Denver Broncos Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Broncos TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring, foot) is out for Saturday's game vs. the Lions. He was a full participant in Wednesday's practice but then sidelined on Thursday, when a foot issue was added to the injury report. We'll look for more details on that situation, but Dulcich remains off the redraft radar.

Lions WR Josh Reynolds (back) is questionable for Saturday night’s game vs. the Broncos. He was added to the injury report on Thursday and limited again in Friday’s practice. Reynolds’ absence could mean a snap boost for WR Jameson Williams, but Williams would still only be in play in DFS tournaments.

Broncos TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring) has been designated to return from IR and put in a full practice on Wednesday. We'll see if he plays vs. the Lions on Saturday night. Dulcich could not be trusted in fantasy lineups -- but it'd be nice to see him string together a few healthy games the rest of the way. He's played just 32 snaps all season.

Jets QB Zach Wilson returned to the lineup Sunday with probably the best performance of his career. The 301 yards marked the third time in his career that Wilson reached 300. But the 75% completion rate marked a career high, and his 117.9 passer rating beat his previous best by a wide margin. Wilson found RB Breece Hall and WR Xavier Gipson for TDs. He now gets positive matchups with the Dolphins and Commanders the next two weeks, before a tough Week 17 spot at Cleveland. It's too late in the year to consider trusting Wilson outside of superflex leagues (if there, even). But maybe Hall and WR Garrett Wilson will help our lineups in the fantasy football playoffs.

Broncos RB Samaje Perine (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Chargers. He didn’t practice on Friday but is evidently heathy enough to suit up today. Perine will likely continue to handle obvious passing downs for Denver but isn’t a viable fantasy play.

Broncos RB Samaje Perine (knee) is expected to play vs. the Chargers today, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Perine figures to continue to play in passing situations but isn't a viable fantasy option.

Broncos RB Samaje Perine (knee) is questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Chargers. He was a full-go on Wednesday and Thursday but did not practice on Friday. Hopefully Perine wasn’t in your Week 14 fantasy plans. But his absence would be a boost to RB Javonte Williams’ target projection. Perine has averaged 3.3 targets per game this season.

Jets HC Robert Saleh announced Wednesday that he's going back to QB Zach Wilson as the starter for Week 14 vs. the Texans and for the rest of the season. Wilson was bad over the first 10 games of the season, completing 59% of his passes at 6.1 yards per attempt. But QBs Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian combined for 5.2 yards per attempt on a 60.5% completion rate over the last two weeks. Consider Wilson's return a small upgrade for the Jets passing game. WR Garrett Wilson and RB Breece Hall, of course, remain the only viable fantasy starters in this offense.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton converted just 2 of his 7 targets for 77 receiving yards in Week 13 vs. the Texans. Fortunately, one of those catches was his ninth receiving TD of the year, which ranks third among NFL wideouts in 2023. Sutton's unlikely to continue scoring TDs at his current pace. But he has been the team's clear leader in end-zone opportunities, and QB Russell Wilson has been playing with solid efficiency. The Broncos’ remaining schedule ranks third-easiest for WRs, and Week 14’s showdown vs. the Chargers presents the veteran with the third-best WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Keep Sutton in your starting plans going forward.

Broncos RB Javonte Williams is questionable to return to Sunday's game vs. the Browns with a neck injury. We'll update his status when we know more. Williams' absence leaves Denver's backfield to Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin.

Update: Williams returned on Denver's second possession.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton hauled in 4 of 5 targets for 66 receiving yards and a TD in Week 11 vs. the Vikings. The wideout has now scored in five straight games. Through Week 11, Sutton ranks tied for fourth in red zone targets (14) among WRs and first in TDs (8). As magical of a run as he’s been on, Sutton will have a tough test in Week 12 against a Browns defense that ranks as the third-toughest WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed in 2023. He’ll be worth a look as a WR2/high-end flex option, but his success will be predicated on finding the end zone.

Jets QB Zach Wilson was benched in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Bills for QB Tim Boyle. Wilson went 7 of 15 for 81 yards, one TD, and one INT, leading the Jets to just 106 yards of total offense. We'll see how Boyle fares the rest of the way -- and what the Jets do at QB going forward. It won't be pretty no matter what they decide.

Broncos HC Sean Payton made good on his promise to get rookie WR Marvin Mims more playing time coming out of the Week 9 bye. Mims ran 28 routes among 37 Russell Wilson dropbacks in Monday night's win over the Bills. That 75.7% rate checked in just 2 routes behind WR Jerry Jeudy for second on the team and more than doubled Mims' previous high for the season. He didn't garner a single target, which will be kinda important going forward if he's going to actually catch passes. But the big boost in playing time shouldn't be ignored. Denver gets a favorable passing matchup with the Vikings in Week 11 and potential shootout spots vs. the Chargers (twice) and Lions among the final four weeks for most fantasy football leagues. Mims makes sense as a stash in deeper leagues, though you probably still can't start him yet.

