NFL Player News

Downs will return to the Colts lineup after missing the team’s most recent game in Week 13. Downs has operated as the team’s No. 1 wideout for much of this season; he has 40 targets over his past five games and could benefit from a trailing game script against Denver. Colts declared WR Ashton Dulin, QB Sam Ehlinger, S Darren Hall, DE Isaiah Land, and G Atonio Mafi inactive against the Broncos.

Boyd had another quiet stat-line, with the bulk of his production coming from a first half 40-yard reception. His only other catch was for a loss of a yard and he remains unproductive for fantasy purposes. Boyd should only be on fantasy radars in deeper leagues.

Backup Luke Schoonmaker didn’t see a target in this game. Despite nixing any notions of a tight end room by committee, Ferguson hasn’t put up usable fantasy numbers in two games since returning from the concussion he suffered in Week 11. He went for 32 yards on three grabs last week and his already-modest numbers took a hit versus the Panthers. Ferguson should be treated as a low-end TE2 until he turns things around, which may not happen before the end of the fantasy season.

Walker’s first NFL reception was a touchdown on a beautifully thrown ball from Lamar Jackson in the Ravens’ blowout victory. Walker’s touchdown came on one of his two pass routes on the day. The 113th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of North Carolina, Walker remains a long way away from fantasy relevance.

Okonkwo saw a spike in usage for Week 15 as the Titans played two different quarterbacks against the Bengals. The bulk of his targets were in the short-yardage area, but he did see a few looks downfield. The only “conversion” on his deeper looks was a defensive pass interference drawn in the endzone to set up a rushing touchdown. Okonkwo’s usage could change if Mason Rudolph remains the Titans’ quarterback, but the offense does not produce many scoring opportunities, keeping Okonkwo in the borderline TE2/3 range.

Brooks came down with his first career touchdown midway through the third quarter. Cooper Rush threaded the needle between two defenders and Brooks laid out to make the grab. Brooks is still operating as the Cowboys’ fourth receiver and isn’t on the fantasy radar for Week 16. The 2023 seventh-round pick is, however, a name to know in deep dynasty leagues.

Williams has been bumped from the starting lineup with Matt Milano back from injury, but the Bills do use him on some early downs. His backup, Baylon Spector, immediately allowed a touchdown on the next play, so that could be an issue if Williams can’t get back on the field.

Tolbert came down with a toe-tap touchdown in the back of the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the season on the Cowboys’ opening drive of the second half. It was his only catch of the day. Tolbert hasn’t caught more than three passes once in his past eight games. With Brandin Cooks back in the lineup, he isn’t seeing enough looks to hit fantasy lineups in Week 16.

After rushing 13 times for 94 yards in Week 13 against the Titans, Rodriguez played well behind Brian Robinson in Sunday’s win over the Saints. The second-year back saw just one opportunity on the day and played on just three offensive snaps. Fantasy managers holding him can’t view him as anything more than a handcuff for Week 16’s game against the Eagles.

One week removed from getting out-carried 18-4 by Tank Bigsby, Etienne turned the tables for a 14-11 advantage this afternoon. The overall touch battle was 18-11, while Etienne decisively won the snaps war. With this situation officially getting into silly season, it will be impossible to trust either Etienne or Tank Bigsby as a Week 16 RB2, though Etienne will be a high-variance FLEX in a plus matchup with the Raiders.