Falcons WR Drake London had a difficult go in Week 17, catching just 4 of 10 targets for 56 receiving yards vs. the Bears. The second-year wideout ends the fantasy season, having posted six top-30 weekly finishes in PPR scoring, two of which were top-5 performances. London didn’t have a terrible season by any means, but he only saw a bump in PPR points per game from 10.5 in 2022 to 11.1 this year. The bulk of his troubles come from inconsistent volume (6.7 targets per game) and the poor QB play from Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. Still, he’ll be entering his age-23 season in 2024 and did manage to put up consecutive seasons of 800+ receiving yards. London has a chance to see Atlanta make a QB upgrade in the offseason. Such a move would help his case of potentially elevating his value above being a low-end WR2 in dynasty formats, but we’ll have to remain in ‘wait-and-see’ mode on that front.
Bengals RB Chase Brown had just three rushes for 5 yards and 2 catches for 23 yards in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. Those 5 touches marked a slight dip vs. last week but a bigger decrease from Brown's previous three games. Joe Mixon, meanwhile, rebounded from two straight 13-touch games to dominate Brown 25-5 in that category. Brown hadn't reached the point of being usable in lineups in most fantasy formats, and that should continue for Week 18. We'll see whether Cincinnati decides to cut Mixon for cap savings ahead of next season. If so, Brown could get a shot at competing for the top job in 2024. But don't treat him as the likely 2024 starter for dynasty purposes or early best-ball drafting. Keep in mind we're talking about a fifth-round pick who had just 5 total touches before December.
Falcons RB Bijan Robinson posted 15 carries for 75 rushing yards in Week 17 vs. the Bears. The rookie was also able to haul in 3 of 4 targets for 11 yards as a receiver in the contest. Though Robinson’s debut campaign had its complications, he’s on pace to become the 17th rookie RB to accumulate 1,000 rushing yards in a season since 2013 and sits as the RB12 overall in PPR scoring. It’s not quite the dominant “2016 Ezekiel Elliott” first season that fantasy managers had hoped for, but it’s encouraging enough to remain optimistic about Robinson as a high-end RB1 in dynasty formats. The biggest potential boon for his value would be if Atlanta chose to move on from HC Arthur Smith after the season and allowed Robinson the opportunity to take on a larger workshare instead of splitting with teammate Tyler Allgeier. Be sure to keep up with us on that front as we head into 2024.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson dominated the Dolphins with 321 yards and 5 TDs in Week 17. The five scores tied a career high, and he did so on only 21 pass attempts. Isaiah Likely (2), Zay Flowers, Justice Hill, and Patrick Ricard accounted for Jackson’s TDs against a previously surging Miami defense. Baltimore clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC, so Jackson – and other key starters – might rest Sunday vs. Pittsburgh.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon ran the ball 21 times for 65 yards in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. He added 4 receptions for 22 yards and a TD. Mixon has been losing work to Chase Brown over the previous four weeks, but out-touched Brown 25-5 in this game. The Bengals have a potential out to cut Mixon after this season. If that happens, the soon-to-be 28-year-old (in July) would be no guarantee to find a new starting gig. Mixon's best bet for 2024 fantasy value would likely be to stick in Cincinnati.
Bengals QB Jake Browning completed 19 of 33 passes for 197 yards and a TD in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. He also ran for 32 yards a TD, which helped power a QB7 fantasy finish for the week. He gets an even tougher matchup in Week 18 against the Browns, who entered Week 17 as the third-toughest QB-scoring matchup by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Expect Browning to remain outside the top 12 in our Week 18 QB rankings. Longer-term, Browning has likely established himself as a solid backup to Joe Burrow. He'll be an exclusive-rights free agent after the season, meaning he'll have to stick with Cincinnati unless then Bengals don't want him anymore.
Packers WR Jayden Reed is questionable to return to Sunday night's game vs. the Vikings with a chest injury. He's been dealing with this issue since Week 12. Reed had a big first half, catching six of eight targets for 89 yards and two TDs. We'll update his status when we know more.
Update: Reed has been ruled out.
Coming off a season-high 312 passing yards on a season-high 8.7 yards per attempt in Week 16, Panthers QB Bryce Young crashed back to earth in the Week 17 shutout loss to the Jaguars. He completed 19 of 32 passes (59%) for 112 yards (3.5 YPA), 0 TDs, and one INT. That against a Jacksonville defense that entered the week 29th in passing yards allowed. It was Young's 10th game of the season with fewer than 200 passing yards; his ninth under 6.0 yards per pass attempt; and his seventh without a passing TD. It's been a worrisome rookie season for the first overall pick. He's had little help from his coaching staff, offensive line, or pass catchers. But he's also done very little to elevate the offense. Young will be buried in the 2024 redraft QB rankings. And he's closer to a sell-low than a buy in dynasty.
Vikings WR Jordan Addison (ankle) is active for tonight’s game vs. the Packers. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported this morning that the team originally believed Addison would miss multiple weeks with this injury and that he’ll need to be monitored throughout this game. The rookie is a risky fantasy play.
