NFL Player News

Already opening the season on the reserve/PUP list, Hockenson is required to miss the first four games of the season. “A Week 7 or so return” for Hockenson would be in line with the Vikings’ plans to have him ready in the first half of the season, which they mentioned as a goal last month. Hockenson suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Week 16 of last season but has been reported as being “well ahead” in his recovery. We’ll likely get a better sense of a return date next month, but a mid-season return remains firmly in the cards.

It’s only been two weeks, but the early returns on Godwin moving to the slot full-time have been great. He has 15 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns already. This week’s performance was particularly impressive as he put up a 7/117/1 line while the Buccaneers had only 19 total pass attempts and Baker Mayfield completed just 12 passes. He led the team in targets, catches and got loose in the secondary for a 41 yard touchdown. Godwin is a high-end WR2 heading into Week 3’s home matchup with the Broncos.

Fant’s 2024 fantasy revival has so far failed to launch with just three receptions for 25 yards through two games. That’s despite the fact that Geno Smith dropped back 47 times in Boston. Fant should still end up producing some TE2 days, but it is looking harder than expected behind the elite receiver trio of DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett. Week 3 against the Dolphins does at least profiles a a positive offensive environment.

Jones struggled to get anything going against a stout Niners defense. He ceded control of the Minnesota backfield to Ty Chandler, who had ten rushes for 82 yards on the day.

Bateman didn’t do much in this game, but it was still his first time with 40 yards in consecutive weeks since the start of the 2022 season. He is being used as a field stretcher for Lamar Jackson, though that role doesn’t entail much volume and doesn’t hit often. Bateman will pop up for a few big games this year, but predicting them will be nearly impossible. Fantasy managers should view him as a low-floor WR5 heading into his Week 3 matchup with Dallas.

With Jake Ferguson out, Schoonmaker was the team’s primary tight end. He saw a pair of targets on the Cowboys’ first offensive drive, including hauling in a one-handed catch on the run. Schoonmaker was a serviceable fantasy play and will continue to be a TE2 with Ferguson out. If Ferguson cannot go next week, Schoonmaker should be scooped up off waivers for Week 3 against the Ravens.

Jamo picked up right where he left off in Week 1 with a 50 yard catch on the first drive. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the Lions’ downfield passing game for the day. Williams nearly had a catch on the sideline that would’ve put the Lions in the red zone with less than a minute left, but he couldn’t keep both feet in bounds. He was still heavily involved in the offense in a week where Amon-Ra St. Brown saw 19 targets. It looks like his role isn’t going away and the Jamo breakout is still on. Williams will be counted on once again as a field-stretcher for Detroit in Week 3 against the Cardinals on the road.

Despite losing this game, the Ravens were tied or playing from ahead for all but 30 seconds. This meant they used Hill sparingly while piling touches on Derrick Henry’s plate. Henry carried the ball 18 times. Hill will be a PPR factor in the few games that Baltimore plays from behind in this year but isn’t a viable fantasy option when the Ravens are projected to be ahead. He will rank as a RB5 for the Ravens’ upcoming matchup with the Cowboys.

Tolbert was a surprising target-leader for the Cowboys in Week 2. Some of that is likely due to the team being down big in the second half, though he still operated ahead of Kavontae Turpin (three touches, six yards) and Jalen Brooks (one touch, 10 yards). His day was highlighted by a 40-yard contested catch that showed shades of his touted jump-ball ability. Tolbert also recovered a near-costly Dak Prescott fumble in the red zone to at least get the team a field goal. He is unlikely to be the Cowboys’ No. 2 target moving forward, but Tolbert’s usage offers some WR5 value for those in deeper leagues.

All of Lockett’s positive yardage came in overtime, where he also drew a 20-yard DPI he evidently admitted to Patriots CB Jonathan Jones “wasn’t a penalty.” Tough scene. It has been the tale of two weeks for Lockett, who had a 7/79 Week 1 only to watch DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba both clear 10 receptions in Boston. We would expect this week to be closer to the norm, though that’s obviously something of a guess. Lockett will have some WR4 upside against the Dolphins’ leaky defense in Week 3, especially since he’s unlikely to be Jalen Ramsey’s focal point.

Samuel led the team in targets in an unusually pass-heavy game script in a CMC-less offense. His two rushing attempts were disastrous. Last week, Samuel had eight rushes in a more neutral game script. Samuel should continue operating as the Niners’ No. 1 wideout for the foreseeable future. He’ll be a top ten option next week against Houston.