss Practice Thursday
Both Packers’ WR Christian Watson & RB Aaron Jones Limited In Practice Friday
*Read the full breakdown of everything below!
Player News:
RB Cam Akers Was Traded To The Vikings
After being benched before Sunday’s game, RB Cam Akers is now being traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a swap of 2026 draft picks. The Rams will now use RB Kyren Williams as their primary back and the Vikings get another RB to support Alexander Mattison who has struggled in the first two games of the season. This news is not what Mattison owners want to hear as Akers will now dip into Mattison’s carries.
RB Kareem Hunt Agrees To 1-Year Deal With Browns
The Cleveland Browns and free agent RB Kareem Hunt have agreed to a one-year deal. Hunt scored 23 TDs over the past four seasons in Cleveland and will have lots of opportunities after Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury. Sources are saying that Hunt is also down 10 pounds and looks “mean and lean” in his workouts. It will be interesting to see how this signing impacts Browns’ other RB Jerome Ford. Many fantasy managers spent a large amount of their FAAB on him so hopefully Hunt doesn’t eat too much into his workload, but as of now we don’t know how they will split carries.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Says He Will Play Sunday’s Game With Steel Plate In His Shoe
Lions’ WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has been dealing with a toe injury this week and his status for Sunday’s game was originally unsure. However, he told reporters on Friday that he will play in Sunday’s game against the Falcons and just wear a steel plate in his shoe so his toe doesn’t bend as much. St. Brown called the steel plate “nothing too major”.
RB Rachaad White Is The Only RB In The NFL Who Gets 100% Of Goal Line Work
Buccaneers' RB Rachaad White is the only RB in the NFL who gets 100% of his team’s goal line work. He also has played in over 60% of his teams’ passing plays which is higher than most RBs. White had a quiet week 1 however he looked much better in week 2 and finally got into the endzone. Although he is not the hardest runner in the league, given his high usage and red zone opportunities he will be a viable fantasy starter / flex play each week.
QB Gardner Minshew Will Start For The Colts
With QB Anthony Richardson being ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Ravens, backup QB Gardner Minshew will now start for the Colts. Although he is no Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew went 19/23 for 171 yards and a TD last week once he came into the game. He should be able to hold his own while Richardson is out, however there is going to be a huge storm Sunday in Baltimore so don’t be surprised if the Colts run more than usual.
Team News:
Browns’ Head Coach Says RB Jerome Ford Will Be Their Feature Back Now That Chubb Is Out
With RB Nick Chubb being out the rest of the season, the Browns’ have pivoted to backup RB Jerome Ford and said he will be their main running back moving forward. Ford had 16 carries for 106 yards Monday night after Chubb left the game. He now will be one of the top waiver wire additions this week for a lot of people. If your team is hurting in the RB position, Ford is a solid player to pick up.
Bears’ Defensive Coordinator Resigns Wednesday Afternoon
In rather surprising news, the Bears’ defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned from the team on Wednesday. His departure sparked a lot of rumors and interest from the media but there has been no official word on what happened behind the scenes. Regardless, this resignation doesn’t affect fantasy owners too much since barely anyone has the Bears’ defense picked up (considering they are one of the worst in the league). However, if this resignation somehow makes the Bears’ defense even worse, any players that will be facing them should be an instant start.
Vikings OC Says Team Hasn’t Lost Confidence In RB Alexander Mattison
Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phelps told the press Thursday that the team has not lost confidence in RB Alexander Mattison yet, and they plan to keep using him as their starting RB. However, they also said that RB Cam Akers’ inclusion to the team could happen sooner rather than later. We might see Akers get some carries right away and start contributing to the Vikings’ offense. The addition of Cam Akers might spark a fire under Alexander Mattison because he now knows he has to play better or his role as the starter will be in jeopardy.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Not Ready To Crown Najee Harris The Bell Cow
When asked how he plans to handle the running back snap distribution going forward, Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t his usual emphatic self in supporting his struggling star. His response leads one to believe Harris is no longer the back to get the bulk of carries.
“We acknowledge that Jaylen Warren is a significant player and a guy that’s capable of being a significant component of what we do, as is Najee” Tomlin said. “We’ll make decisions about how we divvy up the labor based on what’s most advantageous in an effort to create victory this week.”
Last week, Najee Harris played 30 snaps to Jaylen Warren's 23 against the Browns. Outside of his one big run, Harris averaged only 1.6 yards per carry. Warren on the other hand averaged 3.3 yards per carry on 10 attempts. Warren also had 4 catches for 66 yards in the Steelers’ win over the Browns.
Even if the Steelers end up switching to Jaylen Warren as their primary back, fantasy owners should be cautious of starting him right away as the entire Steelers' offense still looks terrible. They will all need to improve before you can confidently start him or Najee.
