NFL Player News

Jacksonville reportedly picked up the 160th overall pick and 240th overall pick to move down one spot. Banks (6’0/197) is a self-made three-star recruit who went to his home-state school of Maryland and became an immediate core contributor for the Terps secondary. He entered the starting lineup in the fourth game of his true freshman season, using his 4.35s 40 speed and ready-made frame to earn 478 snaps. The pandemic and a shoulder injury limited Banks to just seven games from 2020-2021, but his 38 tackles, 9 PBU, and 43% catch rate allowed merited Honorable Mention All-Big Ten level attention last year, putting Banks on the NFL Draft radar. A menace to contain in the run game, he only missed one tackle in 29 attempts which earned him a pristine 89.2 tackling grade from PFF. Though his 2022 campaign was no-doubt impressive, Banks really started climbing the board after his sizzling Combine performance, testing in the 99th percentile in the 10-yard split (1.45s), vertical (42”), and broad jump (11’04) for a near-perfect 9.99 RAS. The physically gifted corner is clean in his transitions and has a relentless will to compete and play through the catch.

Alexander is now on track to return against the Saints this week. The Packers’ No. 1 CB has been sidelined since Week 12 so his likely return is a welcome development for his team’s secondary. Alexander’s return could be particularly consequential if Chris Olave (concussion) suits up on Monday night.

This is Musgrave’s fifth straight LP designation since the Packers opened his 21-day practice window, telling us little about his Monday Night Football status. Musgrave was kept inactive last week. If he is able to practice in full tomorrow, he should be good to go. Fantasy managers can only view him as a touchdown-dependent TE2 though, playing behind Tucker Kraft.

Brown practiced in full throughout the week and will now make his Chiefs debut on Saturday versus the Texans. The Chiefs will ease Brown back into the lineup, keeping him off the fantasy radar for Week 16. However, his return makes already thin bets in Xavier Worthy and DeAndre Hopkins that much worse for fantasy purposes. Hopkins has been a part-time player since joining the Chiefs and now there’s even more of a threat to his routes. Xavier Worthy, on the other hand, runs all of the routes but rarely sees WR1 usage. His 11-target outing in Week 15 will keep him in the WR3 ranks for Saturday’s matchup with Houston.

Valdes-Scantling is currently the Saints’ No. 1 WR so this is a concerning development. The volatile field stretcher has been absent through two Week 16 practices and is currently on the wrong side of questionable for Monday night.

Meyers has been nursing the ankle injury for a few weeks. He was limited in the first two practices ahead of Week 16 but never appeared to be at risk of missing Sunday’s game. Meyers was upgraded to a full session before being cleared from the injury report. With Aidan O’Connell back under center, Meyers can be trusted as a volume-based WR3 once again.

Olave’s continued limited participation at least bodes positively for his overall health. Assuming he returns for his team’s Week 16 Monday Night Football matchup against the Packers is likely premature though. The Saints have handled his situation with an abundance of caution thus far.

Strange was limited in all three practices this week but doesn’t have a designation heading into the weekend. The light sessions were likely maintenance after Strange saw a career-high 12 targets in Week 15. He came down with 11 of the looks for 73 yards. Strange’s newfound role has him pushing for TE1 status in a great matchup versus the Raiders.

Kamara’s second DNP of the week is hardly news after beat reporter Nick Underhill reported he is unlikely to play and considered week-to-week after suffering a groin injury. A Week 17 return looks like the best possible outcome for Kamara. Kendre Miller is an RB2, starting in Kamara’s stead.

Gay missed the first two practices of the week but was upgraded to a full practice on Friday. He should be good to go for Week 16. The fact that the Colts haven’t added a kicker to their practice squad all but confirms this.

Pittman was held out of practice on Wednesday but returned for full sessions in the following two practices. He routinely gets days off, so this is nothing new. Pittman has had a shockingly high floor over the past month, catching at least five passes for 46 yards in four straight games. Pittman is seeing more than enough targets to weather the ups and downs of Anthony Richardson, putting him just outside of the WR2 ranks for Week 16.