Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Rams
Date/Time: Sunday October 24, 4:05pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Rams -15
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 50.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Rams 32.75, Lions 17.75
Quarterback
Jared Goff: It’s not exactly a good thing when your Head Coach stands in front of the press and calls you out saying that you need to play better. But is Dan Campbell wrong? While Goff doesn’t exactly have an awe-inspiring group of receivers around him, he’s now averaging just 250 passing yards per game and 1.16 passing touchdowns. He’s doing next to nothing from a fantasy football perspective and he now has to take on a tough defense in the Los Angeles Rams. Not to mention the fact that he’s going up against the coach who knows his weaknesses better than anyone…avoid Goff in Superflex leagues this week if you can.
Matthew Stafford: Can we all agree to call this game “Return of the Matt”? Stafford gets to take on the team that drafted him and raised him up in the NFL this week as the Lions come to town and there’s probably some extra motivation for Stafford to prove that he’s the reason Detroit did as well as they did – which isn’t saying a whole lot – for the years that he was there. The Lions defense isn’t going to have a prayer of slowing down this Rams offense and we could easily see the Rams put up over 40 points on the board here this week. If that’s the case, Stafford belongs in your starting lineup as a mid-range QB1.
Running Backs
D’Andre Swift: Through six weeks of the 2021 NFL season, Swift is second in the NFL at the RB position in targets with 42. His usage on the ground leaves a lot to be desired, but he continues to come through for fantasy managers due to his workload through the air as the Lions play from behind. Due to the fact that Detroit has yet to play a single offensive snap this season with a lead, it’s likely that Swift’s high target volume is here to stay. Up to this point of the season, Swift is averaging seven targets per contest and nearly 50 receiving yards. That volume more than makes up for his lack of production on the ground and it’s especially valuable in any type of PPR format. This week against the Rams, we shouldn’t expect much from Swift on the ground, but we know that the Lions are going to be playing from behind for the majority of the game. We could see Swift potentially push 10 targets in this one and he’s a rock-solid RB1 start because of it.
Jamaal Williams: Back in week one, Williams had nine total targets against the San Francisco 49ers and it seemed like he was destined for a massive role in the passing game in this Lions offense. Since that point, Williams has just nine targets over the past five games. While he had been utilized heavily on the ground up to week six, he had just four rush attempts for 11 yards against the Bengals. At this point, Williams’ usage is too inconsistent to trust for fantasy purposes and he should be left on your bench.
Darrell Henderson: There are only six other RBs in the NFL right now that are averaging more fantasy points per game than Henderson. While that’s extremely impressive on a surface level, it’s even more impressive when you take into account that Henderson has done that against rock-solid defenses like Chicago, Indianapolis, and Arizona. He’s faced some easier matchups the past couple of weeks against Seattle and the Giants and we’re seeing what that means for fantasy purposes as he’s delivered some big performances. Looking forward, Henderson now gets to take on the Lions defense that is allowing the most fantasy points to opposing RBs so far this season with an average of 25.2 points per game. Additionally, he gets to take on the Houston Texans defense in week eight and then the Tennessee Titans defense in week nine. The schedule has dramatically opened up for the talented RB and there’s a very good chance that he wins people championships this year with how well he’s playing. He belongs in your lineup this week as a top-5 option.
Sony Michel: Michel has remained a change-of-pace back in this offense as Henderson has simply dominated the starting work, but he’s seen some work in games where LA has gone up big and is looking to run out the clock. In any normal week, starting Michel would be a very risky game to play. However, we know that the Rams are going to cover the gigantic spread in this matchup and they’re most likely going to run the ball for the majority of the second half. Michel should be able to see enough work to be a viable fantasy asset this week for teams that are desperate for a starting option. There’s certainly some risk involved as he will only be involved if the game is out of hand, but the path for relevancy is there.
Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown: Over the course of this season, St. Brown has slowly been working his way up rest-of-season rankings. Three weeks ago, he saw his snap count dramatically increase and he now has seen 23 targets over those three contests. While there’s very little upside with St. Brown due to the offense that he plays in here in Detroit, the opportunity to soak up targets each and every game is absolutely there due to how much the Lions play from behind. He can be viewed as a high-floor FLEX play in Full PPR formats this week against the Rams.
Cooper Kupp: Earlier on this season, I highlighted Kupp’s 17-game pace and waved it off as saying there’s no way he actually hits those absurd numbers. However, now I might actually believe that he can break records this year with this type of usage. Kupp is now on pace for 187 targets, 130 receptions, 1,850 receiving yards, and 20 receiving touchdowns. Yes, you read those numbers correctly. The scariest part about all of this too is that arguably the toughest part of the schedule is now over for the Rams and they have some generous matchups on the schedule coming up. Kupp is expected to draw coverage this week from AJ Parker, who is allowing a 88% catch rate so far this season and has a poor PFF Grade of 42.7. There’s more than a 75% chance that Kupp finishes this week as the WR1 in fantasy football.
Robert Woods: Woods came back down to earth a little bit last week after reeling in 12 catches for 150 yards in week five, but he was able to find the end zone on one of his two receptions last week against the Giants to save his fantasy day. The Rams simply didn’t need Woods all that much last week in a game where they were up big at halftime and were able to lean into their run game and coast in the second half. There’s the possibility that the same thing happens here in this game against Detroit, but the scoring opportunities are going to be plentiful for these receiving options. Woods can be viewed as a mid-range/low-end WR2 for week seven with tremendous upside.
Van Jefferson: Jefferson seemed like he was trending towards carving out a significant role for himself in this Rams offense just a few weeks ago, but he’s now moved back to a complementary role and his fantasy outlook has taken a hit because of it. Jefferson has just 35 receiving yards over the past two weeks and he’s now out of the weekly FLEX conversation, even in deeper leagues. He has some appeal in DFS this week due to the potential game-script and scoring opportunities, but we can’t view him anywhere near our starting lineups in redraft leagues.
Tight Ends
TJ Hockenson: After a couple of down weeks, Hockenson rebounded in a solid way against the Bengals. Hockenson saw a 28.2% target share in week six and he turned it into eight receptions for 74 yards. Even with battling through an injury, Hockenson’s been a focal point of the Lions offense and he’s worth starting every single week as a potential top-5 option. He’s not going to come with the upside that Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce, or maybe even Kyle Pitts does at this point due to the state of the offense around him, but he’s going to bring a high floor each and every game. He can be viewed as a mid-range TE1 this week against the Rams.
Tyler Higbee: Higbee’s target volume has been a bit inconsistent up to this point of the season, but he’s getting the job done for fantasy football regardless. Higbee’s now the TE13 on the season and he has an excellent chance of finding the end zone any given week due to how high-powered the offense is here in Los Angeles. Against the Lions’ defense that isn’t going to stand a chance of slowing down this Rams offense, Higbee’s a rock-solid low-end TE1 yet again.
Chicago Bears vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date/Time: Sunday October 24, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Buccaneers -12.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 47 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Buccaneers 29.75, Bears 17.25
Quarterback
Justin Fields: There are certainly reasons to be optimistic about Fields and what he can be for fantasy football down the line, but it’s simply not happening right now in this Bears offense. The passing volume isn’t there and the pace-of-play certainly isn’t helping things. The Bears have run just 346 total plays on offense this year, which is the sixth-fewest in the NFL. They’re not going to be able to run the ball this week against the Buccaneers, so there’s the potential that we see Matt Nagy take the reins off of Fields and let him open things up, but that’s far from a guarantee. We should view Fields as nothing more than a low-end QB2.
Tom Brady: Brady is currently on pace for 757 pass attempts this season at 44 years old. While our common sense would tell us that there’s no way a QB that age could sustain solid production with that much volume, all logic goes out the window with what Brady is doing this season. Brady currently leads the NFL in passing yards and he has the second-most passing touchdowns with 17 to just three interceptions. It’s absolutely incredible what he’s doing on the field right now and there’s no reason to believe that it won’t continue moving forward. The Bears are the 11th most difficult matchup in the NFL for opposing QBs from a fantasy perspective this season, but that doesn’t quite matter when we’re considering Brady for our starting lineups. He belongs in the mid-range/low-end QB1 conversation every single week.
