In Week 6 we finally got to see Stefon Diggs, Robby Anderson and Tyreek Hill post big games. Chances are, you saw their highlights, but my goal today is to tell you about some tidbits you may have missed. I went back through and watched every play of every game. I saw the Thursday night game and three Sunday games live then used NFL Game Pass to see the other 8 contests this morning. Let’s do this!
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The Patriots have a stud wide receiver ready to break out
Hilariously, we are going to be looking back five years from now at this supposedly great draft class and the best wide receivers are going to be Terry McLaurin, Jakobi Meyers and Preston Williams. Meyers hasn’t seen the snaps to prove himself yet (and Preston Williams is stuck on the Dolphins) but his tape from Thursday night was brilliant. Yeah, he only caught four balls but I was drooling on all four. On the first, he read the sagging coverage, ran a quick hitch and expected the ball the moment he turned around as if he was living in Brady’s mind. On the second, he was not open but he positioned his body like a basketball player boxing out so Brady could throw to his back shoulder. The throw was inaccurate but Meyers picked it a centimeter from the ground for a 20-yard reception. On the third, the play broke down because no one was open. Meyers ran through to a seam in the zone and high-pointed a pass that would have otherwise been knocked down. The fourth was the most impressive as Brady threw a near-certain incompletion but Meyers (lined up in the backfield) used his length and (again) body control to corral a one-handed reception. If I saw these four plays over 100 snaps from a receiver I’d be glowing. Meyers did this in 20% of that.
You might want to buy low on James Conner
Yes, he left Sunday Night’s game early with a quad injury but after their Week 7 bye he should be back and Mason Rudolph should be right with him, if not close behind. You might not be that excited about Rudolph, but he has more AY/A than Carson Wentz plus a 7:2 TD:INT ratio despite a horrible schedule so far. The main reason for Conner, though, is that this Steelers offensive line was entirely dominant. If you want to know how they pulled off a road win in L.A. then look no further than the o-line opening up huge holes against stacked boxes. Benny Snell did nothing to contribute but went for 89 yards. If Conner had stayed in the game, he likely would have surpassed 150 or even 200 total yards. Let’s not forget, after all, that his stats have been stunted by matchups against the Patriots, Seahawks, 49ers and Ravens.
Hunter Henry is a star tight end
Yeah, you saw the highlights or more likely, saw the box score. I’m telling you, though, his tape is downright unbelievable. Henry looks like everything O.J. Howard was supposed to be. He is and has always been Philip Rivers’ first look in the red zone, he blocks well and he can line up in the slot. In fact, that is almost exclusively what the Chargers did with him last night and he tore it up. The Steelers had no answer for his rare combination of size and route running. He runs into space well, but like Jason Witten, or a dad playing against his kids’ friends, space isn’t even necessary for Henry to make plays. Rivers just lobbed it up a few times and Henry used his body to ensure no one else had a chance at the ball.
If you need a tight end, the best waiver wire pickup might surprise you
We can never trust Doug Pederson’s backfield and even his wide receiver’s snap counts tend to be a little volatile but if there is one aspect of fantasy we can trust him in, it’s the tight ends. When Zach Ertz went down two years ago, Trey Burton was a top 10 fantasy option every week. As surprising as it may be, Dallas Goedert is playing nearly as often as Zach Ertz the last three weeks. I had to do a double-take when I noticed it but the numbers confirm what I caught: Goedert has played 43, 50 and 46 snaps. Mark Andrews, for example, has yet to play more than 44 once all season. Goedert is a freak of nature so it’s no surprise that he outproduced Ertz Sunday against the Vikings. Ertz had 9 targets and Goedert 8.
Other notes
- Byron Pringle was on the field more often than Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman
- Keep an eye on Mark Ingram–he missed practice Wednesday then was out-snapped by Gus Edwards
- Malcolm Brown is among the most elusive runners in football
- Mike Gesicki might have had 7 targets and led MIA in yards but he hardly played half the game
- Ryan Tannehill loves himself some Adam Humphries
- Daniel Jones just missed Darius Slayton on several deep passes
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