Get Marquise Brown Back Into Your Lineup! ▶️

Hamstrings, hamstrings, and more hamstrings. Tee Higgins and Keaton Mitchell are the latest victims.

What’s in store:

• First Ja’Marr, now Higgins? 😭 The Bengals WR room is suddenly in danger of being without its top two threats this week.

• C.J. Stroud could be without one of his top targets this week. nico Collins is dealing with a calf injury.

• No end in sight for Raiders wide receivers. It could be another long weekend for Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers managers. 😬

• Are we giving Deshaun Watson enough credit as a fantasy QB? The shoulder saga was weird, but he’s been surprisingly good otherwise.

• Texans WR Nico Collins not spotted during media portion of practice Wednesday or Thursday

  • Collins was listed as limited on Wednesday’s practice report with a calf injury, so it doesn’t seem like he was truly a DNP as the reports of his absence on Wednesday indicated - but it remains unclear the exact extent of the injury he’s dealing with going into Week 10. Collins had the quietest day of the Texans’ big 3 wide receivers in C.J. Stroud’s historic performance this past Sunday, and will now have to work through a potential injury this week to see the field on Sunday. While his status for Houston’s game against Cincinnati is by no means in serious jeopardy, it’ll be worth checking back tonight to see whether or not Collins lands on the third and final practice report going into the weekend. If Collins would miss, Tank Dell and Noah Brown would both see significant bumps up the rankings, while Dalton Schultz would have a better chance of staying hot against the Bengals, as well.

• Bengals WR Tee Higgins espected to miss Sunday’s game against the Texans with hamstring injury

  • The dreaded hamstring claims yet another victim, and it’s yet another top-flight wide receiver. Higgins reportedly suffered the injury during Wednesday’s practice, and it’s evident that the injury is serious enough for the Bengals to rule him out on Thursday. With Ja’Marr Chase also not practicing, the Bengals could potentially be down their top two receiving options in an intriguing matchup with the Texans in Week 10. It’s a tough break for Higgins and his managers, who were anticipating a much higher target share for him with Chase potentially sidelined for a week or two. Cincinnati is calling Higgins week-to-week, which is relatively discouraging given the nature of hamstring injuries. Fantasy managers should be prepared for a prolonged absence and hope that the injury doesn’t send the Bengals’ No. 2 receiver to short term IR.

• Commanders WR Curtis Samuel practices Thursday, has a chance to return Week 10 vs Seahawks

  • This is notable because in the game time that Samuel has missed (roughly 1 ½ games), second-year WR Jahan Dotson has seen his utilization and fantasy production skyrocket – something noted earlier this week in the newsletter. Before going down in Week 8 against the Eagles, Samuel had scored a touchdown in two games from Weeks 4-7 and totaled at least 14.2 fantasy points in three games in that same span. In a pass-first offense, Samuel will have upside once again as a flex candidate and potentially at the expense of Jahan Dotson’s workload - which has been the case so far this season. Fantasy managers can temper expectations this week especially if he’s questionable heading into the game, but Samuel should go back to fulfilling his role as a serviceable spot starter in most lineups by Week 11.

Good matchups:

Marquise Brown vs ATL

He’s gotta be one of the most fun plays of the week considering that Kyler Murray will be back under center. At this point, you throw everything we’ve seen out the window and move forward with optimism that Hollywood can go on a tear the rest of the way. He was already seeing a 29% target share and 43% air yards share with Josh Dobbs under center, and that type of utilization should be the expectation for Brown in an offense that’s going to be a lot better.

Now, there’s a chance that Murray could be rusty - he hasn’t played a game since Week 14 of last year, and the new Call of Duty just came out. But I think it won’t take long for him to acclimate, and then you look at the matchup this week for Brown on that left side - the Falcons are allowing the 10th most fantasy points to wide receivers on the left side over the past four games, and they’re a top 15 matchup overall on the season. Seventh most fantasy points overall, too, over the past four weeks.

Brown was averaging 17.2 fantasy points per game with Kyler Murray at QB last year, which would rank him as the WR11 this year. Brown will finally have some upside moving forward with his old college teammate back in the fold.

Michael Pittman Jr. vs NE

Pittman has been one of the most consistent fantasy receivers this season even with the turbulence under center in Indianapolis. He’s consistently earned targets and produced regardless of the matchups he’s faced, and that’s thanks to a 30% target share since week 6 when Gardner Minshew took over as full time starter. Pittman has caught at least eight passes in all but three of his games this season and has put up double-digit point totals in every game but one, as well.

And with a matchup against the Patriots, who are allowing the second-most fantasy points to perimeter receivers this season and are fresh off allowing two top-24 fantasy finishes to wide receivers last week against Washington, Pittman has a chance to turn in his third-straight top-15 fantasy performance this week. He can be fired up as a high-end WR2 with some upside in the NFL’s final game of the season across the pond.

Bat Matchups:

Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers vs NYJ

Justin Herbert completed just sixteen passes for 136 scoreless yards against the Jets defense in a game they won 27-6, and Keenan Allen was the only player to catch more than two passes from Herbert. If the Chargers offense struggled against the Jets, then you can bet Aidan O’Connell will this week.

This New York defense is much different than the New York defense Las Vegas faced last week, and even against that defense, Davante Adams only caught four passes. Jakobi Meyers had to do his best Deebo Samuel impression, too against the Giants last week to be relevant! The Jets are allowing the fewest fantasy points to perimeter receivers and the fewest fantasy points to receivers overall this year.

Taking the under would be advisable in this one, I would say (the total is currently sitting at 37 – the lowest of any game this week), and that spells another week of diluted fantasy production from Adams and Meyers. At this point, there’s no end in sight – Adams did see a 29% target share last week, but Adams has scored more than nine fantasy points just once over the past five weeks. If there were a matchup for him to turn things around in, this game against the Jets isn’t it.

The beginning of Deshaun Watson’s return campaign in 2023 hasn’t exactly gone according to plan with the first half of his season marred by a shoulder injury saga that drew way more attention than was necessary. That storyline was punctuated by an abysmal outing in Week 7 against Indianapolis, when Watson returned to play just 16% of the team’s offensive snaps en route to completing just one of his five passes for five yards and an interception. For many, it’s been that performance that has lingered in their minds when it comes to Deshaun Watson’s outlook for the rest of the season, but does that game truly tell the whole story of what Watson has in store for the second half of the year?

In four games this season where Watson starts and plays 90+% of the Browns’ offensive snaps, he’s averaging 18.6 fantasy points per game – which would tie Sam Howell and Justin Fields for the ninth-most on average this season. That number ranks above the likes of Dak Prescott (18.2), Jared Goff (17.9), and Brock Purdy (17.9). He also has three weekly top-10 finishes in those four full games with seven total touchdowns and three interceptions.

But wait, there’s more: while it should be conceded that Watson and the Browns have a very tough test ahead of them in Week 10 going to Baltimore to face the Ravens, the schedule after that game is actually pretty favorable down the stretch. The Browns have already had their bye, and have dates with the Broncos, Jaguars, and Bears in three of their five games from Week 11-15. For anyone keeping track at home: that’s three matchups against teams inside the top-7 for most fantasy points allowed to the quarterback position so far this season. Could we start to see Watson turn back the clock and look more like his old self on the NFL season’s back nine?