The Market Report is your one-stop Monday shop for all the movement from a big weekend of NFL football.
These are the players who stood out for fantasy-relevant reasons — the good reasons, the bad reasons, and the in-between.
This column will be posted every Monday afternoon.
UPGRADES
Players about whom we’re feeling more optimistic based on recent play or news.
Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson (Bal) — There’s still something missing from this Ravens offense — ask anyone starting one of these RBs or someone who expected TE Mark Andrews to go nuts against this awful Eagle LB corps — but perhaps the biggest takeaway from Week 6, heading into Baltimore’s bye, is that Jackson’s knee (which might have contributed to his running for just 3 yards in Week 5) looked more than healthy. Lamar posted 9/108/1 rushing to offset a mediocre 16/27, 186-yard, 1-TD passing day. And though it wasn’t Andrews who made the Eagle LBs look silly, Lamar eventually took that task to hand on his 37-yard TD run that proved to be too much for Philly to overcome despite a valiant Carson Wentz comeback. With Baltimore on bye, Lamar should be 100% healthy in Week 8. Let’s hope they use that bye time to get this passing game on track. (Joe Dolan)
Deshaun Watson (Hou) — The Texans almost won a wild one against the Titans in Week 6, with Watson playing a huge role in their comeback — he played his best game of the season, going 28/37 for 335 yards and 4 TD, adding 4/26 rushing. Since Bill O’Brien was fired before last week’s game, Watson leads all NFL QBs in passing yards (694) and TD passes (7, tied with Ryan Tannehill). He is second in completions (53) and fantasy points (58.9). And perhaps one of the biggest keys — in addition to Will Fuller being healthy — is that the new coaching staff has completely unlocked Brandin Cooks, who was a ghost under O’Brien (catchless in his last game) but has 17 catches over the last two weeks, with 229 yards and 2 TD. Moreover, the Texans’ defense is abominable. Watson is a slam-dunk QB1. (JD)
Matt Ryan (Atl) — Ryan and this Falcons offense just needed a healthy Julio Jones (hamstring) to snap out of their offensive funk. The veteran QB had gone 11 straight quarters without a TD pass that spanned from the second quarter of Week 3 against the Bears through Week 5 against the Panthers, which coincided with Julio struggling to stay on the field because of his hamstring injury. Ryan broke out in style by completing 30/40 passes for 371 yards (9.3 YPA) and four touchdowns against the Vikings to give the Falcons their first win of the season after they axed Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff last week. With Julio back in the fold, Ryan is right back in the low-end QB1 territory moving forward and he has a chance to build on his momentum against the Lions this week. (Tom Brolley)
Ryan Tannehill (Ten) — Remember when Tannehill was impossibly efficient last year and couldn’t keep it up, so his ADP was consistently in the 150s in August and was occasionally going undrafted? Well, he must be riding an extreme wave of luck yet again, because he somehow managed to fall ass-backwards into a 30/41, 364 yard, 3 TD, 1 INT performance against the Texans on Sunday. Tannehill lucked into his fourth game in five weeks with multiple TD passes, and he has accounted for 3 or more total TD in three of five games this year. Tannehill is at 69.9% passing this year, a steep decline from last season’s 70.3%, as OC Arthur Smith has finally lost grip of this offense. In all seriousness, it’s high time to acknowledge that the Smith/Tannehill relationship is one of the best playcaller/QB combos in the NFL, and Tannehill is playing borderline MVP football. His fantasy upside is reflecting that. The hope is that the loss of LT Taylor Lewan (ACL) doesn’t send this well-oiled machine askew. (JD)
Running Backs
Derrick Henry (Ten) — Not that you’re ever sitting Henry, but there was something missing from his 2020 season so far — he didn’t have that dominant wow game. Well, he has now. He posted 22/212/2 rushing and 2/52 receiving in a thrilling overtime win against the Texans in Week 6. He busted off a 94-yard TD run, the third time in his career that he’s had a TD run of 50 or more yards against Houston. Henry now has two of the three longest TD runs of the last seven seasons. And with his incredible combo of size and speed, it can happen at any point. The biggest factor is the Titans’ commitment to him gives him more opportunities for this to happen — counting playoffs, Henry has touched the ball 20 or more times in 10 consecutive games. He’s a unique talent being used in a role that doesn’t exist around the league anymore. Hopefully, the loss of LT Taylor Lewan (ACL) doesn’t destroy one of the NFL’s most fun offenses to watch. (JD)
James Conner (Pit) — Conner has been a steady low-end RB1 since his Week 1 benching, with 15+ FP and 15+ carries in each of his last four games. He came through with his third 100+ yard rushing performance of the season against the Browns in Week 5. He finished with 20/101/1 rushing and he secured his only target for a yard gain while playing a healthy 66% of the snaps despite the Steelers winning in a blowout. Conner figures to see his 15+ carries and he should be more involved as a receiver this week in what should be a more competitive matchup against the Titans in a battle of unbeaten teams. (TB)
