NFL Player News

Dissly caught a 17-yard pass on his lone target in Sunday's 37-27 win over the 49ers.

Meanwhile, Greg Olsen failed to catch any of his four targets Sunday. Dissly played more than the veteran, too, recording a 63-percent snap share while Olsen played 54 percent of those plays. It's possible that the Seahawks' injury-riddled backfield factored into Dissly's playing time, but he's been trending in this direction for weeks and could maintain this role moving forward. Dissly run blocks on a good chunk of his snaps, though, and as long as Olsen is on board, his fantasy upside is capped.

Smith hauled in his lone target for a 16-yard gain Sunday in the Vikings' 28-22 win over the Packers.

High-speed winds in Green Bay along with Dalvin Cook's dominance on the ground muted the Minnesota passing game, as quarterback Kirk Cousins attempted a season-low 14 throws in the victory. As a result, Smith and Minnesota's other pass catchers were held to modest box-score lines, with Adam Thielen leading all Vikings receivers and tight ends with three catches for 27 yards. Better days should be ahead for Smith, but so long as the game flow allows for it, the Vikings again could opt for a ground-oriented game plan Week 9 against a vulnerable Lions run defense.

Schultz reeled in six of eight targets for 53 yards Sunday in the Cowboys' 23-9 loss to the Eagles.

Schultz's production has been trending down since Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury Week 5, but the tight end benefited from third-string quarterback Ben DiNucci drawing the start in place of the concussed Andy Dalton. The Eagles' fierce pass rush coupled with a banged-up offensive line effectively eliminated the Cowboys' downfield passing game, forcing DiNucci to rely on Schultz as a safety valve underneath. Schultz was able to turn his high target count into decent production Sunday, but his overall fantasy upside will be capped now that the Dallas offense is no longer the up-tempo, high-scoring unit it was earlier this season when Prescott was under center.

Goedert (lower leg/ankle) caught his lone target for a 15-yard gain Sunday in the Eagles' 23-9 win over the Cowboys.

Playing for the first time since suffering a high-ankle sprain and fractured tibia in a Sept. 27 win over the Bengals, Goedert was thrust into a sizable role in his return to the lineup. Goedert played 53 of the Eagles' 63 offensive snaps in the victory, but Carson Wentz didn't pepper him with targets, with the quarterback instead spreading the ball around between seven different pass catchers. With a Week 9 bye on tap, Goedert's involvement in the passing game should increase in the back half of the Eagles' schedule, especially with Zach Ertz (ankle) likely to miss at least a couple more games.

Everett caught five of nine targets for 32 yards during Sunday's 28-17 loss to Miami. He played 52 of 95 offensive snaps.

Everett didn't capitalize on his season-high nine targets Sunday, and in particular, his drop on third and five from the Miami 30-yard line late in the game was costly. He was also the target when Dolphins' safety Eric Rowe intercepted Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff in the second quarter. It wasn't a strong showing from Everett, but the entire offense struggled to find a groove after its opening drive touchdown. It's also important to keep the target volume in context. Goff attempted a season-high 61 passes. Additionally, with fellow tight end Tyler Higbee returning to the field in Week 8, Everett's probably best viewed as a high-risk, medium-reward fantasy option moving forward.

Thomas caught all three of his targets for 28 yards in Thursday night's 25-17 loss to the Falcons.

Thomas set new season highs in catches and yards, and while that obviously marks encouraging progress, his overall totals still weren't enough to make much of a fantasy impact.

Njoku caught one of three targets for 19 yards in Sunday's 16-6 loss to the Raiders.

Njoku, like many Browns' receivers, was hindered by the conditions of the day, which featured 35-plus MPH shifting winds that made moving the ball via the air challenging. For the second week in a row without Austin Hooper (appendix), Njoku (29 snaps) finished behind rookie Harrison Bryant (39) in snap count. Njoku has made his desire to be traded clear, but the Browns are reticent to pull the trigger, preferring to keep him around as part of team's three-man rotation at tight end. Without a deal by the Nov. 3 deadline, Njoku could drop to No. 3 on the depth chart in terms of usage. Hooper is expected to return in Week 10 after the Browns' bye this coming week.

Fant caught seven of nine targets for 47 yards during Sunday's 31-30 win over the Chargers.

With Tim Patrick (hamstring) out of the lineup, Fant served as Drew Lock's security blanket Sunday, tallying a career-high seven catches. He did most of his damage underneath, finding holes in the Chargers' zone and breaking upfield. Fant is getting his opportunities with at least five targets in each game this season -- a number he reached just four times as a rookie in 2019. If there's a gripe to be had, it is that he's not getting the sort of chunk plays he generated last season. Fant is averaging 10.5 yards per catch this season -- down from 14.1 last year -- and he and Lock missed each other on the lone deep shot to Fant Sunday. He may still be hobbled by an ankle sprain suffered earlier this season, but Atlanta's defense -- which ranks 28th in the league with 12.2 yards per opponent catch -- could be just what the doctor ordered in Week 8.

Okwuegbunam caught his only target for a nine-yard touchdown during Sunday's 31-30 win over the Chargers.

Okwuegbunam brought the Broncos to within a score early in the fourth quarter, skying for the touchdown in the back of the end zone and getting his rear in bounds for his first career score. It was arguably just his second most important play of the game. Okwuegbunam drew a critical pass-interference penalty in the back of the end zone during the closing seconds that set up the winning play. Okwuegbunam has chemistry with Drew Lock from their college days at Mizzou and it's shown. In addition to his two big plays in the red zone Sunday, Okwuegbunam let a touchdown or two clang off his hands back in Week 6 against New England. He's a difficult matchup in the red zone and the more consistently he completes plays, the bigger threat he'll be.

Hill carried the ball five times for 35 yards and caught both his targets for 30 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 26-23 overtime win over the Bears.

With the Saints' receiving corps extremely short-handed, Hill saw a season high in touches while scoring his second TD of the year, and his first receiving TD. Depending on the health of Michael Thomas (hamstring), Emmanuel Sanders (COVID) and other WRs, Hill could again see a few plays called for him in Week 9 against the Buccaneers.