Denver

Broncos

Engram has had exactly one meaningful fantasy performance since Week 5, and it wasn’t this week. The veteran tight end continues to underwhelm in the box score and has now caught two or fewer passes in four of his last six games. Fantasy managers would be wise to avoid him in Week 16 despite the revenge game matchup against the Jaguars.

Humphrey has now caught six passes over the last two weeks and found the end zone for his first touchdown of the season when Bo Nix connected with him on a five-yard pass late in the second quarter. Humphrey’s 45 snaps were the second-most of any Broncos receiver on Sunday, but he remains difficult to trust given the fact that he’s spent years being a replacement-level player. We wouldn’t advise chasing the points here ahead of Week 16’s game against the Jaguars.

Franklin’s six targets were tied for second-most on the Broncos on Sunday. The former Oregon product was robbed of a touchdown in the second quarter when officials incorrectly blew the play dead after it was shown on a replay that his knee never hit the ground, but Franklin later found pay dirt on a 23-yard strike in the third quarter to make up for it. Sunday marked Franklin’s most productive fantasy outing since Week 8, when he went for 6-89-2. He’s seen six or more targets in four of his last five games, but Franklin can’t be trusted as anything more than a FLEX play in Week 16 against the Jaguatrs.

Sutton came up with several big plays in this one, starting with a 42-yard reception in the second quarter that helped position the Broncos for a five-yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey two plays later. In the third quarter, Sutton hauled in a leaping catch in the end zone for a 14-yard score to put the Broncos up 23-21, and on a pivotal fourth and two in the fourth quarter, Sutton hauled in a 26-yard pass down the left sideline to extend a drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown run by RJ Harvey. Sutton continues to be the only consistently reliable receiving option in the Broncos’ offense, and will be on the high-end WR3 radar in Week 16 against the Jaguars.

Nix was methodical all afternoon, working his way downfield time and time again against the vaunted Packers defense. The Broncos’ signal-caller played turnover-free football and didn’t take a sack while leading his offense to five separate scoring drives on the day. Nix got the Broncos on the board in the second quarter when he connected with practice squad vet Michael Bandy for a 20-yard score on a catch-and-run, and added another five-yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey before halftime. He would add two more touchdown passes in the third quarter — one to Courtland Sutton and another to Troy Franklin — to given the Broncos the lead heading into the fourth. They would hold onto that lead the remainder of the game and now enter Week 16 with a 12-2 record. Nix’s four touchdown passes tie a career-high. He’ll be a low-end QB1 in Week 16 against a Jaguars defense that tends to create a pass funnel for opposing offenses.

Harvey exited the game after a two-yard run late in the fourth quarter. With under two minutes to go, it seems unlikely that Harvey will return at this point barring the game going to overtime. Harvey exited the field with a rushing line of 19-64-1, with his lone score coming on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter. If healthy, Harvey will be on the RB2 radar in Week 16’s game against the Jaguars.

Bryant was ruled out before the weekend. Mike McGlinchey (shoulder) is playing off a questionable tag after missing practice on Friday. The Broncos are relatively healthy entering their showdown with the Packers.

McGlinchey popped up on the injury report as a Friday DNP after being healthy earlier in the week. Not auspicious. Geron Christian and Frank Crum are the backup tackles on the roster for Denver, and one of them could be pressed into service on Sunday if McGlinchey can’t go.

Payton added that if this were a playoff game, Payton would probably be playing. But this is management with the hope of getting things in shape for Bryant down the line. Marvin Mims will find more snaps in Week 15 and both Troy Franklin and Courtland Sutton should get a slight workload upgrade.

In four games with the Broncos, the 41-year-old tight end chipped in as a blocker, but earned zero targets this season. He could find a spot on a practice squad after this.