Fantasy News

Joe Mixon leads Bengals in rushing on Thursday night.

He rushed nine times for 36 yards and caught a five-yard pass, but despite leading the team in carries, its surprising that the now 0-2 Bengals won’t give him more touches. Fantasy owners should hope that they commit to him as the starter and workhorse over the mini bye week, and we’d assume that’s what happens as Marvin Lewis likely coaches for his job in 2017. Mixon still has a good chance at high-end RB2 or even RB1 value if he is able to approach 15-20 touches a game. He’s a buy-low candidate.

9/15/17 - 12:05 AM ET

Andy Dalton was 20/35 for 224 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions in Thursday night’s loss to the Texans.

It was the second-straight disappointing performance for Cincinnati’s offense, and they became the first team since the 1939 Eagles to not score a touchdown in each of their first two home games to start a season. Dalton struggled with inaccuracy and couldn’t orchestrate a potential game-winning drive down 13-9 in the fourth quarter. The Bengals are now 0-2 as they head to face the Packers in Lambeau, so there’s a pretty good chance they are 0-3. People might begin calling for A.J. McCarron to get a chance if the offense doesn’t turn it around quickly. Dalton isn’t a recommended fantasy option in Week 3.

9/14/17 - 11:59 PM ET

DeAndre Hopkins gets targeted 13 times in Week 2 win.

Hopkins was battling with Bengals corner Adam Jones for much of the night, and he hauled in seven receptions for 73 yards in the game. Considering the Texans only threw for 125 yards, Hopkins had a large share of that yardage. He could’ve had a huge night, as he beat the press of Adam Jones on a zero blitz by the Bengals, but Jones smartly tackled Hopkins and didn’t allow him to run under the deep ball from Deshaun Watson and take it for a long touchdown. With a date against New England in Week 3, Hopkins might be a bit of a shaky option with the Patriots perhaps set to try and take him out of the game. The Pats might also opt to try and just stop the running game of Lamar Miller and D’Onta Foreman though.

9/14/17 - 11:47 PM ET

D’Onta Foreman gets 12 carries in Week 2.

Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he wanted to get his rookie running back more work, and he did. Foreman ran pretty well, despite picking up only 40 yards on his 12 carries. It was good for fantasy owners to see Foreman play throughout the entire game, as he entered early and mixed in even at the end when the Texans were trying to run out the clock. Foreman could be looking at 10+ carries per week moving forward, and he’s worth an add in standard leagues.

9/14/17 - 11:44 PM ET

Lamar Miller gets 21 touches in Texans’ Week 2 win.

The Bengals seemed determined to stop the run and make rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson beat them, and Miller had 18 carries for 61 yards along with three receptions for 26 yards. Third-round rookie D’Onta Foreman did receive 12 carries and mixed in throughout the entire game from the beginning to the end when the Texans were trying to run out the clock. A run-heavy approach with a rookie under center could be a regular thing this season, so Miller should have more than enough touches to make a fantasy impact. He didn’t do anything flashy, but Miller still put up solid fantasy numbers. He should remain in lineups in Week 3 against New England.

9/14/17 - 11:41 PM ET

Deshaun Watson helps lead Texans to Week 2 win over the Bengals.

The rookie quarterback from Clemson was celebrating his 22nd birthday and played well in his first NFL start, going 15/24 for 125 yards and rushing five times for 67 yards and a touchdown. Despite being without his top three tight ends and only having three receivers active for the game while playing behind a shaky offensive line, Watson avoided mistakes and kept his team in the game. He took some big hits from the Bengals, including three sacks, but he bounced back each time and appeared to get more comfortable as the game went on—as Cris Collinsworth noted on the NFL Network broadcast. In the second quarter, Watson scrambled up the middle and threw a stiff arm before navigating through the defense and picking up good blocking on a 49-yard touchdown run, which might have calmed him down a bit as it got the offense going. The rookie has a difficult matchup in Week 3 against New England, but hopefully he’ll have a healthier team and improved offensive line play in front of him. He’s worth an add if you’re struggling at quarterback.

9/14/17 - 11:38 PM ET

Adrian Peterson talks about his workload.

“All Day” talked to reporters today and, according to ESPN’s Mike Triplett, said “I didn’t sign up for nine snaps, though. Unfortunately that’s how the game played out,” while acknowledging he knew it would take time to adjust splitting the work in the backfield. Peterson also said he doesn’t need a huge workload to perform, citing his propensity to break big plays to start games. Obviously, no future Hall-of-Famer that feels they can still play at a high level wants to play only nine snaps in a game, so this isn’t a huge deal—don’t let fake news make this a bigger statement than it is. AD should get more than nine snaps this Sunday against New England, but he’s one of the riskier FLEX options.

Via: ESPN 9/14/17 - 09:12 PM ET