The Eagles have agreed to a one-year deal with LB Shaquille Leonard. That gives the veteran LB a strong opportunity to reach the starting lineup. Philly already has LB Nakobe Dean (foot) on IR and missed LB Zach Cunningham (hamstring) in Sunday's loss to the 49ers. That left Nicholas Morrow as the position's only full-timer and Christian Elliss next at 75% snap share. We'd guess that opportunity was a key to Leonard choosing the Eagles, and we'll watch for word on his immediate role. Of course, Leonard hit the open market in part because his performance -- and fantasy production -- lagged well short of past seasons in Indianapolis. So don't get too excited about the veteran in your IDP league. But he's OK to pick up in deeper formats.
Titans HC Mike Vrabel said Monday afternoon that RB Derrick Henry is not in the concussion protocol, contrary to what ESPN's Adam Schefter reported this morning. "We checked on him last night, then checked on him in the morning," Vrabel said. We'll keep an eye on Henry throughout the week, but it sounds like he should be available for next Monday night's game vs. the Dolphins.
The Bengals have placed CB Cam Taylor-Britt (ankle) on IR. That means he'll miss not only tonight's game against the Jaguars -- which Taylor-Britt had already been ruled out for -- but also three more contests. That obviously means you can go ahead and drop Taylor-Britt from your redraft IDP team, if you haven't done so already. D.J. Turner and Chidobe Awuzie led CB playing time for the Bengals in Week 12, with Taylor-Britt out. No. 3 Mike Hilton remained in his usual range. Hilton is the best bet for fantasy production among the trio the rest of the way. He ranks among the top 20 DBs over the past five weeks.
Titans RB Derrick Henry has been placed in concussion protocol, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. It's the first documented concussion for Henry, and he has an extra day to get cleared with Tennessee playing Miami next Monday night. But he's still more likely than not to miss that game. Henry's absence would leave rookie Tyjae Spears as the Titans' clear lead back -- and a comfortable fantasy starter.
Cardinals RB James Conner dropped 105 rushing yards and 2 scores on Pittsburgh. He handled 25 carries against his former team, the second most of his career. Rainy conditions (Sunday's game was delayed twice) and a surprise 14-point victory helped Conner handle all but 4 team RB carries. He drew 2 targets (0 catches), but it's worth noting that he topped Michael Carter in routes, 15-4. Week 14 turns up a well-earned bye. An elite 49ers defense awaits following the rest.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp turned 8 targets into 6 catches, 39 yards, and 1 score in Week 13. He was out-produced by both Puka Nacua (4-105-1) and Demarcus Robinson (4-55-1). Three of Nacua’s catches came in the first quarter, as he was limited by rib/shoulder injuries. Still, Kupp wasn’t able to get much going in this one, beyond a short-range score that found him exploiting an open zone. That marked his first TD since Week 6. The 30-year-old has now been under 50 yards in six straight. He’ll profile as more of a WR2 for a tough Week 14 showdown at Baltimore. After that comes an ideal home matchup with Washington.
The Giants have designated QB Tyrod Taylor to return from IR, opening his three-week practice window. Taylor missed the last four games with a rib injury, so we'd doubt he needs much buildup time before he's ready to play again. The bigger question might be whether the Giants want to bother going back to the 34-year-old backup or just ride with Tommy DeVito the rest of the way. Neither is likely to be much of a fantasy factor over the season's final few weeks. But DeVito has managed finishes of QB20, QB18, QB7, and QB20 over his four games as the primary QB. We'll watch for word on the Giants' QB plans this week, ahead of a Monday night home date with the Packers.
Packers QB Jordan Love out-played Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes in a 27-19 win on Sunday night. (Not a sentence we expected to type.) Love completed 25 of 36 passes (69%) for 267 yards (7.4 YPA), three TDs, and 0 INTs. He threw scores in each of the first three quarters and then led a pair of FG drives in the fourth to fend off Mahomes and Co. Love became just the second QB to toss three TDs vs. Kansas City this season. His 267 passing yards were the second-most the Chiefs have allowed in a game this year. Love has now strung together five straight strong showings. He's completed 66% of his passes at 7.9 yards per attempt with 11 TDs vs. two INTs over that span. Love has finished as a top-15 fantasy QB in all five of those games, including four straight top-12 finishes. He might have lost WR Christian Watson to a hamstring injury in this one, which would ding his going-forward outlook. But Love gets nice matchups the next two weeks vs. the Giants and Bucs. He's earned QB1 consideration.
Packers WR Christian Watson injured his right hamstring late in Sunday night's game vs. the Chiefs. That ended a strong outing for Watson, who finished with seven catches for 71 yards and two TDs, plus 15 rushing yards. We'll see about the severity of this hamstring injury and when we can expect Watson back.
Chiefs LB Drue Tranquill left in the first half of Sunday night's game against the Packers with a concussion. We'll see about his status heading into next Sunday's game against the Bills
The Jets' offense was again putrid in Week 13's loss vs. the Falcons. The team benched QB Tim Boyle in the contest and has now moved on to its fourth signal-caller of the year, Trevor Siemian. Unfortunately, RB Breece Hall continues to be hamstrung by these poor circumstances. The second-year back posted 13 carries for 16 rushing yards on Sunday and only managed to bail out fantasy managers in PPR leagues by securing 6 catches for 29 yards. The Jets' remaining schedule isn't scary (18th RB strength of schedule per our adjusted fantasy points allowed), but the dismal offense relegates Hall to mid-to-low-end RB2 status from here on out.
