Kevin Szafraniec highlights some of the biggest NFL storylines of the week, as seen through the eyes of RotoViz’s staff and our industry-leading suite of tools.
Sadly, major injuries have felt like an underlying theme of the 2025 fantasy season. But just as NFL franchises do, fantasy managers must adopt a next-man-up approach as they navigate the highs and lows of each season. In today’s newsletter, we will look at three NFL teams that have been able to overcome major injuries by elevating players on their depth charts, in turn making them viable fantasy options.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers have persevered through several significant injuries this season and still lead the NFC South with a 6-4 record. The injuries began piling up before the season even started, with All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs going down in the preseason. Last week, Thomas Emerick explained why we should finally be seeing the Buccaneers’ line back at full force. Sadly, Thomas had to include Tampa Bay in this week’s installment of his Offensive Lines and Their Fantasy Impacts article following a new injury up front:
Buccaneers: LG Ben Bredeson is week-to-week (offseason FA signing Michael Jordan filled in)
They get Goedeke back in the fold and Bredeson’s out; it’s just been that kind of year in Tampa. Fortunately reuniting the bookend of Wirfs-Goedeke against Buffalo’s run defense was enough on Sunday as Sean Tucker saw a league-high 5.0 yards before contact per carry (min. 10 carries in Week 11). I flagged this OL development in last week’s column prior to receiving yet another edition of sad Bucky news.
Thomas’ mention of Tucker remains relevant this week, with Bucky Irving already ruled out for his seventh straight game. Through three quarters against the Bills, it looked as though Tucker might power the Buccaneers to victory in Buffalo before Josh Allen inevitably took over the game. I broke down all of the fireworks from the Bills-Buccaneers matchup in this week’s Monday Review:
Much of Tampa Bay’s low passing numbers were the result of a rushing attack that accounted for 39 carries, compared to 28 passing attempts. Tampa Bay’s recently revitalized line powered the Buccaneers to 202 rushing yards on the day against Buffalo’s 31st-ranked run defense, with Sean Tucker nearly doubling up Rachaad White in rushing attempts on the afternoon.
Both Tucker and White were picking up some nice gains in the first half, but the former began to pull away from his backfield mate following a huge 43-yard TD in the middle of the second quarter that put the Buccaneers up 17-14. Following a muffed punt by Buffalo early in the third quarter, Tucker took in another score from 6 yards out before adding a 28-yard receiving TD in the opening minutes of the fourth to put the Buccaneers up 32-31.
But that would be the last time Tampa Bay held a lead in the game as Allen took over. Following his rough start, Allen was able to put up three TDs before halftime, which he then matched in the second half. His final two TDs came on the ground in the fourth quarter and put the Bills up for good.
All told, Allen’s six TDs (three passing and three rushing) helped him tie his own Week 1 total for the best QB performance of 2025, with his 42.7 fantasy points only trailing games from Jonathan Taylor and Brock Bowers for the best single-game output of the year.
While Allen surely deserves the attention he is receiving following his monster game, the performance of Tucker should not be ignored. Once Sunday’s games had finished, Tucker found himself second to only Christian McCaffrey in PPR scoring among RBs.
It is wild to think that Tucker could have been relegated to third string for this game, with Bucky Irving returning to practice this week. Tucker’s breakout against the Bills was reminiscent of his huge Week 6 game in 2024 against the Saints, which came largely because White missed the game with an injury. But as White returned to the fray the following week, Tucker was only able to record one more week as a top 36 scorer at the position, as he never saw double-digit opportunities again in 2024.
Tucker started 2025 by earning a single opportunity through four weeks prior to Irving getting injured. Since then, he has slowly eaten away at White’s stranglehold on the backfield, putting together three straight games of double-digit opportunities before ultimately leading the charge 21 to 13 in Buffalo.
As much as I would like to predict Tucker’s massive Week 11 performance as an announcement that he is claiming the RB2 spot in the Buccaneers’ backfield, it is not as if we didn’t just see how this exact situation played out a year ago. Additionally, neither White nor Tucker has been particularly efficient prior to Sunday, with White coming in at 130th among RBs in fantasy points over expectation (FPOE), while Tucker sits at 112th. Both players were also averaging an identical 0.8 PPR points per opportunity heading into Week 11, although Tucker should now be firmly ahead of White once this week’s game is factored in.
Tucker will surely be a hot name on waivers this week, but the impending return of Irving alongside White’s consistent presence leaves us with more questions than answers about how Tampa Bay’s backfield will operate moving forward. Although 2025 is a new season and we shouldn’t automatically expect things to play out in the same way as they did last year, I am still not fully buying into Tucker as an option in lineups just yet, although I will definitely be looking to add him to the end of benches this week.
