𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Scoop City Newsletter 🏈 | This is The Athletic’s free NFL newsletter. Sign up here to receive Scoop City directly in your inbox.

Are you nursing the traditional post-Halloween sugar hangover? Did you wake up to find Butterfinger wrappers scattered around the room? If so, we salute you. Way to embrace the true spirit of the holiday. But now it’s time to caffeinate and lock in. You have a fantasy matchup to win and we’re here to help …

📰 Lineup News

Brock’s back; breakouts for backup RBs?

• Raiders TE Brock Bowers is returning from a multi-week absence, and you should have zero hesitation firing him up against the Jaguars.
• Also returning this week: WRs Puka Nacua, Nico Collins and Drake London. Again, no hesitation starting these dominant pass-catching fiends.
• Rhamondre Stevenson has been ruled out this week due to a toe injury. If it’s ever going to be TreVeyon Henderson time in New England, this is the week for the rookie running back.
• D’Andre Swift’s groin injury will prevent the Bears RB from facing the Bengals on Sunday. Kyle Monangai will step in, and let’s be aggressive about starting him in fantasy, because matchups don’t get much better.
• In better Bears news, WRs Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore are both good to go against Cincinnati’s generous pass defense.
• QB Jacoby Brissett, not Kyler Murray, was reportedly working with Arizona’s first-team receivers in yesterday’s practice ahead of a Monday night matchup with Dallas. 👀

Toolkit

No Nice Things?

Travis Hunter’s breakout takes a detour

Hunter delivered a signature performance in London two weeks ago ahead of Jacksonville’s bye, erupting for eight catches, triple-digit yardage and his first regular-season touchdown. This week, most of us expected Hunter to consolidate power. Every fantasy analyst on every platform has been screaming at you about his inevitable ascension to WR1 status.

Unfortunately, Hunter’s rise to the top of the Jaguars’ receiving hierarchy is now indefinitely delayed. He suffered a non-contact knee injury in practice this week and was placed on injured reserve yesterday. He’ll miss at least the next four games and possibly more — perhaps the rest of the season. Brutal news.

An offense that was surely hoping to become less reliant on Brian Thomas Jr. no longer has that luxury. We should expect to see Thomas and Dyami Brown in two-receiver sets, with Parker Washington stepping into the slot role that previously belonged to Hunter. Suddenly, Jacksonville is an obvious buyer ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The team is headed to Las Vegas for a Sunday matchup against the Raiders, and there’s at least a chance Jakobi Meyers could return home with them.

Every Jaguars season is the wildest and weirdest season, and this one is no different. The defense either holds an opponent to 10 points or it allows 35. Thomas has seemingly lost the ability to catch. Trevor Lawrence is sailing throws like a blindfolded Tim Tebow, except when he’s firing laser-guided missiles. He refuses to simply be a normal player.

Lawrence is basically the candy corn of quarterbacks — familiar, divisive, enjoyed only by people who won’t admit to enjoying it.

And yet somehow, Jacksonville is 4-3 with a win over the Chiefs. It’s an unserious squad that we need to take seriously. Hunter’s loss is a significant setback, but the roster has talent, and Liam Coen is no fool. Let’s hope for the best with Hunter and see if the team enhances its receiving room.

Jake’s Take

💬Without Hunter, the obvious next man up for Jacksonville is Washington, but I wouldn’t expect consistency. Yes, Washington has been the third option, but even that’s been a bit of a roller coaster. When Brown has been available, he’s sometimes served as the third option — even second before Hunter saw the snap bump earlier this season — with big-play ability.

Washington and Brown are WR4/5 options. Washington has the highest floor and Brown has the highest ceiling but biggest bust potential. Want an easy comparison? Remember the Titans. Washington is Chimere Dike and Brown is Elic Ayomanor … and Finkle is still Einhorn.

Last-Minute Moves

Three outliers for Week 9

Ciely is known for two things: 1) his irrational hatred of kickers — arising from the Bironas incident — and 2) his remarkably accurate fantasy rankings.

