NFL Player News

Chris Bober, Rudy Niswanger, and Tre’ Stallings are other uninspiring candidates. Welbourn has the most experience and biggest price tag.

Smith-Schuster was both ineffective and on-field throughout a Week 18 loss in which the Chiefs rested all valued players. Both factors bode negatively for Smith-Schuster’s potential playoff role. He should not be relied upon for fantasy purposes against whichever team the Chiefs face after their first-round playoff bye.

Herbert added 42 yards on four attempts. Nearly all of his rushing output came on a 41-yard scramble that ended less than five yards shy of the end zone. Playing for the No. 5 seed and a chance to face the Texans in the Wild Card Round instead of the Ravens, Herbert made quick work of the Raiders, piling up 17 points in the first half before burying them with another 17 in the second. He routinely made high-quality throws with ease, many of which went to Quentin Johnston. The second-year wideout had a career day, catching 13 passes for 186 yards. Rookie Ladd McConkey also crossed 1,100 yards with 95 on the day. The last time Herbert made the playoffs, LA melted down versus the Jaguars and blew a 27-point lead. Herbert will look to avenge that loss with a win over the Texans next week.

Juszczyk leaked out and was left uncovered on his 36-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. It was only his third score of the year in a season he finishes with 226 yards from scrimmage. Juszczyk’s 19 receptions were a disappointing total considering the 49ers’ injury issues at both running back and receiver. Heading into the final year of his contract, Juszczyk is out of guaranteed money as he goes on age 34. There’s little chance he’s back at his currently scheduled $4.1 million salary, but a restructure is a strong possibility.

A shoulder injury knocked Dissly out of the lineup in Week 14 and cost him a pair of games. He returned for a quiet performance, catching two passes for 21 yards. He split the tight end targets with Stone Smartt and Tucker Fisk. No other tight end saw a look in the passing game this week, solidifying Dissly as the team’s primary pass-catching tight end heading into the playoffs. He will be a touchdown-or-bust fantasy option for LA’s Wild Card Round date with Houston.

Taylor’s second spot start of the season went a lot better than his first in Week 16. With his long run going for “just” 29 yards, the first 100-yard outing of Taylor’s career wasn’t about only one big run. He more than doubled his previous personal best of 53 yards rushing from Week 18 2021. Good stuff, but not the sort of thing that is going to be a career-maker for a soon-to-be 27-year-old at this point. “PTJ” is headed back to unrestricted free agency, where the 49ers should be light favorites to re-sign him.

Wentz unfortunately delivered an unforgettably frustrating performance as the Broncos shut out the Chiefs. The Broncos’ elite pass rush dominated from start to finish, pressuring Wentz on a Week 18-high 43.5 percent of dropbacks while tacking 5.0 NFL sacks onto their league-leading 60.0 NFL-sack total. Wentz does not appear capable of leading the Chiefs offense if Patrick Mahomes were to miss time. The Chiefs are on bye next week, having secured the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed.

Haskins saw most of his work when the Chargers went into clock-killing mode. He ran eight times for 27 yards and a touchdown on LA’s final full drive. He was otherwise uninvolved in the game-plan and J.K. Dobbins saw the bulk of the touches. The good news for Haskins is that Kimani Vidal didn’t touch the ball on offense. If Gus Edwards remains out for the opening round of the playoffs, Haskins appears to have taken over as the team’s No. 2 back.

Fourth-round rookie Cowing doubled his previous season production in a game where the 49ers were missing Deebo Samuel and lost Jauan Jennings to a second quarter ejection. A month shy of his 24th birthday, Cowing doesn’t have the worst draft pedigree, but his age and size (5-foot-9) limit his upside even with the future of the receiver position uncertain in San Francisco via Deebo’s contract status and Brandon Aiyuk’s knee injury.

It was just his fourth catch as a Charger and his first touchdown with the team. Chark has played sparingly in LA even when healthy, but the loss of Josh Palmer put him in a more prominent role this week. Both he and Derius Davis saw some extra reps sans Palmer, who is dealing with a heel injury. If Palmer isn’t ready for the playoffs, Chark will have some single-game DFS appeal versus Houston.

Estime played well as a clock-killer in the second half but his most important play was on the Broncos’ first drive. On first-and-10 from the Chiefs’ 32-yard line, Estime helped set up Marvin Mims Jr.'s first touchdown, pulling off the play-action fake before contributing a road-grading block for Mims en route to the end zone. Estime is earning Sean Payton’s trust by doing the dirty work. He is a shaky RB4/5 against the Bills next week but Estime appears to be ending his rookie season on a high note.