Can we remember a Thursday Night Football matchup playing out as expected? Well, last night’s came close. The Colts’ primary weapons stepped up against a beatable Jets defense, while my favorite undervalued Jets player coming into the night (Elijah Moore) came through. As always, let’s examine the fantasy football ramifications of this Week 9 game with our Thursday Night Football recap, especially as we look ahead to Week 10 and the rest of the fantasy regular season.
Colts players | Fantasy football recap
Yesterday, I recommended a TNF DFS lineup consisting of Carson Wentz, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, Elijah Moore, and Marlon Mack. Although Mack turned out to be a late inactive, this lineup would have hit, as they encompassed four of the evening’s top six fantasy scorers.
Related | Fantasy Injury Report: Dak Prescott, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle injury updates
And no scorer was more impactful than the best (healthy) RB in fantasy. Taylor overcame a somewhat scary knee injury to help lead managers to a strong start to Week 9. He did what was expected of him and more. At a mere 22 years old, he’s the most valuable RB this season in dynasty.
How did the rest of the supporting cast perform?
I tried trading for Carson Wentz two days ago, to no avail. He’s now on pace for his best campaign since 2017. No, this is not a fluke. He’s healthy and has all the offensive weapons he needs to be a top-16 QB with QB1 upside.
Elsewhere, Nyheim Hines played a significant role, in part due to Mack sitting out. Painfully underutilized in Weeks 5-8 (averaging only 1 reception per game), he now has 8 catches in his last two contests and is back on the streaming radar. And Zach Pascal benefitted from T.Y. Hilton’s absence, though he’ll remain a TD-dependent option even if Hilton continues to sit.
Jets players | Fantasy football recap
For the Jets, what might have been . . . Mike White picked up where he left off in last week’s heroic victory over the Bengals — his first NFL start. But a wrist injury knocked him out last night, preventing him from proving to the Jets that he should remain the starter even when rookie Zach Wilson returns.
Instead, Josh Johnson became the Jets’ newest QB hero. Sort of. Despite entering the game with only 4 NFL passes under his belt since the end of 2018 — and only 95 since the end of 2011 — he shook off some shakiness to keep the chains moving. By no means will he be on fantasy radars if he’s forced to start next week. But he’s about as good of a third-string QB as you can find in today’s NFL.
What to make of Michael Carter’s fantasy value?
On the ground, I warned earlier this week that Michael Carter was more of a back-end RB2, not the RB1 we saw last week, in part because Ty Johnson isn’t going anywhere. And hey, Carter is on my fantasy team. I have nothing to gain by poo-poo’ing his fantasy upside. But there, I said it. Because it’s true. Because that’s how we roll at Pro Football Network.
Finally, as referenced above, the rookie Moore broke out. He was one of my two favorite TNF DFS bargains for a reason. If you want a safe play, keep rolling with Jamison Crowder. But as long as Corey Davis is out (and maybe even when he returns), Moore is the most compelling Jets receiver from a fantasy perspective.