NFL Player News

Capers, 70, turned down a defensive coordinator job with the Bengals two years ago before being hired by the Jaguars as a senior defensive assistant. The Lions needed some experience in the building with Dan Campbell taking on head coaching duties.

Mattison scored once on nine touches in Week 1 and got his second touchdown on the year on just four touches this week. Zamir White has easily out-touched Mattison in both games, but the Raiders staff seems to trust the latter near the goal line and on passing downs. Mattison will be a touchdown-or-bust RB5 for his Week 3 matchup with the Panthers.

Rachaad White briefly left the game in the first quarter with a groin injury, but came back after only missing a few plays. Irving would be next in line to take advantage if White were to miss time. He’s cut into White’s rushing workload as it is as White only out-carried Irving 10-7 against the Lions. White had the only running back target, but Tampa Bay ran so few plays it’s hard to draw much from this usage. Irving is already playing a decent amount, but would need an injury or official demotion for White to become a top 24 running back. Not much has changed with his role going into Week 3’s home matchup with the Broncos.

White out-carried backup Alexander Mattison 9-4 in this game. Mattison didn’t see a target while drew four looks. Despite being the clear RB1 in the backfield, White had a one-yard score vultured by Mattison in the second half. The backup runner caught a touchdown pass last week and White is still looking for his first score of the year. White loose grip on a low-value backfield makes it impossible to trust him for fantasy purposes. He’s at risk of slipping out of the RB3 ranks if he posts another dud in Week 3 versus the Panthers.

It was a “20 percent target share,” with the bad news being Justin Herbert attempted just 20 passes. Quentin Johnston hauled in five of them for 51 yards and two scores, putting him ahead of McConkey after the rookie won the Week 1 battle. The real takeaway is that no Chargers wideout is posting impressive box scores despite back-to-back wins to begin the season. This is the Jim Harbaugh offense we feared/expected. Props to Harbaugh on its real-life effectiveness, but it’s not to produce positive fantasy results until a good team actually pushes the Bolts. That is unlikely to be the Steelers next Sunday.

Osborn now has four grabs for 28 yards in two games. Osborn will undoubtedly pop up for the occasional five-catch game, but it’s not worth trying to predict when in this highly-limited offense.

Bowers led the Raiders’ in targets in his first NFL game and trailed only Davante Adams in targets versus Baltimore. He also came tantalizingly close to his first career touchdown this week. Bowers caught a deep shot from Gardner Minshew and fought through tacklers to the one-yard line before being brought down. Alexander Mattison punched in the goal line attempt one play later. Bowers is already being peppered with targets and showed his ability to pick up chunk games this week. He is moving up the TE1 ranks ahead of his Week 3 date with the Panthers.

Chandler out-rushed Aaron Jones 82 to 32 yards on the day, but lost out to Jones on pass-catching duties. Chandler looked spry and explosive on his ten attempts, ripping off a 25-yarder in the fourth quarter as the Vikings bled the clock with a lead. Chandler may have played his way into a shared backfield ahead of the team’s Week 3 matchup with Houston.

There will be weeks like this for the third round rookie receiver as long as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are healthy. Against the Lions, every receiver took a backseat to Godwin, who was incredibly efficient. Tampa Bay had just 19 pass attempts and 12 completions. The Buccaneers simply didn’t throw enough to support another receiver because they didn’t need to. McMillan is still on the radar in deeper formats, but he’s in no way an every week starter. Tampa Bay has a home date with the Broncos in Week 3.

“Pop” now has four targets through two games, something coach Jerod Mayo said has to change. “He’s one of our most explosive players, and that’s on us as coaches to put it together,” Mayo said. He’s correct, though the upside might be even more limited than expected in this arch-conservative offense. Douglas is looking safe to cut loose in most 12-team re-draft leagues.

Aiyuk took a backseat to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel on a day that saw Brock Purdy drop back 52 times — far more than normal for the 49ers offense. Aiyuk’s season has gotten off to a rough start. He has just six grabs for 71 yards through two games. He’ll look to get back on track in Week 3 against a weak Rams secondary.