Week 11 Monday Review: Some of the Week’s Biggest Performances Come From the Unlikeliest of Places
With Irving ruled out, the stage is set for Tucker to stake his claim as Tampa Bay’s RB2 over the remainder of the year. If the explosive third-year back can put up another strong performance against a stout Rams front, it could provide the Buccaneers coaching staff with all of the evidence they need to elevate Tucker over White moving forward.
Irving is not the only Buccaneers star who should be returning to the field shortly. Chris Godwin practiced in full on Thursday and Friday and is set to play for the first time in seven weeks. Still, it would be wise to temper expectations for Godwin, considering all he has dealt with over the past year. With this in mind, Cade Otton and Tez Johnson should continue to be heavily involved, with the former being one of the highlights of Neil Dutton’s TE Streamers column this week:
We didn’t get the desired fantasy output from Cade Otton last week. But the peripherals were all good, which we like to see. So we can chalk this off to bad luck, but not necessarily a bad process. Otton played nearly every offensive snap for the Bucs against the Bills, and ran a route on nearly every passing play. He is among the league leaders at the position in total routes run. He commanded just a 19% target share, which is his second-lowest over the last six weeks. Annoying.
Better days should be ahead for Otton, starting in Week 12. The Buccaneers are taking on the Los Angeles Rams, against whom TEs have enjoyed some recent success. Over their last five games, the Rams have allowed 6.6 receptions, 51 receiving yards, and 16 PPR points per game to TEs. Otton remains the only show in town in the Bucs TE room. I’d like him to get back on track this week, and I think he will.
However, it may not only be the Buccaneers’ offensive skill position players who can help fantasy managers bring home championships this season. In Ross Durham’s D/ST Streamers article, he presented a compelling case as to why we should be paying more attention to Tampa Bay’s defense coming down the stretch:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Rams): $2400 on DraftKings/Available in 77.3% of ESPN Leagues
With the loss of Michael Penix, the Falcons become an even bigger D/ST target for the rest of the season, leaving the Bucs with maybe the most attractive playoff matchups of any fantasy defense. But that’s not the only reason to roster them. They have a very good, if unspectacular, defense and should be able to take advantage of their good matchups. Despite not getting much fantasy attention, they’re the D/ST11, top five in takeaways this year, and a top-10 unit against the run. This is despite taking on many of the best offenses in the game in the Bills, Patriots, Lions, Seahawks, and Eagles. They’re one of the few D/STs you could start every week of the fantasy playoffs with confidence. This week against the Rams, they’re a sneaky option among the bargain-priced defenses, and a fine emergency option in managed leagues. Plan accordingly.
Arizona Cardinals
Week 11 featured a matchup between two of 2025’s most injury-maligned rosters when the Cardinals faced off against the 49ers in Arizona. Fortunately for San Francisco, their offense has been on an upswing, with Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall returning to the lineup on Sunday, while Jauan Jennings and George Kittle continue to distance themselves from their early-season injuries.
On the other hand, the Cardinals have been heading in the opposite direction as of late. Sure, Jacoby Brissett has provided a spark in the passing game, but his play has not translated into many wins. In this week’s edition of The Banana Stand, Shawn Siegele outlined the back half of his NFL team rankings for 2025. Despite the Cardinals clocking in at 21st, Shawn was pretty optimistic about Arizona’s outlook for 2025 and beyond with Brissett under center:
The Cardinals started the season 2-0 and then lost five consecutive games by four points or fewer before downing the Cowboys on the road.
Despite coming close against multiple elite teams — Arizona led in the fourth quarter on the road against Indianapolis — they didn’t impress in the aggregate. And they’ve also been almost two entirely different squads, depending on the quarterback.
It’s a bit odd to consider how completely Jacoby Brissett unlocked the passing offense and yet how sharply the overall results have declined.
The 13-point difference in points against helps illustrate the importance of opponent quality. Through five weeks, Arizona had the second-easiest DST schedule. They faced 71 plays per 60 against, 47 of which were passes, but when you’re playing teams like the Saints, Panthers, and Titans, you can weather that storm. Over the most recent six weeks, they’ve had the hardest DST schedule, and by a country mile.
During this stretch Arizona faced 16 fewer passes per game, in part because teams had 103 snaps with a lead of a touchdown or more (and they ran on 63% of those).
The Cardinals have tried to build a defensive mindset around Jonathan Gannon, but they just don’t tackle. They average 3.2 yards after contact against the run and 21.7 yards after the catch over expected against the pass. Add in a nonexistent pass rush, and opposing offenses can more or less do what they please.
When Arizona has the ball, it’s all about Trey McBride. Arguably in the mix as the NFL’s best player, he’s drawn 27 more targets than the next closest TE (Jake Ferguson). Add air yards and yards after the catch together, and he’s 255 ahead of Tyler Warren in second.
