This was a frustrating week. You can blame the weather, the numerous teams on bye, or Marvin Lewis. In fact it’s always fun to blame Marvin Lewis. This week marks the sort of halfway point to the season. The trade deadline is approaching Tuesday so settle in and hear me out.
Sell Will Fuller
A couple weeks back I mentioned that Fuller and some of the other Texans should be sold because the schedule got tougher. For the most part, the schedule has gotten tougher, but the Texans don’t really give a damn and they keep playing great football. I’m even one of those people that touted his “unsustainable touchdown” rate aaaaaand here we are, he’s sustaining it. As of right now he has seven touchdowns on 13 catches. The yards per catch is impressive, but possibly his most impressive game came in his weakest matchup to date (on the road in Seattle). Can Fuller keep this up? Yeah it’s very possible. And if you’ve started him then that’s awesome and you deserve all the praise in the world. He gets one more solid matchup next week at home against the Colts. Indianapolis is one of the worst defenses in the league against the passing game. They surrender just under 300 passing yards per game and they lost rookie Malik Hooker last week for the rest of the season. Fuller should easily put up solid numbers again next week, at which point you should start shopping him around to other owners in your league. He’s arguably putting up WR1 numbers and you can get a decent haul for him.
The reasoning for selling Fuller is simple: the fantasy playoff schedule for Fuller isn’t great. And that’s what people said about this matchup against the Seahawks too! Hopefully you can sell Fuller to a team trying to make the playoffs, but in Weeks 15 and 16 the Texans are on the road in Jacksonville and then home to Pittsburgh. That means he’s facing arguably the two best secondaries in the NFL in the most crucial time of year for fantasy players. Hang on to him in Week 9 if you need him. The matchup is great against the Colts. Hopefully he has another great outing to drive his price tag up and you can get a good haul for him.
Still NOT Quitting on the Raiders
And I very well might be alone here. Look I was a fan of the Bills, Eagles, and Patriots DST’s in my DST coach piece. West coast teams simply don’t travel well playing on the East coast. It’s that whole body clock thing and blah blah blah. This was almost like a 10:00 a.m. game for the Raiders. Sure they had a longer break to prepare for this game, but it’s still difficult making that adjustment. Was Sunday’s performance disappointing? You bet’cha! And they play down in Miami next week too. But the team isn’t travelling back to Oakland to just travel back to South Beach next week. Instead they’re staying on the East coast and will continue to prep for next week’s game in Bradenton, Florida.
As far as this week goes, Derek Carr managed to throw for over 300 yards, but he did have two picks. The running game was non-existant without Marshawn Lynch as the Raiders’ RB’s collected 54 rushing yards on 14 carries. Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper both saw ten targets and will both contribute going forward and they’ll be fine. This was just a bad performance for Oakland. After their Bye week they play the Patriots in Mexico City, which isn’t necessarily a true home game, but New England still gives up a lot of passing yards and the fantasy playoff schedule for the Raiders passing attack is still looking good. They face the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Eagles and neither of those teams have elite secondaries right now. Don’t. Jump. Ship.
Has the Joe Mixon “Breakout Game” Already Happened?
Yeah and it honestly might have been today as uneventful as it was. Out of 56 snaps here’s how they broke down for the Bengals backfield on Sunday:
Joe Mixon: 34
Giovani Bernard: 15
Jeremy Hill: 8
So he’s getting on the field and he had 14 total touches for 109 all-purpose yards. By all accounts he’s a RB2/Flex option. Hill and Bernard totaled six carries for 15 yards. So for what it’s worth the Bengals are putting forth the effort to get Mixon more involved. Unfortunately the bigger numbers aren’t surfacing. Mixon did also fumble and that deducted two points from his total, but the workload is there. Unfortunately he has just one touchdown on the year. Next week Mixon draws the Jaguars in Jacksonville. They’ll be fresh off their Bye week and they just acquired Marcell Dareus. Dareus could contribute some sacks, but more importantly he’ll plug the holes up the middle to prevent the run. Mixon is still a viable fantasy option. He’s getting the workload especially in the passing game, but he’ll need to fall into the end zone a little more to please fantasy owners. Unfortunately he might average about 11-13 points per week, which is fine. But it’s certainly no breakout.
Stash/Still Buy Low on Martavis Bryant
Last week I mentioned buying insanely low on Martavis Bryant. Hopefully you did or claimed him off waivers in some form or fashion. The thing with Bryant is that he was suspended by the team prior to Sunday night’s game after making some comments on social media comparing himself to another player on his team (Juju Smith-Schuster). They weren’t damning comments by any means, Bryant was just defending his own talent. But it’s not something the team was keen on seeing. So they’re apparently sitting him for tonight’s game.
All reports indicate the Steelers won’t trade Bryant. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t listening. The Patriots apparently inquired about Bryant during the draft this past April, but the Steelers weren’t budging. Nor should they. I’m still optimistic about Bryant. If the Steelers trade him hopefully it’s to an offense that uses him more. If they don’t trade him hopefully they come out of their Bye week with renewed faith and get him more involved starting Week 10 after sitting him down, talking it out, getting on the same page, etc. The Steelers are still in contention in the AFC. Why trade a healthy Bryant away to an opponent? Bryant is a big deep threat for them and he’s a piece that defenses still account for. They’ve struggled getting him the ball, but there’s still plenty of season left for Bryant and Big Ben to get on the same page.
