NFL Player News

The Ravens have waived UDFA rookie Dom Maggio in a corresponding roster move. Cut by the Bucs eight days ago, Pinion now slots in as the second, and probably best, punter on the Falcons’ 90-man roster. Of course, Pinion did not have a great year for the Bucs in 2020, placing 22nd in net-punting average. It’s far from a guarantee he claims the starting job.

It goes down as his second one-catch, three-target, 11-yard game of the season. He posted those exact numbers in Week 1, though with a touchdown for good measure. Ayomanor popped for 69 yards in Week 2 but failed to find the big play in this game, cratering his numbers. As the WR3 on one of the worst offenses in football, he is not on the fantasy radar for Week 4.

McBride had a big receiving day, though penalties prevented it from being more productive. His first reception was called back due to offensive pass interference while he drew defensive pass interference in the endzone on a 4th-and-1 play. He continues to be the Cardinals’ most effective target on immediate routes, slashing through the 49ers defense for 75 yards. Not much more nuance is needed here, McBride is a fantasy TE1 for Week 4 against the Giants.

Mayer scored with just under six minutes left in the first half. Coach Klint Kubiak sent TE Brock Bowers in motion, back and forth across the formation, behind the line of scrimmage, before QB Kirk Cousins executed the play-action fake. Mayer ran an out route from the slot and shook S Justin Reid on the cut before quickly hauling in the pass. Mayer’s other two catches both went for double-digit yardage gains. He will be a viable high-end TE2 moving forward, with defenses focused on stopping Bowers.

Running a route on 29 of the team’s 37 drop backs, Hockenson was uninvolved in the offense even after Justin Jefferson exited the game with an ankle injury in the first half. Hockenson, who has nine grabs over the Vikings’ first three games, profiles as a low-floor weekly option in a Minnesota offense that has not passed at its usual volume early in the season.

Ferguson got tangled up on a target half way through the first quarter and limped to the sideline under his own power. He was then escorted to the locker room for x-rays. No additional update has been provided.

Allgeier lost nearly all high-value touches to Jeremiyah Love in Week 3, falling far behind the rookie in total opportunities and sinking further in total snaps. He saw 31 snaps to Love’s 55, seeing just six touches to Love’s 26. Allgeier’s most usage came in passing-down situations, catching four passes while pass-blocking was his most prominent role. Allgeier holds little standalone value with Love taking over the backfield; he is a valuable fantasy handcuff for now.

Ferguson continues to make the most of his limited targets. Despite seeing just nine targets in his last two games, the veteran tight end has turned three of those into scores. Ferguson hauled in a 19-yard touchdown catch from Dak Prescott in the third quarter against the Ravens, but was otherwise held to just four yards on his other four targets. The touchdowns are encouraging, but we will need to see more targets before we can elevate Ferguson into TE1 territory. He’ll be a boom-or-bust TE2 next week against the Texans.

Love tallied a career-high 26 touches in Week 3, gashing the 49ers’ banged-up offensive line for over 100 total yards. The rookie out-snapped Tyler Allgeier 55-to-31 while also out-touching him 26-to-6. Nearly all the high-value touches went to Love, who scored on a play-action pass at the one-yard line. The path to true workhorse usage is wide open for Love after a monstrous workload and productive fantasy day against the 49ers. He is a high-end RB2 for Week 4 against the Giants.

Gainwell was once again inefficient with his limited opportunities. He operated as the team’s lead back, however, when Bucky Irving exited with a lower body injury. If Irving misses any time, Gainwell would profile as a top-24 PPR option, even if he loses touches to Sean Tucker. Tampa’s offense could be without Baker Mayfield (thumb) for a while. That would dampen the prospects of everyone in the offense.

Watkins saw increased opportunity with Mike Evans (rib) exiting in the second quarter. He caught a pair of long targets from Purdy despite KhaDarel Hodge and Jacob Cowing beating the 24-year-old in snaps. Watkins could certainly be on the fantasy radar if Evans misses an extended period of time.