Steelers RB Najee Harris tallied 19 carries for 78 rushing yards and a TD in Week 16 vs. the Bengals. His teammate Jaylen Warren also saw a healthy amount of involvement, totaling 8 carries for 24 yards with 5 catches for 30 receiving yards on the contest. He also tied for the team lead in targets (6) on Saturday with WR George Pickens. The Pittsburgh duo will again be worth starting as flex options in Week 16 going up against a fairly neutral Seahawks front (14th-best RB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed).
Steelers WR George Pickens hauled in 4 of 6 targets for 195 receiving yards and 2 TDs vs. the Bengals in Week 16. His yardage in Saturday’s contest ranks as the third-highest single-game total in 2023 to date and also marks the fourth time this season that Pickens has exceeded 100 receiving yards. The second-year wideout has struggled to find consistency all season, though it’s possible he and QB Mason Rudolph will be able to build upon their newfound rapport in Week 17 vs. the Seahawks (13th-best WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed). Pickens will be worth considering as a WR3/flex option.
The Seahawks expect RB Kenneth Walker III (shoulder) to play Sunday against the Titans. He missed two of three practices during the week before returning to a limited Friday workout. But HC Pete Carroll previously said he expected Walker to be ready. We'll check for confirmation ahead of Sunday's kickoff. Walker gets an upside matchup against a Tennessee defense missing star DT Jeffery Simmons.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Dolphins are "optimistic" WR Tyreek Hill (ankle) will play Sunday against the Cowboys. The team reportedly still wants to check him pregame before making a "final decision." We'll be watching for updates on Hill in the morning, but we'd also plan to play him if active.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) is expected to play Sunday against the Browns. That matches what Collins said earlier in the week. He's still not as attractive an option as usual because of C.J. Stroud's absence and a challenging matchup with the Browns. But Collins should at least be available.
Ravens WR Zay Flowers (foot) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the 49ers. He put in full practices on Friday and Saturday, so Flowers can be trusted in Week 16 fantasy lineups. We'll let you know if something changes with his status.
Colts WR Michael Pittman has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. Pittman cleared concussion protocol on Friday but was experiencing symptoms again when the team arrived in Atlanta, according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. We'll track Pittman's status this coming week and see if he can make it back for next Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. His absence leaves Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, and D.J. Montgomery as Indianapolis' top three WRs against the Falcons.
Bills RB Ty Johnson (shoulder) is inactive for tonight's game vs. the Chargers. RB Leonard Fournette is making his Buffalo debut in this one, joining James Cook and Latavius Murray in the backfield. Cook remains a strong fantasy play. Fournette and Murray are only options on the Saturday DFS slate.
The Eagles have removed WR DeVonta Smith (knee) from the injury report. He'll be fine for Monday's matchup with the Giants. Currently, he projects as a top-20 WR.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (quad, illness) is listed as questionable for Monday's game vs. the Chiefs. He was sidelined on Thursday, limited in Friday's practice, but then out again on Saturday. It's unclear if the quad or illness kept him out today. Interim HC Antonio Pierce said early in the week that he expected Jacobs to play against Kansas City, but we certainly wouldn't consider him a lock to be out there. Fantasy owners hoping to start Jacobs would ideally have RB Zamir White rostered as insurance.
Raiders TE Michael Mayer (toe) is out for Monday's game vs. the Chiefs. The rookie didn't practice all week. His absence leaves Austin Hooper as Vegas' top TE. Hopefully you don't need to go there in fantasy lineups.
Bengals TE Irv Smith is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Steelers. He's totaled four catches on six targets over the last five games, so there's very little fantasy impact here. Perhaps TE Tanner Hudson picks up a few extra routes.
Bills RB Leonard Fournette will make his 2023 debut tonight against the Chargers. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo expects the veteran to get “some run” behind James Cook. Of course, Cook is coming off a career-best game vs. Dallas, so any work Fournette takes is likely to come from Latavius Murray or Ty Johnson. Ultimately, we’re not expecting Fournette to turn into a fantasy asset down the stretch.
The Chiefs have ruled RB Jerick McKinnon (groin) and WR Kadarius Toney (hip) out for Monday's game against the Raiders. Toney's averaging 2.1 receptions and 13.0 receiving yards per game for the season and shouldn't have been in anyone's fantasy plans. McKinnon has scored in two straight games and three of the past four but remained a weak bet for touch volume. His absence can only help solidify returning RB Isiah Pacheco as a strong play this week.
The Patriots have downgraded TE Hunter Henry (knee) from questionable to out for Sunday's game against the Broncos. His absence would seem to be good news for Mike Gesicki, and it might mean a boost in playing time. But Henry and Gesicki don't play exactly the same position. Gesicki has run 71.7% of his pass snaps from the slot so far, according to Pro Football Focus, plus another 19% out wide. Henry has spent 48.1% in the slot; 43.5% inline. TE Pharoah Brown might be the more direct playing-time beneficiary of Henry's absence. Henry'scoming off season highs in targets, catches, and yards, which probably inflates the perception of what he's leaving available. Before last week, Henry was averaging just 4.0 targets and 2.7 receptions per game. Neither Gesicki nor Brown looks all that attractive for fantasy use.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence has cleared concussion protocol and will travel with the team to Tampa Bay, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Rapoport doesn't say whether Lawrence will start Sunday's game vs. the Bucs -- but we're not sure why he wouldn't, barring a setback. We'll look for further updates on Lawrence's status, but we're now projecting him in for Week 16. It's a significant boost for WR Calvin Ridley and TE Evan Engram.
Colts RB Zack Moss (forearm) has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. That leaves only RBs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson behind Jonathan Taylor. JT carries some added risk coming off his thumb injury -- but there's a good chance that he dominates work against Atlanta. He's climbing the Week 16 RB Rankings.
The Titans have placed S Amani Hooker on IR, which will end his season. Hooker played every snap of the Week 15 OT loss to the Texans but then missed practice all week with a knee injury. The team had already ruled him out for Sunday's game against the Seahawks. With S K'Von Wallace also ruled out, the starting safeties should be Elijah Molden and Terrell Edmunds. Molden has five starts this season and played 100% of the snaps in four of those. He's an OK deep start if you need him, though Seattle hasn't been a positive scoring matchup for DBs. Make sure you don't overrate Molden's usefulness by looking at his fantasy total from last week, when he returned an INT for a TD against Houston. Molden can be a sneaky option for CB-required leagues, though, if he carries CB eligibility there. Edmunds has played sparingly since arriving in Tennessee in the Kevin Byard trade, reaching 50% snap share just once. We wouldn't bet a Week 16 lineup slot on him unless you play in an abnormally deep league. Check our updated Week 16 DB rankings to see where both players sit.
Houston has ruled out LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) for the second straight game. LB Denzel Perryman (Achilles') is questionable. He managed limited practices all week, though, and Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports that Perryman's "trending toward being active." Cashman's absence and Perryman's question mark have moved LB Christian Harris up our Week 16 LB rankings. Harris has produced solid numbers lately, including 7 solo tackles in three of his past four games -- with two lines of 10+ total tackles in that span. Cleveland presents a positive scoring matchup this week. The Browns have yielded the third-most fantasy points per game to LBs for the season and remain top-8 in that category even over QB Joe Flacco's three weeks as starter.
Mason Crosby is set to kick for the Giants in Monday's game vs. the Eagles. The team placed K Randy Bullock on IR earlier this week, and K Cade York hurt his quad on Thursday. So the 39-year-old Crosby will make his 2023 debut for the 5-9 Giants. You should be able to do much better in fantasy lineups.
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