Fantasy Football Daily Notes: Raiders put Waller, Renfrow on IR, Taylor returns to practice, Foreman shines again on TNF

The news: The Raiders placed TE Darren Waller and WR Hunter Renfrow on injured reserve.

What it means in fantasy: Renfrow has been dealing with an oblique injury while Waller has been dealing with a hamstring injury. The two signed offseason extensions, but neither has been able to stay on the field this season. Since Waller was the TE5 in our draft trends this summer, his absence has been particularly frustrating for fantasy managers. He has missed eight of the Raiders’ past 14 regular-season games. Waller and Renfrow will both miss at least four games, starting with Sunday’s game against the Colts, and will not be eligible to return until the Raiders face the Rams in Week 14. During Waller’s and Renfrow’s absence, Mack Hollins and Foster Moreau will see additional targets.

The news: Colts RB Jonathan Taylor was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

What it means in fantasy: Taylor has practiced two consecutive days and looks on track to play this week after recovering from an ankle injury. Taylor has struggled behind a Colts offensive line that ranks 23rd in run block win rate. This season, he has scored only 20 or more fantasy points in one game and averages 11.9. Taylor can be viewed as a low-end RB2 in a dismal Colts offense that ranks 27th with 315.1 total yards per game. Zack Moss could make his Colts debut as Taylor’s backup as Deon Jackson has missed two consecutive practices because of a knee injury.

The news: Panthers RB D’Onta Foreman rushed 31 times for 130 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons on Thursday night.

What it means in fantasy: Foreman’s 31 rushing attempts are the most by a Panthers player since Nick Goings had 33 in Week 16 of the 2004 season. Foreman has also rushed for 100 or more yards in three out of his past four games. The Panthers have had only three individual 100-yard rushing games in the previous 46 games combined. Foreman has scored 16.5 or more fantasy points in three of his past four games.

Going deeper: The Panthers have one of the most favorable running back schedules for the rest of the season, according to Mike Clay’s strength of schedule matrix. Foreman can be viewed as a midrange RB2 for the rest of the season.

The news: Bills QB Josh Allen did not practice Thursday.

What it means in fantasy: Allen is dealing with a right elbow injury involving his ulnar collateral ligament. He has not missed a game since his rookie season. Allen missed multiple games that season, also because of an elbow injury. All signs point to Case Keenum starting for the Bills against the Vikings on Sunday. In deeper superflex formats, he’s on the fantasy radar, but most managers are better off streaming Jimmy Garoppolo, Jared Goff, or Daniel Jones.

Need a boom-or-bust candidate for your critical fantasy football matchup? Here are some suggestions:

Is the GOAT about to rebound? Tom Brady has three bust weeks to just one boom, but the odds of him rediscovering his form (28% boom) are slightly greater than another letdown (25%) this week against Seattle.

The Travis Etienne Jr. projection continues to grow, and yet, his talent still grades out well. He is 44.4% more likely to boom this week (cross 21.5 fantasy points) than he is to bust this week: it would be his fourth consecutive boom week.

Courtland Sutton may have a 9.3-point median projection, but he checks in with a 58% chance to either reach 20 points or fall short of five. How lucky do you feel?

Joshua Palmer’s increase in role has yet to yield a boom week, but his 25% boom chance (north of 20.5 points) makes him a fine roll of the dice this week on Sunday Night Football.

Be careful in assuming T.J. Hockenson‘s sterling Viking debut is a sign of things to come. Yes, he has as many booms with Minnesota as Detroit, but the odds of him falling flat this weekend (26%) are better than him repeating the boom game from Week 9 (23%)

The news: Cardinals QB Kyler Murray was limited in Thursday’s practice.

What it means in fantasy: Murray is dealing with a hamstring injury. It would still be a good idea for fantasy managers to have a contingency plan since his mobility is a huge part of Murray’s fantasy football appeal. The backup quarterback in Arizona is Colt McCoy. Murray’s absence would affect fantasy relevant players such as DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and James Conner.

Going deeper: Murray has averaged 6.5 rushing attempts and 39.9 rushing yards per game. He has also scored two rushing touchdowns.

The news: Rams QB Matthew Stafford entered the concussion protocol Wednesday and did not practice Thursday.

What it means in fantasy: Stafford’s chances of playing against the Cardinals this weekend don’t look good. The league’s concussion protocol involves a number of steps, which makes Stafford unlikely to be cleared by Sunday. He last missed a game with the Lions in 2019. Stafford would be replaced by backup John Wolford. This week, Jimmy Garoppolo, Daniel Jones, and Jared Goff are all excellent streaming options.