Running Backs
Khalil Herbert: At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether or not Damien Williams is going to be able to return for this matchup against the Buccaneers. If William does return off of the COVID-19/Reserve list, Herbert can’t be trusted as anything more than a low-end RB3 in our starting lineups due to the lack of volume. If Williams doesn’t return, Herbert’s worth considering as a high-end RB3 in lineups, but we shouldn’t be expecting the type of production we’ve gotten from him over the past two weeks. The Bucs defense is a brutal matchup for opposing RBs and the majority of offensive coordinators simply look to abandon the run game, so we shouldn’t be overly optimistic for his week seven outlook.
Damien Williams: As of right now, we simply don’t know whether Williams is going to return to lineup after landing on the COVID-19/Reserve list last week. Even if he does return, there’s no guarantee that he’s going to be 100% himself or see the majority of the work in this backfield. For right now, Williams should be viewed as a mid-range RB3 if he plays. We’ll continue to update as there’s more information.
Leonard Fournette: It’s difficult to argue with the fact that Fournette is now the lead back for the Bucs, one of the best offenses in the league. He’s dominated the snap count and opportunity share in this backfield over the past few weeks and he’s rising up rest-of-season rankings as a result. Looking ahead to week seven, Fournette belongs in starting lineups simply due to the lack of other proven options at the position due to bye weeks, injuries, etc. but he might not as much upside as we would hope for in this matchup against the Bears. Chicago has kept opposing RBs somewhat in check so far this season and they’re only allowing 15.7 fantasy points per game to opposing RBs. Fournette should see enough volume to be a reliable high-end RB2 this week, but he’ll need to cash in and find the end zone to crack the top-8 at the position.
Giovani Bernard: Bernard has now been relegated to a change-of-pace role in this offense and he’s seen just 29 snaps over the past two weeks combined. He’s not on the redraft radar this week.
Ronald Jones: Over the past four weeks, Jones has seen just 12, 13, 10, and 14 snaps in each respective game. He’s been sent completely to the bench in favor of Fournette and he’s now only in the insurance-RB territory for redraft purposes.
Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson: Here’s the good news for Robinson from a fantasy perspective: Over the last three weeks he has seen a 24.2% team target share. This is a higher target share percentage than players like DK Metcalf, DeAndre Hopkins, Adam Thielen, Michael Pittman Jr, and Mike Williams to name a few. However, it has only resulted in 15 total targets due to the lack of passing volume in this Bears offense. With the Bears slowing down the pace of play and committing to their run game more, Justin Fields hasn’t been asked to throw the ball a ton and the receiving options in Chicago are struggling because of it. In this matchup against the Buccaneers though, the Bears are not going to be able to run the ball as efficiently as they have been over the past couple of games and we could finally see Fields move over the 30 pass attempts threshold. Robinson’s disappointed a ton of fantasy managers so far this season, but the path for opportunity is still there. He can be viewed as a mid-range WR3 this week.
Darnell Mooney: Over the past three games, only three other WRs in the NFL have a higher team target share than Mooney. His 32.3% target share is more than players like Tyreek Hill, DJ Moore, and Terry McLaurin just to name a few. Unfortunately, that has only resulted in 20 total targets, but he’s still doing enough with the opportunity to be relevant for fantasy football. In a matchup this week against the Bucs defense that’s allowing 24.3 fantasy points on average to opposing WRs this season, Mooney should see enough work to be a viable mid-range WR3.
