Colby

Parkinson

It is, amazingly, Parkinson’s ninth touchdown in his last 10 games despite cracking 50 yards just once over that span. The Rams steered away from their 13-personnel sets in this game without Terrance Ferguson, but Parkinson continued to eat up snaps, playing a tight-end-room high 57 of the team’s 75. Can you call someone a touchdown or bust option if he almost always spits up a touchdown? That’s what you’re confronted with in the Divisional Round slate.

Tyler Higbee was back for this game and even exploded for 91 yards and a touchdown, but Parkinson led the room in targets and snaps. Parkinson had already set career-highs across the board coming into this game, and he put an exclamation point on the season with a pair of touchdowns in the second half. He is now up to eight scores on the year. Parkinson will be a touchdown-or-bust DFS play in the Wild Card Round versus Carolina.

Both of Ferguson’s receptions went for chunk gains of 27 yards, with the rookie tight end cashing in on a touchdown in the third quarter to keep the Rams in the game after taking a 21-0 deficit into the half. Ferguson’s late-season breakout continues to hint at the potential for untapped upside, although his playing time is likely tied to the team’s usage of heavy personnel while playing behind established veteran Colby Parkinson, the latter of whom caught 6-of-7 targets for 53 scoreless yards in the loss.

The Athletic’s Nate Atkins said Higbee is unlikely to be active for Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks, however. Higbee has bee on IR since mid-November following a serious ankle injury against Seattle. His absence has opened up routes and targets for Colby Parkinson, who should be treated as a legit streaming option in Week 16. Parkinson and TE Terrance Ferguson led the Rams in pass routes last week against the Lions in an LA offense that uses two and three tight end sets at the NFL’s highest rate.

One of his touchdown catches came on one of the weirdest non-overturns you’ll ever see, where even FOX’s Dean Blandino appeared confused as to why Parkinson was not ruled short of the goal line. Nevertheless! Parkinson has now caught six touchdowns in six games, a stretch that roughly coincides with Tyler Higbee heading to IR and the Rams losing one mouth to feed from what had been a four-headed TE hydra. Nothing about what Parkinson is doing on the field looks Film Room Impressive, but the way Stafford is slinging it in the red zone and the safety of the role brings up hints of early-season Jake Ferguson. Parkinson should remain on the low-end TE1 landscape against the Seahawks on short rest Thursday.

Parkinson’s touchdown — one of three for Matthew Stafford on the day — was his fourth score in five games. He’s operated as the Rams’ TE1 since Tyler Higbee was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Parkinson in Week 14 ran a pass route on 22 of Stafford’s 31 drop backs and was targeted on 23 percent of his routes, a solid rate for a tight end. Parkinson will be a solid streaming option in Week 15 against the Lions.

Parkinson continues to benefit from Tyler Higbee’s absence. The veteran tight end led his position group with five targets on the day and turned those looks into a 4-27-0 line. Parkinson has now seen five-plus targets in back-to-back games with Higbee sidelined and saw two targets in the Panthers’ red zone. Despite a somewhat encouraging workload, Parkinson will be hard to trust as anything more than a TE2 in Week 14 against the Cardinals.

It was the first game after fellow tight end Tyler Higbee was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury, making the standout performance from Parkinson notable. He’ll continue to cede primary aerial usage to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams but brings a history of success in the red zone to an offense leading the league in passing touchdowns in 2025. Fantasy managers in a bind at the position could do worse than taking a flier on that profile.

Higbee’s sidelining still leaves the Rams with three capable tight ends, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrace Ferguson. Although the rookie, Ferguson, intrigues, Parkinson has finished as a TE1 in consecutive weeks, buoyed by touchdowns. The latter player can be started as a touchdown-dependent TE1, if needed, though stashing Ferguson could return value down the line. Higbee will be eligible to return in Week 16.

Parkinson saw a bump in playing time and usage with Tyler Higbee sidelined with an ankle issue that could keep him sidelined in the coming weeks. Parkinson’s touchdown came on a short throw in the red zone; he broke a couple tackles to get the ball over the goal line. It was his second straight game with a touchdown. He was targeted on two of his nine pass routes against Seattle. Parkinson, with 11 receptions over his past four games, could be a decent streamer in Week 12 against the Bucs if Higbee is sidelined.