Fantasy Football Outlook: Khalil Shakir, Josh Downs, Gardner Minshew

Every week we’ll bring you The Primer, a deep dive into every fantasy-relevant player from every NFL game of the week. You can find the full weekly Primer here. Below we dive into a few notable players ahead of this weekend’s games.

Fantasy Football Outlook

Gardner Minshew: In Minshew’s starts, he has finished as the QB23, QB18, QB3, and QB17 in weekly scoring. Among 34 qualifying quarterbacks, he is 33rd in passing grade, 20th in yards per attempt, and 18th in adjusted completion rate. Minshew could flirt with QB1 numbers this week against a pass defense that is 11th in yards per attempt, 14th in passing touchdowns, and 11th in passer rating allowed. He should enjoy clean pockets against a Carolina team that ranks dead last in pressure rate. Week 9 Positional Value: QB2 with QB1 upside

Josh Downs: Downs has been a pleasant surprise this season as the WR35 in fantasy. Downs has been a top-36 wide receiver in five of his last six games (WR32, WR18, WR30, WR4, WR29). He might not be the team’s leader against zone, but he has still performed well. He has an 18.6% target share, a 19.7% air-yard share, 2.10 YPRR, and an 18.5% first-read share against zone. In his last three games, Downs has four red zone targets. Downs will run about 83% of his routes against Troy Hill (63.6% catch rate and 56.8 passer rating). Week 9 Positional Value: WR3

Khalil Shakir: Last week without Dawson Knox, Buffalo utilized 11 personnel at the eighth-highest rate (77.9% of snaps) as Shakir became a full-time player (66.7% route run rate) in the offense. Shakir drew a 15.0% target share and a 22.9% air-yard share, but he only saw a 3.8% first-read share. With that low first-read share, his target share is only shakier ground than it appears on the surface. He produced 92 receiving yards and 3.07 YPRR with the bump in work. Shakir will run about 70% of his routes against Mike Hilton (60.7% catch rate and 69.5 passer rating). The Bengals have allowed the second-most receiving touchdowns to slot receivers this season. Week 9 Positional Value: WR4