If you're disappointed in the fantasy output from 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw in Week 13, there's a good explanation. He got ejected midway through the third quarter after an altercation with a security guard on the Eagles' sideline. It doesn't seem as though Greenlaw's likely to face further discipline for the incident. So go back to considering him a potential weekly starter for Week 14 and beyond.
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard dominated backfield work in Week 13 vs. the Buccaneers, tallying 25 carries for 104 yards and 2 TDs. Miles Sanders registered just 8 carries for 23 yards on 31.9% of Carolina’s offensive snaps. Sanders had seen at least 50% of the RB carries the previous two weeks, but that shifted dramatically in the first game after Carolina fired HC Frank Reich and RBs coach Duce Staley, among others. Reich and Staley were outspoken supporters of Sanders after the Panthers signed him in free agency, but Hubbard has outperformed the import all season. Carolina's remaining schedule ranks sixth-toughest for RBs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed, which hurts. But Hubbard will be worth RB2 consideration if he continues to control the backfield the way he did against the Bucs. Sanders can be dropped in most fantasy leagues, if you see something more interesting on the waiver wire.
Buccaneers RB Rachaad White handled 20 carries for 84 rushing yards and a TD in Week 13 vs. the Panthers. The second-year back also recorded 3 catches for 22 yards. The 23 touches were White's second-most this season. But he has reached 20 carries in three of the past five games and fallen short of 17 touches in just three games all season. The Buccaneers' remaining schedule ranks seventh-toughest for RBs, but White's usage has been game-script resistant. Five Bucs losses have seen White fall short of 15 carries. He has caught at least three passes in each of those, including 6+ receptions in each of the past three such games. White's also averaging 99.9 total yards per game since Week 7. Don't be scared by the difficulty of his matchups. Start White confidently (in most cases) the rest of the season.
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.
Texans WR Nico Collins ended Sunday with a 9-191-1 receiving line, reaching new career highs in receptions and receiving yards in Week 13 vs. the Broncos. This is the third time in 2023 that Collins has eclipsed the 100-yard mark and found the end zone in the same game. It’ll be vital for Houston’s offense that he maintains this success in the aftermath of rookie WR Tank Dell leaving the contest in the first quarter with a broken fibula. Fantasy managers were already starting Collins in lineups, but those seeking a Dell replacement should look no further than Noah Brown. While he didn’t record a catch on either of his 2 targets, Brown paced Collins with 100% route participation and snap rate in Week 13, clearly serving as the Texans' WR2. Plus, he’d recorded back-to-back 100+-yard efforts that yielded top-6 PPR finishes between Week 9-10 prior to being sidelined by a knee injury. Keep an eye out for Brown on the waiver wire.
RB Devin Singletary's stranglehold on the Texans' backfield has seemingly slipped away. Singletary logged 8 carries for 36 rushing yards with 1 catch for 4 yards as a receiver in Week 13 vs. the Broncos. The veteran appeared on only 45.6% of the team's offensive snaps on Sunday. By contrast, he'd seen the field on 75+% of Houston's offensive snaps in four straight games dating back to Week 8. It was teammate RB Dameon Pierce who led the way in the contest, finishing the day with 15 carries for 41 rushing yards and a TD. It appears the second-year back has resumed his leading duties after missing three games due to an ankle injury. With Pierce back to a more prominent role, it'll be challenging to trust either him or Singletary as much more than flex options in Week 14. Fortunately, they'll be facing off against a Jets defense that's allowed at least 130 rushing yards to opposing offenses in nine of 12 games in 2023.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith enjoyed a third straight strong outing Sunday, with TE Dallas Goedert (forearm) still out. Smith tallied a team-high 9 receptions for 96 yards on 11 targets in Sunday. He has reached 8 targets in a game six times this season. Half of those have come in the three games since Goedert went down. Philly expects to get Goedert back for Week 14 against the Cowboys. That could challenge Smith's target share. But it'll be tough to bet against Smith after five straight top-18 PPR finishes. He gets a challenging matchup with Dallas in Week 14 before a softer finish: three slightly positive matchups with the Seahawks, Giants, and Cardinals.
Niners QB Brock Purdy threw for 314 yards and 4 TDs in Sunday's lopsided win at Philadelphia. He hit Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, and Deebo Samuel (twice) for scores. It marked the fourth time in the past five games that Purdy threw for at least 296 yards (third game over 300) and the third game among the past four with at least 3 TD passes. Sunday's game marked a rebound from his QB25 fantasy finish in Week 12 against the Seahawks. Purdy gets a rematch with Seattle in Week 14, but we're not downgrading him. Two of the past four QBs to face the Seahawks have thrown 3 TD passes and finished among the top 3 fantasy QBs for the week. After that comes even better matchups with the Cardinals and Commanders in weeks 15 and 17, sandwiching a tough Week 16 spot vs. Baltimore.
On Sunday evening, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted that Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is scheduled to undergo ankle surgery on Monday. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, effectively making backup Mitchell Trubisky the starter. The Steelers are set for a quick turnaround, with their next game coming Thursday night vs. the Patriots. Consider Trubsiky as a low-end QB2 option.
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