NFL Player News

Raiders QB Geno Smith injured his right, throwing shoulder on the final play of the third quarter and was immediately taken to the locker room, thrusting Pickett into the starting lineup. Pickett took over on 3rd-and-7 from the Broncos’ seven-yard line and eventually turned the ball over on downs. The journeyman quarterback showed a decent connection with rookie WR Jack Bech thereafter and eventually connected with WR Shedrick Jackson, Bo Jackson’s nephew, for a 25-yard touchdown. It is Jackson’s first career reception. Pickett’s status will depend on Smith’s health, but he is a potential QB2 in superflex leagues in a #RevengeGame against the Eagles next week.

He played 32-of-60 snaps as the Bengals have spread the ball around, letting Colvie Young (1/7) and Dohnte Meyers (0/1) also get involved against the Texans. Iosivas looks like a poor FLEX risk in Week 3 against the Steelers.

McMillan took a backseat to Jalen Coker last week. The opportunities were distributed more evenly this time around. McMillan led the team with 10 targets and a 28 percent target share. Coker wasn’t far behind with nine targets. McMillan easily led the team in yards, though Coker caught eight balls and Darren Waller popped up for a two-score game. This offense may ultimately be too spread out for McMillan to reach his full potential, but Week 2 reaffirmed his status as the team’s top dog. He will be in the WR2 mix when the Panthers take on the Browns next week.

Higgins had a number of incredible catches in this one, including a backshoulder ball in the fourth quarter. His longest gain of the day, a 23-yarder to get the Bengals into Ja’Marr Chase touchdown range, actually happened when he was left uncovered by the Texans over the middle. Whoops. Higgins will be a WR2 against the Steelers in Week 3.

His first touchdown was a breathtaking back-shoulder ball that required picture-perfect foot dragging to bring in for a score — it was such a good catch that CBS play-by-play man Kevin Harlan didn’t actually believe it was a touchdown at first. He added a second touchdown out of structure when Joe Burrow drifted to the right of the pocket and lured Reed Blankenship up to create a hole for Chase. Fantasy’s WR1 is back at it again and should (obviously) be started and trusted against the Steelers in Week 3.

Stevenson started the game for the Patriots backfield but quickly fell out of favor after a first quarter fumble. He was out-snapped the rest of the game by TreVeyon Henderson, who saw 31 snaps to Stevenson’s 18. The Pats did get Stevenson going again in the second half; he ripped off a 24-yard run in the third quarter to extend a drive that ended in a missed field goal. Based on Week 2 usage, Stevenson is the starter but will be quickly yanked as his career-long fumbling issues continue. He is a FLEX play for Week 3 against the jaguars.

He “added” three catches for two yards on five targets, getting absolutely exploded by Kamari Lassiter on one of them. He also had a 20-ish yard run called back for holding. Brown looked quick and able, but the Bengals ran just two plays inside the Texans red zone all game. He played on 42-of-60 snaps per PFF. Brown will be in the low-end RB1 ranks against the Steelers in Week 3.

Uncharacteristically, Hurts had just five carries for 16 scoreless yards. This one was way harder than it needed to be, but Hurts stepped up when the Eagles needed him most late in the proceedings. Trailing 20-17 after the Titans drilled a field goal with 1:56 remaining, Hurts locked onto DeVonta Smith on what proved to be the game-winning drive. He capped it off with a three-yard scoring strike to an uncovered Darius Cooper in the end zone. It was far from a sterling performance, but it was just enough with Saquon Barkley in and out of the game as he battled a stinger and Dallas Goedert departing with a knee issue. Up to five passing scores through two starts, Hurts has yet to find the end zone on the ground. Perhaps that changes against the Bears on Monday Night Football in Week 3.

Young got off to a slow start with just one touchdown on his first five drives. He found Xavier Legette for a 55-yard completion just before halftime, setting up an eventual strike to Darren Waller for six. Young rode the momentum into the third quarter and found Waller in the end zone once again coming out of halftime. That alone was enough to seal the game, and Young even got to take some time off in the fourth quarter. Young pushed the ball downfield with ease, just like he did in last week’s shootout with the Bears. While the passing volume may come down at some point, Young looks like a different quarterback in year four. He is moving up the QB2 ranks heading into his Week 3 date with the Browns.