Myles Gaskin (Mia) — Gaskin dodged the Le’Veon Bell bullet last week with the veteran RB opting to sign with the Chiefs, and the second-year RB continues to be the man in Miami with the Dolphins making Jordan Howard a healthy scratch the last two weeks. Gaskin posted 18/91 rushing and he caught all four of his targets for 35 yards while playing on 70% of the snaps in Miami’s shutout victory over the Jets. Gaskin now has 14+ FP in four of his last five games, including 16+ FP in each of his last two games since becoming a bell-cow option with Howard out of the lineup. Gaskin owners will want to see Ryan Fitzpatrick remain at QB for as long as possible since he has 4+ catches in five of his six games. His arrow continues to point up as the Dolphins head into their bye week. (TB)
Phillip Lindsay (Den) — Melvin Gordon was arrested for DUI last week and he subsequently picked up an illness after his arrest, which kept him from traveling with the team to New England. Denver isn’t expected to hand out any kind of punishment and the league usually does its due diligence before handing out suspensions so Gordon is unlikely to face a suspension in the near future. Still, Gordon’s hold on the majority of the snaps in this backfield was tenuous at best, and his poor decision-making has opened the door for the Broncos to work Lindsay into the mix more going forward. Lindsay didn’t catch a pass and he didn’t find the end zone against the Patriots in Week 6, but he kept the offense moving forward by posting 23/101 rushing (4.4 YPC) in Denver’s upset victory. Gordon is still the top option in this backfield because of his receiving and goal-line work, but Lindsay has more upside now as a flex option since the Broncos will no longer give Gordon the benefit of the doubt if he makes any mistakes on or off the field. (TB)
Ronald Jones — We’ve definitely been lower on Jones than most in his career, so we have to give credit where it’s due. Jones is playing incredible right now and looks like he’s finally putting everything together in his third season. Leonard Fournette missing the last three games has definitely helped Jones’ breakout, but HC Bruce Arians really doesn’t have any reason to go back to Fournette as the “1B” option when he’s back healthy. Over the last three weeks, Jones has cleared 100 yards in every game and is averaging an explosive 5.5 yards per carry. If you drafted Jones as your RB3 option in the sixth round this summer, you’ve been rewarded with a steady low-end RB1 with Fournette on the sidelines. (Graham Barfield)
D’Andre Swift — Apparently the Lions came out of their bye and remembered that they have arguably the most talented rookie back from this year’s class on their team. In what was a massive breakout game, Swift looked like the best player on the field against the Jaguars and ripped them for 14/116/2 on the ground. Unfortunately, the Lions didn’t really change Swift’s role all that much. He only played on 38% of the team’s snaps while Adrian Peterson still led the team in carries (15). It was definitely nice to see Swift go off in a great matchup after the Lions staff never even gave him the opportunity to ever get rolling in his first four games. We’re giving Swift a slight upgrade because his performance might force Matt Patricia and Darrell Bevell’s hand, but make no mistake. This is still a three-man committee for now. Peterson will continue to be highly involved on early downs and Kerryon Johnson will mix in for his usual 5-7 random/useless touches. (GB)
Wide Receivers
Julio Jones (Atl) — Julio answered any and all questions about his health entering Week 6 as he looked back to 100% off of his hamstring injury. He blitzed the Vikings for 8/137/2 receiving on 10 targets to finish as the WR2 for the week through Sunday’s games. Julio is back to being an elite WR1 option most weeks now that his hamstring is back to full strength, and a healthy Julio lifted the entire offense after Matt Ryan went 11 quarters without a TD pass. Julio is by no means completely out of the woods since hamstring injuries can linger for weeks, but he can once again be used with some confidence as a WR1, including this week against the Lions. (TB)
Will Fuller (Hou) — What more can we say? Start ‘im! Fuller was held catchless in a bizarre Week 2 game with Baltimore (he was dinged), but he’s either had 100 yards, a TD, or both in each of the other five games of this season. Fuller has finished as a top-24 or better WR in four of five games this year, and as a top-36 WR in five of six (tied for the league lead in both categories). Deshaun Watson is absolutely cooking right now, to boot. We understand people’s trepidations with Fuller given his injury history, but this is an elite player for fantasy when he’s on the field. And with the Texans’ defense struggling the way it is, they’re gonna have to keep throwing it. (JD)