Pick Up Some Seahawks for Week 9
The Seahawks and Texans played the “Game of the Year” surpassing the Rams/49ers game on Thursday Night Football a few weeks back. One thing we can take away is adding a couple guys available on waivers: Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson. In his last two games Richardson has three touchdowns on nine targets for 166 receiving yards. Likewise Lockett has ten catches on 15 targets over his last two games for 150 receiving yards. Both guys are under 25% owned and can be grabbed off waivers especially if you need help next week. Next week there are plenty of teams on Bye and plenty of pass catchers like Keenan Allen, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Brandin Cooks, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant (HAHA), etc. will all be on Bye. Next week Seattle faces Washington and both guys could continue their recent hot streaks.
Do You Start Kirk Cousins Next Week?
It’s not entirely his fault though. Washington is dealing with an insane amount of injuries to their O-Line. Trent Williams, one of the best offensive tackles in the league, was declared inactive before the game. Spencer Long, Ty Nsekhe, Morgan Moses, and Brandon Scherff are all dealing with injuries as well. The weakness at O-Line was very present today. Cousins was sacked four times and hit an additional eight times. The running game struggled as they totaled just 49 yards on 15 carries. Jordan Reed got hurt again and Terrelle Pryor Sr. remains ineffective in this offense. As mentioned in the last section, Washington travels West next week for a date with the Seahawks. Deshaun Watson and the Texans explosive offense managed to go out and get over 500 yards of offense, but the Redskins aren’t as healthy as Houston right now. Cousins has been a top ten QB this year, but with these offensive line woes Cousins could certainly struggle the next couple weeks. Given how many teams are on Bye next week you still might have to start Cousins, but it won’t be pretty.
Player News
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Cowboys are finalizing a trade for Steelers WR George Pickens.
The move, which includes a 2026 third round pick and a 2027 fifth round pick sent to the Steelers, comes after another ESPN report saying Pickens, 24, wanted to remain in Pittsburgh. Acquiring Pickens — who has 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons — addresses an area of acute need for the Cowboys, who have one of the league’s weakest wideout room behind CeeDee Lamb. Pickens and Lamb will make for one of the NFL’s best receiver duos, with Pickens functioning as a viable downfield threat for Dak Prescott, who last season ranked 15th out of 40 qualifying quarterbacks in deep ball accuracy. Pickens in 2024 was third in deep targets and second only to Alec Pierce in receiving yards on downfield receptions. Pickens will have far more upside in the Dallas offense than he did in Pittsburgh. DK Metcalf, meanwhile, will enter the 2025 season as the unquestioned No. 1 wideout for the run-heavy Steelers. His fantasy prospects look much brighter with Pickens in Dallas.
NFL Network’s Jane Slater reports Saints QB Derek Carr wants to “see if he can play through with this shoulder injury.”
Slater reports that Carr believes he injured his throwing shoulder in the same Week 14 game against the Giants that he injured his left wrist last season. The shoulder issue was apparently discovered as he ramped up throwing in the spring, not as the season wound down in 2024. Carr has already had surgery on that arm and wants to see if he can play through the injury. Slater adds that Carr made two trips to New Orleans to meet with the team doctor and a decision will be made “sooner rather than later” as the 34-year-old tries to make the best decision for his shoulder and the Saints aim to make the best decision for their franchise. It would be a surprise to see Carr return to start for the Saints, especially without having surgery. New Orleans has signaled an attempt to move on by selecting Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Carr has two seasons left on his four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints and a decision on his future is looming.
9News’ Mike Klis reports free agent QB Desmond Ridder will get a veteran tryout at the Broncos’ rookie minicamp.
Ridder is a former third-round pick of the Falcons in 2022 and started 13 games for them in 2023. Atlanta moved on from Ridder after his 12-touchdown, 12-interception season; he joined the Raiders to play six games and start one in 2024. The 25-year-old is searching for backup jobs around the NFL after throwing for 5.4 yards per attempt and earning a 45.7 PFF grade last season, good for No. 69 out of 75 quarterbacks. The Broncos will bring him into rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, where Ridder looks to earn the chance to compete with Sam Ehlinger for the third-string quarterback spot in Denver.
Bengals DT B.J. Hill was seen in a protective boot at Tuesday’s voluntary workout.
Hill was seen in a protective walking boot for his left foot at the Bengals’ voluntary workout session on Tuesday. It seems to be a new injury for the veteran, though it is not yet clear what the injury is. The Bengals just signed Hill to a three-year, $33 million contract in the offseason and will be hoping one of the investments into their defense gets healthy for the start of the regular season.
The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf reports Brian Schottenheimer was “non-commital” on whether the Cowboys would have a lead back or take a committee approach.
“Schottenheimer wants to see how things unfold during offseason workouts and training camp,” Yousuf continues. It certainly seems to be a situation where Jaydon Blue could carve out a role in a hurry. “If Blue proves himself, he’ll have the chance to carve out a significant role,” Yousuf writes. Certainly nothing we saw from Javonte Williams or Miles Sanders in recent years would lead us to believe that they’ll be blocking Blue if he shows out in training camp.
Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said he’s “expecting Kyle [Pitts] to take a big jump.”
“Year 2 of the system. Year 2 of understanding what we’re trying to do offensively. All those things that come with it, so expecting a lot of good things from Kyle,” Robinson continued, presumably while trying to sell the people who asked him this question a bridge. The good news for those who would want to buy in on Pitts is, like the Spanish Inquisition, nobody is expecting a Pitts breakout year in his fifth season. He’s now a freeroll. But it’s hard to believe he’ll do any better than low-end TE1 duty this year.