NFL Player News

Whitehead and Lewis were both late-round picks last spring, while Palmer is a four-year veteran. Whitehead and Lewis combined for just three snaps on defense as rookies, while Palmer has only made nine starts in four years. The Lions should be on the lookout for low-cost vets on the open market.

Johnston narrowly avoided injuring both of his legs, briefly leaving the game to get checked out after a bizarre incompletion sequence. Johnston showed his best and worst traits against the Buccaneers, blasting through three would-be tacklers on his 13-yard touchdown and later falling over while running a deep route, leaving Jamel Dean free to snap Justin Herbert’s streak of 357 interception-free passing attempts, leaving him fifth all-time and one pass away from Tom Brady’s fourth-place 358-pass mark. Johnston will be his typically volatile WR3/4-self against the Broncos in Week 16. Expect Herbert to continue peppering him with downfield targets against the blitz.

Nix had one of his most uneven performances of the past couple months. He airmailed a couple passes for interceptions and was not on the same page with No. 1 wideout Courtland Sutton, who eventually caught one of Nix’s three scores on the day. Nix also connected with tight ends Adam Trautman andNate Adkins for touchdowns. With multiple touchdown tosses in four of his past five games, Nix has become a reliable option in 12-team formats. He’ll be a top-15 play in Week 16 against the Chargers. Nix had 216 yards and two TDs in Week 6 against LA, along with 61 yards on the ground.

McConkey looked like he was primed for a big day, catching 3-of-3 targets for 27 yards and one touchdown on the first drive but the Buccaneers’ pass rush ultimately foiled the Chargers’ offensive game plan. McConkey showed no ill effects from his shoulder and knee injuries. The Chargers face another blitz-happy defense in the Broncos next week and McConkey remains the team leader with 34 targets earned against the blitz. He is WR2-viable in Week 16.

Shakir was tied for the team lead in targets in a game where the Bills leaned heavily on running backs and tight ends in the passing game against a banged-up Lions defense. Shakir did show his typically elite balance, pin-balling off tacklers for key first down catches and his touchdown. He remains Josh Allen’s clear go-to receiver and should be in for a solid game against the Patriots next week.

Kincaid was tied with Khalil Shakir for the team lead in targets and could have had a bigger day after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen in the fourth quarter was called off due to a suspect holding penalty. The Bills clearly wanted to get Kincaid involved in the passing game after he missed the last four weeks, but he remains more of a high-end TE2 due to the competing weapons in the Bills’ passing attack.

Tucker rushed inefficiently against the Chargers but did notch a 37-yard kickoff return. He offers no standalone value but remains a high-upside bench stash for the fantasy football playoffs.

Cooper led the team with 14 targets last week but didn’t see a single one today. However, of the 32 targets the Bills had on the day only seven went to receivers who were not Khalil Shakir. The Lions secondary has been the strength of their defense all season, so the Bills chose to attack their defense with running backs and tight ends, which worked incredibly well. Cooper should be back in a bigger role next week against the Patriots.

White checked all of the boxes against the Chargers. His day was briefly jeopardized when he limped off after a red zone play but he was able to return after a short break. The big-bodied pass-catching specialist remains coaching catnip despite his inefficient rushing and ball security error; he is firmly entrenched as the Buccaneers’ primary RB in both scoring position and on pure passing downs. He is a worthwhile flex option against the Cowboys in Week 16.

It wasn’t a high-usage game for Coleman in his first game back since injurying his wrist in Week 9, but he made a huge play by getting open deep when Josh Allen was rolling out of the pocket in the third quarter. His long catch set up a crucial Bills’ score to take control of the game. There should be better games on the horizon, but Coleman is a touchdown-dependent WR3 in fantasy leagues because of how many options there are in the Bills’ passing game.

Patrick has been emerging as a threat to Jameson Williams’ status as the number-two wide receiver in Detroit for a few weeks now, and he out-targeted Williams again today. Some of that had to do with the Bills’ keeping their safeties deep to take away the big play, but Patrick is a solid receiver who can do everything pretty well, so he is going to continue to command targets. With the Lions’ defense continuing to struggle with injuries and shootouts potentially on the horizon, Patrick is on the deep-league radar.