Since Brissett took over in Week 6, he’s averaged 28.7 PPG in premium scoring, more than everyone except Jonathan Taylor.
If the Cardinals retain Brissett and get a few pieces healthy, the combo of McBride, Marvin Harrison, and Trey Benson should make Arizona a dynamic offense going forward.
The Banana Stand Week 12: What You Can and Can’t Exploit When Taking On the NFL’s 16 Worst Teams
While the elevation of Brissett into the starting quarterback role has been a blessing in disguise, Arizona’s running back depth chart has been nothing short of cursed. The team lost James Conner and Trey Benson in back-to-back weeks and has attempted to steady the ship largely with Bam Knight and Michael Carter as Emari Demercado moved in and out of the lineup with different bumps and bruises. The frustration then increased as Benson was eligible to come off of IR two weeks ago, yet the Cardinals’ coaching staff provided little substantial information on his timeline. To make matters worse, Marvin Harrison Jr. needed to have surgery after suffering appendicitis last Monday, knocking him out of the Cardinals’ matchup with San Francisco.
The 49ers wasted no time displaying the full extent of their dominance on Sunday, jumping out to a big lead over the Cardinals. But Arizona’s loss would become fantasy managers’ gain, as the 49ers’ early efficiency would fuel a record-setting day for Brissett in garbage time that effectively spanned three quarters of the game. Brissett made the most of his massive passing volume by setting the NFL record for most completions in a game. While McBride certainly got his, the surprise fantasy star of the game was Michael Wilson. With Harrison already ruled out for Arizona’s Week 12 game against the Jaguars, I reviewed Wilson’s performance against the 49ers and took a look at his short-term outlook in this week’s WR Advanced Stats article:
Wilson’s 18 targets doubled his previous career high and were easily the most of any wideout this past week. His 48 routes also led all WRs and were his second-highest total of the year, coming up three short of his 51 routes from the week prior.
Wilson’s game splits with and without Kyler Murray are a microcosm of the entire Arizona passing game since Jacoby Brissett took over as the starter.
Even if we take away Wilson’s monster game in Week 11, his average of 8.0 PPR points per game with Brissett from Weeks 6 through 10 was more than double his average with Murray over the first five games of the year.
Obviously, Wilson appears far from becoming an every-week starter. But with Harrison already ruled out against the Jaguars, Wilson at least has an opportunity to put up two usable weeks in a row for fantasy managers. The Strength of Schedule Streaming App ranks Arizona’s matchup against Jacksonville as slightly unfavorable, coming in 17th at the position this week.
If we dive a little deeper using the NFL Stat Explorer, we find that the Jaguars’ pass defense has been a bit hit or miss over the previous five weeks. They allowed big yardage totals to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Nico Collins, while Davante Adams’ 26.5 PPR points in Week 7 came mostly as a result of him reaching the end zone three times. While the Raiders’ WRs were shut down in Week 9, Brock Bowers went off for 127 yards, three TDs, and 43.3 PPR points. That leaves last week’s game against a sputtering Justin Herbert as the only time in the previous five games that the Jaguars did not allow at least one receiver to eclipse 20.0 PPR points.
Granted, it is more likely that we see a red-hot Trey McBride lead the passing attack this week over Wilson. Still, Brissett has been able to support at least two fantasy-viable receivers in every game since coming out of the bye, and it would not be a surprise to see that streak continue on Sunday.
Coming out of Stanford in 2023 as an older prospect, Wilson displayed above-average agility and explosion numbers combined with average-at-best overall athleticism. His testing at the combine pulled in high-end comps in Michael Thomas and Davante Adams, while being littered with career depth pieces. But Wilson is already scoring at the high end of his athletic comps through three seasons, which is not great for fantasy managers hoping his Week 11 will be a catalyst for a third-year breakout.
While Wilson is seeing an increase in volume and catchable targets this year, it feels pretty safe to say that we know who he is as an NFL player at this point. If he can work his way back to his previous receptions per catchable target rates (R/CT%), Wilson could have a little more room to grow. But it is difficult to believe that his ceiling could go much higher than a WR3-4 option in fantasy at any point in his career. I will be happy to give Wilson a shot as a WR3 or flex while Harrison is out, but beyond that, he will probably end up as a fringe waiver wire pickup or a stash at the end of deep benches.
