AFC West

The Las Vegas Raiders reached a new low on Sunday, losing to an Indianapolis Colts team that has an interim head coach who had never led a college or NFL team prior to the game.

Jeff Saturday, whose coaching experience didn't go beyond the high school level, outcoached Josh McDaniels as the Colts defeated the Raiders 25-20. With the loss, Las Vegas fell to 2-7 this season.

Saturday had been working as an ESPN analyst prior to being hired to replace Frank Reich. When Saturday took over, the team didn't have an experienced play-caller on its coaching staff after the firing of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady.

In his coaching debut, Saturday provided Indianapolis with an identity on both sides of the ball centered around the run game. The Colts totaled 207 yards on the ground while limiting the Raiders to just 77 rushing yards. Star running back Jonathan Taylor led the way with 147 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

NFL Twitter unleashed on the Raiders for their upset loss to the Colts and their first-time head coach on Sunday:

The Raiders were expected to be one of the more competitive teams in the AFC after the acquisition of star wide receiver Davante Adams. However, the team's offense hasn't clicked, the defense hasn't been strong, either, and McDaniels may be on the hot seat just nine games into his tenure as Raiders head coach.

Las Vegas will look to bounce back when it visits the Denver Broncos (3-6) in a division matchup next Sunday.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars after suffering a concussion, according to the team.

Smith-Schuster appeared in just five regular-season games for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2021 season, catching 15 passes for 129 yards before undergoing what was considered season-ending shoulder surgery.

However, he battled back from the injury early to play in Pittsburgh's 42-21 wild-card loss to the Chiefs.

Smith-Schuster signed a one-year, $3.25 million deal with Kansas City during the offseason that includes another $7.5 million in incentives, marking the end of his five-year Steelers career that saw him catch 323 passes for 3,855 yards and 26 touchdowns in 63 games.

"I just thought this opportunity fit more for me," Smith-Schuster said of signing with the Chiefs in March. "In the sense of coming here and playing for Andy [Reid] and obviously the OC [Eric Bieniemy] and everyone else. Seeing the opportunity where I can prove my skills and see what I can do."

The 25-year-old added that it was hard to turn down the opportunity to catch passes from star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He came into Sunday's game with 44 catches for 582 yards and two scores.

Smith-Schuster is Mahomes' top target alongside tight end Travis Kelce. An extended absence will require an uptick in production from wideouts Mecole Hardman, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy reportedly was diagnosed with a "mild" ankle injury after undergoing an MRI. His status for a Week 11 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders has yet to be determined.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the news Monday, a day after Jeudy was ruled out after he injured his ankle in the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans and was carted back to the locker room.

This wasn't the first time Jeudy has been sidelined this year. The 2020 first-round pick was ruled day-to-day with a chest/sternum injury following Denver's 16-9 victory over the Houston Texans in Week 2. Head coach Nathaniel Hackett told reporters immediately after the game he had undergone X-rays on his ribs, and he ultimately didn't miss any time.

The Broncos made one of the NFL's biggest trades this offseason when they acquired Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks. They subsequently gave Wilson a five-year, $242.6 million extension.

That level of aggression toward upgrading at quarterback wasn't matched at the receiver position. The wideout room largely remains unchanged from a year ago.

Denver was clearly banking on Jeudy taking a step forward following an underwhelming 2021 season. He caught 38 passes for 467 yards in 2021 and missed seven games, largely because of a high ankle sprain.

Jeudy's importance only increased after the Broncos lost Tim Patrick for the year because of a torn ACL. Losing him for any stretch would force Wilson to be even more reliant on Courtland Sutton.

The Los Angeles Chargers offense has struggled this season, with injuries to receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams playing a big part in that.

What should fantasy managers do with Allen and Williams ahead their fantasy football trade deadline?

The answer depends on how your team is doing.

Allen has appeared in just two games this season amid hamstring issues and has been ruled out for Week 10. Williams is also out for Week 10 and was expected to miss at least four weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 7.

If your fantasy team is struggling for a playoff spot, neither of these players should be trusted.

Either could technically return in Week 11, but the fact that neither practiced this week suggests it could be multiple weeks before we see them on the field.

Managers should be shopping them around for receivers that can provide immediate help, even if they don't have as much upside. Jerry Jeudy, Jakobi Meyers and Adam Thielen could be reasonable targets.

If you can't sell Williams or Allen, targeting Joshua Palmer or even DeAndre Carter off waivers or in a trade could be a good move. These players can help fill your starting lineup in the short term as Justin Herbert's top targets until the starters return.

It also provides insurance in case Williams or Allen remain unavailable for an extended stretch.

There should be a different perspective for teams at the top of the standings in fantasy.

Williams comes with risk, but he can carry your fantasy team for a week when he's at his best. The wideout had either 100 yards or a touchdown in five of seven games this year, reaching at least seven catches four times.