Mike Evans: Just when we thought we were past Evans being a volatile fantasy asset, he disappointed majorly in week six with a 2-27-0 stat line. With Brown and Godwin in the lineup and healthy, there’s always the possibility that Brady will lock onto one of the other receiving options over Evans and feature them any given game. While Evans still has week-winning upside – and he should remain in starting lineups as a top-24 option as a result – we can’t view him as a locked-in WR1 moving forward. We’ll simply have to learn to live with the ups-and-downs as fantasy managers. He can be viewed as a high-end WR2 this week. Update: Evans moves up rankings slightly with the news that Brown is out for this matchup, but he’s still just a low-end WR1.
Chris Godwin: Outside of week one, Godwin has yet to deliver a massive fantasy performance that helps push fantasy lineups over the top. However, he has been one of the most consistent WR2s in all of fantasy football so far this year. Godwin’s 5-43-0 stat line from week six is his lowest statistical output of the season, but that doesn’t exactly crush your lineup if you started him, especially in Full PPR formats. We might not get the week-winning upside from Godwin that we do with Brown or Evans, but we can at least feel confident when we start Godwin that he’s not going to crush our lineup. He has a favorable matchup on the field this week against Xavier Crawford, who is allowing a 75% catch rate this season and 1.16 Yards Per Route Covered. We should view him as a safe mid-range WR2 this week. Update: Godwin moves up slightly in rankings due to the fact that Brown is out for this matchup. He can now be viewed as a high-end WR2.
Antonio Brown: If we remove the fluke performance from Brown in week two against Atlanta, his lowest statistical output this season has been his 7-63-0 stat line against New England in week four. Brown’s been a revelation for fantasy managers so far this season and he’s coming through with big performance after big performance. Over just the past two weeks combined, AB has 16 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He’s now moved comfortably into the mid-range WR2 conversation and there’s the possibility that he’s actually the WR to roster in Tampa Bay. Fire him up with full confidence this week against the Chicago Bears in a game that Tampa Bay is supposed to win pretty handily. Update: Brown has been ruled out for this game with an ankle injury.
Tight Ends
Cole Kmet: Welcome back to the redraft conversation, Kmet! After doing next to nothing the previous few weeks, Kmet had a 20% target share in week six against the Packers and he reeled in four of his five targets for 49 yards. While it’s certainly not anything impressive on a surface level, this type of performance doesn’t crush your lineup and he’s worth considering in this matchup against the Bucs if you’re in a pinch. Fields is going to be forced into throwing the ball more this week and Kmet should benefit as a result. He’s nothing more than a mid-range TE2 in rankings, but if you’re in a pinch due to bye weeks and injuries, Kmet can be picked up and started.
Rob Gronkowski: At the time of writing, we don’t have any clarity as to whether or not Gronkowski is going to return to the lineup this week against Chicago. If Gronkowski plays, he’s probably nothing more than a high-end TE2 because we won’t know if he’s going to get his full allotment of snaps. As for what happens if Gronkowski sits, OJ Howard is someone fantasy managers could consider as a high-upside TE2. Update: Gronkowski has been ruled out for this game. Howard can be viewed as a mid-range TE2 against the Bears.
Houston Texans vs Arizona Cardinals
Date/Time: Sunday October 24, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Cardinals -17.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 47.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Cardinals 32.5, Texans 15
Quarterback
Davis Mills: After an unexpected 312-yard, three-TD performance against the Patriots in Week 5, Mills fell back to earth against the Colts in Week 6, completing 29 of 43 passes for 243 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. This week, he’s up against a stingy Cardinals defense that’s giving up 6.9 yards per pass attempt and 214.8 passing yards per game. The oddsmakers are giving the Texans an implied point total of 17.5 for this game, which is a pretty strong signal that fantasy managers should stay away from Mills this week.
Kyler Murray: Last season, the conversation around Murray centered around the potential that he could throw for over 4,000 yards and reach 1,000 rushing yards in the same year. While it doesn’t seem likely that he crosses over the 1,000 rushing yard threshold this season – he’s only at 116 rushing yards on the year – he’s going to shatter the 4,000 passing yards expectation if he continues on this pace. Murray is now averaging 290 passing yards per game and 2.33 passing touchdowns to just .6 interceptions. His 17-game pace has him just under 5,000 yards on the year and he’s been everything fantasy managers were hoping for when they drafted him early. Looking ahead to week seven, Murray now has a matchup against the Houston Texans defense that just allowed Carson Wentz and the Colts defense to hang 31 points on them. Yeah, you’re starting Murray with full confidence here as a top-3 option.