While it is currently difficult to ascertain exactly how much time Harrison will miss, fantasy managers did get a little bit of positive news out of Arizona this week, as Benson did return to practice this week as a limited participant. Even though he has since been ruled out for Week 12, it is encouraging that he should be back soon. This makes Knight and Carter both low-owned options who can be acquired on the cheap for this week with Demercado ruled out as well. They join Wilson and Brissett as Cardinals players who could be easily acquired and become starting options for fantasy managers this week. In the case of Brissett, he climbed to the top of this week’s Waivers column as the top QB option to target both in the short term and over the rest of the season:
Whether I’m looking for a one-week starter or someone I can slot into lineups for the rest of the season, Jacoby Brissett is my clear favorite QB option. And it isn’t particularly close. It is still unclear whether Kyler Murray will return this season, but right now I’m willing to bet that he stays on IR to make sure that he can either be traded or cut this offseason.
Arizona has the third-best QB matchup next week, and their rest-of-season schedule also holds the same rank.
Since taking over as starter in Week 6, Brissett has been the QB4 in fantasy points per game. As he continues to operate alongside a patchwork run game, we shouldn’t expect Brissett to slow down anytime soon.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have had to find new ways to move the ball down the field in recent weeks with much of their receiving corps banged up. Parker Washington has provided some solid production in an expanded role, while the addition of Jakobi Meyers at the trade deadline is also starting to yield some results. Still, it is a far cry from the sky-high expectations from the preseason after Jacksonville added Travis Hunter to pair with Brian Thomas Jr.
With Hunter out for the year with a knee injury and Thomas struggling even before suffering a high-ankle sprain that has kept him out for the past two games, it is safe to say that things have not gone as planned in Jacksonville’s first season under Liam Coen. However, the Jaguars currently sit at 6-4 and currently occupy the final playoff spot in the AFC. Additionally, they may have stumbled onto something this past week, as Bhayshul Tuten and Travis Etienne combined to run all over the Chargers in a landslide victory. Corbin Young broke down Tuten’s performance and short-term outlook in this week’s RB Advanced Stats article:
Tuten saw a career high in opportunities (15) and the first game with 10 or more rush attempts in Week 11.
This was also the highest snap percentage (32%), following previous highs at 28% (Week 10) and 29% (Week 7). That’s notable because Tuten and Travis Etienne share the backfield with LeQuint Allen Jr., especially on third downs or the two-minute drill. Tuten left Week 11 with an ankle injury, with Etienne dealing with a shoulder issue, so the Tuten (expected) breakout game in Week 12 might be delayed if last week was the outlier. Or Etienne misses Week 12 and Tuten explodes. Regardless, Tuten possesses the explosiveness and tackle-breaking juice we want.
Week 11 Running Back Advanced Stats: Quinshon Judkins and Derrick Henry Parallels
The announcement of Etienne’s shoulder injury mid-week leveled the playing field a bit regarding the outlook of the Jaguars’ backfield this weekend. While the lingering uncertainty surrounding Tuten’s ankle was cause for concern, it was not enough to stop me from ranking him as the top waiver pickup of the week:
He’s baaaaaaccccckkk . . . hopefully.
In Week 11, we finally saw the Bhayshul Tuten we have been touting all year. Unfortunately, a third-quarter ankle injury cut his breakout short, and we have yet to receive any clarity on the extent of the injury besides Tuten claiming that he is “good.” When Tuten left, the Jaguars had the game well in hand, so there was no reason to put him back out on the field and risk further injury. Still, there is enough uncertainty surrounding this upcoming availability to remain cautious.
Prior to leaving the game, Tuten was outsnapping and outperforming Etienne. It wasn’t until the final quarter and a half that Etienne was able to make up ground in snaps, carries, and PPR points. And even then, Tuten still finished the day as Jacksonville’s leading rusher.
As long as Tuten can make it back onto the practice field this week, he should be the top waiver add of the week.
Both Tuten and Etienne were able to practice this week, and neither are carrying an injury designation into their game against the Cardinals. With Thomas already ruled out for the week, we could see Coen rely on his two-headed backfield once again to keep pace in the AFC playoff picture.
If the Jaguars can continue to hold on, the cavalry could be on its way soon. Despite Thomas being held out the past few weeks, at least he is practicing. Additionally, Brenton Strange is set to return in Week 12 after going to IR with a hip injury in Week 5. If the third-year tight end can pick up where he left off earlier this season, he could represent a low-cost addition on the waiver wire who could become a back-end TE1 down the stretch:
Brenton Strange returned to practice last week but was not activated in time to face the Texans. Through the five weeks of the season, Strange was 12th among TEs in receiving yards and 11th in receptions despite being 16th in targets. With the Jacksonville receiving corps in a bit of disarray, Strange could make a big difference.
There could be league-winning upside in Jacksonville’s offense if you know where to look. Despite the continued struggles of Trevor Lawrence, if Coen can duplicate the success in the run game that he had in Tampa Bay last season, the Jaguars could still make some noise in 2025 in both fantasy and reality.