Broncos rookie RB Jaleel McLaughlin grabbed attention with some high-efficiency performances earlier this season and briefly moved ahead of Samaje Perine in playing time and usage. McLaughlin has continued to garner a lot more carries than Perine, leading the veteran 22-4 in the four games since Javonte Williams returned from injury. But Perine has played more snaps than McLaughlin each of the past three games, including Monday night in the win over Buffalo. Perine's primary role obviously lies in passing situations, where he's splitting time with Williams. That hasn't meant more than 3 targets in a game since Williams returned. But it will limit McLaughlin's opportunities. McLaughlin has remained the touch leader between them over the past three games, but neither looks usable vs. Williams' current role -- unless you're desperate for an RB.

Broncos RB Javonte Williams racked up 25 touches in Monday night's win at Buffalo. That included his second straight game of 21+ carries and third straight game with at least 3 receptions. Williams has seen his three largest touch counts of the season -- 18, 30, 25 -- over the past three games. The receiving work has stayed in line with earlier performances, while the carries have climbed significantly. Winning three straight games has certainly helped. Denver spent a surprising amount of time leading both the Chiefs and Bills the past two games. The defense seems to have improved quite a bit, delivering its four best weekly DVOA ratings over the past four games. That included the best performance of any defense -- by a wide margin -- in Week 8 against K.C. If that continues, it'll help Williams' chances of continued higher rushing volume. The Broncos get negative RB-scoring matchups with the Vikings and Browns the next two weeks, but expect competitive games to help Williams' touch counts. He'll likely land comfortably inside RB2 range in our rankings for those two contests, with greater matchup upside over the final five fantasy weeks.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton secured 8 of 11 targets for 53 receiving yards and a TD in Week 10 vs. the Bills. The veteran has quietly put together a very solid fantasy season to date. Through nine games, Sutton has posted 7 TDs (including a score in four straight games) and ranks as the WR29 in PPR points per game (13.4) in 2023. It’s difficult for fantasy managers to count on TDs on w weekly basis, but it’s worth mentioning that Sutton ranks tied for fourth among WRs with 13 red zone targets this season. It’s reasonable to anticipate he’ll return WR2 or flex-level value again in Week 11 vs. a Vikings defense that ranks as the eighth-easiest WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Jets QB Zach Wilson completed 33 of 49 passes for 263 yards with no TDs or INTs in Week 9’s loss vs. the Chargers. He also added 7 rushing yards in the contest. Fantasy managers probably didn’t expect much from Wilson, the QB34 in fantasy points per game (10.1) in 2023. That said, some of his poor numbers can be attributed to the fact that Wilson was sacked a season-high 8 times on Monday night. Next week’s showdown vs. the Raiders won’t be much easier for him. The Las Vegas defense ranks as the third-toughest QB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Has continued light usage for Broncos rookie WR Marvin Mims frustrated you? Well, HC Sean Payton might be ready to change that coming out of the Week 9 bye. "I'm looking at my notepad and his number on it," Payton said Monday, according to Denver7's Troy Renck. "We are going to work our tails off to move that needle [to get him more involved]." Mims saw season highs in total snaps (28) and snap share (39%) his last time out. But he also hasn't seen more than 1 target in a game since Week 4. And he has exceeded 2 targets just once through eight games. So Denver and the rookie will have to show significant changes before Mims can approach fantasy-starter contention. But coming out of the bye should enhance the potential for big changes. Mims is down to 14% rostered in Sleeper leagues. Consider picking him up in your Week 10 waiver wire runs. If nothing meaningfully changes, we can always drop him again.

Broncos RB Javonte Williams stayed busy with 27 carries in Week 8. He wasn’t efficient, mustering only 3.1 YPC against a Kansas City unit down LB Nick Bolton. Still, adding 3 targets, Williams easily set a season-high in touches. He even added a receiving score on a designed screen. With his health and role trending up, Williams profiles as a clear RB2 going forward. He’ll face Buffalo after a Week 9 bye.

Jets QB Zach Wilson completed 17 of 36 passes for 240 yards with 1 TD in Week 8’s win vs. the Giants. He also contributed a team-leading 25 rushing yards in the contest. Sunday’s performance marked only the second time this season that Wilson has surpassed 200 passing yards in a game. Don’t be looking to start him in Week 9 vs. the Chargers outside of superflex leagues.