Browns HC Says RB Kareem Hunt Will Play Sunday
Browns’ head coach Kevin Stefanski said that the newly signed RB Kareem Hunt will play for the team this Sunday against the Titans. Hunt is already familiar with Cleveland’s’ playbook since he has played with the team since 2019 and just left them this past offseason. Stefanski said they have not determined how much he will be used yet but emphasized that Hunt will be ready to go. Realistically they will probably ease him back into the offense since he hasn’t played any games so far this season so he is likely not worth starting this week but could still be a good fantasy option in the weeks to come.
Reddit Recap:
Each week we read every Reddit post on r/fantasyfootball and all the comments. We then summarize the most important threads and discussions below.
Main Takeaways From Each Game Week 2
These are the biggest takeaways that people saw after watching each game in week 2:
Seahawks vs. Lions
QB Geno Smith looked very good and Seattle’s receivers should continue to perform well moving forward
WR DK Metcalf looked great and was running great routes
RB Jahmyr Gibbs was more involved in the passing game but his overall usage was a little weird
The Seattle offensive line didn’t look that good
Saints vs. Panthers
WR Rashid Shaheed is a bonafide speedster, and although his volume was low he makes the most of every opportunity
The Saints offensive line looked bad and didn’t help QB Derek Carr a whole lot
The Saints defense is legit and did a great job pass rushing as well as stopping the run
The Panthers struggled to get first downs and were unable to establish the running game
Ravens vs. Bengals
WR Zay Flowers is the receiver to own from the Ravens
The Bengals offense is a little concerning and they look very flat to start the year
QB Joe Burrow aggravated his calf during the game and his status will be monitored as the week goes on
49ers vs. Rams
WR Puka Nacua is the real deal and should still be great even once Kupp returns
QB Matt Stafford looked good and his decline was greatly exaggerated
RB Christian McCaffery is the heart of the 49ers offense and should score big each week. Everyone else on their offense will switch off who has a big fantasy week
RB Kyren Williams looked very good and is worth starting
WR Deebo Samuel looked close to his 2021 self
Chargers vs. Titans
WR Keenan Allen is the Chargers favorite red zone target once Austin Ekeler is out
The Chargers defense is very bad and you should confidently start any player facing them
Titans RB Tyjae Spears looked amazing in the few carries he got. If Henry every goes down, Spears will be a fantastic pick up
Giants vs. Cardinals
When Saquon Barkley is out, Daniel Jones likes to run more himself
QB Josh Dobbs looked very good in the first half and was able to support his surrounding cast
WR Jalin Hyatt looked like the spark the Giants needed, he could be a great stash in deeper leagues
Dolphins vs. Patriots
TE Hunter Henry could save you from the TE wasteland and seemed to be Mac Jones’ favorite red zone target
WR Juju Smith-Schuster continues to disappoint and seems to be a non factor in the New England offense
The Patriots’ defense did a great job defending Miami’s deep threat game which in turn made Miami run the ball more, which they did effectively
Colts vs. Texans
WR Nico Collins is the real deal and a must start
WR Tank Dell also looked very good and could be worth the pickup in 12-team leagues
RB Zack Moss looked much better than Deon Jackson and is a solid option while Jonathan Taylor is out
QB Anthony Richardson looks like the top rookie QB this year and is a viable fantasy player
Packers vs. Falcons
RB AJ Dillon runs very slow and is droppable
The Falcons have a two headed monster at RB and both Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson will be amazing for fantasy
QB Jordan Love is legit and doing a great job of distributing the ball accurately
Bears vs. Buccaneers
WR Mike Evans still has it and played well
QB Justin Fields looked awful and does not do a good job of finding open targets
RB Rachaad White is the clear number 1 RB in Tampa and their running game will primarily go through him
Jets vs. Cowboys
RB Tony Pollards usage was insanely high; if he stays healthy he could finish as the top overall RB this year
The Cowboys defense is scary good and has elite pass rushing
WR Garrett Wilson is good enough to be startable every week regardless of who is throwing to him
RB Dalvin Cook looks like a shell of his former self. He was running slowly and struggling
Commanders vs. Broncos
WR Jahan Dotson was very disappointing but is not droppable yet
QB Sam Howell looked pretty good and does a good job spreading the ball out amongst Washington’s receivers
RB Brian Robinson Jr. is a stud and is worth starting
RB Samaje Perine played in a lot of snaps but barely got involved in the offense
The Denver defense is bad and is unable to make key stops
Vikings vs. Eagles
RB D’Andre Swift looked explosive and if he continues to get 15+ touches each game he will be a top RB
The Vikings defense is bad so Kirk Cousins will be throwing the ball a lot to keep them in the game
RB Alexander Mattison did not look good at all
WR Justin Jefferson cannot be covered effectively and always seems to be open
Browns vs. Steelers
RB Najee Harris looked flat but it also didn’t help that the Steelers’ offensive coordinator was doing a terrible job playcalling
TE David Njoku did not look like a reliable TE option
WR George Pickens will continue to be the WR1 on the Steelers while Diontae Johnson is out
WR Amari Cooper looked good but QB Deshaun Watson is holding him back
Raiders vs. Bills
RB Josh Jacobs hasn’t been scoring a lot but his volume is still there
WR Stefon Diggs is still the Bills’ guy and will continue to get lots of targets
RB James Cook looked amazing but had red zone carries stolen from him
The Raiders offense was barely on the field and the Bills dominated time of possession with their offense being out there 40 minutes compared to the Raiders’ 19 minutes.
