Tue Nov 4th 2025

Week Nine Dynasty Takes

Dynasty News

Upset Sunday

• If last week was the week of blowout games, this was the week of upset games, and the upset teams left many dynasty managers upset as well. The previously terrible Steelers defense shut down the previously unstoppable Colts offense.  Daniel Jones looked like his old days as a Giant, with five turnovers in the game —three interceptions and two fumbles. He padded his fantasy stats at the end of the game in garbage time, not ruining the day for Michael Pittman's managers, but Jonathan Taylor had his first bad game this season, scoring just six points. After getting dismantled by the Packers last weekend, the Colts were expected to light up the Steelers and benefit all of the Colts' fantasy starters, but they were crushed on the road. The same Packers who destroyed the Steelers at home last week were set to do the same when they welcomed the Panthers to Lambeau Field, but their offense was squashed, and they lost 16-13 on a game-winning field goal as time expired. Jordan Love has the worst fantasy game of the season after his best game of the year last week. The Packers looked lost after losing Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden to injuries. They could not get lined up right, dropped passes, and did not get into the end zone until two minutes were left in the game. Josh Jacobs saved his day with that lone one-yard touchdown, but that was the only highlight for the Packers' players. Dynasty managers who set their lineups this week and saw the green numbers by the Steelers and Panthers' defenses expected a lot more points than they got on Sunday. That's for sure!

Week One Injury Report

• Travis Hunter
  • Late in the week, the Jaguars announced that Hunter would be placed on IR with a knee injury. It came as a huge surprise after they talked about making him the focal point of the passing game after their bye week. Now he's out for at least three more weeks. Parker Washington was already becoming the Jaguars' top-targeted wide receiver and was the top target again on Sunday. He's become a very reliable player in deep leagues and will be for the next few weeks, even more so now that Brian Thomas injured his ankle, but more on him in a moment.
• Tucker Kraft
  • Kraft's injury was the saddest one for me this week. I wrote last week about how he was a player. I was "right on" when betting on a big year for him. I drafted him in my most recent start-up draft and traded for him in two leagues. Just after he becomes the league's top scoring tight end, he tears his ACL and is lost for the season. What a massive disappointment for a player who had just moved into the top tier in dynasty rankings. His loss will leave a big hole in the dynasty rosters of managers like me.
• Jayden Daniels
  • Daniels had a gruesome injury to his elbow and will likely miss the rest of the season as a result. Marcus Mariota is capable of moving the offense as he has done already this season, but the overall fallout from Daniels' injury hurts every startable player on the Commanders.  Managers who relied on Daniels in superflex leagues will be hurt pretty badly by his absence, even if they do have two starting quarterbacks on their rosters. Hopefully, the reports after he is properly evaluated will come back in his favor, but there is no need for the Commanders to start Daniels again this season since it is already lost. Bill Crosket-Merrit will not break out this season, Terry McLaurin may sit the rest out too, and Deebo Samuel will cool off significantly after his surprising hot start, making him replaceable in starting lineups. Quarterback injuries are the worst.

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Stock Up

Rico Dowdle

• Coach Canales said Dowdle earned the right to get more touches, and he was not lying. Dowdle had 27 touches compared to Chuba Hubbard's five. The Panthers rode Dowdle's back to their upset win over Green Bay. He has 141 total yards and two touchdowns. The torch has been passed. He'll carry the load the rest of this season and help dynasty managers on their playoff runs. When a backup running back becomes an every-week starter, that turbo powers competitive teams' lineups, and that's what Dowdle will do down the stretch this season. The real question for dynasty managers is whether it will earn him a long-term contract with the team. It did for Hubbard last year. They may be forced to do so again. If they let him walk as the Cowboys did last year, there will be far more buyers on the market for his services.

Khalil Shakir

• Shakir's dynasty stock is not shooting up the boards like Dowdle's, but it's on a steady, modest rise as this season has progressed. He's the Bills' most consistent wide receiver, and the young players they added cannot replace or surpass him. He averages more than six targets per game, has reliable hands, and is a great runner after the catch. He's become a decent flex player in PPR leagues with a chance to have big plays and a touchdown any week.  

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Stock Down

Chuba Hubbard

• It goes without saying, but if Dowdle's stock is rising, it is at the expense of Hubbard. The contract and the money kept Hubbard's stock afloat when he was injured, but now that he's healthy and Dowdle has taken over, his best days are behind him. My comanager and I, like the Carolina front office, signed Hubbard to a four-year deal in a salary cap league before this season started. That's a contract we'll regret signing unless they somehow let Dowdle walk after this season. All I know is that Hubbard will not see our starting lineup again this season.

Brian Thomas Jr.

• The season is more than halfway over now. It's time to stop waiting for BTJ to get on the same page as Trevor Lawrence and coach Coen. It's just not happening. Parker Washington is more reliable, and he's the only Jaguar receiver connecting with Lawrence. It's hard to believe he can fall off after such a fantastic rookie season, but it's happened to second-year players before. He's scored 70 points in his eight games this season. He scored 108 in the first eight games of his rookie season. That's more than six fantasy points per game. Thomas might not be the right kind of receiver for Coen's offense, and Coen is there to stay. I'm not saying he can never bounce back, but I am closer to saying it than at any point this season.

