Bills will know more about Johnson (leg) next week

Pierce, dealing with a heel injury since mid-September, will continue rehabbing and remain on injured reserve ahead of the Colts’ Week 7 game against the Vikings. Since Week 3, Keenan Allen leads the Colts with a 24 percent target share, while Josh Downs 17 percent of the team’s targets and 26 percent of the team’s air yards. Neither wideout is a great option in Week 7 against a marauding Minnesota defense.

Moody could serve as competition for Tyler Loop after Loop’s early-season struggles. Loop has made ten of his 13 field goals attempts and all 16 of his extra points through Week 6. Moody — a career 78 percent kicker — competed with Loop for starting duties ahead of the regular season. Whoever ends up kicking for Baltimore will be fantasy relevant.

Washington head coach Dan Quinn said after the team’s Monday night loss to the 49ers that there was “fear” McLaurin could be lost for the long-term after going down with a non-contact injury and was carted to the locker room. McLaurin has functioned as the team’s lone downfield threat for much of the season, and could be replaced with Treylon Burks, who on Monday night caught four balls for 66 yards before sustaining a late-game injury. Antonio Williams and Dyami Brown could also see an increase in routes and targets if McLaurin is sidelined for a while. Look for Chig Okonkwo to see an uptick in targets too. Okonkwo had seven grabs for 69 yards against the Niners.

Shipley mentions the Commanders and Rams as wideout-desperate teams who might be interested in trading for Thomas before the NFL’s trade deadline. The Jaguars have apparently soured on the one-time burgeoning star in recent weeks; against the Texans in Week 6, Thomas ran a pass route on just 28 percent of the Jags’ drop backs and saw two targets. The Commanders, meanwhile, lost Terry McLaurin to a potentially long-term knee injury on Monday night. Thomas, per Shipley, “is not a trade that would make a ton of sense for a Commanders team that might be losing a ton of games and needs their picks to rebuild ... but it would make sense for a general manager who needs to keep his job to give his quarterback a familiar and talented target. Daniels was Thomas’ quarterback during their final seasons at LSU, and the connection between the two could go a long-way toward solving some of Washington’s long-term issues at the wide receiver position.” BTJ’s fantasy prospects would get a big boost if he were to land in Washington in the coming weeks.

Watkins drew the start in place of the injured Deebo Samuel but was unable to take advantage of the opportunity, with 23 of Brock Purdy’s 29 targets going to the team’s top three options in Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, and George Kittle. Evans departed at the end of the second quarter with an aggravation of his Achilles injury, something that appears likely to cost the veteran a Week 7 game against the Falcons. That could leave Watkins in line for a second consecutive start, although the upside remains modest. Fantasy managers are likely best leaving both Watkins and veteran Brandin Cooks on the waiver wire, the latter of whom caught 1-of-2 targets for 13 yards against the Commanders.

Kittle got the scoring started with an 11-yard touchdown on a dime from Brock Purdy to the corner of the end zone, contributing to the offense steadily through a dominant first half before pushing his yardage totals with a 35-yard reception to start the third quarter. It was a tale of two halves for the San Francisco offense, which managed a staggering 303 yards of total offense in the first half and only 72 yards of total offense after the break, likely heavily influenced by the departure of Mike Evans at the end of the second quarter. Evans is expected to miss the team’s Week 7 contest against the Falcons, where Kittle could step into additional volume in his already-solid TE1 profile.

McCaffrey set a season high with 25 touches and 26 opportunities in a game played without Deebo Samuel and in which Mike Evans departed just before the half with an aggravation of his Achilles injury. The veteran workhorse back again proved how high his ceiling can be with such a robust role through the air. A second-quarter fumble was his first lost fumble since 2024, a stretch spanning over 500 touches since he last lost a fumble. McCaffrey remains an elite RB1 despite a difficult matchup on the ground against the Falcons in Week 7.

Purdy and the 49ers absolutely dominated the first two quarters, gaining 303 yards of total offense on 41 plays before the break. The situation would alter course in a hurry after Purdy lost his top option through the air in the final minute of the second quarter as Mike Evans departed with an aggravation of the Achilles injury that had him listed as questionable entering the game. The team would go on to gain only 72 additional yards after the intermission, allowing the Commanders the ability to claw their way back into the game in the fourth quarter. Even so, Purdy now holds the NFL record for highest career passer rating after qualifying for the statistic with his 1,500th pass attempt in the win, which pushes the 49ers to a perfect 6-0 record ahead of a Week 7 meeting with the Falcons before their bye the following week. Purdy remains a surefire QB1 against the pass-funnel Falcons.

While the end line looks good in the box score, the fact that Diggs continued to operate in a situational role following the departure of Terry McLaurin in the first quarter was somewhat concerning for the veteran receiver’s upside potential in McLaurin’s absence, although the fact that he came into the game listed as questionable with a hamstring injury could have influenced his snap rate. Either way, Diggs continues to produce when on the field, returning significant value for fantasy managers that invested a middle-round pick for his services this summer. Diggs will be an upside WR3 when the Commanders take on the division rival Eagles in Week 8 following their bye.

While the yardage total looks solid on paper, the fact that Williams had only four targets in a game in which veteran wide receiver Terry McLaurin departed in the first quarter and quarterback Jayden Daniels attempted 40 passes is concerning. Williams continues to flash big play upside through a multitude of injuries to teammates but has yet to fully take advantage of the increase in opportunity, something fantasy managers will hope corrects when the Commanders come out of their bye to face the Eagles in Week 8.