JuJu Smith-Schuster had a great game on Sunday when he torched the Lions’ Secondary for 193 receiving yards.
Credit: @pfref
There were plenty of big performances from this past weekend in the NFL. Football fans were treated to possibly the best game of the season when the Seahawks defeated the Texans with a touchdown in the last minute of regulation. We saw some new names emerge on the scoring leader’s list this weekend and it ended up being one of the more exciting slate of games so far this season. Here are some of the best performers from some of Sunday’s games.
Jack Doyle, TE Indianapolis Colts:
In what ended up being a close game between the Colts and the Bengals, the veteran tight end was targeted a whopping 14 times which was twice as much as the next targeted receiver. Doyle had fallen off the fantasy radar for a lot of people after a slow start to the season, mainly because of his role in the Colts’ stagnant offense. Many owners thought Quarterback Andrew Luck would be back in action by now causing the Western Kentucky product to be thought of as a sleeper pick coming into the season. After this week’s performance, he may be back in the Top-10 tight end talks for the rest of the season. The 12 receptions and 121 receiving yards were both career highs, and with a touchdown, Doyle provided fantasy owners 30 points in PPR scoring. It was the second time this season where Jacoby Brissett has targeted his tight end at least 11 times, with both games occurring over the past three weeks. This kind of usage puts him higher than the likes of Kyle Rudolph and Hunter Henry in the rankings going forward. Slot Doyle into lineups as a low-end TE1 with intriguing upside.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR Houston Texans:
After being a complete bust for fantasy owners last season, the talented wide receiver has been one of the best contributors at the position so far this year. Thanks to Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s ability to find open receivers in the end zone, Hopkins is up to seven touchdowns in seven games this season and has accumulated double-digit targets in every game except two. Sunday’s matchup between the Texans and the Seahawks didn’t live up to its reputation as a defensive game, as the teams combined to score 79 points and both quarterbacks threw for over 400 yards. Hopkins led all receivers with 224 yards, and the highlight of his game was the 72-yard touchdown on a screen pass late in the fourth quarter. Owners who drafted the veteran as a WR1 coming off a down year have been heavily rewarded, as he has not had a game with less than seven points in standard scoring. Hopkins will look to finish the season as a Top-5 wide receiver and should have very little trouble doing so in Houston’s explosive offense.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Pittsburgh Steelers:
With fellow wide receiver Martavis Bryant out of the picture for what could be the rest of the season, Smith-Schuster is looking to make fantasy owners proud with his new spot as the Steelers’ number two receiving option. The rookie wideout was tied for the team lead in targets with 10; he turned it into seven receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown. His 25.3 fantasy points in standard scoring were second highest for the position on Sunday and showed some serious promise as to what the youngster can do with the ball in his hands. The highlight of the
game for Smith-Schuster was a 97-yard touchdown catch in which he showed off his great speed by blowing past the Lions’ secondary. Huge plays like on Sunday night aren’t going to happen all the time, but the USC product has some serious playmaking ability and should serve as a productive complementary role to Antonio Brown going forward. It should be noted that Brown will most likely draw the top cornerback in every matchup going forward, leaving Smith-Schuster to face off against less talented opponents.
Jerick McKinnon, RB Minnesota Vikings:
The Vikings’ run game has been pretty effective this season which is a big improvement from the last couple of years. Fantasy owners have been able to get two productive running backs since the Dalvin Cook injury, with Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray both receiving plenty of work. Murray has been relied upon in the run game more often, but McKinnon has still received double-digit carries in four straight games. This week, the shifty McKinnon received 14 carries and was also targeted 10 times in the passing game. The day was capped off with a one-yard score in the third-quarter giving fantasy owners 20.2 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. The fourth-year running back has produced 20 fantasy points in three of his four starts so far this season. Owners who picked up McKinnon as a flex option have been receiving RB1 numbers, and it doesn’t look like he is going to slow down anytime soon.
Deshaun Watson, QB Houston Texans:
The fantastic first season for Deshaun Watson continued on Sunday in an explosive game against the Seahawks. Although wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had a great game, his quarterback played even better. Watson threw for 402 yards with four touchdowns. He also added 67 yards with his legs resulting in 32.8 fantasy points in standard scoring. Incredibly, this was his third time in six starts that he has produced at least 30 fantasy points and is now on pace for 43 passing touchdowns, a total that would shatter the current rookie touchdown record of 26 set by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson. Seattle is the toughest defense Watson was going to play this season, so it is entirely possible that he keeps this production going. Expect a slight reduction in passing touchdowns, but the Clemson product should be a solid QB1 the rest of the season and is matchup proof.
