Nobody has a more stacked lineup of fantasy analysts and NFL team reporters than ESPN. It's the rare "backfield by committee" that is actually a good thing for fantasy football managers.
Every Tuesday, Mike Triplett will ask our NFL Nation reporters a series of burning questions about the weekend's biggest stories in order to help inform you for your waiver-wire pickups and roster decisions.
Among this week's topics: Why you should be prepared to wait for New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas to make an impact and why you should lower expectations for Cincinnati Bengals receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
It's time to begin our weekly trip around the league, so fasten your seat belts and get ready to tour the NFL Nation!
New Orleans Saints
How soon will Michael Thomas be back on the field?
That's still a big TBD. However, even if he returns to practice this week now that he is eligible to come off of the PUP list, fantasy managers should be prepared to wait a little longer for him to be usable in their starting lineups. Remember, Thomas hasn't practiced with the Saints since January, and he had major ankle surgery in June.
He has been working out individually with the team, but it's unclear whether he is ready to be a full practice participant right away. Plus, he will need some time to ramp up before being activated for a game and ultimately resuming a full-time role. Eventually Thomas should return to being a major target for a passing offense that badly needs one. Just don't expect that to happen overnight. -- Triplett
Cincinnati Bengals
Is Cincinnati's WR corps too crowded for both Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to be consistent fantasy producers?
Yes. The reliability of Higgins' and Boyd's respective target shares has dropped for two big reasons. One, Cincinnati's overall passing volume has plummeted significantly as the Bengals have employed a more balanced attack. Secondly, rookie Ja'Marr Chase has become QB Joe Burrow's preferred receiver target. It's fair to say he's Cincinnati's WR1 already. Given the LSU connection between Burrow and Chase, Higgins and Boyd could continue to see fewer targets throughout the season. -- Ben Baby
Baltimore Ravens
Could Devonta Freeman's role be big enough for fantasy managers to use him as a bye-week or injury replacement?
This really depends on Latavius Murray's availability. Murray left Sunday's game with an ankle injury and didn't return. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he didn't think it was serious, but acknowledged he didn't know the full extent of it. If Murray is sidelined, Freeman will step into a starting role against a Cincinnati defense that has struggled to stop Baltimore's running game in the past. The Bengals allowed the Ravens to run for 565 yards in two games last season. If Murray can play, though, Freeman might get only 4-5 carries. It's a situation worth monitoring. -- Jamison Hensley
Chicago Bears
Do you expect Justin Fields to be a bigger part of Chicago's run game after his career-high 43 rushing yards Sunday?
The Bears want Fields to extend plays and run when it makes sense. Also, look for Chicago to call 4-7 designed runs for Fields each week, especially with star running back David Montgomery (knee) on short-term injured reserve. Fields is always a smart play for fantasy managers because he has elite speed and moves within the pocket. The Bears are not about to stifle that. -- Jeff Dickerson
Cleveland Browns
Do the Browns have yet another running back who will become fantasy-relevant while Kareem Hunt is sidelined? Do you think they'll remain a run-heavy team even while Nick Chubb is also banged up?
The Browns are not changing their identity. After all, QB Baker Mayfield and offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin are banged up as well. That said, Chubb is the only fantasy-relevant Browns back right now. However, since he will be missing another game on Thursday versus Denver, D'Ernest Johnson becomes intriguing. In the game when Chubb got injured last year, Johnson came in and rushed for 95 yards on 13 carries. Rookie Demetric Felton is worth monitoring too. The Browns need playmaking, and Felton, whether out of the backfield or at receiver, can give them that as a pass-catcher. -- Jake Trotter
Denver Broncos
Do you expect more consistent production from Noah Fant going forward after his career-high nine catches?
Fant is going to get plenty of targets at the position because the other pass-catching tight end (Albert Okwuegbunam) is on injured reserve. However, everybody's total targets are in for an adjustment with Jerry Jeudy coming back to the lineup at some point over the next three weeks. The Broncos have started the practice clock on Jeudy, who has been on IR since suffering an ankle injury in the season opener. Coach Vic Fangio said its "possible'' Jeudy would play as soon as Thursday night against the Browns, but it's far more likely that he'd return Oct. 31 against Washington or Nov. 7 against Dallas. -- Jeff Legwold
Indianapolis Colts
Apparently it didn't take long for T.Y. Hilton to establish himself as a go-to guy for yet another Colts quarterback. Do you expect that to continue -- and could that slow Michael Pittman Jr.'s rise?
Hilton, especially with the potential loss of Parris Campbell (foot) for the rest of the season, is Indianapolis' best deep threat. However, Pittman is the Colts' No. 1 receiver because he can do a little bit of everything, especially going into traffic to get a ball (see his effprt against Baltimore in Week 5) due to his size. You might want to pump the brakes on Hilton briefly, though, because he suffered a quad injury in the fourth quarter against Houston and his status for Sunday's game at San Francisco is up in the air. -- Mike Wells
Las Vegas Raiders
Any chance Kenyan Drake's two touchdowns could lead to a bigger role under a new coach?
To quote '90s R&B group Blackstreet, "No Diggity, no doubt." The funny thing is, before his 2-TD performance at Denver on Sunday (one by ground, one by air), Drake was going to be my 32-for-32 trade candidate. No more. Not after showing what he can do when used properly.
In his final Raiders media conference, Jon Gruden was asked specifically about Drake and whether he needed to use him more. "No," Gruden said, adding that he wanted to get "everyone" involved. But, as new offensive playcaller Greg Olson later said, you're bound to have a different "flow" with a different playcaller. And there it is.
I like the way he works it, but I'm just not sure Drake is a safe bet for fantasy managers to go all-in on with so much in flux with the organization. -- Paul Gutierrez
New England Patriots
Do you expect Rhamondre Stevenson's role to keep growing?
Absolutely. He was a bright spot in the game, showing up as a rusher (5 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD) and as a pass-catcher (3 catches, 39 yards). Plus, with Damien Harris managing an injury to his ribs, Stevenson is in position to do more. This was an important bounce-back game for him, as he is back to level ground after being benched for three games following a lost fumble and blitz-pickup struggles in the opener. -- Mike Reiss
Washington
Could J.D. McKissic keep up this kind of workload if Antonio Gibson misses time, or would another back get significant snaps?
Nobody knows, but he'll certainly get the chance. Jaret Patterson would play a little more, of course. I could see Patterson getting more early-down carries. But they love McKissic, and with good reason. So, I don't know that his snaps would increase a ton as much as his productivity would be more consistent. He hasn't caught more than two passes in consecutive games. The team has no chance at all if that remains the case and Gibson can't play. -- John Keim
Ricky Seals-Jones has played almost every snap since Logan Thomas got hurt. Should he be a serious consideration for fantasy managers dealing with byes or injuries?
Sure. He'll continue to get chances, and Taylor Heinicke is comfortable throwing to him. The two worked together a lot in training camp on the second unit, so that familiarity has helped. Seals-Jones is a bit limited, but the team keeps losing other weapons and the tight end has had 15 combined targets over the past two games. Thomas should be back in November, but that still gives Seals-Jones a chance to help someone for the next two weeks. -- Keim