NFL Player News

According to Smith-Schuster, he felt about “60 percent” healthy during this time last season. The veteran receiver was dealing with a knee injury that carried over from his 2022 season with the Chiefs and said he never reached a point of feeling 100 percent healthy. Now, that’s all changed. Speaking Monday at OTAs, Smith-Schuster said he feels like he is in full health, which is good news for the Patriots, who signed him to a three-year, $25 million contract last offseason. Smith-Schuster caught 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games for the Patriots last season, looking like a fraction of the player he was in 2022 when he went for 78-933-3 with the Chiefs. If healthy, he should be the best receiver in New England’s underwhelming wide receiver room. With that said, it’s hard to imagine him having anything more than WR4 fantasy upside until we get a chance to see him on the field.

Schultz has now seen three targets in consecutive games to start the 2024 season, a far cry from his pace a season ago. A lot of that is likely due to the emergence of alpha Nico Collins in conjunction with the offseason addition of Stefon Diggs. Schultz can likely be returned to the waiver wire with no clear path to consistent volume in a now-crowded Texans offense.

Diggs was targeted six times in the opener as well but managed to score twice, with this one a far different story as Nico Collins scored the only touchdown for the Texans in a narrow win. The defense truly controlled the game throughout, ceding just one touchdown on the night while sacking Caleb Williams seven times in addition to two interceptions. Diggs is unlikely to see consistently high usage playing alongside Nico Collins, but he should continue to provide sporadic spike weeks through his ability to generate space in close, something that is particularly useful in the red zone.

Collins has now gone over 100 yards in consecutive games to start the 2024 regular season, this time tacking on a touchdown to the ledger after going scoreless in Week 1. That score would prove the difference in a game where each kicker was busy. Collins burst onto the scene in 2023 in a true breakout campaign and has continued that torrid stretch into the new year. Up next for Collins and the Texans is another difficult test against the Vikings on the road in Week 3.

Dell simply took a back seat to Nico Collins in this one, with the latter demonstrating a clear alpha connection with quarterback C.J. Stroud through two weeks. In addition to the breakout of Collins, Dell now has to contend with veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs for targets in an offense that largely prefers to remain balanced. Dell will look to be more involved in Week 3 when the Texans travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings.

Mixon departed the field of play early in the third quarter before returning prior to the end of the frame, but managed to be far less effective than he was in Week 1 against a solid Bears defensive front. Keep an eye on his practice status in the coming week as he clearly sustained an ankle injury on a hip-drop tackle.

Stroud locked onto alpha wide receiver Nico Collins in this one, feeding the youngster 10 targets on his 36 pass attempts, while no other pass-catcher saw more than six looks. The two maintain an elite connection on the field following Collins’ breakout campaign in 2023. Even so, the offense largely struggled outside of Collins, gaining just 310 total yards of offense against a stingy Chicago defense. Either way, the Texans escaped with their second consecutive win to start the season and now turn their attention to another tough defense in the Vikings in Week 3.

Kmet started off the season with a one-catch performance while splitting time with offseason addition Gerald Everett. He did out-snap Everett in this one but was largely a non-factor in a pass game that gained just 174 yards through the air against the Texans. Kmet is looking like one of the larger busts at ADP in the middle rounds of fantasy drafts through two weeks.

Carter drew the start in place of veteran Keenan Allen and started off hot, catching two targets on the team’s first drive. The offense would then struggle to move the football for the majority of the game beyond that, with the only touchdown coming on a two-yard plunge from backup running back Khalil Herbert. Carter’s time in the starting lineup likely won’t last much longer with Allen not expected to miss much time, although he is capable of playing all three starting wide receiver positions on the field so he could find himself back in the starting lineup should another injury occur ahead of him. At least for now, Carter can remain on waiver wires.

The poor stat line comes after Odunze managed just one catch in his professional debut in Week 1, except this time the rookie failed to distinguish himself on the field without veteran Keenan Allen, the latter of whom missed the contest with a heel injury. The No. 9 overall pick has yet to live up to his lofty draft capital through two weeks, although the full brunt of his struggles are likely not his own as offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense has looked flat and uninspiring through two games.

Moore and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams have yet to demonstrate a viable on-field connection through two weeks, something that boiled over through visible frustration in the fourth quarter of the team’s Week 2 loss to the Texans. Moore’s route running acumen was on full display, routinely generating separation from Houston defenders, the most glaring of which came in the fourth quarter when he created vast amounts of separation on the sideline for a back shoulder throw that Williams simply missed wide. Moore was then seen demonstrating clear frustration as he walked to the sideline, continuing his rant once on the bench. The two will need to get on the same page in a hurry if they are to salvage the season for fantasy purposes.