Thursday Night Football is going to be full of difficult lineup decisions. The Dalvin Cook injury situation is the most prominent, but Chase Claypool, Pat Freiermuth, Kirk Cousins, and Ben Roethlisberger are all tough calls as well. And Adam Thielen's injury means we'll have to take a longer look at K.J. Osborn as well.
Osborn's 2021 has been a pleasant surprise, but also a mixed bag. He scored 34 PPR Fantasy points in his first two games and then scored in single digits for three straight weeks. He broke out for 19.8 Fantasy points in Week 6, then went on a five-week stretch where he didn't top 20 receiving yards. Not exactly someone you can count on.
There has been one near constant for Osborn. When he's received volume, he's mostly delivered. He's seen at least six targets in five games this season and he's scored at least 14 PPR Fantasy points in four of those games. Last week, Thielen left very early in the game and Osborn saw nine targets and scored 14.7 PPR Fantasy points.
That game highlights the upside, but also shows a little bit of the risk. Osborn's efficiency cratered last week and you have to at least wonder if that's because Thielen wasn't there to (along with Justin Jefferson) draw coverage. It's not uncommon to see receivers struggle with efficiency when one of the guys who generally draws attention is out. Those efficiency concerns are the main reason Osborn doesn't rank higher, but he's still a solid No. 3 wide receiver you shouldn't shy away from.
44.4% -- Terry McLaurin still leads the NFL with a 44.4% share of his team's air yards.
23.3 -- Justin Jefferson has scored at least 23.4 PPR Fantasy points in three of his last four games. He should make it four of five without Adam Thielen.
Both St. Brown and Josh Reynolds are quality flexes, but I slightly prefer St. Brown due to the fact that he works more closer to the line of scrimmage where Jared Goff is comfortable.
Westbrook has scored at least 10 PPR Fantasy points in the last two games without A.J. Brown. He's a great add if Jones is out and a quality flex with Jones.
Last week I called Chase a ticking time bomb and he almost blew up if not for a drop on a long pass from Joe Burrow. The price has gone down but the upside hasn't, I'm playing him again in tournaments.
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Heath's Projections
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