As noted in the endorsement of Jared Goff, everything the Lions
offense touches right now is turning to gold and that includes
Williams. He is getting plenty of downfield chances due to the
threat of Amon-Ra St. Brown as he netted over 130 yards last week
against the Jaguars and scored a lengthy TD. In PPR leagues, Williams
is less lethal as he hasn’t caught more than 5 balls in any game
this season. But, in non-PPR, fire him up with confidence vs.
the Colts. The risk is still there, but the reward can be spectacular.
Fantasy managers were disappointed last week with the performance
Terry McLaurin (1-10-0). It was the second time in three weeks
that he received 3 targets or less. Those games came against the
Giants and Eagles - two foes adept at shutting down opposing WRs.
This is the Dallas Cowboys. The 2024 version. That means a bounce
back for all Commander skill position players. Don’t bench
McLaurin because of last week. Just don’t.
Aside from his absolute stinker of a game in New Orleans in Week
7 (zero receptions), Sutton has been solid this season. In the
last four weeks since the Saints game, he’s actually been
great, averaging 99 yards receiving per game with 38 targets.
As Bo Nix continues to get better, Sutton is coming along for
the ride and a top 12-15 finish in terms of WR production by year’s
end seems about right to me. The Raiders are 28th in the league
in fantasy points yielded to WRs. Sutton is your guy once again
this week.
Conventional thinking would dictate that you never bench a player
with Deebo Samuel’s reputation and upside, but I am beginning
to wonder if Samuel is the same player he was just a couple of
years ago. He only has one receiving TD so far this season and
has only cracked 72 yards or more twice despite Brandon Aiyuk
being out of the picture for some time now. Deebo will likely
have one more big game this season, but he’ll likely have 3-4
more quiet ones, and I don’t think he’s worth the risk against
Green Bay even if Jaire Alexander sits.
Denver’s defense is for real as Atlanta can attest to after
last week’s beatdown in which the division leading Falcons
couldn’t even get into the end zone. That was a talented
offense that Denver brought to its knees. This Raiders offense
is not talented outside of rookie sensation, Brock Bowers at tight
end. I would imagine Meyers will get plenty of targets (he’s
averaging nearly 9 a game in his last six outings), but I would
also expect many of those targets to produce little to nothing.
Proceed with caution vs. the Mighty Denver D.
After a breakout performance last week (6-142-1), the knee-jerk
reaction is going to be to start Jeudy this week in hopes of a
repeat showing. Tough to do versus the Steelers D. We’ve
already mentioned the potential poor weather in Cleveland and
that’s a factor here and the Steelers will adjust coverages
to Jeudy accordingly. In poor weather, the receiver designed to
take the top off the defense suffers most. It’s all a recipe
for statistical regression.
