The fact that Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones scored his very first touchdown of the season -- in his eighth game! -- is obviously big fantasy news and gets all the snickers, but the team's blowout win at the Washington Redskins was significant for other reasons, as well. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, so ordinary last season, is having another MVP campaign, running back Tevin Coleman finally broke through with a monster game and rookie receiver Calvin Ridley got back on track. Oh, and did ya hear Julio Jones scored a touchdown!
We know Atlanta boasts a strong offense, as it entered the weekend seventh in total yards per game and 11th in points, but decimating a relatively stout Redskins defense in their stadium is a mild surprise. Ryan was active in barely half of ESPN's standard leagues, even though Patrick Mahomes is the lone quarterback averaging more fantasy points per game. Look for Ryan to become a bit more popular in the weeks ahead. Sunday's outing was his fifth with at least 27.5 fantasy points, topping the league. Mahomes has only three such performances.
According to ESPN Stats & Information data, three of Ryan's four passing touchdowns on Sunday went for 30-plus yards after the catch, including the one to Jones, and two were screen passes. Perhaps that is a new trend for the offense: creating space for its weapons. Ryan had never had a game with more than one such touchdown in his career. Jones, incidentally, had 36 yards after the catch on his scoring play, and he had failed to gain that many on any catch since late in 2016. Jones is on pace for more than 1,850 receiving yards. Perhaps this is a harbinger for the season's second half for passer and receiver, though there was little reason prior to this weekend to worry about either of them.
With Coleman, there was reason. The potentially season-ending injury to starter Devonta Freeman in Week 5 (he could return in late December) figured to provide Coleman with borderline RB1 value, since that was the case with Freeman. They are, after all, similarly talented and with weapons around them, so if one of them is out, the other adds volume. Coleman had not stepped up. On Sunday, however, he scored a career-best 32.6 PPR points at responsible Washington, one of the stronger teams versus the run (no running back had reached 22 PPR points versus the Redskins), mainly thanks to a pair of receiving touchdowns, matching his season total. Coleman nearly doubled his best fantasy game of the season, so he should return to RB2 status. Even his colleague Ito Smith enjoyed the afternoon, scoring a touchdown and averaging six yards per carry; his season average had been half that.
The Falcons figure to see tests from other competent defenses in November, including the Cowboys, Saints and Ravens. Sunday's performance against the NFC East leaders should remind fantasy managers that Ryan's disappointing 2017 campaign looks aberrant, Coleman can achieve what Freeman used to, Ridley is back to scoring touchdowns after a few disappointing weeks and ... oh yeah, that Julio Jones is not allergic to the end zone. In fact, perhaps he has another couple of touchdowns in store the rest of the way.
Second down: Ryan's heroics aside, the top quarterbacks for Week 9 entering the Sunday night Patriots-Packers game were those from the explosive Saints-Rams game, won by New Orleans 45-35. Drew Brees rebounded from several disappointing performances at Minnesota and Baltimore by throwing for 346 yards and four touchdowns, while Jared Goff, playing mainly from behind, posted 391 yards and three scores, plus a costly interception. The Saints were run-heavy in Week 8, and fantasy managers might have panicked a bit on Brees, who was barely a top-10 fantasy quarterback in 2017. One game hardly adds predictive clarity, but Brees, who totaled 32.2 fantasy points his past three road games, nearly matched that in Sunday's home game. These Ben Roethlisberger-like splits could become something to watch.
Goff welcomed Cooper Kupp back from a serious knee injury that cost him the better part of three games, and Kupp responded with 89 yards and a fancy touchdown down the left sideline. The Rams finally lost a game, and Todd Gurley II scored a season-low 19.9 PPR points, but do not worry about this offense. It is, like the Saints, elite. Brandin Cooks, perhaps seeking revenge in his return to New Orleans (he played there his first three seasons), topped 100 receiving yards for the third time and scored his third touchdown. Cooks reached 100 receiving yards twice last season with the New England Patriots. One cannot go wrong with Kupp, Cooks and Robert Woods as WR2 choices.
Third down: Fantasy managers received official and surprising pregame word that Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook would suit up Sunday against the Detroit Lions for what was reported to be a small package of plays, perhaps, according to Adam Schefter's reporting, 20 or so. That did not inspire confidence to make Cook active in fantasy, especially when his hamstring injury had kept him out since Week 5. Cook was active in 3.7 percent of ESPN standard leagues, but he responded with a 70-yard run and scored a season-best 12.9 PPR points. OK, so he is not Gurley, but according to NFL Next Gen Stats, Cook reached 22.7 MPH on the run, the fastest speed by any ball carrier this season, and featured 53 yards before contact. Cook entered play averaging a league-worst 1.08 yards prior to contact. Fantasy managers should be inspired to make Cook a RB2 for next week. Latavius Murray should remain rostered in case opportunity knocks again, but he is no longer a flex option.
Speaking of inspiring, perhaps the coaching change by the Cleveland Browns is the reason for much-ignored running back Duke Johnson Jr. returning to relevance. Johnson, as so often mentioned in this space, finished last season as the No. 11 PPR running back, right next to awesome Carolina Panthers option Christian McCaffrey. This season, Johnson has barely been a factor and topped six PPR points in two of eight games. On Sunday, rookie Baker Mayfield targeted Johnson nine times and the running back caught them all, two for touchdowns, on his way to a 29.6 PPR outing. This does not mean Johnson, available in more than half of ESPN's standard leagues after fantasy managers gave up on him, returns to RB2 status, but the Browns do face the Falcons in Week 10, and while it was not on Sunday, that tends to be positive for opposing running backs.
Fourth down: Three established wide receivers, each with a history of top-20 performance at the position, were involved in recent NFL trades, but only one debuted with his new team on Sunday. Golden Tate and the Philadelphia Eagles are on the bye week. Amari Cooper and the Dallas Cowboys play the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. Demaryius Thomas, however, returned to Denver on Sunday as a member of the Houston Texans. I had concerns about Thomas adding fantasy value with the trade: While he gets to play with precocious quarterback Deshaun Watson, being teammates with DeAndre Hopkins can make it tougher to accrue targets. This is just one game, but Thomas saw a mere three targets, a season low. Hopkins earned 12 targets. Thomas is barely a WR3 in my rankings, as he has failed to catch as many as seven passes in a game and has eclipsed 63 yards once.
Meanwhile, Broncos receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton figured to add value with Thomas gone, but each disappointed. Sanders has consecutive games with fewer than 60 receiving yards, though he remains in strong WR2 territory. Sutton caught three of five targets for 57 yards. Denver's receiving star was tight end Jeff Heuerman, as he caught 10 of 11 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown, one of four NFL tight ends for the week to surpass 20 PPR points, which is four more than last week. The others were Travis Kelce, O.J. Howard and George Kittle, the latter joining Kelce as a top-5 tight end. Howard is closing in, with four touchdowns over the past four games. Heuerman hardly warrants attention in standard leagues at this point, but keep an eye out after the bye week because this position lacks reasonable depth.