NFL Player News

Watson brought in his only target for five yards in the Buccaneers' 37-34 loss to the Bengals on Sunday.

Watson logged snaps on offense for the fourth straight game, but Sunday saw him make his first career catch. The rookie has been a mainstay on special teams, and the 12 snaps from scrimmage he played against the Bengals represented a career high. Despite his participation level seeing a slight bump in Week 8, Watson remains far down the pecking order in the Buccaneers' prolific air attack.

Smith caught three passes on four targets for 18 yards in Sunday night's win against the Vikings.

Missing their top cornerback, Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings opted for a conservative defensive scheme, taking away the deep ball and forcing Drew Brees to throw underneath. As a result, Smith's deep-ball abilities were never called into play, as Brees managed just 120 passing yards -- the lowest yardage total of Brees' career when he played a full game -- and most of his completions were short throws to his running backs or Michael Thomas. Still, Smith played 41 of the team's 53 offensive snaps (77 percent), far more than any receiver other than Thomas. While there will be some inconsistency for the rookie, Smith appears locked in as the Saints' No. 2 receiver, which gives him plenty of weekly upside in the Saints' high-scoring offense.

Godwin brought in just two of seven targets for 32 yards in the Buccaneers' 37-34 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. He also caught a game-tying two-point conversion pass.

Godwin saw fellow complementary receiver Adam Humphries outpace him in targets for the second straight game, although he did manage a reception of over 20 yards for the second consecutive contest and also snared a clutch two-point conversion pass to knot the game at 34-34 with 1:10 remaining. The 22-year-old has encouragingly seen between six and 10 looks in five of his last six contests, so his role in the pass-centric offense appears locked in. While an inefficient catch rate led to Godwin equaling a season low in receptions Sunday, he's still averaging 4.0 catches (on 6.3 targets) and 48.6 yards over the first seven games while also compiling four touchdowns.

Pettis (knee) failed to haul in his lone target in Sunday's 18-15 loss to the Cardinals.

Pettis had been sidelined since Week 4 with a knee injury, but he was used sparingly even with Pierre Garcon (knee) held out of action. The second-round pick's lone touch turned out to be a muffed punt, but fellow rookie Fred Warner was able to fall on the ball and avert a costly mistake. Pettis showed some big-play ability earlier in the year with 96 yards and a touchdown on just three catches in the first two games of the season, but he has been limited to zero catches over his previous three healthy appearances. He'll need higher usage in the passing game in the coming weeks before being a reliable fantasy option even in most deep leagues.

Humphries brought in seven of 10 targets for 76 yards in the Buccaneeers' 37-34 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. He also returned one punt for eight yards.

The fourth-year wideout surprisingly checked in second only to Mike Evans in receiving yardage while also pacing the team in receptions. Humphries also came within just inches of his first touchdown of the season when he was ruled to have gone down inside the one-yard line on a 17-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter. Humphries' production and target share Sunday was certainly encouraging, and it bears noting he's now logged 19 targets overall in the last two games. While his participation in the offense figures to fluctuate game to game, the pass-happy attack the Bucs are forced to deploy most weeks due to their porous defense leaves Humphries poised for the opportunity for a decent stat line in any given contest.

Taylor had one catch (two targets) for seven yards in Sunday's loss to Arizona.

Pierre Garcon (knee) was unable to suit up Sunday, but Kendrick Bourne was the receiver who benefited most from the veteran's absence. Taylor has logged just one catch in each of his previous two matchups despite serving as the 49ers' primary slot man, making him hard to trust even in a favorable matchup against the Raiders on Thursday.

Bourne caught seven of 10 targets for 71 yards in Sunday's 18-15 loss to the Cardinals.

Pierre Garcon (knee) did not suit up for this one, opening the door for Bourne to enter the starting receiver rotation. The 23-year-old led the 49ers in receptions, targets and yards. This was likely a result of Marquise Goodwin drawing the tough matchup with Patrick Peterson, so fantasy owners shouldn't expect this kind of usage on a regular basis. Bourne, however, did appear to move ahead of rookie Dante Pettis, who did not record a catch and was mostly limited to special teams in his return from a knee injury. Garcon may be required to miss an additional game due to the short turnaround of Thursday's matchup with the Raiders, so Bourne could find himself starting alongside Goodwin again.

Thomas caught five passes (six targets) for 81 yards in Sunday's 30-20 win over the Vikings.

While this wasn't Thomas' biggest fantasy day, it was certainly strong considering that Drew Brees passed for just 120 yards all game. The 25-year-old's incredible three-week start to the season may have been unsustainable, but he continues to have strong fantasy value as Drew Brees' top outside receiving option. Expect Thomas to be busy Sunday against a Rams defense that is weakest in its secondary.

Diggs had 10 catches (11 targets) for 119 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 30-20 loss to the Saints.

After turning in consecutive 33-yard games, Diggs exploded against the Saints' secondary to lead the Vikings in catches, targets and yards. Fellow wideout Adam Thielen has clearly become the Vikings' top receiver and Kirk Cousins' favorite target, but Diggs has maintained a high target share (10.6 targets per week) in this pass-happy attack. The 24-year-old mainly lines up on the outside, which could result in some matchups against the Lions' top corner Darius Slay, but Diggs' big-play ability should keep his upside alive.

Thielen hauled in all seven of his targets for 103 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 30-20 loss to New Orleans.

While Thielen's stat line was impressive, he did suffer a costly fumble at the end of the first half, resulting in a two-score swing that played a big role in Minnesota's loss. Still, the NFL's leading receiver helped out many a fantasy owner with his eighth consecutive 100-yard receiving game -- tying Calvin Johnson's NFL record -- to complement his six touchdowns this year. Shutdown corner Marshon Lattimore couldn't contain Thielen or Stefon Diggs, so Week 9's matchup against Darius Slay and the Lions shouldn't scare anyone away.