Packers WRs Christian Watson (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (chest, ankle) are inactive for tonight’s game vs. the Vikings. Jayden Reed is back after missing last week and should lead this WR corps tonight. Romeo Doubs joins Reed as Green Bay’s top two WRs, with Malik Heath, Bo Melton, and Samori Toure behind them.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa didn't sound concerned about his injured left shoulder after Sunday's loss to the Ravens. “Shoulder’s good," he told the media. "Just sore.” We'll tentatively expect Tagovailoa to play vs. the Bills next weekend but keep a close eye on his status throughout the week.
Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. returned from missing Week 16 with a shoulder injury to regain control of the team's receiving in Sunday's win over the Raiders. Pittman posted an unimpressive 5-46 receiving line on 7 targets. But he drew a target on 30.4% of the team's pass attempts and claimed 33.3% of Colts completions. WR Alec Pierce took his lone catch for a 58-yard TD to lead the team in receiving yards. Rookie WR Josh Downs followed with 53 yards on just 2 receptions. QB Gardner Minshew attempted just 23 passes, completing 15 for 224 yards on a day that found Indy running on more than half of its offensive plays. Pittman looks like the only startable Colts pass-catcher for most fantasy formats in Week 18. Indy faces Houston, which allowed Pittman 8 receptions back in Week 2. Pittman also caught 8+ passes in six straight full outings before the Week 15 game he left early.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith was on crutches and had his right foot in a boot after Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. Teams often put injured ankles in walking boots after games, so this doesn't necessarily mean that Smith is dealing with a significant injury. But he might be. We should get an update on his status within the next 24 hours.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins hurt his hamstring in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs. He's officially questionable to return, but we'd be surprised to see him back out there today. We'll keep you updated on Higgins' status going forward.
Update: Higgins, miraculously, returned for the second half.
The Raiders clearly led Indianapolis in time of possession (by 6.5 minutes) and ran 74 plays to the Colts' 53 in Sunday's loss. That led to particularly big numbers in the passing game. QB Aidan O'Connell attempted a season-high 47 passes -- just six higher than his second-biggest total, but 13 ahead of No. 3. His 30 completions and 299 yards also easily set season highs. The big volume -- and Las Vegas playing catchup late -- produced a whopping 21 targets for WR Davante Adams. He caught 13 for 126 yards and 2 TDs. WR Jakobi Meyers followed with a 6-56 line on 10 targets. Adams drew a target on 44.7% of O'Connell's attempts, claimed 43.3% of his completions, and tallied 42.1% of the receiving yards. Meyers' 10 targets, meanwhile, accounted for a just OK 21.3% target share. Expect all those numbers to fall -- probably by quite a bit -- in the regular-season finale against the Broncos.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud returned from a two-game concussion with a decent outing in Sunday's win over the Titans. He threw for 213 yards on 24-of-32 passing, with 1 TD, 0 INTs, and 1 sack taken. Stroud's 75% completion rate marked a season high, but his 6.7 yards per pass attempt marked one of his lowest averages all season. The numbers indicate Stroud didn't show any rust in the aftermath of the concussion. The shorter range of his passing for a second straight game, though -- 4.0 YPA vs. the Jets in the game he left early -- is worth noting. That was Houston's first full game without WR Tank Dell, who leads the team in average target depth for the season -- by more than 2 yards over No. 2 Noah Brown (according to Pro Football Reference). The recent trend for Stroud isn't enough to make him worrisome as a fantasy option if your league plays into Week 18. Stroud gets a fine matchup with Indy. But he probably doesn't present as much upside as he did before Dell went down.
Texans RB Devin Singletary carried 16 times for 80 yards in Sunday's win over the Titans, adding 3 receptions for 6 yards on 3 targets. That found him doubling Dameon Pierce's carry count and tripling Pierce's target count. Singletary has more than doubled Pierce in opportunities in four of five games since Pierce returned from injury. That includes a 47-15 lead for Singletary over the past three weeks. Week 18 holds a matchup with the Colts, who entered Sunday as the third-best scoring matchup for fantasy RBs. There will be upside to Singletary if you're playing Week 18.
Titans RB Derrick Henry managed just 42 yards on 12 carries in Sunday's loss to the Texans. That marked his third time in the past four games with 3.5 yards per carry or less. Henry also went without a catch for the first time since Week 3. He has finished seven of his past eight contests with 1 reception or fewer. That all makes Henry a shaky play for Week 18 vs. Jacksonville. And might we also see Tennessee give more work to rookie RB Tyjae Spears in the game's final season -- ahead of an offseason that will almost certainly see Henry leave? It wouldn't be a crazy move. We'll watch for any indication of Week 18 plans. Either way, you shouldn't be excited to play Henry in any format in Week 18.
Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins caught all 7 of his targets for 72 yards in Sunday's loss to the Texans. That beat his nearest teammate by 3 receptions and more than doubled any other Tennessee player in receiving yards. Hopkins caught Will Levis' only 2 completions among 6 pass attempts before the rookie left with an injury. Ryan Tannehill completed 16 of 20 throws in relief, targeting Hopkins with 25% of his attempts. Hopkins' 10.6 yards per catch for the game also marked his third straight outing with less than 11 yards per catch. If Levis can't go in Week 18, Tannehill should help Hopkins' catch-rate outlook but lessen his yardage upside. We'll also see whether the Titans indicate any different plan for player usage in the regular-season finale.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith got rolled up on late in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. He headed back to the locker room with trainers and did not return. The team never announced an injury. We'll update Smith's status when we know more.
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