Chris Hogan emerging as the new Julian Edelman highlights this week’s NFL Week That Was.

Chris Hogan:  Chris Hogan is the new Julian Edelman.  There, I said it.  Thursday, Hogan was targeted a team-high 11 times, hauling in 8 for 74 yards and a TD.  On the year, Hogan has been targeted in the red zone a whopping 35 times, converting 5 of those into TDs.  As long as he can stay healthy, Hogan (whether Gronk plays or not) will be a huge target monster who should be in your lineup every week.  If there is a Hogan owner in your league looking to sell high, well stop reading, send the email/make the call, get yourself a PPR stud and then come back and finish this article. 

Jay Cutler:   Jay Cutler has just been awful.  Even though his team squeaked out a win against Matt Cassel Sunday (yes, that is dripping in sarcasm), Cutler managed just 92 yards passing.  Ugh.  If you own Davante Parker, Jarvis Landry, Julius Thomas or even Kenny Stills, you have to think long and hard before plugging them into your standard lineup.  In PPR, Landry still goes but not with the same excitement you would have if Matt Moore or even Steve DeBerg was under center.   Your best hope for Dolphin fantasy stats next Sunday in Atlanta is the vaunted Blake Bortlesesque garbage time treats.

Ed Dickson:   Ed Dickson had a huge Sunday hauling in 5 targets for 175 yards.  Yes, I know he is not Greg Olsen but watch Dickson play, he goes up after the ball well, adjusts to bad throws well (as the videotape proves), and will continue to fill in well for Olsen.  I ordinarily stay away from the Thursday night game but I like Dickson to provide value against the Iggles – especially in a week where Jimmy Graham and Jason Witten are on bye and Charles Clay and Tyler Eifert are dealing with injuries. 

George Kittle:  As predicted by our very own Howard Bender here at Fantasy Alarm, George Kittle broke out Sunday nabbing 7 receptions for 83 yards and a TD.  Rookie Tight Ends are rarely fantasy superstars but the new management in SF traded away incumbent Vance McDonald, opening the door for Kittle.  SF will be down often and Kittle could well see a continuous stream of targets in this rebuilding year.  Buy!

Marlon Mack:  Marlon Mack carried nine times for 91 yards and a TD.  If you watched Mack run Sunday you saw a back poised to break out.  Frank Gore has been an amazing player in the NFL for a very long time but the Colts are going nowhere and Marlon Mack is the future.  Watch for Mack, who is already averaging 4.5 yards per carry (after almost 7 per carry in college), to overtake Gore very soon.  When it happens officially it will be too late to acquire him in fantasy football.  Act now!

Cameron Brate:  Last week we wrote: “Cameron Brate had a nice game on the stat sheets – 4 catches, 80 yards and a TD.  However, the real story comes from watching the game.  Yes, Mike Evans will dominate the target share and yes Desean Jackson is exciting but when it comes to crunch time, Jameis Winston trusts his Tight End to make the big grab and to be where he is supposed to be.  That should yield a bunch of TD as the year goes on.  Brate is undervalued now but will not be for long.  Act now!” Brate went out Thursday night and put up the numbers – 5 catches for 68 yards and a TD.  Oh, and it could have been even bigger had he hauled in one more of his 3 red zone targets.  If Brate is somehow still available in your league (maybe some OJ Howard fan still believes), grab him. Winston is a gunslinger and he clearly has eyes for Brate.

Final Note:  I said this last week and it warrants repeating -- If you want to be really good at fantasy football, you need to understand the game of football itself.  You need to watch games or at least watch good portions of games to understand the numbers you see on the stat sheet.  Of course, many do not have time to do that but have no fear, the team of experts at Fantasy Alarm does that study.  Their wisdom is right here on these pages for you to absorb.  [11] weeks to go in most fantasy seasons.  There is plenty of time to improve or continue dominance as the case may be.  Read on!