Like any respectable ranker, Jake weighs matchups and reacts accordingly. Each week brings new outliers. Let’s review a few players who landed in unusual spots in Week 9:

• Kareem Hunt is as dusty as it gets at running back, but he’s in line to be the featured runner for the Chiefs this week with Pacheco (knee) out of the mix. Hunt is facing a Buffalo defense that’s allowed 5.5 YPC and 150.3 rushing YPG to opposing ball-carriers, so he landed at RB18.
• Commanders WR Deebo Samuel has been quiet in back-to-back games, but he should benefit this week from both QB Jayden Daniels’ return and Terry McLaurin’s injury-related absence. Jake is understandably well ahead of industry consensus on Samuel (WR25), slotting him at WR19.
• Bears rookie TE Colston Loveland has not done anything of note this year, but he has a date with Cincinnati, a defense that’s somehow already allowed 10 touchdowns to opposing tight ends. TEN! Loveland is a sneaky-good play and a DFS steal. He’s TE14 on Jake’s board this week.

Matchups to embrace 🤗 and avoid 😨

Each week, KC Joyner highlights players with the most favorable and unfavorable matchups. Here are a few of the best and worst:

Start them with steely confidence

• QB Aaron Rodgers and WR DK Metcalf (vs. IND), RB Bam Knight (at DAL), WRs Quentin Johnston (at TEN), Josh Downs (vs. PIT) and Jakobi Meyers (vs. JAC) 

Expectations are unusually low

• RBs Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones (at DET), Jacory Crosky-Merritt (vs. SEA) and Alvin Kamara (at LAR), and TEs Travis Kelce (at BUF) and Hunter Henry (vs. ATL)

On the cut line 🔪

Fantasy talking heads are always telling you who to add, but we aren’t so generous with guidance on drops. Please know that you have our official permission to cut loose any of the following players:

• Jerry Jeudy is attached to an unimpressive and unwatchable Browns offense, he was shut out against New England in Week 8 and he hasn’t cleared 50 receiving yards since September. Did we mention that he’s now on his bye? Well, he is. Easy drop.
• If you were hoping for a post-bye bump from second-year Bills receiver Keon Coleman, sorry. It certainly didn’t happen. Instead, he gave us his usual 3-for-30 on four targets. Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid are currently the only two Bills pass-catchers who need to be rostered in leagues of standard size.
• Every member of the Titans can be kicked to the curb if you play in a league with eight or 10 teams. Tennessee’s offense is the league’s least productive in terms of both scoring and total yardage. I promise, you will enjoy your team so much more when it is Titan-free.

Sleeper of the week 💤

It almost seems like an insult to hit Kyle Monangai with the sleeper label at this point, because he should be widely known in fantasy circles. He’s earned a rotational role in Chicago’s backfield alongside D’Andre Swift. But this week, with Swift (groin) and Roschon Johnson (back) sidelined against the Bengals, Monangai is elevated to must-start status.

We mentioned it at the top of this newsletter and the bottom, so you know we’re serious. Monangai has been a reasonably efficient runner (4.4 YPC) and effective at the goal-line. Cincinnati’s defense ranks dead-last in the league against the run, so the matchup couldn’t be friendlier.

💬 From the Discord

One thing we do not lack at The Athletic are fantasy analysts willing to share opinions. At any given moment, there’s a good chance one of us is conducting an AMA in the fantasy football Discord server. Here’s a key question from Friday’s chat:

BC102971: How do you think the backfield will play out in Carolina?

Rico Dowdle has substantially outproduced Chuba Hubbard over the past two weeks despite playing fewer snaps, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Panthers head coach Dave Canales.

This week, Canales came about as close as we can expect to tipping his hand about a change in the backfield rotation. While remaining respectful of Hubbard, he referred to Dowdle as “exceptional.”

I’d be surprised if we don’t see Rico serving as the head of the committee this week, taking the first series and claiming 60-65 percent of the work.

📫 Enjoyed this read? Sign up here to receive Scoop City in your inbox. Also, check out our other newsletters.