6) A.J. Brown vs. Bears
The squeaky wheel finally got some grease last week. Two weeks ago, Brown let it be known that he wasn’t happy with how the offense was running… or that he wasn’t being thrown to, to be precise. In the following game, Hurts looked for Brown early and often, but the results were fairly pedestrian. We loved seeing the 11 targets and 7 catches, but the 49 yards and lack of a score left many of us wanting. Last week the target share was just as healthy, and this time Brown was able to convert his opportunities into 8 grabs for 110 yards and a score. That’s more like it. Will it continue this week? That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? I feel like Philly is going to come out firing after last week’s embarrassing loss, and Chicago‘s defense isn’t equipped to stop them. The Eagles will score plenty of points, and while I fully expect Barkley and Hurts to find the end zone, there’s plenty of room for Brown and even Smith to score, too.
7) Nico Collins vs. Colts
The Indianapolis pass defense is vastly improved from where it was a few weeks ago. The trade to add Sauce Gardner, as well as the return of Charvarius Ward from the injured list, has made the Colts secondary one of the better units in the entire league. The fact that they are still ranked 28th in the league against the pass and 24th in DVOA against the wide receiver position in fantasy points allowed is somewhat misleading. With that being said, Rashee Rice just ripped off 140+ yards against them last week, so Nico Collins will get his chances this week. He’s just too good to completely shut down, and he may be getting C.J. Stroud back as well. Keep him in your lineup.
8) George Pickens vs. Chiefs
Pickens has been better than his running mate, CeeDee Lamb, over the Cowboys’ last four games. Over that span, the two receivers have gotten almost the exact same number of targets from Dak Prescott (Pickens 38, Lamb 39). While the opportunities are similar, the production disparity has been fairly significant. Pickens has converted his 38 targets into 31 grabs for 447 yards and 2 scores, while Lamb has had some drop issues and has only converted his 39 targets into 23 catches for 300 yards. They are both studs, and both make great plays this week in what I expect to be one of the highest scoring games of the entire weekend.
