NFL Player News

Starting his journey out of Southern Utah, McLachlan (6’5/244) was a wide receiver and tight end for the Thunderbirds before transferring to Arizona as a walk-on in 2022. He totaled 79 receptions for 984 yards and four touchdowns over his two seasons as a Wildcat. McLachlan is explosive and gritty on the field, with good athleticism to match his receiving potential. At the combine, he ran a 4.61 40-yard dash and jumped a 35-inch vertical, both top-four among tight end prospects. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says, “his ‘whatever it takes’ mentality is the kind of intangible that often turns prospects into pros.” While McLachlan profiles better as a receiver than a blocker at the next level, his intangible “hustle” will be appreciated in the NFL. There’s certainly opportunity for targets at the tight end position now that he’s in Cincinnati.

He took only two sacks this week, but Stroud remained consistently under pressure when the Texans didn’t have him working with a moving pocket. A late 28-yard, second-and-19 conversion out of structure to John Metchie showed that Stroud still has it, but the ecosystem around him is in rough shape between the offensive line and a sudden rash of receiver injuries. A late Stroud pitch-turned-fumble got stuck on to his ledger for good measure, making what looked like an easy closeout for the Texans a little more stressful than it needed to be. Stroud’s likely just a high-end QB2 for fantasy purposes against the Jets on Thursday night.

Despite Tee Higgins (quad) out, Iosivas did not make an impact on the game. He was targeted three times, failing to catch any of them. Jermaine Burton had a 41-yard catch while Trenton Irwin made a four-yard catch as TE Mike Gesicki was the actual No. 2 pass-catching option without Higgins. Iosivas should remain on fantasy benches moving forward.

Johnson tackled Brock Bowers on a first-down gain but it cost Johnson a trip to the medical tent. Bowers plowed through a second would-be tackler before planting his shoulder in Johnson’s chest, as the trio fell to the turf. Johnson’s status remains to be determined.

Mostert posted an ugly stat line when measured by yards per carry, but he handled much of the dirty work for Miami, artificially dropping his efficiency. That also meant he got the team’s goal line carries, two of which he converted for touchdowns. They were his first two touchdowns of the season. Miami got Tua Tagovailoa back for this game and immediately posted their highest-scoring week of the season. The offense should contniue to put Mostert in advantageous spots going forward. Mostert will sit in the RB2 ranks for his Week 9 matchup with Buffalo.

Andrews’ 36 receiving yards were his fewest since Week 5, but he did find the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown in the third quarter and now has four touchdowns this season — trailing only Tucker Kraft and George Kittle, who has yet to play at the time this was written. Andrews still feels like a risky bet on a week-to-week basis, but his production over the last four weeks is far more better than the 65 yards he totaled in the first four weeks. He’ll be a low-end TE1 in Week 9 against the Broncos.

With Tee Higgins (quad) out, Chase was the primary target for Joe Burrow, seeing 11 targets. However, much of these targets were shallow and he averaged under five yards per target. He scored a two-yard touchdown in the first quarter and was held in check for the rest of the game. Most notably, Burrow targeted him deep in the fourth quarter, but Chase was blanketed by Isaiah Rodgers and the play led to an interception. Despite the inefficient game, fantasy mangers will be happy with the touchdown and fire Chase up as a WR1 against the Raiders for Week 9.

With Jordan Love (knee, groin) limping around before departing in the third quarter, Jacobs turned in his second 100-yard rushing effort as a Packer and doubled his season touchdown total. Today was also just the second time this season he exceeded 20 carries. The highlight was a 38-yard third quarter score where the veteran bounced outside, shed some tackles, and made a near-sideline house call. Love’s health now becomes front and center for the Packers, who have a paramount divisional contest with the Lions in Week 9 before going on bye in Week 10. Jacobs could find himself the focal point of the game plan next Sunday.

Cousins, who threw for 509 yards and five scores in Week 3 against Tampa, ripped the Bucs again in Week 8. The Falcons moved the ball up and down the field at will, as Cousins found Kyle Pitts for two lengthy touchdowns and hit Darnell Mooney for a 30-yard TD strike. Rarely pressured, Cousins picked apart the Bucs from start to finish. He’ll be an elite fantasy play next week against the highly-exploitable Dallas defense.

The ankle injury that forced Flowers to miss two practices earlier in the week was a non-issue on Sunday, as Flowers emerged to lead the Ravens in targets, receptions, and receiving yards in the back-and-forth affair. Flowers’ day could have been much bigger if it weren’t for Lamar Jackson missing him on what would have been a wide-open 31-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, but fantasy managers won’t be disappointed with this effort. Flowers has eclipsed 100-yards in three of his last five games, and will be a fantasy WR2 in next week’s game against the Broncos.