Fantasy Football News | Page 13

No Trevor Lawrence (concussion protocol) or Zay Jones (hamstring) at Thursday’s Jaguars practice. Second consecutive day both players have missed.

All other players were present. Another day of starting reps for QB CJ Beathard.

Related Players: Calvin Ridley, Parker Washington, Jamal Agnew

Looks like it could be a Beathard week, who actually gets a great matchup against the Buccaneers this week, though it wouldn't look as decent if Zay Jones ends up missing. Calvin Ridley would get enough of a target boost to consider him a WR2, while Washington would be a FLEX option.

John Metchie III (illness), Brevin Jordan (illness), Nico Collins (calf), Shaq Mason (calf), and Jimmie Ward (concussion) returned to practice.

Related Players: Noah Brown, Robert Woods, Dalton Schultz, Xavier Hutchinson

The passing attack didn't look great with Case Keenum under center, but Noah Brown saw a huge target share, turning 11 into 8-82-1. If Nico Collins is good to go for Week 16, he should slide back into the No. 1 role, which should offer a fantasy WR2 with limited upside if C.J. Stroud misses, which looks like the strongest possibility.

Mike Tomlin officially ruled out QB Kenny Pickett for Saturday’s game vs. Cincinnati. Steelers’ QB Mason Rudolph officially starts.

Related Players: Mitch Trubisky

It is very unlikely that Rudolph hits the ground running to bolster this anemic offense. The last time we saw a Mason Rudolph start was in Week 10 of the 2021 season, when it took him 52 dropbacks to grind out 242 yards, with 4.8 yards per attempt. He is a desperation-play Superflex option, even in a good matchup against the Bengals defense.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor returns to practice at full speed for the first time since thumb surgery. Whether he plays on Sunday will be determined by how he holds up.

"You've definitely got to see it full speed at practice for sure," Taylor said today.

Related Players: Trey Sermon, Tyler Goodson

With Zack Moss potentially looking at a multi-week absence, we have to assume Taylor will be getting a huge workload ahead of Sermon and Goodson, which makes him an RB1 option against the Falcons if he suits up.

The Saints will have WR Chris Olave (ankle) tonight, and young RB Kendre Miller (ankle) is likely to play, as well.

Related Players: Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Taysom Hill

Miller has been out since Week 9, and hadn't seen continuous usage since Week 5 (12-37-0), when Kamara was still serving his suspension. The rookie is a fairly decent stash in very deep leagues, should anything happen to Kamara.

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase will be out this week against PIT, Zac Taylor said.

Related Players: Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin

Higgins and Boyd get the biggest bump, as a high-end WR2 and low-end WR3, respectively. Chase looks iffy for Week 17 as it currently stands, so see what you can do to insulate yourself for next week, just in case.

Seahawks QB Geno Smith (groin) will be a full go in practice today, per Pete Carroll. "That's exciting for us," he said.

Related Players: Drew Lock

Smith returns to a pretty nice Week 16 matchup against the Titans, and should be considered a borderline QB1.

Vikings are holding a walk-thru today. Didn't see RB Alexander Mattison during the portion open to reporters. Kevin O'Connell didn't rule out Mattison for Sunday's game but spoke more strongly today than he did Monday about the likelihood of Ty Chandler being their primary RB.

A follow-up quote was even more promising for Ty Chandler to continue getting a big load if Mattison misses;

"We're kind of building with the mindset that Ty is going to be a guy we're trying to get the ball to a lot, both in the run and the pass, and if we have Alex that's going to be a huge bonus for the depth and making sure we have our full group available."

Chandler should be an RB1 if he gets anything approaching the 26 (!!) opportunities he earned in Week 15.

The Colts did not practice today, but on their estimated report:

- RB Jonathan Taylor was a full participant
- WR Michael Pittman, Jr. was a limited participant
- RB Zack Moss was a non-participant

Still early in the week to project exact usage for the Colts skill position players with so much still up in the air, but we'll keep an eye on it. If Pittman does go, he is in a decent spot against the Falcons, and would boost Gardner Minshew into streaming consideration.

In open part of Cardinals practice, WR Hollywood Brown was not out there. Jonathan Gannon said earlier they need a healthy Brown "to help us win."

Also not spotted:
ILB Josh Woods
WR Greg Dortch

Related Players: Michael Wilson, Rondale Moore, Greg Dortch

Hollywood Brown popped for 12 targets and 88 yards back in Week 12 but has combined for a total of 60 snaps, three targets, and zero receptions in the two following games. Even if he is cleared ahead of Week 16, it will be nearly impossible to trust him in the fantasy Semi-Finals.