ESPN's Adam Schefter hears that there's "optimism" that Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) will be back for Week 17. Stroud remained sidelined in practice all last week but "has begun to make some progress" through the protocol, according to Schefter. We'll track the rookie's status this coming week. QB Case Keenum starts vs. the Browns today.
Bills WR Stefon Diggs managed just 5 catches for 29 yards in Saturday's win over the Chargers. He made some nice contested catches in this one, but the real story is a multi-week downtrend in production. In fact, Diggs hasn’t cracked 90 yards since Week 6. And he’s gone three straight games without a score. Josh Allen fired off only 21 passes, while the Bills ran a subpar 52 plays on the night. Diggs also watched as Gabe Davis (4-130-1) popped off for a couple of explosive plays. Note: Per Pro Football Focus, Diggs played his second-lowest snap share of the season. (His lowest mark came in Week 15.) We’ll see if there’s any news out of Orchard Park on Diggs this coming week. But it’ll be tough to keep him out of lineups for an upcoming matchup with New England.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon struggled in Week 16 vs. the Steelers, logging just 41 rushing yards on 11 carries in the contest. Saturday’s outcome marks the second consecutive game in which the veteran has failed to reach 50 rushing yards and spells some concern about his chances at rebounding in the fantasy championship. He’ll be set to square off against a Chiefs defense that ranks as the ninth-toughest RB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed and should be best considered as an RB2 candidate.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) is expected to play Sunday against the Browns. That matches what Collins said earlier in the week. He's still not as attractive an option as usual because of C.J. Stroud's absence and a challenging matchup with the Browns. But Collins should at least be available.
Houston has ruled out LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) for the second straight game. LB Denzel Perryman (Achilles') is questionable. He managed limited practices all week, though, and Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports that Perryman's "trending toward being active." Cashman's absence and Perryman's question mark have moved LB Christian Harris up our Week 16 LB rankings. Harris has produced solid numbers lately, including 7 solo tackles in three of his past four games -- with two lines of 10+ total tackles in that span. Cleveland presents a positive scoring matchup this week. The Browns have yielded the third-most fantasy points per game to LBs for the season and remain top-8 in that category even over QB Joe Flacco's three weeks as starter.
Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Browns. He said Friday that he expects to return for this one. But between the calf and QB Case Keenum, Collins lands in WR3 territory in the Week 16 Rankings.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) did not practice all week and is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Browns. He’s seemingly made very little progress through the protocol and isn’t a lock to make it back for Week 17. QB Case Keenum starts again this weekend.
Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) got in a limited practice on Wednesday. He has a chance to return for this weekend's game vs. the Browns. But Collins is obviously a less exciting fantasy play with QB Case Keenum expected to be under center again.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) is "likely" to miss Sunday's game against the Browns, a source tells ESPN. The team, of course, will continue to monitor Stroud's progress through the concussion protocol before making a final decision on his Week 16 status. But fantasy owners should now assume that it'll be QB Case Keenum at the helm for Houston again this weekend. Keenum did just enough to eke out a win over the Titans last week, completing 64% of his passes at 6.4 yards per attempt with one TD and one INT. This news obviously deals a blow to all of Houston's pass-catchers.
Texans TE Dalton Schultz didn't post big numbers (4-58 receiving on 5 targets) in Sunday's OT win over the Titans. But he had a good day. His 34 routes tied for second on the team, found him on the field for 85.7% of Houston dropbacks and dominated No. 2 TE Brevin Jordan (7 routes, 17.5%). The game marked Schultz' return from two weeks down for a hamstring injury that knocked him out of the previous contest. The role could make him a key contributor in Week 16 against the Browns, who reached Week 15 as the third-best scoring matchup for TEs and third-worst for WRs. Schultz will push for a top-12 spot in our Week 16 TE rankings.
Texans WR Noah Brown dominated targets in Sunday's win over the Titans. His 11 looks marked 30.6% of the team's total pass attempts and more than doubled his nearest teammate. WR Robert Woods tied two others with 5 targets, catching three for 30 yards. He and Woods actually trailed rookie WR Xavier Hutchinson in routes, though. Hutchinson ran a route on 87.5% of Houston dropbacks, leading Brown by one route and Woods by five. Hutchinson went catchless on 3 targets. Brown has room to stay relevant against the Browns in Week 16. But he'll likely have to compete with WR Nico Collins, who missed Sunday's game but seems to be trending toward a Week 16 return. We'll watch the whole situation as we set our Week 16 rankings. Don't expect Hutchinson or Woods to be relevant over the final two fantasy weeks outside of deep leagues.
Bills WR Stefon Diggs caught four balls for just 48 scoreless yards in the Week 15 win over the Cowboys. It was his fourth game among the last five with fewer than 50 receiving yards. Unlike those other games, though, Diggs' share of the passing game was not the problem in this one. He accounted for 33% of the team's targets and 51% of receiving yards. Dallas simply couldn't stop Buffalo's running game, so QB Josh Allen threw just 15 times. The Bills have leaned a bit more on the running game under OC Joe Brady -- but we certainly don't expect another game like this the rest of the way. Diggs remains a must-start for an excellent Week 16 matchup vs. the Chargers' 27th-ranked WR defense.
Titans DE Denico Autry (knee, illness) and LB Jack Gibbens (back) are active for today's game against the Texans. Neither is a high-level IDP, but both are available if needed. Autry's presence is particularly important for a D-line missing DT Jeffery Simmons. That absence makes it tough to like Tennessee's defense at any level for fantasy.
Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Titans. He’s reportedly not dealing with a long-term injury, so we’ll see if he can make it back for Week 16. WR Noah Brown (knee) is active and joins Robert Woods, John Metchie, and Xavier Hutchinson in a WR corps that’ll be catching passes from QB Case Keenum.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game vs. the Titans. No surprise after he missed practice all week. Stroud has a good chance to be cleared for Week 16. QB Case Keenum is expected to draw the start against Tennessee tomorrow.
The Texans are expected to start QB Case Keenum rather than Davis Mills against the Titans on Sunday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston. Texans coaches reportedly trust Keenum's "big-game experience" as they fight for a playoff berth. We don't see a huge difference in fantasy outlook for the Texans offense between the two QBs, especially with Tank Dell out and Nico Collins not expected to play.
Texans TE Dalton Schultz (hamstring) put in a full week of practice and is not listed on the final injury report for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. Houston can certainly use Schultz with WRs Tank Dell and Nico Collins out. But QB C.J. Stroud’s likely absence dings Schultz’s fantasy value.
Texans WR Noah Brown (knee) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. Brown has been playing through this knee issue the past couple of weeks but has failed to catch any of his seven targets. It’s fair to assume that he’s nowhere near 100%. That, plus the fact that it’ll likely be QB Davis Mills under center this weekend, leaves Brown as a shaky fantasy play.
Texans WR Nico Collins (calf) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. He didn’t practice all week, and insider Aaron Wilson confirmed Friday that Collins is not expected to play. We’ll see if he can make it back for Week 16.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud (concussion) is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. He didn’t practice all week. The Texans are holding out hope that Stroud is cleared by Sunday – but it’s extremely unlikely. QB Davis Mills will get the start against Tennessee. He’s a capable backup but a significant downgrade from Stroud.
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