AJ Brown (Ten) — Brown sure looks healthy, scoring 2 TD against the Texans in a wild one in Week 6, giving him 3 TD in two games since he returned from his bone bruise in Week 5. Brown also played a season-high 84% of the offensive snaps, which seems to indicate that the coaches believe he’s healthy now, too. The Titans have one of the narrowest teams in all of fantasy — when healthy, QB Ryan Tannehill, RB Derrick Henry, Brown, and TE Jonnu Smith are all no-brainer starts with the decision-making process taken out of it. (JD)
A.J. Green — We’re only mentioning Green in this space because he finally showed signs of life. After being held to nine catches for 68 yards in the previous four weeks, Green posted his first good game of the year against the Colts (8/96 receiving). Once again, Tee Higgins was the more impressive player — he went for 6/125 — so if there is anyone in your league that believes Green still has juice in the tank, now is the time to trade him for anything you can get in deeper 12- and 14-team leagues. Green should have been dumped a few weeks ago in shallower formats. (GB)
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski — Gronk lives! After a slow start to this season, Gronkowski has finally gotten involved in the offense over the last few weeks and it all culminated in his best game of the season against the Packers (5/78/1). Gronk saw a season-high eight targets from Tom Brady and has now averaged 6.0 targets per game over his last four outings after seeing just four targets total in Week 1-2. The Buccaneers are spreading the ball around, so the floor will always be low here, but Gronk is at least back on the low-end TE1 radar with his snaps and workload increasing recently. (GB)
DOWNGRADES
Players about whom we’re feeling less optimistic based on recent play or news.
Quarterbacks
Cam Newton (NE) — Cam returned to the Patriots last week after a 10-day stay on the COVID-19 list, and Newton showed plenty of rust in his first game back since testing positive for the virus. He completed 17/25 passes for 157 yards (6.3 YPA) with no touchdown passes and two INTs against the Broncos, and Cam needed 10/76/1 rushing to salvage his fantasy production. Cam now has more interceptions (4) than touchdown passes (2) through four games, and he’s topped 165+ passing yards just once. He’s come back to earth as a passer in his last two games playing with one of the league’s worst receiving corps. Cam is going to need to supplement his fantasy value with running back like production going forward to stick in the low-end QB1 conversation. (TB)
Running Backs
Melvin Gordon (Den) — Gordon was arrested for DUI last week and he subsequently picked up an illness after his arrest, which kept him from traveling with the team to New England. Denver isn’t expected to hand out any kind of punishment and the league usually does its due diligence before handing out suspensions so Gordon is unlikely to face a suspension in the near future. Still, Gordon’s hold on the majority of the snaps in this backfield was tenuous at best, and his poor decision-making has opened the door for the Broncos to work Phillip Lindsay into the mix more going forward. Lindsay didn’t catch a pass and he didn’t find the end zone against the Patriots in Week 6, but he kept the offense moving forward by posting 23/101 rushing (4.4 YPC) in Denver’s upset victory. Gordon is still the top option in this backfield because of his receiving and goal-line work, but he’s a more volatile low-end RB2 going forward since the Broncos will no longer give him the benefit of the doubt if he makes any mistakes on or off the field. (TB)
Miles Sanders (Phi) — Hopefully this is merely a slight downgrade. Sanders left Week 6’s action with a knee injury after posting 9/118 rushing — he was injured on a bizarre play on which he exploded for 74 yards, fumbled, and the Eagles scored anyway because WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside hustled and fell on the ball in the end zone. The Eagles don’t appear to believe the injury to be too serious, but they play on a short week (Thursday vs. NY Giants), and with their bye coming up in Week 9, Sanders could theoretically get three weeks to rest if he misses the next two games. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported he won’t play on Thursday, as we anticipated. For now, Boston Scott should be a priority waiver add. (JD)
Cam Akers — The start of Akers’ rookie season has been one to forget so far. He struggled in the opener, picked up an injury to his ribs early in Week 2 and missed two games, and has now fallen completely out of favor in this backfield. HC Sean McVay was obviously lying last week when he said he wanted to increase Akers’ workload because he literally played one snap on Sunday Night against the 49ers. One. Right now, there is really no rhyme or reason for how McVay is rotating his backs in and out of the lineup, but one thing is for sure: Akers is way behind both Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown. You can’t drop Akers just yet because there is still upside if Henderson or Brown see their roles cut or miss time, but there is also no way you can plug Akers into lineups anytime soon. The Rams face the Bears in Week 7, the Dolphins in Week 8, and then have their bye in Week 9. (GB)
