NFL Player News

While Hunter Henry is usually Drake Maye’s tight end of choice, Hooper split targets with him and caught intermediate and deep passes against the Bears. He caught a 28-yard pass in the first quarter and totaled 64 yards on three catches for the day. If Henry misses time, Hooper would have fantasy viability, but without consistent production, Hooper is best left on fantasy benches.

Brooks was held to a couple carries in his NFL debut while Chuba Hubbard had 17 touches. Hubbard saw all the red zone work and was the only Carolina running back to log a pass route in Week 12. Brooks for now is a bench stash in case Hubbard misses time in the season’s final month.

Mason also fumbled once, though the Packers were unable to recover it. The first-half-season fantasy star is just a bench stash at this time. His scoring potential is hamstrung with Brandon Allen under center.

McCaffrey’s fumble was about as clean as it gets. One defender wrapped him up and the other punched the ball out before he hit the ground. The veteran RB has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry since his Week 10 return. He is a low-end RB1 against the Bills next week if Brandon Allen remains the starter.

Outside of a 59-yard kickoff return, Laube was invisible. Alexander Mattison and Zamir White were sidelined, leaving Ameer Abdullah and Sincere McCormick — who had never had a regular season carry before Sunday — to split the Vegas backfield work. Laube did not run a pass route against Denver.

Samuel had an 87-yard kickoff return reduced to just a 26-yarder due to a heartbreaking holding penalty, at the beginning of the second half. The scattered-brained 49ers were penalized nine times against the Packers. Samuel was credited with two drops in this one and stunningly failed to earn a target in the first quarter. If Brandon Allen gets the start against the Bills next week, Samuel is just a WR3.

It was Tucker’s second highest yardage total of the season, though much of it came in the fourth quarter with the Raiders trailing by multiple scores. Tucker ran a route on nearly every Vegas drop back and was third on the team in targets behind Jakobi Meyers (14) and Brock Bowers (10). Tucker, who had the team’s longest play of the day with a 28-yard second half catch, should not be considered a viable fantasy play in Week 13 against Kansas City, however.

Denver’s elite secondary focused on taking Bowers away from Gardner Minshew a week after Bowers had 13 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. Pat Surtain covered Bowers for some of the game, and the Broncos used a considerable amount of bracket coverage against the standout rookie tight end. Bowers and Jakobi Meyers combined for about half of the Raiders’ targets against the Broncos. Bowers will be a top-three fantasy option in Week 13 against the Chiefs. He had five grabs for 58 yards against KC in Week 5.

Jennings deserves credit for leading the team in targets and winning his lone contested catch but this offense is lost without Brock Purdy under center. Jennings is just a flex option against the Bills next week if Brandon Allen is still piloting the offense.

Kittle functioned as the one-man show, winning 2-of-2 contested catches while averaging 5.3 yards after the catch. He accounted for four of the 49ers’ eight first-down gains through the air. It was a Herculean effort. Kittle is a high-end TE1 against the Bills in Week 13.

Allen’s interception occurred via a tipped pass but he earned the turnover all the same. Allen and the 49ers’ offense put on a lowlight performance that included three punts and three turnovers on 12 possessions. The in-game broadcast broke news about Allen having fractured the middle finger on his left hand two weeks ago, though Allen never once appeared on the injury report during this two-week span. No official word has been give but it would be unsurprising to see Joshua Dobbs under center if Brock Purdy (shoulder) is unable to play next week. Allen would be a low-end QB2 against the Bills in Week 13.