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Eric MoodyESPN
Read ESPN’s fantasy football Daily Notes every weekday to stay caught up on the news you need to know and get a head start on the fantasy football content coming today and tomorrow to ESPN.com and the ESPN Fantasy App.
The news: Packers WR Christian Watson caught four of six targets for 48 yards and two touchdowns against the Titans on Thursday.
What it means in fantasy: In Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, Watson scored three touchdowns, and on Thursday, he scored two more. Watson played 80% of the offensive snaps and ran 31 routes. Allen Lazard was the only wide receiver who played more snaps and ran more routes. Over the Packers’ last two games, Watson scored 53.8 fantasy points, which should please fantasy managers who picked him up. The stage is set for him to become a fantasy superstar for the rest of the season, as I wrote earlier this week in the waiver wire column.
Going deeper: Watson is the first rookie to have at least two receiving touchdowns in consecutive games since Calvin Ridley in 2018. The last five passing touchdowns Aaron Rodgers has thrown have gone to Watson. This is tied for the most consecutive passing touchdowns to one receiver in his career. Randall Cobb and Davante Adams also caught five straight TD passes from Rodgers.
The news: Titans WR Treylon Burks caught seven of eight targets for 111 yards against the Packers on Thursday.
What it means in fantasy: Burks had eight targets and 18.1 fantasy points, both career highs. He played only 50% of the offensive snaps. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Robert Woods both ran 27 routes compared to Burks’ 21 routes. After this performance, it would make sense that the rookie’s snap percentage will increase. Burks is rostered in only 22.7% of ESPN leagues.
Going deeper:Burks has accumulated 14 targets since returning from injured reserve with a foot injury in Week 10.
The news: Titans QB Ryan Tannehill completed 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns.
What it means in fantasy: Tannehill has scored 19 fantasy points in consecutive games. Tannehill was one of the quarterbacks I wrote about in the waiver wire column, and he delivered for fantasy managers. Over the past two games, Tannehill averaged 31.5 pass attempts, which is encouraging for a Titans passing game on the rise. He can be viewed as a high-end QB2 in Week 12 against the Bengals.
Going deeper: Tannehill recorded 300 passing yards for the first time this season. The Titans’ wide receivers recorded season highs in receptions (15) and receiving yards (208). With 61 receptions and 811 yards, Tennessee ranked last in both categories heading into Thursday night’s game.
The news: The Chiefs put WR Mecole Hardman on injured reserve.
What it means in fantasy: Hardman will miss the Chiefs’ next four games because of an abdominal injury. He had averaged 20.3 fantasy points in the last three games prior to missing last Sunday’s game. Hardman has caught 25 of 34 targets for 297 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season. JuJu Smith-Schuster also missed practice on Thursday because of a concussion. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson are the other wide receivers on the Chiefs roster, although Travis Kelce commands a large share of the targets himself. There is a lot of excitement about Toney among fantasy managers. On Sunday, he had six touches for 90 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars. Toney is listed in only 55.9% of ESPN leagues.
The news: Browns TE David Njoku returned to practice on Thursday.
What it means in fantasy: Njoku had been dealing with an ankle injury since Week 7 and this marked the first time he was on the field since then. The fact that Njoku is practicing this week is a great sign of the possibility that he will play against the Bills on Sunday. He has averaged 14.2 fantasy points in his past 5 games.
The news: The Rams expect QB Matthew Stafford to clear the concussion protocol and play Sunday.
What it means in fantasy: According to head coach Sean McVay, Stafford will clear the concussion protocol on Friday and resume his starting role against the Saints on Sunday. Stafford has averaged a dismal 11.7 fantasy points per game this season. He will be without Cooper Kupp for quite some time due to an ankle injury, and center Brian Allen, who has missed practice with thumb and knee injuries, may not be able to play. Moving forward, Stafford will be difficult to trust in fantasy lineups.
Going deeper: Over the past two regular seasons, Stafford and Kupp have combined for the most completions (217), touchdowns (22) and yards (2,760) of any quarterback-receiver duo in the league.
The news: Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins did not practice on Thursday.
What it means in fantasy: Hopkins is dealing with a hamstring injury. There’s no need to panic yet, but it’s important that he practices Friday, if only in a limited capacity. Hopkins has averaged 11.5 targets and 21.9 fantasy points this season. Kyler Murray missed the Cardinals’ Week 10 game against the Rams because of a hamstring injury. Murray and Marquise Brown, who recently returned from injured reserve, practiced together on Thursday. The Cardinals host the 49ers on Monday night.
The news: Texans WR Brandin Cooks practiced on Thursday.
What it means in fantasy: Cooks did not practice on Wednesday because of a hip and wrist injury. It’s a good sign that he’ll be available to play against the Commanders this weekend, but will fantasy managers even want to use Cooks in their lineups? This season, he has averaged 7.5 targets and 10.2 fantasy points. Nico Collins led the Texans with 10 targets against the Giants in Week 10, On Sunday, Cooks will be a middling flex option against a stout Commanders defense.
The news: Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson missed practice on Thursday.
What it means in fantasy: Robinson’s hamstring tightened up on him Wednesday, and his status for Sunday’s matchup against the Lions is uncertain, according to head coach Brian Daboll. It’s important for fantasy managers not to overlook Darius Slayton, who’s rostered in only 15.7% of ESPN leagues. Four of his last five games have seen him score 10 or more fantasy points.
Today on ESPN.com/Fantasy and in the ESPN Fantasy App
Mike Clay’s Playbook: projections and analysis for every game
Eric Karabell’s Week 11 hot seat: Deebo Samuel among players with something to prove in Week 11
• Daniel Dopp and Liz Loza’s Fantasy Improv: CMC’s new role, watching football in the elements and more
• Fantasy Focus podcast (10 a.m. ET)
Sunday:
• The Fantasy Football cheat sheet: the week’s best advice in one place
• Inactives Watch: who’s in, who’s out and what does it mean?
• After the games: Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft’s fantasy highs and lows
• Fantasy Football Now: Sunday at 10 am ET on ESPN2
In case you missed it:
Field Yate’s Fantasy Field Pass: Replacing Kupp, how to value Taylor, McCaffrey, Mitchell
Mike Clay’s TNF Playbook: Packers vs. Titans
Tristan H. Cockcroft’s Week 11 positional matchup map
Matt Bowen’s fantasy film room Tee Higgins, D’Andre Swift among Week 11 upgrades, downgrades
Al Zeidenfeld’s DFS Best Buys for Week 11
• Fantasy Focus podcast: Field Yates, Mike Clay and Daniel Dopp preview TNF before talking WR’s who need to be in your lineup and what players stock is rising and falling. Then, Adam Schefter joins to talk the storylines to watch in Week 11 including some big injury updates. Plus, we celebrate a big birthday! Listen | Watch