NFL Player News

Gaffney saw three targets, but his snaps may have been limited by his foot issue. Niles Paul saw a target in the end zone and David Anderson racked up six targets. Gaffney is a weak fantasy play when at 100 percent and is not an option unless he can get back in a full practice this week.

Smith did not carry the ball once for the second week in a row. He last saw more than three attempts in Week 7. He did, however, bring in a goal line touchdown toss from Chris Oladokun. It was the first career score for both players. Smith is good for a handful of catches every week, but his non-existent role on the ground will keep him off the fantasy radar for Week 18.

Pacheco led the team in carries again this week, though it didn’t make a differnce for his fantasy outlook. Kareem Hunt still saw seven attempts. Brashard Smith also stole all of the receiving work a week after Pacheco caught six passes. That proved to be the difference between Pacheco being a PPR RB3 and barely appearing in the box score at all. Without the pass-catching work to juice his fantasy numbers, Pacheco is not on the menu for Week 18 DFS players, even in a plus matchup with the Raiders.

Hunt only saw three carries last week, so this goes down as an improvement of sorts. He also led the Chiefs in rushing yards despite Isiah Pacheco earning two more attempts. Neither back caught a pass. That all went to Brashard Smith. With the backfield work being split three ways and the Chiefs’ offense floundering under Chris Oladokun, Hunt can be ignored in all fantasy formats next week.

Oladokun added 11 yards on two carries. The third-string quarterback was under constant pressure from the Broncos’ vaunted pass-rush. The fact that he took just one sack is wildly impressive, even if he came close to taking several more. Andy Reid doesn’t want Oladokun throwing often and he isn’t taking many downfield looks. To no one’s surprise, this has tanked the Chiefs’ offense. Oladokun will not be on the fantasy radar for Week 18. His presence under center makes the Chiefs a no-man’s land for fantasy purposes.

Engram remained stuck in a committee, splitting reps with Adam Trautman on Christmas. Trautman caught two balls for 24 yards. Engram has nine catches for 77 yards in the month of December. He is barely on the TE2 menu for Week 18 versus the Chargers.

Mims ran the second-most routes on the Broncos with Pat Bryant sidelined this week. He didn’t do much with the extra opportunities, logging an 11 percent target share and another unusable fantasy score. Mims hasn’t hit 30 receiving yards in a game since Week 7. He is not on the fantasy radar heading into Week 18.

Bo Nix locked onto Courtland Sutton in this game, peppering his No. 1 receiver with 10 targets. No other player on the team saw more than six looks, and five pass-catchers were stuck between four and six targets. Even with Pat Bryant out this week, Franklin couldn’t reclaim the WR2 role he held earlier in the year. Marvin Mims and Lil’Jordan Humphrey both ran more routes than Franklin. That alone will keep Franklin buried in the WR6 ranks for a Week 18 date with the Chargers.

Sutton easily led the Broncos in targets, earning a 26 percent target share in total. While an eight-point floor in PPR formats is nice, he could have put a gift under the tree for fantasy managers with a score at the end of the first half. Bo Nix hit him right in the hands on an in-breaking route in the end zone. Sutton initially corralled the pass, but a hard hit from Chiefs safety Bryan Cooks jarred the ball loose. It wasn’t Sutton’s only drop of the night, though it was his most costly. Sutton is still the clear No. 1 receiver for Denver and should be able to put the drops behind him next week. With a bye week on the line versus the Chargers in Week 18, Sutton will remain in the WR2 ranks.

The Chiefs bottled Harvey up for most of the night. His longest carry of the game went for 11 yards, and his fantasy prospects were looking grim late in the contest. A fullback dive for Adam Prentice nearly hung fantasy managers out to dry, but Prentice was stopped inches short of the goal line. Bo Nix found Harvey wide open in the back of the end zone on the next play, saving Christmas for needy fantasy managers across the world. The touchdown was Harvey’s 12th of the year in total and his fifth through the air. He will remain in the RB2 ranks for his Week 18 date with the Chargers.

Nix added nine carries for 42 yards and one touchdown on the ground. It wasn’t an awfully effective night for the Denver offense, and their struggles in the red zone exacerbated the issue. The Chiefs held them to a pair of field goals in the first half, both of which came inside the 20-yard line. Nix eventually found his footing in the second half. He got Denver in the end zone on two-of-three second-half drives, excluding one final kneel-down. The Broncos’ offense is still a step behind the league’s best units, but their shutdown defense more than makes up for the occasional quiet performance from Nix and company. A win versus the Chargers next week gives the Broncos the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Per usual, Nix will be a low-end QB1 to close out the regular season.