Uh Oh: Ja'Marr Chase Isn't At Practice Wednesday 🚨

Still can’t get over how bad the primetime slate looks this week. Maybe it’s not Al Michaels that’s washed - maybe it’s just incredibly low quality games on a weekly basis.

What’s in store:

• Ja’Marr Chase misses practice to open the week. 😦 It’s only Thursday, but he’s trending in the wrong direction these past few days since suffering a back injury.

• The Cardinals could get Kyler Murray AND James Conner back in Week 10! Big stock up for Arizona’s offense overall if they do. 📈

• Who should you be targeting at the fantasy trade deadline? Tyler’s got you covered with five players to buy.

• Gus Edwards and Kareem Hunt have been… efficient. Too efficient, actually. See why their recent success might be short lived.

• Cardinals RB James Conner designated to return from IR on Wednesday, could suit up vs. Falcons in Week 10

  • The potential returns of both Conner and Kyler Murray this week should be music to the ears of fantasy managers after bearing witness to the offensive debacle the Cardinals muddled though against the Browns in Week 9. The last time Conner was in the lineup, he was dominating the rushing share to a tune of 62% of rushing attempts and 83% of short down and distance attempts. That volume gave him a solid weekly RB2 floor as the RB16 in fantasy points per game through the first four weeks of the season before he went down in Week 5 - and it should be noted that that production came in a Josh Dobbs-led offense, not a Kyler Murray offense. With Murray at the helm, the entire Arizona offense gets an upgrade, and Conner has a chance at fringe-RB1 upside the rest of the way assuming he gets his lead role back in short order. It’s not guaranteed that Conner will be back in Week 10, but fantasy managers can expect his return very soon regardless, even if it’s not this Sunday.

• Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase misses practice on Wednesday with back injury

  • The WR4 in fantasy points per game since Week 3, Chase missing practice on Wednesday casts a dark shadow over his availability for the immediate future. This development comes on the heels of concerning comments from Chase himself regarding his health, who said that he’s just got to “get healthy for the team” following their win against the Bills on SNF. Clearly something is amiss for the superstar wide receiver right now, and it will be important to monitor his status over the next two days as the Bengals gear up to host the Texans on Sunday. With the full extent of the injury unknown at this moment in time, fantasy managers should be prepared to be without their WR1 for at least this week and potentially a few more games moving forward. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd would receive significant bumps in volume should Chase miss time moving forward.

• Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell plays down prospect of Justin Jefferson returning in Week 10

  • Specifically, O’Connell said that it would be ‘a little aggressive’ to have Jefferson return in Week 10. All things considered, the fact that there’s even a chance that Jefferson could start this week is a good sign for him being available sooner rather than later, especially given that the worst-case scenario for Jefferson was a six-week absence at the outset of his recovery. With the Vikings right in the thick of the playoff hunt and with new life via acquisition of Josh Dobbs, there’s no reason for Minnesota to rush Jefferson back - but if he doesn’t go this week, fantasy managers can pinpoint Week 11 as a likely date for his return. In the meantime, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson should continue to lead the target share for another week with the help of Josh Dobbs under center.

1. Marquise Brown - WR, Arizona Cardinals

• Last chance to get Marquise Brown! He's coming off a down week (4 catches, 24 yards) with Clayton Tune at QB, but now will get his QB back in Kyler Murray this week. With Murray at QB and Brown serving as the Cardinals' top WR, Brown was the WR5 in fantasy points and ranked 4th in the NFL in targets.

• He draws the 5th-easiest remaining schedule and the 2nd-easiest playoff schedule. Brown's a potential league-winning WR2 option likely to cost FLEX/WR3 value via trade. I'm doing anything I can this week to get Brown before he starts to rebound with an increased target share with Murray back under center.

2. Puka Nacua - WR, Los Angeles Rams

• The early-season explosion for Nacua has slowly dissipated over the last few weeks with the return of Cooper Kupp, exceeding 7+ points in just one of his last four games. The volume is still there for Nacua to be productive, receiving 7+ targets in every game this season, and while he's going through a slump right now, especially with the injury to Matthew Stafford, the end of 2023 projects to be very kind to Nacua.

• If you’re trading for Nacua, you may not see top-15 results immediately, especially as Stafford recovers to full strength in time for a top-10 playoff schedule. You should be able to get Nacua at some form of a discount, especially given his limited recent success - I'm targeting him as a WR2 for mid-to-low WR2 value. 

