NFL Player News

With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined, Otton functioned as the Bucs’ top pass-catching option and made the most of his opportunity. Otton how has 17 catches for 181 yards and two scores over his past two games and appears to be a top tight end option in the deleted Tampa offense. Baker Mayfield looks to Otton first on critical plays, including near the end zone. He has a chance to be a top three or four option in Week 9 against Kansas City.

Fant only saw one more target than backup tight end AJ Barner. The rookie caught two passes and bested Fant with 34 yards. He finished second on the Seahawks in yards while Fant landed at fourth. Fant has three 60-yard games this year but is typically behind three or more pass-catchers in the pecking order for targets. He is buried in the TE2 ranks for his upcoming game versus the Rams.

On the plus side, Mattison is the only Raiders player to tally more than two rushing attempts so the lead back role is his to lose. He’s also caught 13-of-13 targets over the last three weeks. Antonio Pierce appears unbothered by Mattison’s rushing inefficiency though. After Trevon Moehrig returned a tipped Patrick Mahomes pass to the Chiefs’ three-yard line, Pierce had no issue slamming Mattison into stacked boxes three times in a row. The Raiders ultimately did not score on that possession. Mattison is an RB4 against the Bengals in Week 9.

It’s not a bad box score in a vacuum, but any added context makes the performance more disappointing. With DK Metcalf out, Seattle needed someone to step up and take over No. 1 receiver duties. Smith-Njigba paced Seattle in catches and yards but generated just one reception of 15+ yards and failed to find a 20-yard gain. With no ability to create explosive plays, Seattle’s passing game collapsed versus Buffalo and they scored just 10 points in a blowout loss. JSN is a competent possession receiver but nothing more. He will top out at WR3 fantasy numbers in PPR leagues going forward.

Turner has struggled to both earn and secure targets all year so his four receptions against the Chiefs ended up being a season-high. He is not on the re-draft radar against the Bengals in Week 9.

Tucker stepped out of bounds after turning upfield on a bootleg, play-action reception and likely cost himself significant yards in the process. Tucker’s speed is evident whenever he touches the ball but he fails to reliably earn targets each week. Tucker is a WR5/6 against the Bengals in Week 9.

Caleb Williams targeted his tight ends just three times all afternoon, with Gerald Everett seeing two of those targets. Kmet, who was coming off a 5-70-2 performance against the Jaguars in Week 6, entered the day averaging 4.8 targets per game. That said, he was a forgotten man against the Commanders and will hope to bounce back in Week 9 against the Cardinals, where he’ll be a fringe TE1/TE2.

Meyers played well in his return from a high-ankle sprain, notably winning a contested catch against Chiefs S Justin Reid for a seven-yard touchdown. Meyers’ seven targets can hardly be considered a high-volume outing but he did lead the team in targets this week. He is WR3/4-viable against the Bengals in Week 9.

Browns’ most meaningful catch was his last, as the veteran receiver found himself on the receiving end of a 52-yard Hail Mary to give the Commanders the walk-off win over the Bears. A deep pass by Jayden Daniels fell just short of the goal line, but Brown was in position to track the ball the whole time, which he did to perfection when his time came. The six targets Brown saw marked his second-highest total of the season, while his 73 yards set a new season-high. If not for his miraculous score, it would’ve been another forgettable outing for Brown. There’s no fantasy upside here, but it was an incredible moment for the eight-year vet who joined the team after being left off the Texans’ 53-man roster.

The Lions had just 225 yards of total offense in a game that their defense and special teams dominated. As a result, not many of their offensive players put up huge days. However, we should note that, with Jameson Williams suspended, Tim Patrick played the second-most snaps of any Lions wide receiver and ran the second-most routes on the team, one ahead of Sam LaPorta, and three behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. It didn’t lead to anything this week, but perhaps it could lead to deep-league fantasy points next week against the Packers.