Running Backs
Mark Ingram: The Texans are sure committed to establishing the run, I’ll give them that. Even in a game where they were down by nearly 30 points, they were still feeding the ball to Ingram on the ground and he ended last week’s contest with a shocking 17 carries. At this point, Ingram is nothing more than a low-upside play that you are putting in your lineup out of desperation. In this crazy bye week, that might have some value, but it’s probably best to look elsewhere if you can.
James Conner: Are there any leagues where you have Conner on your roster that you’re contemplating not starting him this week? Everything is lining up here for Conner to have a monstrous performance. The Cardinals are 17.5-point favorites at the time of writing, Chase Edmonds doesn’t appear to be at 100%, and the Cardinals are most likely going to be running the ball for the entire second half. We should see Conner get plenty of work this week against an abysmal defense that is bleeding fantasy points to opposing RBs and he’s going to get goal-line opportunities. Normally, we don’t want to rely on Conner over more proven options in our starting lineup, but with so many RBs currently on byes and injured, Conner should be viewed as a mid-range RB2 this week.
Chase Edmonds: Edmonds has a fantastic matchup on paper, but this actually might be more to his detriment than benefit. With the projected game script that Arizona is going to be able to run the ball for the entire second half with a big lead, Edmonds probably isn’t going to be needed all that much. Especially if he’s still dealing with his shoulder injury, we could see the Cardinals rest him in a game that they’ll be able to win practically with their eyes closed. Edmonds receives more value in tighter game scripts where he’s needed more as a receiving outlet out of the backfield, but that’s simply not the case here. He can be viewed as still a solid start due to the other available options at the RB position, but there’s not a ton of upside here when you take a closer look.
Wide Receivers
Brandin Cooks: What Cooks is doing in this Texans offense is inspiring. Despite the atrocious offensive production, Cooks is producing for fantasy and he’s now the WR22 on the season. If Tyrod returns to the lineup this week, that can only mean good things for Cooks and his fantasy outlook. At this point, he belongs in your starting lineup every week as a high-end/mid-range WR3 that you know isn’t going to crush your lineup no matter what else is going on in the offense around him. He moves up in the rankings this week simply due to so many other teams on bye though, so he can be viewed as a low-end WR2.
Nico Collins: Collins returned to the lineup in week six against the Colts and did enough to signal that there’s a path for him to be a fantasy-relevant option down the line, but it’s unlikely to happen this season in Houston. He can remain on your league’s waiver wire or he can be stashed at the bottom of benches in deeper formats.
DeAndre Hopkins: Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the revenge game for Nuk! There has to be some part of Hopkins that’s still seething over the fact that he was traded to Arizona for an aging veteran RB and a 2nd-round pick, right? We could see Hopkins go nuclear in this matchup as a way to send a message to the Texans franchise that they were wrong to trade him away for next to nothing – as if they didn’t know that already. Coming off of a two-touchdown performance, there are reasons to believe that Nuk can do that same thing here in this one. Fire him up as a top-5 option.
Christian Kirk: Aside from his one catch performance in week four against the Rams, Kirk has actually been an incredibly consistent fantasy asset. Even with that game taken into account, he is averaging 4.33 receptions and 60 receiving yards per game, which is certainly worth considering for your FLEX spot every single week. Looking at the matchup this week against the Texans, there’s a very strong possibility that each WR for the Cardinals comes away with a touchdown in what is projected to be a massive win. With so many other receiving options on bye or injured this week, Kirk’s a solid FLEX play with tremendous upside.