Wide Receivers
JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson (Pit) — The top of the Steelers WR corps has turned into a major disappointment over the last couple of weeks. JuJu hasn’t reached 50+ receiving yards since Week 1 and he’s fallen below seven FP in each of his last two games after finding the end zone three times in the first three weeks. Ben Roethlisberger has prioritized getting the ball into the hands of his perimeter WRs, specifically Chase Claypool. JuJu has topped out at five targets over the course of his last three games, and his aDOT sits at a lowly 5.0 yards this season after he had an aDOT of 8.7 yards with Big Ben back in 2018. JuJu has failed to get on track the last three weeks even with Diontae basically missing the last three games because of a concussion and now his back injury. Johnson had a clear path to being the #1 WR for Big Ben through two weeks, but Claypool has taken control of that role with his performances over the first six weeks of the season. James Washington is even making a few plays each week, leaving JuJu and Diontae to fight for WR3 production in a diverse passing attack. (TB)
Mike Evans — In what ended up being a completely lopsided affair, Tom Brady only had to throw it 27 times for 166 yards to end up beating the Packers. However, Chris Godwin’s return to the field marked what has been a disturbing trend for Evans so far. In three games Godwin has missed this year, Evans has posted 7/104/1, 7/122/1, and 5/41/1 on 27 targets. When Godwin has played, Evans has gone for 1/2/1, 2/2/2, and 1/10 on just 10 targets. Yikes. I was concerned that the QB change from Jameis Winston to Brady would end up hurting both Godwin and Evans, and so far, that has been the case. To be fair, Evans came into this game with an ankle injury and is probably playing at way less than 100%, but the underlying lack of volume going his way when Godwin has played is by far the bigger concern right now. (GB)
T.Y. Hilton — It’s over. On a day where Philip Rivers dropped back and threw it 44 times, Hilton only managed to get five targets. He caught one of them for 11 yards. After having his season cut short due to a calf injury last year and missing time in August with a hamstring injury, we have to wonder if the 30-year-old just doesn’t have any gas left in the tank. He’s a player who relies on speed to win and he just doesn’t have the same explosiveness anymore. We also have a massive sample size of games that suggests Hilton just isn’t very good for fantasy without former QB Andrew Luck. Since 2015, Hilton has played in 36 games with Luck and 42 without him. With Luck, Hilton averages 16.9 fantasy points and 89.2 yards per game and just 11.0 FPG and 55.7 YPG with all other Colts’ quarterbacks in this timeframe. You can safely drop Hilton in shallow leagues and ignore him in start/sit decisions in deeper formats. (GB)
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz (Phi) — While Carson Wentz was yet again making plays to guys like Travis Fulgham, John Hightower, Richard Rodgers, and Jason Croom, it was painful to watch Ertz slog to another awful stat line in Week 6, catching 4 passes for 33 yards on 10 targets in Week 6 against Baltimore. He left the game with an ankle injury that will cost him a number of weeks, but the “hope” is that the injury has been bothering him for weeks previous, and that’s why Ertz has struggled to be productive. According to PFF, his 229 routes run leads all TEs. However, he’s 20th at the position in receiving yards — right behind Mo Alie-Cox and Anthony Firkser. Yikes. Among players with 20 or more targets, his 0.78 yards per route run is the 9th-worst in the entire league (Fulgham, by contrast, is tied for 3rd). Ertz has run the third-most routes of any player in the league. We’ll see if this foot injury is anything to worry about, but with Dallas Goedert (ankle) eligible to come off IR, Ertz’s role should shrink in this offense once he returns. He’s giving the Eagles nothing. (JD)
Mike Gesicki (Mia) — Gesicki has to rank near the top of the most frustrating fantasy players to own so far in 2020. He failed to catch either of his two targets against the Jets in Week 6 while playing 66% of the snaps. It was made even more painful watching Adam Shaheen (3/51/1 receiving) and Durham Smythe score touchdowns from Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 6. Gesicki now has four games with 30 or fewer receiving yards and three games with 15 or fewer yards, which surround his two blow-up games for 90+ yards and 5+ catches. Gesicki has been incredibly inconsistent and it’s difficult to see it changing with Shaheen and Smythe factoring in behind him. Gesicki is the definition of a boom-or-bust option going forward. (TB)
WATCH LIST
Players whom we’re not ready to upgrade or downgrade, but their situations demand monitoring based on recent play, injuries, or news.
