PFN Table for 6: Chase Edmonds, Jalen Hurts, Jordan Howard, and three other players to watch

Welcome back to Table for 6: Pro Football Network’s rundown of six players we are closely tracking today. Six players whose values could pop or plummet before the sun goes down. Six players who could make or break your fantasy team if you manage your roster to maximize the probabilities.

Today’s rundown highlights some of the biggest stories of Week 9 and six players whose fantasy values could change dramatically for the rest of the season.

There was a moment this season when it appeared Edmonds’ spot atop Arizona’s backfield depth chart was secure. In Week 1, teammate James Conner – Pittsburgh’s former bell-cow who peaked in 2018 – plodded his way to 53 yards on 16 rushing attempts (3.3 yards per carry). 

The following week, he managed only 26 yards on 8 attempts (3.2 YPC). He didn’t see a single receiving target.

In contrast, Edmonds’ versatility in the passing game (four catches in Week 1 and five in Week 2) and extraordinary running (5.2 YPC in Week 1 and 5.8 in Week 2) justified many fantasy managers’ decision to draft him at or near his preseason RB26 ADP. Meanwhile, Conner appeared to be a bust at his seemingly aggressive RB35 ADP.

But every season, we brace for outliers – statistical oddities that come to fruition and challenge us to reassess what we think we know about fantasy football and what we should know going forward.

Since that slow start, Conner has found the end zone 11 times in seven games. He now leads the league in rushing/receiving touchdowns, primarily due to scoring ten times from inside the red zone, where he leads all running backs in fantasy points. And after mostly scuffling his way through his first five games (201 rushing yards on 63 carries, or 3.2 YPC), he’s taken off in the last four games, culminating in Sunday’s 40.3-point fantasy outburst.

Yet this seat at the fantasy table is not reserved for Conner, at least not today. 

It’s for Edmonds, whose high-ankle sprain early in Sunday’s game was a crushing blow for fantasy managers hoping for much more in Week 9, and I believe it could be even rougher the rest of the fantasy season. The injury might require him to go on injured reserve, which would keep him away from the field for at least three games.

The problem for fantasy managers is that Conner has been performing like an RB1, and his five receptions on Sunday remind us that he has the skills to be a complete back. And if Edmonds sits, 22-year-old Eno Benjamin could earn more run as a potential complement to Conner.

The question, then, is what role Edmonds would return to whenever he does return. Because he’s scored only once this year, his streaming value hinged on his continued usage in the passing game: 3.8 receptions per contest. Conner had only five catches all year heading into Week 9. So if Edmonds loses that competitive edge, it’s not hard to see him regress to a TD-dependent RB4/5 role.

In other words, while there’s a path for Edmonds to regain his starting job, the more likely path is getting relegated to a complementary role behind Conner. 

Edmonds entered Week 9 as a solid RB2. It’s hard to imagine coming close to that production level again until at least 2022.

It took an injury to Miles Sanders for Philly to invest in the running game. That’s the fantasy irony for a franchise that put all its marbles on Hurts’ legs and throwing arm, at the expense of a balanced attack led by a truly capable running back. 

In his first seven games, Hurts was an elite fantasy QB – the only one who topped 20 fantasy points in every contest. He was also averaging 35 pass attempts per game, translating into a decent 245 passing yards per contest. 

But that’s all changed since Sanders hit the IR. Jordan Howard, along with Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell, has dominated touches the past two weeks, during which Hurts has averaged only 15.5 passing attempts for merely 133 passing yards. 

His value to fantasy managers going forward hinges on a more active passing attack.

We can’t invite Hurts to breakfast and not invite Howard. What Howard has done the last two weeks is simply incredible: 29 carries for 128 yards (4.4 YPC) and 3 touchdowns. He’s averaging 15.4 fantasy points, compared to 9.0 for Miles Sanders, the running back he’s (temporarily?) replaced. Remember, this is the same Howard who sputtered for 1.7 YPC on 35 carries last season.

Nothing could have prepared fantasy managers for this kind of output in what is supposed to be a three-headed backfield – and four-headed if you include the run-friendly Hurts.

Is Howard for real? Well, he’s only 27 years old and owns a career 4.2 YPC, thanks in large part to a breakout rookie campaign (5.2 YPC). I can’t envision Howard fading entirely to the background when Sanders gets back. 

At the same time, I can’t envision Sanders riding the pine. Most likely, Howard is a short-term fantasy boon, not a long-term play.

Sometimes the Jets don’t have many talented fantasy players. Other times they do; we just don’t hear about them until way too late. 

Moore should have been a featured part of this offense from Day 1. A second-round draft pick this year out of the University of Mississippi, he was supposed to join fellow rookies Zach Wilson and Michael Carter as the future faces of a rebuilding offense.

Wilson’s troubles have been well documented, while Carter certainly has begun finding his groove. But this franchise inexplicably retained Jamison Crowder, thereby crowding out (pun intended) Moore when the Jets had nothing to gain by keeping the veteran. 

With Corey Davis expected to return in Week 10, the question is whether the Jets will commit to Moore as the team’s near-future No. 1 receiver. If they do, he could be a weekly fantasy streamer with generous upside.

With Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski still sidelined to start the week, 2020 fifth-round draft pick Tyler Johnson could continue to play the No. 3 wideout role in Week 10 against Washington. 

I pushed Johnson two weeks ago as a deep-league streamer on our fantasy football podcast, and he fell flat (2-16 receiving line). The following week, however, he came through with 5 catches for 65 yards, which was good for WR34 production. He can be again if Brown remains out. 

As deep and talented as Tampa Bay is, Johnson has proven he’s ready to step up. He should be rostered in all leagues, and his output in his next start could help determine his value late this season if the Bucs decide to rest their core starters. 

In other words, we could see a WR1 performance from Johnson at some point if things break right.

In and out of the league for six seasons to begin his career with only 35 catches to show for it, Thomas broke out in 2020 with a 72-670-6 receiving line. 

On a roster where the No. 2 wideout was Cam Sims and the No. 3 was Steven Sims, Washington was desperate for an aerial playmaker beyond No. 1 Terry McLaurin and pass-catching specialist J.D. McKissic. 

They found it in Thomas, who began this year as one of four offensive centerpieces on a team expected to make a run at respectability, if not the playoffs. Instead, the offense and defense have largely collapsed. Losing Thomas to a multi-week hamstring injury in Week 4 didn’t help. 

With Thomas on the verge of returning, he could provide a meaningful boost to an offense that has averaged only 11 points in their last three games. He has a good shot at replicating last year’s terrific fantasy numbers going forward.