NFL Player News

Peoples-Jones was not targeted with a pass during Thursday's loss to the Packers.

Peoples-Jones logged two snaps on offense and seven on special teams during his Lions debut last week against Chicago. While he has yet to catch a pass in Honolulu Blue, it feels like progress that Peoples-Jones more than tripled his offensive snaps while being taken off of special teams entirely. However, considering the Lions needed to run 84 offensive plays, it's possible that Detroit was just easing the burden on Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds and Jameson Williams. Next up is a Week 13 matchup with the Saints.

Raymond caught five of five targets for 90 yards while rushing once for six yards during Thursday's loss to the Packers.

Putting together his most productive game since 2021, Raymond stepped up big on Thanksgiving Day with three catches of at least 20 yards. He only needed 23 offensive snaps to do so, too, which is extra impressive considering No. 2 receiver Josh Reynolds has totaled just 54 yards over the 204 offensive snaps he has logged over the past four games. Now sitting on a career-high 16.2 yards per reception in 2023, Raymond should remain an efficient complementary receiver Week 13 against the Saints.

Atwell secured all three targets for 76 yards during Sunday's 37-14 victory against the Cardinals.

Atwell's role actually shrunk considerably compared to his typical usage, as he took the field for only around a third of the contest, which was less than starters Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and notably Demarcus Robinson as well. Despite the stark drop in playing time, Atwell was actually the most productive of the Rams' wideouts, with a game-long 42-yard catch on the team's first drive, and his 76 receiving yards were more than Kupp (3-18-0), Nacua (4-27-0) and Robinson (2-13-0) combined, The reduced snap count may just be a blip on the radar given Atwell's quality play, but a repeat performance may be a tall task Week 13 against a Browns defense allowing a league-low 142 passing yards per game.

Williams caught two of three targets for 51 yards during Thursday's loss to the Packers.

While Williams' 58 percent snap share is a downturn from the career-high 68 percent he saw last week, he set a new career high with 49 offensive snaps on a day the Lions ran 84 offensive plays. That figure matched No. 2 wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who had consistently been seeing around three quarters of the offensive snaps when healthy this year, though Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones saw added snaps as well. However, even though the recent increase in playing time has been a positive development for Williams, he'll likely need to evolve into the clear No. 2 wide receiver behind Amon-Ra St. Brown in order to gain fantasy relevance in a passing game otherwise headed by tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

Pickens secured three of five targets for 58 yards during the Steelers' 16-10 win over the Bengals on Sunday.

The Steelers offense looked much more effective this week after offensive coordinator Matt Canada was fired ahead of Week 12, and Pickens had his best game since tallying 107 receiving yards against the Rams in Week 7. Pickens still could show some inconsistency as the season progresses, but it appears likely that he'll have more upside with a new offensive play caller in Pittsburgh.

Reynolds caught two of four targets for 15 yards and one touchdown during Thursday's loss to the Packers.

Following three straight unproductive games, Reynolds may finally be losing his grip on the No. 2 role behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. His 58 percent snap share not only matched Jameson Williams but marked Reynolds' lowest figure of the year outside of a Week 5 matchup with the Panthers when Reynolds played through a groin injury. Meanwhile, Kalif Raymond saw his most offensive snaps in four games while Donovan Peoples-Jones saw seven of them after making his Lions debut last week against Chicago. While it's possible the Lions needed to get more bodies involved on a day the offense ran 84 plays, Reynolds will be harder and harder to trust if his snap share continues to shrink.

Jones caught one of three targets for 10 yards during Sunday's 24-21 win over Houston.

The 28-year-old played 71 percent of Jacksonville's offensive snaps as the No. 3 wideout but finished sixth on the team in targets. Jones hasn't been particularly productive the past two weeks with five catches for 30 yards after missing the previous four games with a knee injury.

Thornton caught two of his five targets for 19 yards and rushed once for three yards in Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Giants.

Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Thornton's 30 snaps on offense (out of a possible 68) marked a season high, but it didn't yield much production for the 2022 second-rounder. It's possible that Thornton's role could grow as the season progresses, but with just five catches (on 12 targets) for 34 yards through four games to date, he's off the fantasy radar.

Johnston secured one of three targets for seven yards during Sunday night's 20-10 loss to the Ravens.

Johnston exited Sunday's loss in the third quarter due to a rib injury and didn't retake the field, though coach Brandon Staley said after the game that the rookie first-round pick was medically cleared. "It wasn't that [Johnston] couldn't go back in the game," Staley told Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. "We just didn't feel like... it was the right thing to go back in the game." Johnston also had a crucial drop on the final drive of Los Angeles' loss to the Packers in Week 11, and he may not have much more leeway for error before running the risk of falling out of favor with his coaching staff. He faces a tough matchup against New England's secondary Week 12.

Smith-Schuster, who logged 44 of a possible 68 snaps on offense in Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Giants, caught two of his four targets in the contest for 10 yards, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

With DeVante Parker back after a two-game absence, Smith-Schuster maintained a key role in the Patriots' Week 12 wide receiver corps, but that didn't result in much production in an offense that continues to struggle. Regardless of whether Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe starts at QB this weekend against the Chargers, Smith-Schuster profiles as low-percentage fantasy option.