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Christian McCaffrey and Mike Davis (Car) — ESPN’s David Newton said this week that CMC is looking more likely to be ready for Week 8’s Thursday night tilt with the Falcons than Week 7 against the Saints. Why? Because he hasn’t yet returned to practice, and the Panthers haven’t started his 21-day window to be activated off IR. If CMC returns to practice this week, it could well be in anticipation of getting him ready for Week 8 (since it’s a short week). If he doesn’t practice this week, his status for Week 8 is in jeopardy given how little time he has to get ready. His status is more meaningful, though slightly, since Davis (who has been a hammer RB1 in CMC’s absence) got dinged up in Week 6’s loss to Chicago — despite playing 89% of the snaps, he was playing through an ankle injury (and lost a key fumble). There doesn’t appear to be a reason to worry about his Week 7 status, but just keep an eye on it. (JD)
Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison (Min) — Mattison belly-flopped in his chance to be the team’s workhorse back in Week 6 with Dalvin Cook (groin) out of the lineup. Mattison managed just 10/26 rushing while catching one of his two targets for four yards against the Falcons. He played on just 48% of the snaps while Ameer Abdullah saw 29% of the snaps as the hurry-up back with the Vikings playing from behind for most of the game. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Sunday that Cook will be ready to play in Week 8 out of their bye, and he should step right back into his bell-cow role after Mattison disappointed against the Falcons. Mattison can still be stashed in 12-team leagues and deeper because of Cook’s injury history, but his ceiling isn’t as high as we thought since they don’t completely trust him to work as the hurry-up back. (TB)
Mark Ingram and JK Dobbins (Bal) — Ingram played just 9 snaps in Week 6 against Philly, leaving the action with an ankle injury. He briefly returned, indicating the injury isn’t particularly serious, but ceded most of the work to Dobbins (41% snaps) and Gus Edwards (44%). With the Ravens going on bye, it appears likely Ingram will be just fine come Week 8, but could the Ravens do some self-scouting over that bye and try to work the ball into the hands of the more explosive Dobbins on a more regular basis? There’s something missing with this offense (ask anyone who rosters one of these underachieving backs). (JD)
Joe Mixon — Even though he missed some time in the first half with an ankle injury and came back in, Mixon ended up coming through for a decent day (18/54/1 rushing; 2/15 receiving). Gio Bernard annoyingly vultured a touchdown and played a bunch on passing downs, but that has to mostly be because of Mixon’s tweaked ankle. In the previous three games, Mixon barely came off of the field and widely out-snapped Bernard. Mixon and the Bengals play the Browns and Titans next in Week 7-8. (GB)
Raheem Mostert — It has been a rough start to the season for Mostert. He missed Week 3-4 with a sprained knee and picked up another injury at the end of the first-half against the Rams on SNF, this time to his ankle. Mostert tried to return in the third-quarter, but came off to the sidelines after one play and didn’t go back in. It’s unfortunate because Mostert has been incredible when he’s been on the field this year and has been Kyle Shanahan’s clear cut lead back. Mostert has an extra gear that most backs don’t have in the open field and this zone-based scheme suits his running style perfectly, but the injuries are starting to pile up here. Mostert’s Week 7 status is in question and if he can’t go, we’ll see plenty of Jerick McKinnon and Jamycal Hasty while Jeff Wilson (calf) missed Week 6 and Tevin Coleman (knee) remains out. (GB)
Wide Receivers
DeVante Parker (Mia) — Parker has battled through an ankle injury in the early part of the season, and he picked up another potential ailment to monitor going forward. He left Week 6’s blowout victory over the Jets early with a groin issue, and he never returned to the game with the Dolphins coasting to the easy victory — he finished with 3/35 receiving on eight targets before his departure. Parker may have been able to return if Miami was playing in a more competitive game but the Dolphins played it smart with their top WR. He now has Miami’s bye this week to get back to full strength off of his ankle and groin issues. Parker should be ready to go against Jalen Ramsey and company when the Dolphins return in Week 8, but monitor his status over the next week to make sure his groin injury isn’t anything serious. (TB)
Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry (Cle) — The Browns saw steady support in the betting markets leading up to Week 6, which turned out to be a huge mistake with Baker Mayfield trying to play through a rib injury. Mayfield absorbed four sacks and he threw two INTs before HC Kevin Stefanski mercifully pulled the plug in the third quarter. OBJ managed just 2/25 receiving on four targets against the Steelers while Landry didn’t fare much better with 3/40 on five targets. Stefanski said after the game that Baker would be the starter this week unless he’s not healthy enough to play against the Bengals. It’s fair to wonder if this offense would be in better hands with Case Keenum even if Baker is at full strength since Baker has averaged more than 6.8 YPA just once in six games. OBJ is a boom-or-bust WR3 while Landry is an uninspiring WR4 option with their shaky QB situation. (TB)
Darius Slayton (NYG) — The Giants and The Team played one of the sloppiest games of Week 6, so at least Slayton got in the end zone — he had just 2 catches for 41 yards and a TD against the Team. He came into the game with a questionable designation because of a foot injury, and it was clearly bothering him throughout the game. The fact that he played through it is a good sign. The fact that the Giants play on a short week on Thursday Night Football against Philly (with Slayton likely catching a Darius Slay shadow in one of the best-named matchups of all time) isn’t. (JD)
D.J. Chark — In what was easily Gardner Minshew’s worst outing of the season, the Jaguars offense didn’t show up in a great matchup against the Lions. Chark was the biggest disappointment, though. He saw a season-high 14 targets, but only came down with seven of them for 45 yards. To be fair, Chark was likely playing below 100% because of an ankle injury that limited him for most of the week. Still, this game was just another point in what has been a completely up-and-down season for Chark so far. Next week, the Jaguars take on the Chargers before they go into their bye in Week 8. (GB)
Davante Adams — Even though the Packers offense and Aaron Rodgers didn’t show up in Tampa this week, Davante Adams’ return to the lineup was a welcome sight. After missing two games and having the bye week to get his injured hamstring right, Adams got 10 targets and went for 6/61. Look for Green Bay’s offense to bounce back quickly in their next two games against the Texans and Vikings terrible defenses. (GB)
Deebo Samuel — After missing the first three games of the year with a foot fracture, Samuel was lightly involved in his Week 4 return and then the 49ers fell apart in Week 5 in Miami. However, Jimmy Garoppolo returned to form on Sunday Night and Samuel looked like hasn’t lost any explosiveness en route to his best game of the year (6/61/1). George Kittle is the clear No. 1 target here but Samuel has reasserted himself as the No. 2. Over the last two weeks, Samuel has out-targeted Brandon Aiyuk 14 to 8. (GB)
Tight Ends
Jonnu Smith (Ten) — Smith had just 1 catch for 13 yards on 2 targets, playing just 29 snaps before leaving with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, backup Anthony Firkser went off for over 100 yards and a TD. It was just bad luck in a good matchup, but Smith apparently avoided serious injury, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter saying he’s questionable for this coming weekend’s game against the Steelers. Jonnu has been a TE1 when on the field — Sunday was the only game this year in which he wasn’t a top-12 option at the position, and it was only because he got hurt. When he’s back out there, start him. (JD)
T.J. Hockenson — For as long as this Lions staff is around, we’re going to continue to feel underwhelmed by Hockenson. Despite having an All-Pro at quarterback, Detroit refuses to open up their offense and let Matthew Stafford chuck it. The lack of volume has really limited Hockenson to a touchdown-or-bust play up to this point. Over his first five games, Hockenson has seen more than five targets once and has been held to just 4/26/2 combined over his last two outings. Hockenson is getting end-zone targets, which is great, but the lack of actual work in between the 20s has been disappointing, to say the least. Like with D’Andre Swift, it’s unlikely this staff will actually realize the talent they have on the roster and feature their best players. Danny Amendola, Jesse James, Marvin Hall, and “Jamal Agnew” all combined for 8 targets in Week 6. At least Hockenson has another amazing matchup next week against the Falcons. (GB)
