NFL Player News

RapSheet lays out that the Texans, Colts, Falcons, and Panthers are all expected to have heavy interest in trading up to the No. 1 overall pick. This is not breaking news if you’ve been following these rumors -- the Colts have been heavily linked to a trade up, the Panthers appear to be choosing between Derek Carr and a trade-up, and the Texans could move up one slot to secure “their guy,” whoever that is. The Falcons being added to the conversation is new, but not altogether unsurprising given how Desmond Ridder played down the stretch. It certainly feels like something will come together for the Bears before the draft.

The struggles continue to mount for Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, who turns 41 tomorrow, threw for 185-2-1 in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, with his interception resulting in a 92-yard pick-six to defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Rodgers has now gone three straight games without hitting 200 passing yards, and completed less than 60 percent of his passes for the third time this season. Sitting on a 3-9 record, there’s little reason to continue starting Rodgers, who has been rumored to be dealing with a myriad of minor injuries despite his attempt to downplay them. Ulbrich didn’t exactly rule out the possibility of Tyrod Taylor making the start in Week 14 against the Dolphins, so we’ll see if a QB change comes later in the week.

The good news is that Stevenson’s touch and yardage totals were strong in this game after a quiet Week 12 that saw him amass 13 yards on eight carries without a single reception. The bad news is that Antonio Gibson looked far more explosive on his seven carries. He ran for 62 yards and found the end zone. Stevenson and the Pats will regroup during the bye, though they will emerge as considerable underdogs to the Cardinals in Week 15. Stevenson will remain a touch-based RB2 for that game.

The targets are there, but they aren’t going anywhere. Engram has had five or more targets in every game since Week 7, and has yardage totals over that span of: 35, 36, 45, 40, 28, and now 41. He’s become a touchdown-or-bust player in an offense that rarely scores. This offense simply isn’t playing well enough to support Engram’s TE1 status as a tertiary receiver. He’ll be on the borderline again in Week 14 against the Titans.

He dropped one of his incompletions, but most of them floated harmlessly out of his reach. A second potential touchdown was thrown in a spot where Thomas Jr. could only catch it and land with a foot on the line. Thomas Jr. has a score or 80 yards in five of his last seven games and will be a fantasy WR3 in Week 14 against the Titans due to the extremely deficient recent form of the Jaguars passing attack.

He turned around Texans corner Kamari Lassiter on his score, getting the rookie to commit DPI while falling down. Washington also had another 30-yard target ruled incomplete and upheld on challenge, while a second score floated harmlessly over his head as Mac Jones missed him open on the goal line. Washington might be worth a waiver claim this week, but it’s hard to trust the Jaguars to consistently score at this point. He’ll be a potential PPR scheme against the Titans in Week 14.

Okonkwo was targeted early in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders, with four of his six targets coming in the first half. His six targets were his most since Week 8, but the third-year tight end continues to be a lightly-used option in Tennessee’s passing game. Okonkwo won’t have much fantasy upside in Week 14 when the Titans face the Jaguars.

Conner was busy early in a massively run heavy game script. He didn’t get much going on the ground outside of a 16-yard run that involved a couple impressive broken tackles. Conner was somewhat involved in the Arizona passing attack, running a pass route on 24 of the team’s 55 drop backs and seeing four targets from Kyler Murray. With 17 of 26 running back carries, he continued dominating the Cards backfield. Conner will be a top-15 option in Week 14 against a vulnerable Seahawks defense.

Mitchell’s first target was an end zone look that was well-defended by Pats corner Marcus Jones. His second was a deep shot late in the game where Jones again got the better of Mitchell. This time, Mitchell had the upper hand at the catch point but still couldn’t come down with the ball. It’s just not happening for Mitchell this year. He’s struggling to earn targets and fails to do anything when the occasional look comes his way. Mitchell is not on the fantasy radar as the playoffs approach.

The tight end finished third on the team in targets and had a solid game with the Bengals trailing and needing to throw for most of the contest. It’s unlikely that the gamescript will lead to that much throwing next week against the Cowboys, but the Bengals should be able to move the ball with ease, which could set up a touchdown opportunity for the 29-year-old. That keeps him on the low-end TE2 radar for next week.