What an absolute week of insanity.  Derrick Henry, Aaron Rodgers, Henry Ruggs, Calvin Ridley.  You know it’s a crazy week when Michael Thomas announcing he’s out for the season is a fairly minor headline.  Now more than ever we need to focus on the ever changing landscape and make sure we are paying attention to the right details.  You only get one Sunday and it goes by in a blur so lets dial it in.  Here is what I’m looking for with each offense.

*All times below are Eastern Standard Time*

Jets @ Colts - Thursday 8:20 PM (Recap)

Jets - It felt like a true breakout for Elijah Moore this week but he still played less than 60% of the snaps (a guy like Jamison Crowder played almost 80%.  We would love to see him get a full workload but the impending return of Corey Davis could hamper that as well.

Colts -  The Colts with Carson Wentz SEEMS like a spot for a tight end to thrive - especially with Parris Campbell out and TY Hilton often injured.  But they deploy both Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox in a fairly annoying fashion.  That’s the most interesting situation to monitor, especially if one ever goes down. 

 

Broncos @ Cowboys - Sunday 1:00 PM

Broncos - I’m a big tight end guy so I’m truly excited to see Albert Okwuegbunam if Noah Fant is out with COVID.  He’s on waivers in a lot of dynasty leagues but we’ve seen athletic tight ends emerge from behind starters to have good careers.  Delanie Walker and Dallas Goedert, for instance.

Cowboys - The moment of truth.  Michael Gallup returns.  Dalton Schultz is the one who is most at risk of losing his high end upside.  Let’s see what it looks like. 
 

Raiders @ Giants - Sunday 1:00 PM

Raiders - Woof.  This team is DEEP in turmoil.  But we have to talk football here.  There is a brand new level of opportunity for Bryan Edwards, Hunter Renfroe, and possibly Zay Jones.  Let’s see what happens.

Giants - For one time, I’d just like to see what this team looks like with everyone healthy.  Then we can figure out which WRs we want for fantasy playoffs or not.  Once again we won’t have Sterling Shepard but Kenny Golladay is back at practice.  Let’s see what he can do at least.

 

Falcons @ Saints - Sunday 1:00 PM

Falcons - Calvin Ridley was placed on the NFI list meaning that’s a minimum three weeks he will miss.  Can Tajae Sharpe or Russell Gage step up? Can’t trust them as of now. 

Saints - It’s too easy to say let’s see what happens with the new QB so I’ll give you an interesting one to look for - Adam Trautman.  Trautman went from playing ~7 snaps at WR a week to playing ~18 a week the last three weeks.  With a new QB and Michael Thomas done for the year, the window for upside is open a bit. 

 

Bills @ Jaguars - Sunday 1:00 PM

Bills - Emmanuel Sanders scored zero fantasy points last week.  But he played a full snap share and had over 100 unrealized air yards - the most of any WR.  I might actually even trust him this week even after a zero but I’ll be watching closely. 

Jaguars - It’s all about Dan Arnold right now.  He played a huge snap share including 78% of his snaps at WR.  Can he be this year’s Logan Thomas and save us at tight end?

 

Patriots @ Panthers - Sunday 1:00 PM

Patriots - If Jakobi Meyers catches one pass for three yards without scoring, he will be the all time leader in receiving yards without a touchdown.  Can we get this man into the endzone please?

Panthers - If you took Christian McCaffrey at 1 overall, you’ve been hurting.  We might finally see him this week. 

 

Vikings @ Ravens - Sunday 1:00 PM

Vikings - The surface numbers for Tyler Conklin have been pretty decent but the underlying numbers have been problematic - he’s the only tight end in the top 30 tight ends to block on 18% of his pass plays.  This week he has a great matchup so the outcome of this week will likely show us whether or not he can be trusted.

Ravens - This rushing attack is too good for there not to actually be a usable asset outside of Lamar Jackson.  My money would be on Latavius Murray but SOMEONE has to emerge.  Right? Right?? 


Browns @ Bengals - Sunday 1:00 PM

Browns - Woof - Odell Beckham finally shot his way out of town.  We know who Jarvis Landry is and what he does.  Is someone else going to step up?  Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz are the most appealing. 

Bengals - Joe Mixon got hurt and he was splitting snaps for a bit but last week trended in the right direction with Samaje Perine taking a deeper back seat.  Are we going to get a fully unleashed Joe Mixon at some point? The upside with the re-invigorated offense is tremendous.  

 

Texans @ Dolphins - Sunday 1:00 PM

Texans - Brandin Cooks was on FIRE to start the season before TyRod Taylor went down.  Let’s see if that magic comes back with his return. 

Dolphins - The running back position with this team has not been trustworthy with guys snap counts floating all over the place.  But as of late Myles Gaskin has seemingly captured that role.  This is a great matchup if that truly is the case.

 

Chargers @ Eagles - Sunday 4:05 PM

Chargers - Darius Slay has been a killer this year and he does a lot of shadowing. Keenan Allen is the wiley veteran while Mike Williams is the emerging star.  It will be very interesting to see which one the Eagles care more about taking away. Could be telling about how teams view the Chargers these days. 

Eagles - We really didn’t get a good look at this RB group because the Lions didn’t put up much of a fight.  If it’s really going to be a three headed monster while Miles Sanders is out, that sure would be frustrating for fantasy owners.  
 

Packers @ Chiefs - Sunday 4:25 PM

Packers - Every single game there is at least something weird going on.  Jordan Love is the most interesting thing with Rodgers out but I’d just like to mention this - with Tonyan done, will we get to see if maybe Allen Lazard takes those snaps, Josiah Deguara gets some, or Marcedes Lewis works into the pass game more. 

Chiefs - Josh Gordon finally played a real snap share - 32 snaps.  Andy Reid said he’s “really close” to breaking out.  Would love to see what Andy thinks is coming. 
 

Cardinals @ 49ers - Sunday 4:25 PM

Cardinals - Here’s another one - possibly no Kyler Murray.  Really interested to see who Colt McCoy likes in this offense so we can put that info in our back pocket just in case. 

49ers - One big story line here - George Kittle.  He comes back to the absolute worst possible matchup but I care more about whether he’s ready to play every snap or whether we need to worry about his usage. 

 

Titans @ Rams - Sunday 4:25 PM

Titans - Just when you thought we hit all the big storylines - no Derrick Henry.  Adrian Peterson was quickly activated to the full time roster.  He could be HUGE for anyone that got him. 

Rams - With DeSean Jackson, Tutu Atwell, and Johnny Mundt all out, the Rams don’t have much choice but to go 11 personnel.  Can Van Jefferson emerge as an asset with this new snap share?

 

Bears @ Steelers - Sunday 4:25 PM

Bears - Justin Fields had a normal day passing but he really broke out on the ground here which is what we were all hoping for.  If he can keep that momentum going with anything close to last week, he becomes VERY interesting in 4 point passing leagues. 

Steelers - With Eric Ebron and JuJu Smith-Schuster out, Pat Freiermuth was front and center and he delivered.  Ebron might return at some point to spoil the party but there is no doubt Freiermuth is looking like a good dynasty asset.