Byes: Indianapolis, New Orleans

Truths

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” - Flannery O'Connor

1) Joe Burrow (turf toe surgery) could return in time to help fantasy owners.

Hard as it may be to believe, this is true. The Bengals just opened his 21-day window to practice and determine whether to return him to the field or end his season. He was injured in Week 2 and the expectations were that it was a three-to-five month recovery. Yet here we are, in Week 11, and he's practicing. Those who have Joe Flacco as his replacement should still get two more weeks from the veteran, but there are no guarantees after that. Burrow may have been dropped in your league as he's only 63% rostered and may be available come the fantasy playoffs which would be; Baltimore, @ Miami, and Arizona. A possible game-changing moment and you should consider stashing him if he's available in your league, either to play him, or block someone from playing him against you.

2) Bijan Robinson is very good, but he could be a better.

Blame this one of coaching. They keep putting Tyler Allgeier in when the team is near the goal line. Allgeier's last four touchdown runs have been inside the 6-yard line including twice from the 1-yard line this weekend. If Robinson had scored, say three of the four times, instead of Allgeier, he would be averaging 22.2 FPts/G instead of 20.2 per game and would be ranked third among running backs instead of fifth. Unfortunately, I don't think Atlanta management is going to change their strategy. We will have to learn to live with Bijan not reaching his full potential... similar to Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

3) Justin Jefferson will not be "Justin Jefferson" until 2026.

It's not Jefferson's fault, it's just a matter of facts. With J.J. McCarthy under center, Jefferson is still getting his huge target share, but it isn't translating into points. The past two games, he's seen 21 targets, but only produced 84 yards and one touchdown. In four McCarthy starts this season, Jefferson is averaging 8.5 targets, a reasonable number, but is producing just 52.3 receiving yards. He's averaging 12.6 FPts/G with McCarthy versus 16.3 with Carson Wentz under center. Both production levels are not up to preseason expectations and I don't expect a significant change until next season.

4) Marvin Harrison Jr. is the very definition of a player running hot or cold.

True. He's played 26 games over his two-year career to date and he's scored under eight points in 12 games and over 12 points in 13 games. In only one game has he put up a total between eight and 12 points. Jacoby Brissett versus Kyler Murray hasn't made much of a difference. MHJ is averaging 12 FPts/G with the former and 12.5 with the latter. Hopefully, the 2026 Arizona Cardinals bring in a better quarterback who unlocks Harrison's potential.

5) Brian DaBoll was going to get Jaxson Dart killed, therefore, he had to go.

Fact. Dart wasn't big enough to take the pounding he was getting, both as a quarterback in the pocket and running. He was sacked 21 times in seven starts and ran the ball 55 times. That's being tackled 11 times a game and getting hit a lot more. But DaBoll needed him to take the beating in order for the depleted Giants' offense (absent Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo) to have a chance to win games and DaBoll (11-33 since 2022) was trying to save his job.

Lies

“The lies we tell other people are nothing to the lies we tell ourselves.”- Derek Landy

1) Drake Maye should be the 2025 MVP.

Close, but no. The MVP should be Jonathon Taylor, who is actually have a more productive season than Saquon Barkley (345-2,005-13) had last season when he should have been the MVP. Taylor is on pace for 321-1,936-26 along with 51-442-3 receiving. His presence makes the Colts offense go, makes Daniel Jones into an MVP candidate and opens up passing lanes for Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren. In the end, neither candidate will take home the hardware, which will go to Matthew Stafford. The 37-year-old has been outstanding, throwing 25 touchdowns in nine games with just two interceptions, while making both Puka Nacua and Davante Adams top-10 fantasy receivers.

2) A.J. Brown is still the No.1 receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles.

He is no longer the No.1 fantasy receiver on the team, though he is still feared by opposing defenses more than DeVonta Smith. However, Smith, a.k.a. Skinny Batman, has produced better in 2025 than Brown by a significant margin (14.6 FPts/G to 11.2). Smith also never complains, tweets cryptic messages or reads books on the sidelines. Like his quarterback, all he wants to do is win football games.

3) Jordan Love is a QB1.

Sorry, no. No matter how hard the media tries to make him into a star, he isn't there yet. He hasn't been a QB1 since his first year as a starter in 2023. I will give him a bit of a pass this season because of all the missing weapons due to injury. I do like he's reduced his interception total, but he isn't an everyday fantasy starter. The only teams he produced well against this season are against bottom-five defenses (based on fantasy points allowed to opposing QBs) in Washington (29th), Dallas (32nd) and Pittsburgh (28th). The good news is the schedule shows he'll face five teams ranked 23rd or worse the rest of the way (New York Giants, Detroit, Chicago twice and Baltimore) so he still can be useful.

4) Derrick Henry is still elite.

No. It was just last season that Henry was challenging Barkley for the rushing title (which he eventually lost 2,005 yards to 1921 yards), But this season we have seen a 33% drop in production from 19.9 FPts/G last season to 13.4 through the first nine games of 2025. His usage is down from 19.1 carries in 2024 to 16.4 this season and his yards per attempt has gone from 5.9 to 4.8. Additionally, he's not scoring touchdown at the same rate. Henry scored 18 times in 17 games last season but has six touchdowns in nine games this season. Has age finally caught up with him?

5) Michael Pittman Jr. is the only viable fantasy wide receiver on the Colts.

False. The team's deep threat, Alec Pierce, has become fantasy worthy. He started slowly this season, averaging 8.2 FPts/G through his first four games, but since Week 7 he's averaging 14.9 FPts/G on 8.8 targets. This latest target volume, which is higher than Pittman or tight end Tyler Warren and his 20.9 average yards per reception makes him fantasy-worthy.