Though he has a low floor, Williams' ceiling is as high as nearly anyone else's in fantasy.

Allen is even better when healthy in point-per-reception leagues, catching at least 97 passes in each of the last five seasons. Outside of Cooper Kupp, he's as safe a bet for double-digit fantasy points as there is in the NFL.

Now is the chance to get a high-end WR2 from a frustrated and desperate fantasy manager.

You will take a hit for the next few weeks, but it could make your team even more dangerous for the stretch run as you try to win a championship.

Fantasy managers searching for depth at wide receiver before the Nov. 30 trade deadline would do well to look at what's happening with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Despite some questions coming into the year about what the offense would look like without Tyreek Hill, things have more or less been the same as they ever were.

Patrick Mahomes leads the league in passing yards (2,605) and passing touchdowns (21) through eight games. The bulk of his targets are going to Travis Kelce, but the receiving options on the outside have been better than expected.

Week 3 was a sloppy performance for the Chiefs in a 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, but it wasn't a major cause for concern going forward.

Kelce is leading the team with 77 targets, 57 receptions, 659 yards and seven touchdowns. Given how dire things have been at tight end around the NFL, no one with him on their roster should think about dealing him unless it's a ridiculous overpay.

JuJu Smith-Schuster was a great buy-low option coming into 2022 after leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers and whatever Ben Roethlisberger was trying to do last year. The 25-year-old has 582 yards on 44 receptions through eight games.

Smith-Schuster has been a WR2 in fantasy this season. He ranks 20th in total PPR scoring (112.2) and 25th in average PPR scoring per game (14.0), per FantasyPros.com.

Adding to Smith-Schuster's value is how well he's played lately. The USC alum has 325 total yards in his past three games and is averaging 7.3 receptions on 8.3 targets during that span.

If you are trying to acquire Smith-Schuster for the second half, it's going to cost you a lot.

Mecole Hardman will certainly be easier to get in a trade, but he's not been nearly as impactful as Kelce, Smith-Schuster or even Marques Valdes-Scantling. The 24-year-old has scored five touchdowns in his past three games, but he would need to keep up that pace to have significant value going forward.

Hardman's most productive game as a wide receiver came last week against the Tennessee Titans. He turned nine targets into six receptions and 79 yards with a touchdown.

The lack of week-to-week consistency from Hardman over the course of the entire season makes him too volatile for me to bet on him as a regular starter. If you want to acquire him as a flex option down the stretch, you might be able to get him for a fairly low price.

Valdes-Scantling was a boom-or-bust player in four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He has the speed to take the top off defenses (career average of 17.5 yards per reception).

Much like Hardman, Valdes-Scantling continues to be hit-and-miss from week to week. He had a season-high 111 yards in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers, but he followed it up with one catch for 12 yards against the Titans.

Valdes-Scantling also is yet to find the end zone this season, despite averaging 16.6 yards per reception.

If you have decided you need to add one Chiefs receiver before the trade deadline, Smith-Schuster is the best player to target. Hardman is worth adding if you need depth, but he's a player who you should only be starting if there is a favorable matchup.

Denver Broncos wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy were projected to take a major leap this season, but the pair has fallen short of expectations. As the fantasy football trade deadline approaches, let's take a look at how managers should try to recoup some assets.

Sutton leads Denver with 35 receptions, 467 yards and 62 targets, but he has reached the end zone just once this year. Jeudy has caught a team-high three touchdowns to go with 30 catches for 449 yards on 54 targets.

After the Broncos acquired nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason, many expected the team to have a high-powered offense predicated on a potent passing attack. However, Wilson has failed to develop chemistry with his new crop of pass-catchers through the first half of the season. Tim Patrick's season-ending torn ACL in training camp didn't help matters, either.

Both Sutton and Jeudy can be considered WR2, at best, but even that might be wishful thinking that the Broncos offense will turn things around in the second half of the year. Neither of them can be depended on to produce each week in a Denver offense that lacks any consistency.

Fantasy managers would be best served attaching Sutton or Jeudy to another player as part of package to land a bigger star. A straight-up trade for one of the receivers isn't likely to secure a difference-maker in return.

There's also the option of holding on to either player and riding it out for the rest of the season. The Broncos will try to make a late push toward the playoffs, which could lead to a pass-happy offense in the second half of the year.

If more opportunities open up for Jeudy and Sutton, fantasy managers will be rewarded for their steadfast belief in them. But if Denver's offensive struggles continue, what's a little more disappointment on top of the massive regret already felt for drafting them in the first place?

The Kansas City Chiefs would never dream of trading Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in real life.

But fantasy football doesn't always mirror real life.

Perhaps someone in your league has Kelce and is in drastic need of a running back to replace an injured playmaker. That sounds like the perfect time to step in and make a trade for one of the biggest game-changers in all of fantasy football.