Chiefs vs. Jaguars
The Jaguars wide receivers almost scored many times but couldn’t get their toes in the end zone on a handful of passing plays
The Jaguars’ offensive line did a bad job protecting the inside running lanes
The Chiefs defense looked very good
TE Travis Kelce looked like his normal self and will help shake off any rust from the Kansas City offense
QB Trevor Lawrence looked good when he threw the ball but he didn’t have a lot of time to throw due to the Jaguars poor OL performance
Who Passed And Failed The ‘Eye Test’ Week 2
As you know, stats often don’t tell the full story of how someone played. Sometimes they play great but their statline might not look impressive. Other times their statline looks good but they actually looked bad on the field. These are the players who passed and failed the “eye test” in week 2:
Passed:
WR Puka Nacua (Rams)
K Jake Moody (49ers)
RB Bijan Robinson (Falcons)
QB Jordan Love (Packers)
RB Tyjae Spears (Titans)
QB Anthony Richardson (Colts)
WR Nico Collins (Texans)
WR Mike Evans (Buccaneers)
WR Rashid Shaheed (Saints)
Failed:
RB AJ Dillon (Packers)
QB Deshaun Watson (Browns)
RB Najee Harris (Steelers)
RB Miles Sanders (Panthers)
RB Dalvin Cook (Jets)
RB Alexander Mattison (Vikings)
Top 10 Defenses To Start For Just Week 3
Here is a list of defenses to target for just week 3 (bold = team to start). These teams have favorable matchups:
Cowboys vs. Cardinals: 9.8 points (Projection) - Taken in 98% of leagues
Ravens vs. Colts: 9.3 points (Projection) - Taken in 52% of leagues
Patriots vs. Jets: 9.0 points (Projection) - Taken in 64% of leagues
49ers vs. Giants: 8.7 points (Projection) - Taken in 99% of leagues
Bills vs. Commanders: 8.3 points (Projection) - Taken in 93% of leagues
Eagles vs. Buccaneers: 8.2 points (Projection) - Taken in 70% of leagues
Jaguars vs. Texans: 8.1 points (Projection) - Taken in 26% of leagues
Chiefs vs. Bears: 7.8 points (Projection) - Taken in 46% of leagues
Browns vs. Titans: 7.6 points (Projection) - Taken in 78% of leagues
Dolphins vs. Broncos: 7.1 points (Projection) - Taken in 70% of leagues
Buy, Sell, Hold Player Discussion
As we approach week 3, some players have managers wondering what to do with them. Here are some who people are curious about as well the consensus from Redditors on what to do with them:
RB Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots) - Buy/Hold
WR Jordan Addison (Vikings) - Buy
WR Calvin Ridley (Jaguars) - Buy
WR Mike Evans (Buccaneers) - Buy/Hold
RB D’Andre Swift (Eagles) - Sell High
RB Raheem Mostert (Dolphins) - Sell
WR Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins) - Hold
RB Brian Robinson Jr (Commanders) - Buy
RB Kyren Williams (Rams) - Hold
RB James Cook (Bills) - Buy/Hold
RB Joe Mixon (Bengals) - Buy Low
WR Jahan Dotson (Commanders) - Sell
Why You Should Know Who Titans’ RB Tyjae Spears Is
If you don’t know who RB Tyjae Spears is yet it’s time you learn. Spears is the Titan’s backup RB and has looked very good in the limited carries he has gotten so far. He currently ranks 4th in the NFL in yards after contact per attempt, 2nd in missed tackles per attempt, and 2nd in the elusiveness rating metric. Spears isn't going to put up a lot of points right now but he is a top backup to stash for later in the season in case Derrick Henry goes down. Here are Spears' stats so far into this season:
Week 1: 3 rushes for 27 yards (9 yards/per carry average)
Week 2: 8 rushes for 49 yards (6.1 yards/per carry average)
He hasn't had a lot of opportunities so far but in the few carries he got he's looked very good, averaging almost 7 yards per carry. The Titans also have one of the easiest schedules after week 11 and play all the worst run defenses to close out the year. If Henry goes down, you are looking at a potential league winner.
