NFL Player News

Kincaid continued to split time at tight end with Dawson Knox but led the team in targets regardless. Even so, seven short-area targets were not enough to return meaningful fantasy value for the fourth consecutive week for the second-year tight end, particularly considering his weak red zone role. Fantasy managers that invested premium draft capital in Kincaid are surely left wanting more through the first month of play.

Knox has been here before. The former TE1 of the Bills found himself in a familiar role with Dalton Kincaid (knee) sidelined and made the most of his opportunity. Knox hauled in a long 24-yard pass in the second quarter that helped set up a James Cook touchdown and has now topped 40 receiving yards in three of his last four games. The Bills now head into their Week 12 bye and will return in Week 13 to face the 49ers. Assuming Kincaid is back, Knox won’t have any stand-alone value in that game.

With Keon Coleman (wrist) out, Samuel has seen increased usage in back-to-back weeks and made the most of his opportunities on Sunday against the Chiefs. Samuel’s longest play was a 21-yard reception in the second quarter, but his biggest play came early in the fourth quarter when he found the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown to put the Bills up 23-14. Samuel’s usage largely hinges on the return of Coleman, who could be back after the team’s Week 12 bye to face the 49ers in Week 13. If Coleman is active, Samuel won’t have any fantasy upside in that game.

Shakir continues to hog all the targets in a Bills offense that spread the ball around to nine different players in Sunday’s win. He hauled in two key passes on back-to-back touchdown drives late in the second half, with his biggest gain coming on a 22-yard play. Shakir briefly left with a rib injury after taking a hard hit, but returned to action soon after. Whether or not his injury lingers into next week won’t matter as the Bills head into their Week 12 bye. We’ll go ahead and assume he’ll be ready for Week 13 when the Bills return to face the 49ers.

Walker turned in his third straight inefficient rushing day but not for a lack of trying. He forced seven missed tackles at a 0.5 per-carry rate. Both figures are his second-best marks of the year. Fantasy managers should expect Walker to produce a high-end RB1 outing against the Cardinals’ pushover run defense in Week 12.

Cooper hauled in passes of 25 and 30 yards in this one. Despite the two-catch outing, there’s no denying Cooper’s impact, as the Bills punched in two touchdowns on the two drives where he recorded a long catch. The veteran receiver battled through a wrist injury but did not appear to suffer any setbacks. He now as the Week 12 bye to get right, and should be good to go for Week 13 against the 49ers.

The Raiders kept things close through two quarters but started taking on water in the second half, forcing them to cut Gardner Minshew loose. For Minshew, that meant peppering Bowers with easy looks to keep the chains moving. In turn, Bowers did nearly all of his damage in the final two quarters. He only had one catch for 14 yards through 30 minutes of action and then lit the Dolphins up for a dozen catches, 112 yards, and a touchdown in the second half. Staring down a likely loss to the Broncos next week, we should expect a similar game script for the Raiders in Week 12. Bowers will remain a contender for the TE1 overall rank next week.

Cook was bottled up by the Chiefs all night long. He averaged just 1.9 yards per touch on the evening but pulled through for his fantasy managers with two short rushing touchdowns. Cook was out-rushed by Josh Allen but played well ahead of Ty Johnson and Ray Davis — per usual. Now entering their Week 12 bye, Cook and the Bills will return in Week 13 to face the 49ers.

Sutton led the Broncos in all receiving categories but was somehow not one of the four Denver pass catchers to reel in a touchdown from Bo Nix in his best showing of the 2024 season. Sutton had a 23-yard reception in the first half on the Broncos’ second scoring drive of the game, but was quiet in the second half as the Broncos nursed a hefty lead against a lifeless Falcons team. Sutton now has at least eight targets in four straight games as Nix’s clear No. 1 option. He’ll be a top-24 option in Week 12 against the Chargers.

London was held in check along with the rest of the Atlanta offense. The Falcons benched their starters through much of the fourth quarter. London led the team in every receiving category and could see a boost in targets next week against the Chargers if Darnell Mooney misses time with a hamstring injury he sustained against the Broncos.

The Chiefs, inevitably, weren’t going to keep “getting away with it,” but the question was who would stop them. The Bills set the tone early, picking off Mahomes on the second play of the game. Mahomes got the Bills on the board in the second quarter when he found Xavier Worthy for a 10-yard touchdown, and added a second touchdown before halftime on a two-yard pass to Noah Gray. Mahomes and Gray would link up again on a short touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Chiefs were unable to keep pace with Josh Allen and the Bills, who have scored 30-plus points in four-straight games. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have hit that total only once this season. Mahomes and the Chiefs get an easy bounce-back game in Week 12 against the Panthers. A positive game-script could yield underwhelming fantasy results for Mahomes, who could profile as a fringe QB1/QB2 next week.