3. Bijan Robinson - RB, Atlanta Falcons

• It has been a rough couple of weeks for Bijan, who has not eclipsed 20+ points since hitting that benchmark in each of his first two career games and has failed to hit 14 points in five straight weeks. Outside of the anomaly of his "headache" game, we just saw Bijan's floor with 59 yards and a lost fumble (5.9 points).

• He's not going to get goal-line work this season, but he will likely be more involved as the season progresses if Arthur Smith has any intention of competing for a playoff spot (and keeping his job for 2024).

• You're likely buying Bijan at the lowest point this season. I'd be hesitant to have him as my RB1 at the moment, but if you can acquire him as your RB2, he could be a league-winner, especially with the 5th-easiest remaining schedule and the 2nd-easiest playoff schedule among RBs. Buy him while owners are panicking from a down stretch. 

4. David Montgomery - RB, Detroit Lions

• Through the first five weeks, the Lions' backfield was David Montgomery as the 1 and then Jahmyr Gibbs as the definitive number 2. After a Week 6 injury that paved the way for Jahmyr Gibbs' back-to-back 125+ yard, 1-TD games (including a 190-yard, 1-TD Week 8 performance), it sounds as if it will be a true split between the two going forward.

• Traditionally, I would be avoiding Montgomery - a TD-dependent (and relatively inefficient) RB coming off an injury with an explosive rookie coming on, but this is a unique situation. Montgomery will control the goal-line work, no matter what, going forward and the schedule in the playoffs, both from a statistical perspective (7th-easiest playoff SOS) and from a game script perspective (favorable scripts against DEN, MIN), Montgomery could be a league-changing RB2 option.

• He's a boom-or-bust option on a weekly basis and while I believe Gibbs will be the more valuable (not necessarily the more productive) between the two for the remainder of the season, the playoff schedule is aligning very favorably for Montgomery, who likely can be acquired at somewhat of a discount off of injury.

5. Kyler Murray - QB, Arizona Cardinals

• Similar to Hollywood Brown, now's the last chance to get a potential 'home run' and league-winner in Kyler Murray at a massive discount.

• Murray's set to return from the PUP List after missing the end of 2022 and the first 9 weeks of 2023 to an ACL tear last year, but he's been fully practicing for going on three weeks now. Prior to his season-ending knee injury, Murray ranked as the QB7 in PPG and had kept pace with never falling below 17.8 PPG in a season.

• Don't necessarily expect the traditional Kyler Murray due to a potential impact from the injury on his rushing abilities, but even with a reduced role in the rushing game, he should still be highly effective and offer a likely return on investment via trade.

• Worst-case scenario, you trade for him as a QB2 and he's just that - a matchup-based QB2 option. Best-case scenario, he returns to (or close to) his previous form and is a mid-QB1 (or even better) and a potential league-winner with the easiest playoff schedule among QBs in fantasy football.

The AFC North is home to four teams all currently in playoff position as things stand today, as well as home to two drastically overperforming fantasy running backs since Week 7. Ravens RB Gus Edwards and Browns RB Kareem Hunt find themselves in just about the same position as each other heading into Week 10, having each scored 4+ touchdowns in a three game span while fighting to stay relevant in crowded backfields. Those touchdowns have been good enough to keep them on the map, but that touchdown dependence simply isn’t sustainable in the long run, especially with other talented runners challenging for snaps moving forward.

Since Week 7, Gus Edwards and Kareem Hunt are the only two running backs with 35 or more carries to score a touchdown on higher than 10% of their carries. Edwards’ two touchdowns last week are especially misleading, as the Ravens RB handled just five carries on the day despite a box score fantasy point total of 17.2 points. Meanwhile, Kareem Hunt has negated his low yards per carry (3.26 - 20th out of 24 RBs) with four touchdowns of his own.

The most concerning developments for both veteran running backs, though, are the emergences of younger talent behind them in their respective offenses. Jerome Ford was back to full health in Week 9 and handled a majority of the opportunities in Cleveland’s backfield, while rookie RB Keaton Mitchell in Baltimore just hung 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on one of the league’s foremost run defenses against Seattle. Both could see expanded roles down the stretch, making both Edwards and Hunt screaming sells ahead of the fantasy football trade deadline.