Together with

Good morning. Start your Wednesday with some good news: after one of the best catches in NFL history (video), Justin Jefferson spent his off-day partnering with donating thanksgiving meals to the Minneapolis community.

Jefferson has a history of charitable acts, such as donating 100 turkeys to a food shelter, 10,000 masks to a children's charity and fitness equipment for at-risk youth. Great player, better person. Just wish he didn't drop 30+ on my headtop.

QUARTERBACKS

All Over The Fields 

Justin Fields is looking like a league winner. Fields scored 39+ points for the second straight week, making him the QB1 from Weeks 6-10. Baldy's Breakdowns: "Fields just keeps getting better & better (video)" and here’s nearly 5 Minutes of Justin Fields throwing DIMES (video). Fields now has the most rushing yards by any QB over any 5-game span in the Super Bowl era, breaking Lamar Jackson’s record of 473 rush yards.

• Justin Herbert continues to struggle, with only one top-10 QB finish since W4. Herbert also has the 4th most interceptions since 2020... Get this man his WRs back.

• Kenny Pickett had his best game of his career throwing for 199 and rushing for 51 and a TD. He still has 9 turnovers in 5 games, but Tomlin called his growth"impressive" and Pickett appears to be the future of the Steelers.

Josh Allen has thrown at least 2 interceptions in 3 straight games and now leads the league with 10 on the season. Allen's TD to INT ratio over his last two games: 1:4. Don't be afraid to buy low, Josh Allen will bounce back. He's also the first player in NFL history to average 300+ pass yards and 50+ rush yards per game through the first 9 games of a season, per Jeff Kerr.

RUNNING BACKS

Finally, Jonathan Taylor Time

Who had this on their 2022 bingo card: Jeff Wilson Jr and Raheem Mostert both finished as top 10 RBs in W10. Wilson saw 19 touches (Mostert: 12) and has cemented himself as the Dolphins RB1. Wilson Jr. is averaging an elite 6.5 yards per carry for the Dolphins. Wilson is also tied with Aaron Jones and Josh Jacobs with a 15% explosive rush (10+ yards) rate.

• James Conner returned to Utilization euphoria, rushing 21 times for 69 yards nice, 2 TDs and playing 65/71 snaps. Conner immediately moves into RB1 territory while healthy and is a decent buy before the trade deadline.

• Aaron Jones gashed the Cowboys and has firmly cemented himself as the clear cut RB1 for the Packers seeing 70% of the snaps compared to just 38% for AJ Dillon. “If you took the best attributes of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon you’d have Aaron Jones”. Gold.

• Najee Harris dealing with knee discomfort and is open to sharing the RB position with Jaylen Warren.

• The Texans claimed former Cardinals’ RB Eno Benjamin on waivers just to worry Dameon Pierce owners.

Jonathan Taylor finished as the RB1 after running for 163 total yards and a TD, his best game since W1. The Nyheim Hines trade opened up a huge role for Taylor going forward, as JT completely took over the passing-game work: 

WIDE RECEIVERS

Watson Arrives

Either you picked up Christian Watson or you're having a tough Wednesday morning. Watson emerged as Aaron Rodger's WR1, turning 8 targets into 3 TDs. Aaron Rodgers is third in the NFL in 20+ yard completions and is throwing to that area at the 7th-highest rate in the league, making a deep threat like Watson valuable. Here's a video of every target Watson had. 

In four games with Taylor Heinicke, Terry McLaurin has an elite 29.7% target share, averaging 92.5 yards per game, 6 receptions per game and is WR8. As long as Heinicke's starting, Scary Terry is a WR1.

• Christian Kirk is quietly top 10 in receiving yards and TDs, and is WR7 on the season. Kirk caught all 3 red zone targets for 2 touchdowns and maybe was worth his contract?

• Kadarius Toney scored his first NFL TD last week with the Chiefs making a point to get Toney involved. He still only played 44% of snaps and remains a risky start.

• Amon-Ra St.Brown caught 10 passes 119 yards and continues to be a target machine for the Lions, making me pay for trading him in dynasty this offseason. 

TIGHT END

Cole Kmet: TE Saviour?

Cole Kmet is the TE1 overall in the past three weeks, ahead of living legend Travis Kelce. over the past 3 weeks. Despite not catching a TD until W8, Kmet is now tied for second most TDs among TEs (5). He has 13 targets over the past two weeks, with 20+ fantasy points in each of them. They are drawing up plays for Kmet in the redzone, I expect this to continue. Video breakdown here.

• Dalton Schultz has 15 targets in the past two and scored his first TD of the season last week. He is seeing elite usage over the past 4 weeks and is a great buy.

• Dallas Goedert will miss extended time with a shoulder injury he suffered in week 10, but it shouldn't be season ending.

• Despite a poor showing, incredible usage was there again for Greg Dulcich on Sunday. Hold.

Wish this didn't hit so close to home. What could've been, Robert Tonyan...

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DEEP DIVES

The idea is you pick up a player the week before everyone wants to grab them off the waiver wire. This column wins leagues like no other. Last week, the perfect pickup was Christian Watson or Van Jefferson. This week's players, available in almost every league, worth grabbing:

• Ben Skowronek (0.5%) - Despite a difficult-to-spell lastname, and only having 14 yards in W10, Skowronek is an interesting stash. He was on the field for 98% of the Rams snaps, and with Cooper Kupp placed on the IR, Skowronek could see a huge opportunity if given the chance to play the Kupp role. Small, but possible chance.

• Kendall Hinton (0.1%) - After Jerry Jeudy left injured, Hinton played 96% of the snaps and put up 62 yards. He also ran the second most routes on the Broncos, behind Sutton. Jeudy is day-to-day with an ankle injury and might miss W11. Russ Wilson: "I have all the confidence in the world in Hinton. He's a world-class athlete too." I don't believe a word Russ says.

Also, why is no one talking about Trey Mcbride? The rookie TE was taken in the second round, largely for his pass-catching chops, and now will be the top TE with Zach Ertz out for the season. A breakout could be on the horizon. 

A MESSAGE FROM MORNING BREW

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QUICK SLANTS

• What actually happens during halftime each week: a great article gives insight into the Bengals locker room at halftime.

• @4for4football breaks down all the key takeaways from W10 that you can read here.

• Matthew Stafford is still in concussion protocol, making it possible he misses W11.

• Tom Brady is now 2-0 since his divorce, which isn't doing anything to help divorce rates. 

• Colts All-Pro LB Shaquille Leonard underwent successful season-ending back surgery this morning after several evaluations.

Thanks for joining us this morning - we'll be back on Sunday AM. Stay frosty. 

Jake Eddie, Matt

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