Tyreek Hill Is Ready to Rock
Patrick Mahomes has missed Tyreek Hill this season — even if his stats don’t exactly reflect that. Hill injured his clavicle in the very first game of the season, leaving the Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver depth chart looking a little sparse the past few weeks.
Hill exploded back into the starting lineup in Week 6, notching 5 receptions for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns on a team-high 10 targets. His 171 air yards were the fourth-most among wideouts this week, pending Monday Night Football.
The craziest part of Hill’s impressive return was that he put up these numbers while playing on just 50% of the team’s offensive snaps. Andy Reid and the rest of the Chiefs’ coaching staff might have just been easing him back into the swing of things, but it’s clear that Hill hasn’t missed a beat. He’ll be an every-week starter for your fantasy teams for the rest of the year.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 12: The Kansas City Chiefs exit the tunnel onto the field during player introductions prior to the AFC Divisional round playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts at Arrowhead Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Hunter Henry’s Homecoming
Tyreek Hill wasn’t the only star player making a triumphant return from a Week 1 injury this week — Hunter Henry absolutely crushed it in Week 6, reminding everyone why he was a coveted draft pick in fantasy leagues this season.
Henry popped off right away, catching the first pass of the game for 19 yards. He stayed heavily involved throughout, catching 8 of 9 targets for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. You love to see it.
Henry was a beast in the red zone and the player Philip Rivers had the most success targeting in Week 6. While he played just 66% of the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive snaps, you can feel confident he’ll continue being a key component of this offence. If he’s somehow available in your leagues — as of Monday Morning, he’s available in 37% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues, for example — you absolutely have to pick him up. He’s an every-week starter at the tight end position right off the bat.
ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 15: A New York Jets helmet sits on an equipment case during the second half of an NFL preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 15, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Sam Darnold Is Sick No Longer
Sensing a theme? We haven’t seen Sam Darnold since Week 1. It was announced shortly after that disastrous season debut that the sophomore quarterback was dealing with mono. That illness sidelined him for what ended up being a disastrous, five-week stretch for the New York Jets, but Darnold lit a fire under his team in his return from the illness, toppling the Dallas Cowboys.
Darnold completed 23 of his 32 pass attempts for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns and looked like a completely different quarterback than the one we saw back in Week 1. Darnold’s health not only secured the first win of the season for the Jets but also should put a number of Jets players back on your radar for fantasy football.
Robby Anderson probably benefits most from Darnold’s return — he exploded for 125 yards and a score in this one — but Le’Veon Bell is also a big winner. Running backs are highly dependent on their teams to put them into high-value situations for fantasy. Things were looking bleak for Bell when Luke Falk was at the helm, but with Darnold leading the offence, Bell was able to find the end zone for the first time since Week 1.
Titans coach deciding whether to bench Mariota for Tannehill.
by @teresamwalkerhttps://t.co/RvPQk6SPK1
— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) October 15, 2019
The Titans Have a Quarterback Dilemma
When Ryan Tannehill outperformed Marcus Mariota in the 2019 preseason, people began speculating as to whether or not Tannehill might actually steal the starting job outright. Mariota remained the team’s starter heading into the season, but rumours of a “short leash” continued circulating up until the Tennessee Titans’ Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Mariota hasn’t done himself any favours since that victory — he trounced the Atlanta Falcons’ non-existent defence in Week 4, but so has every other quarterback they’ve faced — and finally got himself benched this past weekend. It was a truly difficult performance to watch: Mariota completed just seven of 18 attempts for 63, throwing two interceptions and taking three more sacks.
The Titans’ offence was lifeless with Mariota at the helm but picked things up when Tannehill came in to replace him. There was a reason the Miami Dolphins moved on from their former first-round quarterback — he was always just fine — but he handily outplayed Mariota in this one. Tannehill put some air back in the ball, throwing for 144 yards in just over a quarter of play.
Sep 9, 2018; Glendale, AZ, USA; Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson (26) breaks a tackle by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) during the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Adrian Peterson Is Running Like it’s 2009
New Washington interim head coach Bill Callahan wasn’t kidding when he told the media he planned to run the ball more. Adrian Peterson rushed the ball 23 times for 118 yards in the team’s first win of the season, signalling the start of a new direction for Washington’s offence.
Those 118 yards were more than he rushed for in his first four games of the season combined, and his 25 touches were the most he’s had in a game since Week 16 of the 2018 season. Nearly every drive of the day started with a Peterson carry — it’s clear the offence is going to run through him for the rest of the season.
Ordinarily, we love to see that kind of volume in fantasy football, but this situation is a little different. Washington won’t play the Dolphins — the only team worse than they are in the NFL — every week. Peterson managed an impressive 5.1 yards per carry in Week 6, but that’s pretty much par for the course for backs facing the ‘Phins. He’ll face much tougher defences for the rest of the season, starting with the San Francisco 49ers’ top-notch defence next week.
Peterson is going to remain an RB2 or RB3 for the rest of the season on the back of his workhorse-level volume, but on a non-existent Washington offence, you’re never going to feel great about starting him.
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