Falcons WR Drake London managed only 31 yards on 4 catches against the Panthers in Week 8. His target share was only 17.8% — putting him behind Kyle Pitts (32.1%) and Damiere Byrd (21.4%). He’s now been held to no more than 40 yards in 5 straight. Until we see some signs of life, Drake will be just a deep-league dart throw this week against the Chargers.
Falcons TE Kyle Pitts came to life with 5 catches for 80 yards and 1 score in Week 8. Stunningly, he drew a season-high 9 targets (32.1%). Pitts found the end zone in the 2nd quarter on a simple play-action crosser. Overall, his size and athleticism showed up nicely in this one. And it’s encouraging to see his routes (27 on 31 Marcus Mariota dropbacks) at a healthy level. He’s in the TE1 mix for a Week 9 tilt with the Chargers.
With Chuba Hubbard (ankle) sidelined, Panthers RB D’Onta Foreman saw 26 carries for 118 yards and 3 TDs vs. Atlanta. He capitalized on the plus matchup to post the RB5 line for Week 8. While Foreman showed well as a hard-charging tackle-breaker, we expect Hubbard to return for Week 9 at Cincinnati. That’ll turn this backfield into more of a committee — and make both guys iffy FLEX options as road underdogs. Check back for updates on Hubbard’s health throughout the week.
Panthers WR D.J. Moore trounced the Falcons for 6-152-1 in Week 8. He saw 11 targets — a 30.5% team share — continuing a post- Christian McCaffrey/Robbie Anderson trend. Moore’s highlight came on a 62-yard deep ball that sent the game to OT — and showed off some awful defensive back play. Still, credit Moore for delivering on the type of performance we expected over the summer, especially in a plus matchup. With Walker remaining the starter for the foreseeable future, Moore will stick around as a weekly WR2. Next up is a Bengals squad that was smoked by Amari Cooper (5-131-1) on Monday night.
Lions RB D’Andre Swift returned in Week 8 to post only 10 total touches. He was out-carried 10-5 by Jamaal Williams but salvaged his fantasy day with 5 catches and a TD while isolated on a LB. Detroit jumped out to a big lead in this one before trailing over the final 15 minutes. While perhaps the team simply eased Swift back into action, it’s worth nothing that he participated fully in practice last Wednesday-Friday. We’ll see if his workload grows this week against Green Bay.
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill put up another monster line in Week 8 against Detroit, this time slashing 12/188/0. Hill saw 14 targets — a 38.8% target share. Tua Tagovailoa again delivered some underthrown deep balls, but Hill continued to make the necessary adjustments. The former Chief is now on pace for over 2,000 receiving yards over a full season. He'll face the Bears in Week 9.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa delivered 382 yards and 3 TDs against the Lions in Week 8. After getting down 21-7 in the 1st half, he played mistake-free football. As usual, he leaned on Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, with the pair accounting for 77% of his yardage. This one always shaped up as a high-upside spot against a bad Detroit defense, and Tua capitalized with the overall QB1 performance. He’ll remain a top-12 guy for the road ahead, including Sunday at Chicago.
Commanders DE Chase Young is expected to join team drills in Wednesday's practice, HC Ron Rivera told reporters Monday. Young is still working back from last season's ACL tear (plus other damage). The team has opened the 21-day window for deciding whether to return him to the active roster, and it sounds like he's expected to be ready for game action soon. It's tough to know how long it will take Young to get back to normal playing time, and how he'll perform. He's stashable in deeper IDP leagues, but don't overrate his fantasy football outlook.
Cardinals TE Zach Ertz scraped together 4 grabs for 34 yards and 1 score against the Vikings in Week 8. His TD showed off some remarkable sideline balance and power. But the key takeaway here is his 5 targets, which ranked 4th on the team. He’s now seen just a 12.5% target share in 2 outings alongside DeAndre Hopkins. Still, Ertz will remain in the TE1 mix for Sunday’s showdown with Seattle.
Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks said Monday that he's sticking with QB P.J. Walker for the Week 9 game against the Bengals. Walker followed an efficient passing day in the Week 7 win over the Bucs with 317 yards in Sunday's OT loss to the Falcons. Walker completed just 52.8% of his passes for the game, with a game-tying 62-yard TD at the end of regulation and an INT. Walker doesn't make for a great fantasy play himself. He has been good for WR D.J. Moore through 2 starts, though.
