2YC88F0 Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) scores a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
• Lamar Jackson dominates the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ defense: The Baltimore Ravens‘ MVP candidate threw five touchdown passes, making nearly every Ravens skill player fantasy-relevant.
• Buccaneers turn to a three-man backfield committee: Rachaad White, Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving all received significant playing time for Tampa Bay, particularly early in the game.
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Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Buccaneers’ backfield becomes a three-man committee: Sean Tucker played well enough in Rachaad White’s absence to join the Buccaneers’ rotation.
Rachaad White missed last week with a foot injury, leading to Bucky Irving and Tucker having two of the best games by Buccaneers running backs in recent memory. They combined for 28 carries, 217 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and five receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in the passing game.
All three running backs took multiple snaps on the Buccaneers’ first drive against the Ravens, each ending the first half with five carries. For most of the game, the trio split time fairly evenly on early downs. The only clear role was on third downs, where White remained the primary running back. Because the Buccaneers were losing throughout the second half, they abandoned the run and largely stuck with White, their receiving back. Three touchdowns went to Tampa Bay running backs once the team was down by 24, which significantly helped their fantasy value. Had the Ravens been able to keep the ball for most of the fourth quarter, all three would have been fantasy disappointments.
All three running backs should be on fantasy rosters, as any of them could get the hot hand and become the clear starter. Until then, it’s hard to confidently start any of them unless the Buccaneers are clear favorites and we know they will run all game long.
Monitor Mike Evans’ and Chris Godwin’s health: Evans left the game in the second quarter after aggravating his hamstring injury, and Godwin was carted off with less than a minute left in the game.
Evans didn’t practice Thursday or Friday and was a limited participant in practice Saturday. He played every snap on the first drive, which culminated in his 100th career touchdown. He didn’t seem 100% after the play, which left him missing plays early on the second drive. Evans attempted to haul in his 101st career receiving touchdown on the third drive but was in a lot of pain afterward. He was ruled out not long after. He had played 23 of a possible 28 snaps before exiting.
After Evans’ departure, Trey Palmer took over as an every-down outside receiver. Over the first six weeks, Evans and Palmer each played two-thirds of their snaps as outside receivers on the line. If Evans’ injury is serious, Palmer would be the wide receiver to target off the waiver wire.
Jalen McMillan and Sterling Shepard were rotating at Z receiver throughout the same, and Evans’ injury didn’t impact that rotation. Last week, Shepard was the clear leader in that rotation as McMillan was coming back from an injury. Now that McMillan is seemingly healthy, he’s back to being the starter and the clear leader in the rotation.
The Godwin injury was bad enough that ESPN chose not to show a replay. In the brief time that the Buccaneers kept playing, it was Shepard lining up in the slot. The most likely scenario is McMillan and Shepard will split time in the slot and out wide going forward, given both players’ extensive history of lining up in the slot. The Buccaneers may pick one player to play in the slot full-time. Both are worthy waiver-wire targets, assuming the Godwin injury is as serious as it seems, because the slot role in this offense is incredibly valuable.
Mark Andrews notches his third touchdown in two weeks: Andrews has made a few big plays and gotten more involved in the red zone.
While nearly all of his targets as of late have been worthy of highlights, his playing time has remained largely unchanged. He continues to play nearly every snap in 12 personnel and never in 22 personnel. He played less often in 21 personnel than usual and a little more in 11 personnel than usual in this game.
The Ravens were losing early, which led to more playing time and his first touchdown. He dominated 11-personnel snaps late in the game and recorded his second touchdown. The distribution of 11-personnel snaps between Andrews and Likely has varied each week.
It’s possible that Andrews will keep playing a clear majority of 11-personnel snaps, which will help his chances of staying relevant from a fantasy perspective. The Ravens have a lof of average opponents over the rest of the season and should often be favorites. The best-case scenario for Andrews is the Ravens not being too dominant. Otherwise, they might not need him much in the second half of games.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Zay Flowers suffered an ankle injury on the Ravens’ second drive, causing him to miss the final four plays of the series. His playing time returned to normal after that drive, but he wasn’t a priority in the passing game, possibly due to his injury.
