Sleepers at Wide Receiver
Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, NY Giants (vs San Francisco)
Jaxson Dart was quieted by an Eagles defense that he led his team to five touchdowns against back in Week 6, but he can be forgiven for his lapses after watching his football soulmate go down with a gruesome season-ending injury. Dart actually hit Slayton for a long touchdown on fourth down during the futile comeback attempt, but a questionable offensive pass interference call took it off the board. Slayton and Robinson can both do damage in the deep passing game, and they are facing a 49ers defense that allowed the Texans offense to break out last week.
Xavier Hutchinson, Houston (vs Denver)
Hutchinson was one of three Texans wide receivers to post strong games last week while Nico Collins was out against San Francisco. Unlike Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, Hutchinson will remain in a role as a primary receiver even with Collins back this week. Hutchinson scored twice in Week 5, giving him two strong WR2 games in his last three. The Broncos will be without Patrick Surtain II, which could cause a trickle-down deficit in all of the passing game matchups. CJ Stroud is playing well going into this one, and we know he likes to target Hutchinson in the red zone.
Luke McCaffrey, Washington (vs Seattle)
McCaffrey is one of the players the Commanders will use to fill the hole left by Terry McLaurin's aggravation of his quad injury in Week 8. Jayden Daniels is expected to return this week. He and McCaffrey hooked up for two long completions on only three targets back in Weeks 5 and 6, one of which went for a score. McCaffrey was playing less than 40% of the snaps back then, but he has been over 50% in each of the last two weeks and should have an increased opportunity this week.
Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Indianapolis (at Pittsburgh) **Monitor Downs' Status**
Pierce and Downs could be primary targets for Daniel Jones against a Steelers defense that has been deteriorating against the pass over the last two games. Downs did miss practice with a hip injury, but returned to action on Thursday. If he's good to go for Sunday, both he and Pierce, who works almost exclusively as a deep target, will be what-the-heck flex plays. Downs would be better in PPR and Pierce in .5 or non-PPR leagues. If Downs can't play, Pierce becomes a high-ceiling WR3/Flex.
Malik Washington, Miami (vs Baltimore) **Thursday**
Washington's touchdown catch in Week 8 was a high degree of difficulty play, which should only earn trust from Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins are facing a Ravens pass defense that has given up at least 20 completions in every game except the one played in the wind against the Rams. In fact, they have allowed at least 25 completions in every game except the Rams debacle and a game against the Lions, when they only threw 28 times because they were dominating the team with their running game. The opposition just tends to fall into a pass-heavy game script against Baltimore. Miami may want to establish its running game for the second straight week, but if the Ravens jump ahead early, surfing the wave of Lamar Jackson's return, Washington could be in for a high-volume PPR special on Thursday.
Keon Coleman, Buffalo (vs Kansas City)
Coleman hasn't been an impact player this season, except during the season-opening massive comeback win over Baltimore.Patrick Mahomes II is peaking right now with Rashee Rice back on the field, so Josh Allen is likely going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat many times to keep his team in this game. Lightning could strike twice out of necessity if Allen summons up his trademark inspired big game performance in this showdown.