Trevor Lawrence practices Thursday 😳

Well – that was a much more entertaining game than anyone really thought it would be.

What’s in store:

• Breece Hall and Isiah Pacheco haven’t practiced yet this week. 🤕 It all comes down to today’s practice reports.

• Trevor Lawrence is practicing??? Apparently, and there are videos of him doing so to prove it. Could he actually suit up this week?

• Jefferson, Goedert, and Knox could all be back this week. Faraz tells us exactly what that means for each player and the offenses they rejoin.

• Jake Ferguson is flying under the radar - even in the Cowboys offense. See what’s got the fantasy community intrigued by the second-year pass catcher.

• Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco has yet to practice this week, missed Wednesday and Thursday with shoulder injury

  • The question around the remote office this week here at Upper Hand regarding Isiah Pacheco was originally ‘is Jerick McKinnon going to play this week?’ That’s because in the two games that McKinnon has missed these past two weeks, Pacheco has finished as the RB8 or better on the week with at least four targets and three catches in each game. The question has changed over the past 24 hours now, and it’s now ‘is Isiah Pacheco going to play this week?’ A day off Wednesday isn’t usually a reason for concern especially for a player coming off a strong performance like Pacheco had in Week 13, but a second-straight DNP opens up the possibility for him to miss the Chiefs’ Week 14 game against the Bills. With both Pacheco and McKinnon nursing injuries at the moment, there’s a chance that Clyde Edwards-Helaire could be worth a look as a candidate for more touches than usual this week. Fantasy managers shouldn’t panic just yet and pay attention to practice reports today to see whether or not Pacheco is able to log at least a limited practice - he he practices Friday, he’ll likely end up playing Sunday.

• Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence practices on Thursday, reportedly pushing to play Sunday vs Browns

  • Just days after having his ankle rolled up on in the Jaguars’ Monday night loss to the Bengals, Lawrence took to the practice field in limited capacity on Thursday. While it’s certainly a step in the right direction for Jacksonville’s franchise guy, the climb back to being able to start this weekend remains steep. If Lawrence would defy the odds and be able to play Sunday against the Browns, though, he’d have a very tough matchup against Myles Garrett and the smothering Browns defense on what would likely be half an ankle. The picture I just painted isn’t rosy, and that’s by design – especially when you consider the fact that Lawrence has leaned on four rushing touchdowns in the past three games to propel him to three straight top-6 finishes in that span, including the overall QB1 in Week 11. If Lawrence is good to go, he’ll likely be a mid-high QB2 with limited upside. If he’s not able to suit up, backup QB C.J. Beathard offers little in the way of hope that he could make any of the Jaguars’ weapons relevant in relief of Lawrence.

• Jets RB Breece Hall misses practice Thursday with ankle injury, has yet to practice ahead of Week 14 matchup vs Texans

  • Much like the situation with Isiah Pacheco as outlined earlier in this newsletter, Hall’s situation will be one worth monitoring today and as we draw nearer to Sunday afternoon. Despite piss-poor offensive play from the Jets this season and particularly these past two weeks with Tim Boyle under center, Hall has been able to maintain a comfortable production baseline throughout the season. He’s scored at least 10 PPR points in each of his past eight games this season, and would potentially have an opportunity to bounce back this week with QB Zach Wilson back in the saddle if he’s able to go. It’ll come down to the practice report later today to determine the best course of action moving forward with Breece, but fantasy managers should be prepared regardless to forge ahead without the explosive running back in Week 14. The weather in this one could also be a factor, making Hall an intriguing start as a low-RB2 if he does suit up.

Justin Jefferson

• We finally have Justin Jefferson practicing in full, and it looks like he’ll be back this week. Finally! Throw him back into your lineup without hesitation - don’t overthink this one. He actually has a good matchup on that left perimeter against the Raiders - they’ve given up the 3rd most fantasy points to WRs lining up on the side over the last 4 weeks. I think Jordan Addison takes a step down assuming that the top targets will be Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson… Addison wasn’t taking over as that guy for them anyway without Kirk Cousins, so he’s an iffy start for me this week.

Dallas Goedert

• Dallas Goedert is likely back this week after getting a full practice on Wednesday… that’s a pretty good sign he’ll be good to go against the Cowboys this week. This has been the game the Eagles were targeting for his return and that’s the reason why they didn’t put him on IR, so I think you play him if you have him unless you have the Top-6 or 7 guys ahead of him, including Jake Ferguson who has a good matchup against Philly. Outside of those guys… LaPorta, Kittle, Hock, Kincaid, maybe Dalton Schultz if he’s good to go… I think Goedert is next up for me, ahead of guys like Isaiah Likely and Evan Engram.

• With Goedert back, there is a chance Devonta Smith takes a step back in targets… but if you remember, something similar happened last year where Goedert missed Weeks 11 through 15, and Devonta benefitted the rest of the way. Smith went 8 for 113 with 2 TDs and then 9 for 115 in the two games after Goedert returned, so you never know… keep starting Devonta Smith.

Dawson Knox

• Dawson Knox practiced in full on Wednesday after the Bills opened up his 21-day practice window - and that full practice means he could potentially play this week. The question now becomes: what happens to Kincaid? Do they do what they did before where they had these guys rotate and play a lot of 12 personnel with 2 TEs on the field? Once Knox went down, Kincaid’s route participation went full-time… before that, we were looking at only 67%. Hopefully that’s not something we see unfold this week against the Chiefs - rational coaching would tell you that it shouldn’t happen because you’re actually getting production out of that position now, and you were not getting production out of the TE position before that. Josh Allen needs weapons behind Stefon Diggs… but I don’t know if I can count on rational coaching with this team. I’m hoping they don’t touch Kincaid’s role, but we’re about to find out over the next week or two after we see Knox play 1 or 2 games.

The bye week has proven to be transformative for the Cowboys offense this season, with players like Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb both ranking inside the top-3 in fantasy football at their respective positions on the season thanks to an incredible second half of the year so far. Lost in the noise of their fantastic years has been Jake Ferguson, who’s production has become much more reliable with Prescott elevating his play and the fantasy value of all of the players around him.

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Ferguson, who after scoring just one touchdown on a mere two end zone targets through the first six games has turned things around in the past six games. Since Week 8, Ferguson has earned the most end zone targets of any tight end in the NFL (6), while also catching the most touchdown passes in the league, as well, in that span.

Despite that hyper-efficient touchdown production and heavy usage in the end zone, Ferguson remains just the TE8 in fantasy points per game over the past two weeks thanks to two single-digit performances in Weeks 11 and 12 - one of which came as a relatively large surprise considering the way the Cowboys were able to move the ball against the Commanders on Thanksgiving. It should come as no surprise that the two games where Ferguson failed to crack double digits were the games that he didn’t score a touchdown in, making him a touchdown dependent TE1 with plenty of upside this week against the Eagles.

While there is still some volatility to his game, Ferguson has taken significant strides forward in the past few weeks along with the Cowboys passing offense, which is the hottest in the NFL right now. As long as Dallas can keep up the production we’ve seen from them in the past six weeks, it’s going to be impossible to leave Ferguson out of fantasy lineups the rest of the way.