NFL Player News

Cook struggled to find room to run against the top run defense in the league through the first month of play, even with opposing nose tackle Michael Pierce out of action with injury. Furthermore, Cook was sniped on the team’s only touchdown of the evening on Ty Johnson’s only touch, a three-yard touchdown scamper off the left tackle in the third quarter. Another difficult matchup on the ground awaits Cook in Week 5 when the Bills travel to Houston to face the Texans.

This was a sad showing for Pearsall, who had a chance to produce as the team’s No. 3 or 4 pass catcher with George Kittle sidelined. Pearsall completely flopped though, relegating him to that of a shaky bench stash option moving forward.

Cousins, who dealt with elbow and shoulder issues headed into Week 11, was sacked once but faced pressure on seemingly every second half drop back as the Atlanta offensive line was overwhelmed by an aggressive Denver front seven. Cousins and the Falcons seemed disinterested after the Broncos took a commanding lead. The Falcons rested their starters for most of the fourth quarter. Cousins will look to get back on track in Week 13 against the Chargers. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Week 9.

Bosa entered Week 11 dealing with a nagging hip injury but the in-game broadcast revealed that Bosa is more so bothered by the injury’s oblique-muscle component than his actual hip. Per Sandler, things took a turn for the worse in Week 11, saying “Bosa said he overcompensated on that second sack and now both obliques are hurting.” Sandler adds, Bosa “has some level of concern that he’s going to have to miss some time” as a result. The 49ers appear likely to be without their star defender against the Packers in Week 12.

We would say this is a new low, but Kelce caught one pass for just five yards in the Chiefs’ Week 2 win over the Bengals. Still, it was another disappointing game for the veteran tight end, who has five games on his ledger this season in which he failed to hit 40 yards while also being kept out of the end zone. This week’s dud comes on the heels of three-straight TE1 finishes, so we’ll put the overreaction on hold a bit. Kelce is still a must-start in Week 12 against the Panthers.

Samuel was essentially a non-factor with Jauan Jennings operating as Brock Purdy’s go-to pass catcher. Samuel’s short-are usage may be limiting the 28-year-old player, who remains intimidating but has perhaps lost a step as a post-catch dominator. His 4.4-yard aDOT is Samuel’s shallowest target depth among his healthy 2024 showings. He is a volatile WR2/3 against the Packers in Week 12.

Fantasy managers who started Travis Kelce were left shouting into the void on Sunday, as Gray caught not one but two short touchdowns in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. It was the first time this season that Gray found the end zone and it also marked the first two-touchdown game of his career. Fantasy managers who feel inclined to chase the points will want to remember that in his previous three games, Gray caught five combined passes for 41 scoreless yards. There’s no reason to get cute in Week 12 against the Panthers.

Jennings functioned as the 49ers’ clear-cut passing game alpha, hoarding targets all game long, six of which came on third down. He caught all six and converted four first downs in the process. Jennings’ highlight play occurred on a successful third-and-11 reception in which Jennings dragged four Seahawks defenders past the first-down marker. He is a WR1/2 against the Packers in Week 12.

After going for 8-86-2 in his second game with the Chiefs, Hopkins has totaled just seven receptions for 85 scoreless yards in his last two games. Hopkins’ four targets tied with Travis Kelce and Samaje Perine for the second-most on the team, while Xavier Worthy and Noah Gray tied for the team lead with five targets. The splash games will be sporadic for Hopkins in this offense, which makes him difficult to profile as anything more than a WR3 in Week 12 against the Panthers.

All of Worthy’s production came in the first half. The Chiefs featured him heavily on their first touchdown drive of the evening, as Worthy caught passes of 31 and 14 yards to set himself up for an eventual 10-yard touchdown. Worthy nearly hauled in another long pass on the following drive, but was unable to get both feet in bounds. Sunday marked Worthy’s biggest game since Week four, and he’s still competing with DeAndre Hopkins for targets. He conservatively projects as a WR3 in Week 12 against the Panthers.

The 49ers’ offense played inconsistently at times but Purdy scrambled extremely efficiently and was locked in with Jauan Jennings. Purdy averaged 8.0 yards per carry against the Seahawks and put the 49ers up 7-3 in the first quarter on a diving green zone scramble. He has now forced at least one missed tackle in five straight games. Purdy is a QB1 against the Packers in Week 12.