The news: Titans QB Ryan Tannehill was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

What it means in fantasy: Tannehill has missed two games with an ankle injury but is trending toward returning against the Broncos on Sunday. This is great news for Tennessee’s passing game since rookie Malik Willis has completed only 11 of 26 passes for 135 yards over the past two games. Treylon Burks should be proactively added by fantasy managers since he is rostered in only 23.0% of ESPN leagues. He might be able to spark the Titans’ passing game now that he is healthy.

Going deeper: According to Next Gen Stats, the average receiver separation in the league is 2.92 yards. This season, Burks is the only Titans wide receiver to surpass that average in every game he played.

The news: Packers RB Aaron Jones was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice.

What it means in fantasy: Jones was seen limping and wearing a walking boot after the Packers’ Week 9 game against the Lions. His tests came back negative. Jones is on track to suit up versus the Cowboys, even if his reps are limited in Week 10. He has averaged 15.0 fantasy points and can be viewed as a low-end RB1 against Dallas. AJ Dillon might see more touches in this game, making him a flex option.

The news: Chargers WR Keenan Allen did not practice Thursday.

What it means in fantasy: Allen has missed two consecutive practices and is considered “day-to-day” by Chargers coach Brandon Staley. The last time Allen practiced was Oct. 21 when he was limited. With his hamstring injury, Allen hasn’t had a full practice since Week 1, the only week he wasn’t on the practice report. The WR13 in our draft trends has played in only two games. With Allen and Mike Williams out with injuries, Josh Palmer and DeAndre Carter will continue to see targets. In Week 9, Palmer and Carter caught 13 of 16 targets for 159 yards. Carter is a flex option, while Palmer can be viewed as a WR2 against the 49ers.

The news: Texans WRs Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins practiced on Thursday.

What it means in fantasy: Cooks was dealing with a wrist injury last week and was sidelined with the same injury in Wednesday’s practice. Cooks’ frustrations about not being traded have bubbled to the surface recently, though he appears to be moving past them at this point. Collins has been dealing with a groin injury but has practiced two days in a row. Both can be viewed as flex options against the Giants on Sunday.

The news: Commanders WR Jahan Dotson was listed as limited for Thursday’s practice.

What it means in fantasy: It appears Dotson could return to the lineup against the Eagles on Monday night after missing a long stretch with a hamstring injury. He scored at least 13 fantasy points in three of his first four games. Dotson is rostered in only 33.7% of ESPN leagues and should be proactively stashed. The Commanders play the Texans in Week 11 and the Falcons in Week 12. Both are very favorable matchups.

The news: Brown TE David Njoku did not practice on Thursday.

What it means in fantasy: Njoku has missed two consecutive days of practice, which implies he’s unlikely to play Sunday against the Dolphins. If Njoku is ruled out Harrison Bryant would fill the void and can be viewed as a streamer. Cole Kmet finished with 22.0 fantasy points in Week 9 against the Miami defense. Fantasy managers looking for tight end options in Week 10 should consider Kmet, Noah Fant, Tanner Hudson and Greg Dulcich.

Today on ESPN.com/Fantasy and in the ESPN Fantasy App:

Create or join an ESPN Fantasy Basketball league today and draft your league any time before the first game tips off every Monday. Your league starts fresh with 0-0 records for the new matchup period.

Mike Clay’s Playbook: projections and analysis for every game

Eric Karabell’s Week 10 hot seat: Leonard Fournette among players under most pressure in Week 10

• Daniel Dopp and Liz Loza’s Fantasy Improv: Daniel and Liz talk about making a playoff push vs. heading into rebuild mode

• Fantasy Focus podcast: Field Yates, Stephania Bell and Mike Clay recap TNF before previewing everything you need to know for Week 10 including key injury updates to stars like Josh Allen, QBs you can stream, what players are lineup locks, who you should be benching and more! Listen | Watch

Coming Sunday:

• The Fantasy Football cheat sheet: the week’s best advice in one place

• Inactives Watch: who’s in, who’s out and what does it mean?

• After the games: Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft’s fantasy highs and lows

• Fantasy Football Now: Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2

Fantasy Football Daily Notes: Raiders put Waller, Renfrow on IR, Taylor returns to practice, Foreman shines again on TNF

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