Rondale Moore: Has Moore been the definition of consistency this year? Absolutely not. However, he still brings plenty of upside based on his skillset and the offense that he plays in. While there’s absolutely the possibility that Moore disappoints yet again this week because of his lack of opportunity, he’s worth starting as a FLEX play simply based on the Vegas Implied Point totals. Arizona is going to be putting points up on the board in this game and each receiving option for the Cardinals holds ridiculous upside. We might not be able to confidently predict which one gets the score or has the big game, but the upside is there with each and every one of them. Moore can be viewed as a low-end FLEX play in week seven.
AJ Green: Just when fantasy managers started to believe that Green was a viable FLEX option week in and week out, he disappeared in week five for just one catch on two targets. Up to that point of the season, he’d been extremely consistent and seeing six targets each of the first four games of the year. Fantasy managers everywhere finally started to buy into Green and he burned them with that week five performance, but then he got right back to his usual six targets in a week where virtually no one started him in week six. Against the Browns, Green went off for five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown, but should we buy back in again from a fantasy perspective? In this matchup, it’s probably worth playing him as a high-upside FLEX play. The Texans corners aren’t going to have an answer for Hopkins and Green on the outside and Green has an excellent chance of finding the end zone here. There’s the possibility that the touchdowns go to one of Kirk or Moore, but due to the matchup and the high Vegas Implied Point total, it’s a shot worth taking.
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz: Ertz now works his way West as he’s going to suit up in red this upcoming weekend for the Arizona Cardinals versus his usual green. He should step right into this offense and pick right up where Maxx Williams left off as a reliable receiving outlet for Murray. In a tougher matchup, it might be worth letting Ertz sit for a week as he gets adjusted to the offense, but the Texans’ defense has been gahsed by opposing TEs this season. They’re allowing the second-most fantasy points to the TE position and we know Arizona’s going to put points up on the board. Start Ertz as a low-end TE1 if you’ve got him.
Indianapolis Colts vs San Francisco 49ers
Date/Time: Sunday October 24, 8:20pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: 49ers -4
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 44 points
Implied Vegas point totals: 49ers 24, Colts 20
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: It’s probably about time that we recognize that Wentz is playing very good football. Through six games, he now has nine passing touchdowns to just one interception and he’s actually only been credited with one Turnover Worthy Play this entire season by Pro Football Focus. For comparison, Aaron Rodgers has been credited with five, Dak Prescott has been credited with six, and Josh Allen has been credited with 10 just to name a few. Being reunited with Frank Reich has caused Wentz to experience a bit of a career resurgence up to this point and there’s very little reason to doubt that that can continue. The 49ers are middle-of-the-pack when it comes to shutting down opposing QBs from a fantasy perspective, but in a week where so many options are on bye, Wentz needs to be discussed as a streaming option. If you’re in a pinch, Wentz is worth considering.
Jimmy Garoppolo: Jimmy G gets the nod for the 49ers with Trey Lance still battling a knee sprain after their bye week. Garoppolo hasn’t done much from a fantasy perspective up to this point of the season, but managers desperately need someone to plug into their lineups in Superflex or 2QB formats. Currently, the Colts are allowing the 6th-most fantasy points to opposing QBs and we know that it only takes one big play after the catch from Samuel to give Garoppolo fantasy relevance. He’s worth playing this week if you’re in a pinch.
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor: It wasn’t looking good for Taylor from a fantasy perspective through the first half of last week, but the Colts remembered that they had him on their roster in the second half and he went ballistic. Taylor rumbled for 145 yards on the ground and two touchdowns and he helped carry the Colts to a dominant win over the Texans. JT reminded us that he’s a truly special RB when he is given the smallest sliver of daylight as one of his touchdowns was the result of a 83-yard run in which he hit 20.5 MPH according to Next Gen Stats. He’ll have a more difficult time breaking free for long runs here against the 49ers defense that’s allowing just 77 rushing yards per game to opposing RBs, but that doesn’t mean that we should move Taylor out of our top-5 RBs on the week. Fire him up with full confidence here.
