🏈 3 Things to know

Good morning. I hope you survived the worst fantasy weekend of the season. We can do this. Let’s goooo.

Seeing Spider-Man tonight after hearing nothing but good things. The downside? Canada imposed a “no-movie-popcorn” restriction due to Omicron. Smh.

Stop, Drop, and Pickup the Following

Samaje Perine

Joe Mixon is dealing with an ankle sprain, and head coach Zac Taylor said he'll be limited early in the week. If Mixon sits, Perine becomes an RB2. A strong RB2.

Ronald Jones

Sucks. But still, we’re at this point in the season. Head coach Bruce Arians already suggested Jones will have an opportunity to do what Fournette did late last season - taking over the starting job and excelling down the stretch. Yikes. Will believe it when I see it.

Gabriel Davis

Last week, we hyped up Davis. This week, same thing. Davis caught 5-of-7 targets for 85 yards and two scores on Sunday. The 22-year-old has four TDs in his past three games and continues to see his value rise - however, his value is tied to Emmanuel Sanders’ health moving forward.

Amon-Ra St. Brown

The rookie saw double digit targets for the third straight game in Week 15’s win over the Cardinals. He also topped 73 receiving yards for the third game in a row. Jared Goff clearly trusts him, and TJ Hockenson is out for the year.

Craig Reynolds

Watch out, D’Andre Swift. Reynolds had 26 rushes for 112 yards in an upset win over Arizona. It’s unclear if D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams will return next weekend against Atlanta, so you’ll want Reynolds in case they sit.

• Devontae Booker: In Week 15, Booker rushed eight times for 74 yards and caught 2-of-2 targets for eight yards. Booker isn’t a viable fantasy option while Barkley is healthy, but he should be rostered.

• Marquez Valdes-Scantling: As teams focus on Davante Adams, MVS is making them pay. He's gone over 50 yards in three of the past four games, including stat lines of 4-123-1, 4-50-0, and 5-98-1.

• Evan Engram has been bad, but he has seen at least five targets in four of his last five games. Eagles have allowed the most catches, yards, touchdowns and fantasy points to tight ends this season…

This isn’t great news for Legolas

Per Scott Barrett:

All Rookie QBs All-Time +Games w/ 24+ passes and 0 passing TDs

1. Trevor Lawrence (7)* - *6 in last 7 games

2. David Carr (6)

3. DeShone Kizer (6)

4. Karl Sweetan (6)

5. Ryan Tannehill (6)

6. Blake Bortles (5)

7. Sam Bradford (5)

8. Brandon Weeden (5)

Not ELITE company…

Fantasy Football Defenses

When key offensive players are out, especially o-linemen and QBs, suddenly there are more D/ST sleepers. This week shapes up to have no shortage of viable options. Per SportingNews.com:

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ CAR - No brainer.

2. Buffalo Bills @ NE - Mac Jones struggled last week and Bills just need to stop the run.

3. Philadelphia Eagles vs. NYG - Mike Glennon.

4. Miami Dolphins @ NO - Taysom Hill gets paid to throw interceptions.

5. Dallas Cowboys @ PHI - Trevon Diggs gets paid to catch interceptions.

6. Los Angeles Rams @ MIN - Rams are just a dang-good defense.

7. New England Patriots vs. BUF - The Patriots were beaten down by a run-heavy Colts attack last week, but Buffalo doesn't have the personnel to do that.

8. San Francisco 49ers @ TEN - Titans have turned it over at least four times in three of its past four games. 49ers are on a takeaway hot streak themselves, racking up 12 turnovers in the past six games.

9. Green Bay Packers vs. CLE - Baker & Co. don’t scare me. Plus Jaire Alexander should be back.

10. Los Angeles Chargers @ HOU.  Davis Mills has steadied the ship for the Texans in recent weeks, but: Houston played Seattle and Jacksonville. With multiple takeaways in each of the past three games (eight total) to go along with nine sacks, the Chargers should have a solid fantasy day.

Quick Slants

• A total of 47 players were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list yesterday, all as a result of a positive test. That's the most ever for a single day that the NFL has ever had. Notable names include Travis Kelce, Joey Bosa and Jared Goff. Per Field Yates.

• The Titans have designated WR A.J. Brown to return from IR, opening the door to him playing on Thursday against the 49ers.

• Jalen Hurts is in line to start Tuesday night, while Chris Godwin is done for the year with a torn ACL.

• Jimmy Garoppolo is leading the NFL with an average of 8.5 yards per attempt.

What a rough week…

Tweet of the Day

Thanks for joining me this morning, hope your fantasy season is still alive. If not, welcome to the club. Still, a great day to be great.

- Jake