• Wide receiver and returner Deonte Harty landed on injured reserve last week. This possibly contributed to Baltimore signing running back Chris Collier to the active roster to serve as one of the two kick returners. He also served as the third running back and would have played on offense had there been an injury to Derrick Henry or Justice Hill.
• Fifth-round rookie Rasheen Ali made his NFL debut last week while playing only on special teams. He re-aggravated his ankle injury and was inactive for this game, potentially contributing to the team signing Collier.
• Buccaneers undrafted rookie wide receiver Kameron Johnson was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. His potential replacement could be 2023 undrafted receiver Rakim Jarrett, who is on injured reserve but returned to practice. He was a full participant in practice Saturday, but the Buccaneers chose not to activate him.
Zay Jones makes his Cardinals debut: The free-agent addition was suspended for the first five games of the season, and an injury kept him out last week.
The addition of Jones meant Xavier Weaver, who had a significant role on offense last week, was a healthy inactive. Jones saw significant playing time on the first two drives, featuring even more than Greg Dortch, but he didn’t play in the second quarter.
He was primarily used in 11 personnel, taking playing time away from Dortch. Dortch has primarily been a slot receiver, and Jones consistently lines up on the outside. This meant more playing time for Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson in the slot. Harrison averaged 1.95 yards per route run from the slot over the first six weeks compared to 1.73 out wide, so this move could be good news for Harrison going forward.
Because Jones will likely continue to play in a rotational role, he can be left on the waiver wire. While Dortch scored the game’s first touchdown, it was his only reception. He also should be left on the waiver wire.
Chargers dig down the wide receiver depth chart: The Chargers didn’t have three wide receivers for this game, and others who did play weren’t 100%.
Quentin Johnston didn’t practice all week with an ankle injury. He was initially doubtful for the game and was ultimately inactive. He had been the team’s clear top outside wide receiver this season. Fifth receiver Derius Davis was also questionable with a hamstring injury that popped up Saturday, and he too was inactive. D.J. Chark is on injured reserve but returned to practice this week on a limited basis. The Chargers opted not to activate him for this game.
Ladd McConkey was active as the primary slot receiver, but he was limited in practice all week with a hip injury, which potentially impacted his small role for most of the game. When the contest was close near the end, he became more involved in the passing game.
Simi Fehoko was the new outside wide receiver opposite Joshua Palmer, and he was questionable with both a shoulder and groin injury. Former New England Patriot Jalen Reagor was activated off the practice squad to be the fourth wide receiver, while seventh-round rookie Brenden Rice was the fifth receiver. Rice had played only special teams snaps in two games, so this was his NFL offensive debut.
Justin Herbert spread the ball around, with Palmer and Fehoko both catching three passes. Reagor had the longest catch of the day, but he lost a fumble through the end zone, resulting in a turnover. He wasn’t targeted again after that point.
Most of these wide receivers should be avoided. Once everyone is healthy, we can expect a heavy rotation of wide receivers on the outside. The only one to seriously consider is McConkey.
Will Dissly leads the Chargers’ tight end room: Hayden Hurst was inactive with a groin injury.
This offseason, the Chargers signed Dissly to a three-year, $24 million contract and Hurst to a one-year contract worth just over $1 million. Despite that, Hurst has been the primary receiving tight end all season, as Dissly is one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the NFL.
Dissly has a history of being a decent receiver. He consistently gained 200-400 yards with the Seahawks each season. Dissly played the clear majority of snaps in 11 personnel and 12 personnel, mostly losing time when defensive lineman/fullback Scott Matlock was on the field.
Over the first five weeks, Hurst ran 75 routes to Dissly’s 31, yet Dissly had more receptions and receiving yards. Dissly tallied more receptions and receiving yards in this game alone than Hurst all season. It’s at least possible Dissly will become the Chargers’ primary tight end going forward, in which case he could have significant fantasy value, given the coaching staff’s history of fostering fantasy-relevant tight ends (Vernon Davis with the San Francisco 49ers, and Mark Andrews with the Baltimore Ravens).
Miscellaneous Notes
• Trey Benson popped up on the injury report Saturday with an illness and was questionable for the game. That may have contributed to him not running the ball in this game.
• Kimani Vidal played a higher percentage of offensive snaps in this game than last week, with that change largely coming from Vidal taking the two-minute drill to end the first half.
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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