Bills HC Sean McDermott said Monday that the team plans to activate CB Tre'Davious White from the PUP list ahead of Wednesday's deadline. "He'll remain day-to-day, and not really going to get into speculating on whether he's going to play this week or not," McDermott said, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg. "We're just going to continue to take it day by day like we've done to this point." White has been getting some work in with the team since Week 6. We'll see this week how close he is to game action.
Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins sucked up 13 targets (29.5%) in Arizona’s Week 8 loss at Minnesota. He turned them into 12-159-1 and made a number of acrobatic catches in the process. On the week, Hopkins’ performance was enough to rank as the overall WR2 in PPR. A massive target magnet, Hopkins should continue rolling as a WR1. Note that Marquise Brown (foot) will miss at least a few more weeks.
Rams HC Sean McVay said Monday that he expects WR Cooper Kupp (ankle) to play vs. the Bucs this weekend. Kupp has some "tissue swelling" but no structural damage to that ankle, per McVay. We'll keep a close eye on Kupp's status throughout the week, but fantasy owners can tentatively expect to have him in Week 9 lineups.
Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee) is inactive for tonight’s game against the Bengals. That likely leaves Sione Takitaki as the #2 LB to Deion Jones. CB Greg Newsome II (oblique) and CB Greedy Williams (illness) are active
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins posted 232 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday’s win over Arizona. Cousins added a rushing TD from 17 yards out — his longest such score since 2016. He connected with K.J. Osborn and Johnny Mundt for a pair of goal line TDs, with Osborn’s catch coming on a beautifully placed ball. Cousins recorded the useful line despite a (stud-adjusted) so-so day from Justin Jefferson (6-98). We also saw Adam Thielen get shaken up on a play, but he ultimately returned to the field. Cousins figures to remain a top-12 option this week against Washington. After that, though, he gets tough draws at Buffalo and vs. Dallas.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray posted his best fantasy day of 2022 in Week 8, completing 31-of-44 attempts for 326 yards and 3 TDs. Murray also tossed 2 picks in a game for the first time since last year’s Wild Card matchup with L.A. His scores went to DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and Zach Ertz, as the QB again leaned on Hopkins (29.5% target share). While this offense still struggles with drive to drive consistency, Murray — who added 36 yards on the ground — showed on Sunday that he remains a weekly QB1. Next up is an improved Seattle defense.
The Ravens are acquiring LB Roquan Smith from the Bears for 2nd- and 5th-round NFL Draft picks. Smith is in the final year of his rookie contract, so we'd bet on an extension with Baltimore following. His arrival likely means the end of full playing time for Ravens LB Patrick Queen. They'll likely start together, but the move for Smith signals dissatisfaction with the middle of the defense. Queen has become a full-timer this season after seeing 80% and then 76% the previous 2 seasons. Smith's departure from Chicago leaves tackle upside for LB Nicholas Morrow, who was already playing full-time snaps. Joe Thomas stands 3rd among Bears LBs in playing time currently and might be the top candidate to absorb vacated snaps.
Update: The Ravens are also sending LB A.J. Klein to the Bears, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He'll likely get at least a shot at stepping into Smith's vacated role.
Vikings TE Irv Smith suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Cardinals, insider Chris Tomasson reports. Smith is getting an MRI on Monday to get a better look at the damage, but he figures to miss multiple games. He's droppable in standard-sized fantasy leagues. Smith's absence leaves lead TE duties to Johnny Mundt, who owns just 22 career catches, with 12 of them coming this season. We should see more volume funneled to WRs Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn with Smith out.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp is considered "day to day" with a "regular, low-ankle sprain" suffered late in the Week 8 loss to San Francisco, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He's got a chance to play [vs. the Bucs this weekend,] but you need to see how it responds, how swollen it gets, how it takes to rehab," Rapoport adds. "It seems like overall, the Rams star receiver is going to be fine, but we need to see how the week goes before we determine his availability." We'll keep a close eye on Kupp's status throughout the week. His absence would obviously be a big blow to the Rams offense, while leaving behind lots of volume for Allen Robinson, Tyler Higbee, Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek.
Ravens RB Gus Edwards has a "minor" hamstring strain, according to The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec. He reports that Edwards will be questionable for the Monday night visit to New Orleans in Week 9 "but hasn't been ruled out." The uncertainty on Edwards makes Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill each worth a look in waiver runs this week. We'd target Drake first, after he worked ahead of Hill each of the past 2 weeks.
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