Tropical Cyclone Expected To Impact 3 Games Sunday
A tropical cyclone seems to be tracking for a direct hit Sunday to 3 games:
Washington Commanders vs. Buffalo Bills
Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots
The storm itself will dump plenty of rainfall (possibly 3 to 5 inches) as well as onshore winds of 35-45 mph. If this is the case come Sunday, expect teams to favor their run game run. We may also see a good amount of turnovers / missed field goals so fire up any of these defenses because they will probably score a lot of fantasy points. You should be cautious of starting any wide receivers and kickers playing in these games if the weather is still that strong come Sunday.
Will Jake Moody Be The Top Kicker This Year?
Through the first 3 games of the year, 49ers K Jake Moody has put up 14, 14, and 12 fantasy points. These are practically RB2 numbers and can help a lot of fantasy teams considering how consistent he is. He is 9/9 with field goal attempts this year and also is 9/9 for extra points made. Moody has a great leg and can easily hit 50+ yarders. He also has the perfect offense that can easily get down the field, but not score a TD every trip to the RZ. Moody is only rostered in 54% of ESPN leagues, if you are looking for a kicker to pick up he should be at the top of your list.
Buy-Low RBs To Target In Trades
It seems like everyone is already hurting for RBs this year and looking for someone to help their team. Some RBs have not been off to a great start but should pick it up as the season goes on. If you are looking for a potential buy-low RB, these are the players people on Reddit are trying to snag right now for their own teams:
Breece Hall (Jets)
Javonte Williams (Broncos)
David Montgomery (Lions)
James Conner (Cardinals)
Dameon Pierce (Texans)
Miles Sanders (Panthers)
Josh Jacobs (Raiders)
Alexander Mattison (Vikings)
Injury Updates:
RB Austin Ekeler Is Ruled Out For Sunday’s Game
The Chargers’ officially rule out RB Austin Ekeler ahead of Sunday’s game against the Vikings. This will be his second straight missed game and comes at a bad time considering the Chargers are 0-2 to start the year and desperately need a win. With Ekeler out, backup RB Joshua Kelley will lead their backfield. Joshua Kelley did very little against the tough Titans run defense last week while stepping into the starting lineup for Austin Ekeler. However he should find more success against the Vikings defense that just got ran on for 250 yards and three TDs on the ground last week by the Eagles.
Cowboys’ CB Trevon Diggs Will Miss The Remainder Of The Season
During Thursday’s practice, All-Pro CB Trevon Diggs tore his ACL and will now miss the rest of the year. This is a huge hit to the Cowboys defense and his absence will certainly be felt by Dallas. The Cowboys have the highest scoring defense this year in fantasy so hopefully they will be able to keep up the production even without Diggs.
RB Saquon Barkley Says He Is Dealing With High-Ankle Sprain
Giants’ RB Saquon Barkley said that he is dealing with a high-ankle sprain which is why he missed Thursday night’s game against the 49ers. The Giants now have 11 days before their next game so he will gladly take that time to rest his ankle before they play the Seahawks in week 4. For many players a high-ankle sprain can mean missing anywhere between 4-8 weeks. However, Barkley had a similar sprain in 2021 and only missed 4 weeks so hopefully it’s closer to that timeframe for him once again. If you are worried about his production once he comes back, this is how his stats compared after his last ankle sprain:
Pre 2021 High Ankle Sprain: 54 rushing attempts for 195 yards (3.61 YPC)
Post 2021 High Ankle Sprain: 108 rushing attempts for 398 yards (3.68 YPC)
Both RB Derrick Henry and WR DeAndre Hopkins Miss Practice Thursday
The Tennessee Titans’ stars are still dealing with some injuries as both Henry and Hopkins miss practice this Thursday. RB Derrick Henry is dealing with a toe injury while WR DeAndre Hopkins is nursing an ankle injury. If both players end up sitting out Sunday against the Browns, don’t be surprised if WR Treylon Burks and RB Tyjae Spears lead the way for the Tennessee offense.
Both Packers’ WR Christian Watson & RB Aaron Jones Limited In Practice Friday
Packers’ WR Christian Watson returned to practice Friday but was limited as he is still dealing with his hamstring injury. RB Aaron Jones is also dealing with his own hamstring injury and was limited in practice as well. Both of them are officially questionable for Sunday’s game against the Saints. Fantasy managers are eager for both players to return to the starting lineup as both are a crucial part of the Green Bay offense.
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