Nyheim Hines: Many fantasy managers are going to turn and look at Hines as a potential bye week fill-in option here against the 49ers, but there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about playing him in fantasy this week. Hines’ usage has been sporadic up to this point of the season and it’s been near impossible to estimate when he’s going to be given more than five touches in a game. Over the last three weeks, Hines is averaging just five opportunities per game and that’s not going to be enough to get the job done for fantasy football. If you do start Hines this week, it’s merely as a complete desperation play.
Marlon Mack: Mack’s not on the redraft radar currently, but it’s worth noting that he’s been the subject of trade talks as we approach the NFL trade deadline. With so many NFL franchises dealing with RB injuries, we could see Mack moved and end up in a better spot for fantasy football. If you are in a deeper league and you have space at the bottom of your bench, it’s worth stashing him to see how this one plays out.
Elijah Mitchell: Before the bye week, we saw Mitchell come back into the lineup and completely dominate the RB touches in this backfield. While it didn’t lead to much volume, that was with Lance in the lineup and dominating the carry share. With Jimmy G at QB this week – most likely – we should see the 49ers lean into their run game again with Mitchell and he could easily see 15+ touches in this game. The matchup isn’t ideal as the Colts are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs, but the volume should be there. He can be viewed as a mid-range RB2 this week.
Trey Sermon: At this point, Mitchell seems to have completely taken over the backfield. If you’re still rostering Sermon, you’re left waiting for an injury to Mitchell again for him to see playing time.
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman: Pittman had been playing lights out football over the previous few weeks, but he came crashing back down to earth last week against the Texans in a prime spot. Hilton made his return to the lineup and he torched Houston, which he has been known to do throughout his NFL career. While Hilton out-produced Pittman, it’s worth noting that Hilton had just four targets to Pittman’s three. There’s little reason to believe that Pittman is now playing second-fiddle to Hilton in this offense, especially with the news that Hilton’s currently battling an injury again. The Colts are going to have to throw the ball more than 20 times in this game against San Francisco and we should see a bounce-back performance from the second-year wideout. Pittman can be viewed as a low-end WR2.
T.Y. Hilton: At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether or not Hilton’s going to be able to suit up for this game against the 49ers. If he does play, he might not be at 100%, so playing him in fantasy lineups this week is a risky decision. I’d prefer to sit Hilton for a week if I did pick him up off of the waiver wire.
Deebo Samuel: It’s been a week since we’ve seen Samuel on the field, but it’s important to remember just how dominant he has been up to this point of the season. Samuel is currently averaging 6.2 receptions, 109.6 receiving yards, and .6 touchdowns per contest this year and he needs to be in your starting lineup, no questions asked. Samuel has the toughest matchup on paper this week against the Colts with Rock Ya-Sin, but we know that the 49ers move Samuel all over the formation and get the ball in his hands in creative ways. Fire him up this week as a low-end WR1 with upside.
Brandon Aiyuk: Here is Aiyuk’s current 17-game pace: 27 receptions, 306 receiving yards, and 3.6 touchdowns. Aiyuk’s usage has been one of the most disappointing storylines in fantasy football up to this point of the season and it’s difficult to see how that changes any time soon. Until we actually see Aiyuk breaking out for a big performance, it’s best to leave him on your bench or on your league’s waiver wire.
Tight Ends
Mo Alie-Cox: Alie-Cox’s usage from last week isn’t exactly inspiring confidence for fantasy managers that have to pivot to a replacement TE option this week. Alie-Cox ran just nine routes this past week against Houston and he finished the game with just one reception for 28 yards, but that catch just happened to be for a touchdown. Right now, MAC is simply just a desperation play for managers that have no better option due to bye weeks and injuries. He can be viewed as a mid-range TE2 at best against the 49ers.
Ross Dwelley: With George Kittle on IR, Dwelley should step in and see plenty of targets over the middle of the field. While we know that Dwelley isn’t going to be able to do the same with his opportunity as Kittle would in this offense, he’s still worth considering for fantasy lineups due to the potential target share. With so many other TE options being touchdown-or-bust players, Dwelley’s a solid start as a high-end TE2.