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Young Guns

Colston Loveland

• Just as the NFL games kicked off this Sunday, I messaged my Diehard League, saying, "This will finally be breakout week for Colston Loveland." I believed it since he was due and their opponent was the Bengals, but I had no idea he would break out the way he did, with two touchdowns, including the incredible game-winning one from 58 yards out. He was the first read on his red-zone target touchdown, too. Finally, I have hope for my three Loeveland shares. The talent was always there, but coach Johnson had yet to make him a focal point in a game. Finally, he tried to, and it worked. I'm not saying I'm willing to call him an every-week starter yet, but one more week like this and I will. I started him for the first time this week in the Scott Fish Bowl, and he contributed nicely to my highest-scoring week of the year, likely moving me back into the top 10-20 overall after falling to 41st last week.

Kyle Monangai

• Monangai equally benefited from playing the terrible Bengals defense this week. He played so well that he could become the next Rico Dowdle, who steals the starting job from incumbent DeAndre Swift. Coach Johnson was not afraid to give him all the touches either, as he carried the ball 26 times for 176 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. It's the second time this season that Monangai has had more than six yards per carry in a game. Managers who drafted him late in rookie drafts this year may get rewarded with that extra turbo boost in a starting lineup. I started him in my Freek League, where I already have the best record and the most points. Now he's my turbo-boost player who could make my team unbeatable. I also started him in the Scott Fish Bowl this week. If only the Bears could play the Bengals every week!

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Old-Man Strength

Joe Flacco

• What Flacco has done the last few seasons as a hired gun is simply unbelievable. He brings offenses from death to life.  He scored 35 fnasty points on Sunday and has averaged 28 points per game in his four starts with the Bengals. It's not going to stop either, because their defense is on pace to be the worst-scoring defense of all time.  Flacco averages 43 passing attempts per game.  He's an every-week starter even in one-quarterback leagues until he gets injured or the Bengals decide to pull their starters near the end of the season. Can you imagine running into dynasty playoff games with Flacco as your starter? If he stays healthy, it's gonna happen this year. I'm sad that I only have one share, and that's in the Scott Fish Bowl, where I bought him for $30 FAAB, and no one else in the league bid on him that week! I may have looked like a fool in the FAAB report that week, but who's laughing now?  Did I mention that I had a fantastic week on the Scott Fish Bowl?

Drake London

• London is an absolute monster. He was snagging balls over guys' heads and catching one-handed passes on Sunday. After missing last week with an injury, he sure bounced back quickly with a three-touchdown day. He had his best fantasy day of the year with 34 points, bringing his season average to  16 points per game. The entire Atlanta passing game runs through Drake.  He averages almost 12 targets per game, making him the second most targeted receiver behind only Ja'Marr Chase. If he can stay healthy, he'll be a key part of championship runs this season. I'm all in on London since I traded away two first-round picks to get him last week. He's the final piece that can put my team over the top in that league. I am confident he can do it.

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Waiver Watch

Luke Musgrave

• Musgrave is the next man up behind Tucker Kraft. If you remember, he was drafted ahead of Kraft in the same rookie class and got more playing time than Kraft to start his career, but then Musgrave overtook him and never looked back. All that to say, he has some pedigree and experience. He's available in most of my dynasty leagues, too, so he's far and away the best player to add to rosters this week.

Greg Dulcich

• It feels like it was forever ago, but Dulcich was pretty involved in the Dolphins' offense on Thursday night. He played 36% of the snaps and caught all five of his targets. He could serve as their new Darren Waller for a short time while Waller is out. Coach Daniels schemes up tight-end touches and has made big, athletic tight ends that come out of nowhere fantasy-relevant the last few seasons.  I loved Dulcich as a prospect and could not believe that he could not earn a starting role, let alone a roster spot. This could be his last chance to get back on the dynasty radar. I don't even have him in my dynasty rankings currently. He's still worth adding in deep leagues to see if he becomes something. 

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Dynasty Trades

Jayden Daniels and a 2026 2nd round pick <=======> Michael Penix and Oronde Gadsden

• In a tight-end premium league, a manager was willing to place some high bets on Oronde Gadsden. He took a significant downgrade at quarterback to do it by giving up Daniels for Penix, but it is a one-quarterback league, so that's less egregious. Gadsden is definitely worthy of a future second-round pick, so that evened out the trade. The team that traded is rebuilding, so he's okay with this trade even after Daniels was hurt this week. He got the best player in the trade and a future pick. I like his side of the deal best, but if Gadsden does become a top-tier dynasty tight end, I could see this trade differently, since it is a tight-end premium league.

Kirk Cousins <=======> Bhayshul Tuten

• In a superflex league last week, one manager, desperate for a starting quarterback, gave up Tuten for a stopgap starter in Cousins, who played only that one game and looked terrible. Somehow, he's still in the game and in playoff contention. I still think he paid too much for one week of help because, while I am not as high on Tuten as others, he has far more opportunity ahead of him than Cousins, who may not play again after this season.  

Michael Penix, Malik Nabers, Elic Ayomanor,  Jalen Royals, Dont'e Thornton, and Dalton Kincaid <=======> Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, Devin Neal, Gunnar Helm

• This trade is almost too big to evaluate.  The crux of the trade, given it's a superflex league, is Penix and Nabers for Jackson and Henry. A team that wants to make a run at the playoffs is trying to do so on the backs of the Ravens, who are poised for a strong end of the season. He was willing to part with Penix and Nabers to do so. He also secured backups with Jackson-Huntley and Kamara-Neal. The rebuilding team was pleased to get Nabers and a younger quarterback whose job is secure. Then they obviously came to some agreement on the younger players in this trade that they must have each liked more than the players on their own rosters.  It's a fair trade for both sides and shows that other dynasty managers, such as myself, believe Jackson and Henry will help many dynasty teams in the playoffs this season.

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