From a positional standpoint, the drop-off from Kelce to the No. 2 tight end is arguably bigger than the gap between first and second at any other spot on the field.

That means fantasy football managers with the University of Cincinnati product at a position that is often defined by weekly inconsistency have a distinct advantage over their opposition, whereas there isn't a huge difference between having an A.J. Brown compared to Christian Kirk at wide receiver.

Kelce leads all tight ends in catches (57), receiving yards (659) and touchdown catches (seven).

By comparison, Zach Ertz is second with 46 catches, Dallas Goedert is second with 521 receiving yards, and Mark Andrews is second with five touchdown catches. Nobody does everything quite as well as Kelce, which makes him worthy of a trade featuring a running back or wide receiver.

The same might not be said about Mahomes.

While he is a fantasy and real-life star who is capable of putting up five touchdowns in any given game, the drop-off isn't quite as drastic at the quarterback position. Fantasy players with Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and even Geno Smith are likely almost as happy with their signal-callers as they would be with Mahomes.

Even Justin Fields and Tua Tagovailoa have been fantasy stars of late, with the former setting records with his rushing ability.

Fantasy players could afford to trade Mahomes if the return is significant enough because there are better options at QB than at tight end for someone moving Kelce. Maybe one of those options would come back in a trade for the Chiefs quarterback.

Proceed with caution, but it is at least something worth exploring for the right price.

This isn't how the season was supposed to go for the Las Vegas Raiders.

After all, they are coming off a playoff appearance and added one of the best wide receivers in the league in Davante Adams during the offseason. The expectation was to challenge for the top spot in the AFC West, but they are instead 2-6 and trending in the wrong direction.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported they placed tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow on injured reserve and provided additional context to the setbacks:

Yet trouble for the Raiders on the field could mean opportunity for fantasy football players looking to pounce.

Adams has, at times, been less than his typically stellar self this season. He posted one catch for three yards in a Week 8 loss to the New Orleans Saints, five catches for 36 yards in a Week 3 loss to the Tennessee Titans and two catches for 12 yards in a Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Perhaps fantasy football managers with Adams on their team have grown frustrated with the roller-coaster ride of a season that seems to change on a weekly basis and could be looking to make a trade.

If that is the case in your league, jump on it.

Adams' resume includes five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro selections, and he finished the 2021 season with 123 catches for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns. Few players in the league have a higher ceiling than him, and he has still put up monster numbers on at times.

One of those performances came in the most recent game when he tallied 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns on an astounding 17 targets in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He figures to see even more targets with Renfrow and Waller sidelined and could reach the 1,300-yard mark for the fourth time in five years with 658 through eight games.

Fantasy players should be looking for any way possible to buy low on Adams in a trade, but more caution should be used with Carr.

While he surpassed 4,000 passing yards in each of the last four seasons, he has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game just once this year and has two games with fewer than 200 passing yards.

Now, he is losing two of his top targets for at least the next four games, so it is unrealistic to expect a drastic upward tick in production.

This may be the first time since 2017 he fails to reach the 4,000-yard mark through the air, and he isn't a running threat, either. Given the lack of rushing yards and his downturn in the passing game, look elsewhere when seeking quarterback trades.

Las Vegas Raiders stars Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller are having polar-opposite offensive campaigns through the first half of the 2022 season. So how should fantasy football managers view them with fantasy trade deadlines quickly approaching?

Jacobs is enjoying a strong campaign, ranking fourth in the NFL with 743 rushing yards and tying for fifth with six touchdowns on 138 carries. He's on pace to shatter last season's output of 872 yards and nine scores, as well as surpass his career high of 1,150 rushing yards set in 2019, his rookie year.

The 24-year-old has developed into the focal point of the Raiders offense alongside an inconsistent passing attack. Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr hasn't exactly been lighting it up through the air (No. 13 passing attack), even with prized offseason acquisition Davante Adams on the outside, giving Jacobs more opportunities to shine.

Fantasy managers who have Jacobs should feel good about their chances heading toward the playoffs. The best course is likely to hold on to him and ride him to postseason success, but it could also be wise to sell high at the trade deadline, especially if dealing from a position of strength.

With Jacobs performing at the level of an RB1, a trade involving him should garner a player of equal value, perhaps at a different position, or managers could choose to flip Jacobs for a pair of lesser players who fill needs.

As for Waller, there won't be much value coming back in a trade for him. He hasn't lived up to TE1 expectations, recording just 16 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown through five appearances this year.

To make matters worse, the Raiders placed the star tight end on injured reserve Thursday because of the strained left hamstring that has caused him to miss the last three games.

With Waller set to miss at least four more weeks, it will be hard to convince another manager to take him off your hands. The 2020 Pro Bowl selection can be stashed until he returns in hopes he'll bounce back over the final five games, or he can be dropped if you need to make room on your roster.