NFL Player News

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.

The Vikings aren't expected to activate Jefferson (hamstring) from injured reserve for Monday's game against Chicago, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

The Vikings will continue to take a cautious approach to the star wide receiver's recovery, with a bye week coming up after Monday's contest. Jefferson will wind up missing his seventh consecutive game, though the expectation is that he will resume practicing fully after the bye and be 100 percent healthy for a Week 14 road game in Las Vegas. Assuming Jefferson isn't activated from IR ahead of Monday's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline to do so, Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn and T.J. Hockenson will be in line to work as quarterback Joshua Dobbs' top pass catchers this week.

Hodgins caught his only target for a 12-yard touchdown in Sunday's 10-7 victory over the Patriots.

Hodgins once again saw limited opportunities, but he made the most of his lone target by hauling in a pass from Tommy DeVito for New York's only touchdown of the contest in the second quarter. The score was just his second of the season, with his other TD coming in Week 2 versus Arizona. Hodgins emerged as a top option for Daniel Jones (knee) late last season, but he's failed to click with any of the Giants' quarterbacks this year. Including Sunday, Hodgins has notched just five receptions for 47 yards over his past seven games.

Beckham (shoulder) had three receptions on five targets for 34 yards in Sunday's 20-10 win over the Chargers.

Beckham was listed as questionable for this contest due to a shoulder injury, but his status wasn't truly in question after logging limited practice sessions during the week. The 31-year-old did see his production tail off following his recent hot streak in which he posted 212 yards and two touchdowns over a three-game stretch. Beckham will look to get back to that level of play when the Ravens return from a Week 13 bye to face the Rams on Dec. 10.

Mingo recorded four receptions on six targets for 60 yards in Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Titans.

Mingo had one of his more productive games of the season, with the majority of his yardage coming on long receptions of 24 and 22 yards. That doubled his reception total of more than 20 yards this season, and it also was the second time in his last five contests that he's reached 60 yards. Mingo may find it difficult to produce consistently given the quarterback play in Carolina, but he seems to be taking positive steps in the second half of his rookie campaign.