Job Battles: Hello Agent Cooper

Quarterbacks

Blake Bortles vs. Cody Kessler, JAC

You look away two weeks and the Jaguars completely, summarily collapse. A few days after trading a fifth-round pick for Carlos Hyde for an ostensible playoff run, the idea already seems comical. Bortles has generally been the same as always on a per-play sort of basis, so in that sense it's odd that it was Sunday against the Texans that the Jacksonville organization snapped and looked to an alternative.

It appears that Kessler's efforts from that point, however, were not enough to convince the Jaguars to give up their Bortles habit. Kessler completed 21-of-30 passes for 156 yards, one touchdown, and one interception after Bortles completed 6-of-12 for 61 yards, but coach Doug Marrone named Bortles the starter for Sunday's London game against Philadelphia. Curiously, the two are splitting first-team reps on some basis this week. I can't imagine that helps either player, but there we are.

Kessler is in a lot of ways the opposite of Bortles. The former USC star is smallish with underwhelming throwing velocity but viable accuracy, whereas Bortles looks like a Create A Player product between his build and arm strength, but frequently displays jaw-dropping inaccuracy. There's a good argument that Kessler should be owned in 2QB leagues just in case Bortles flops again.

Running Backs

James White vs... Anyone?, NE

Sony Michel is looking at an MCL sprain, which would seemingly knock him out for at least a couple weeks but hopefully no more than a month or so. It's a cruel development for a player who was just hitting his stride and was off to a fast start before the injury struck against the Bears.

Without Michel, the New England offense just doesn't have a pure runner. White is of course killing it this year and his already profiting owners figure to benefit even more from Michel's absence, but the Patriots are some kind of post-modern CFL-looking offense when White is on the field. He's almost like a wide receiver who plays running back sometimes rather than the other way around.

Kenjon Barner is the only in-house running back option aside from White and Michel, and like White he's pretty much a shotgun back. Barner is probably worth owning in a lot of leagues just because we don't know what will happen next, but he's highly replaceable and for all we know the Patriots might just throw more often while lowering their tempo until they get a pure runner in the fold.

Marlon Mack vs. Nyheim Hines vs. Jordan Wilkins, IND

Hines and Wilkins combined for 93 yards on 11 carries against the Bills on Sunday, so we can't take for granted that Mack slammed the door shut on this competition by running for 126 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. It sure looks like it could be the start of shift where Mack takes this backfield over, though.

There's a place for all three runners in this offense, with Hines (pass catching) and Wilkins (between the tackles) presenting specialties while Mack offers better balance. But what does it mean for Wilkins' chances of competing if Mack is running like the last two weeks, where he totaled 215 yards on 31 carries? And what are Hines' odds of pushing Mack out of the game script when Mack's 40 career targets yielded 25 receptions for 264 yards and two touchdowns (62.5 percent catch rate, 6.6 YPT) versus Hines' 32 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 40 targets (80 percent catch rate, 4.5 YPT)? Hines' high catch rate is nice, but 4.5 yards per target is useless. People take it as a given that Hines is superior to Mack as a receiver, and I just don't think there's any evidence of that to this point.

Mack's owners shouldn't go on a spending spree or anything, but I think they have real reason to hope that they have themselves a top-10 fantasy back going forward.

Matt Breida vs. Raheem Mostert vs. Alfred Morris, SF

Breida tried to play through his ankle injury once again Sunday, though in the blowout loss to the Rams he was only able to log five carries for 15 yards. With Arizona up next, the 49ers might see it as a chance to get Breida some needed rest.

If not, though, Mostert has made a compelling case for a bigger workload regardless. Mostert is a former collegiate receiver who bounced around as a practice squad and special teams-type since 2015, but it'd be a mistake to dismiss him as a non-prospect. He's a truly elite athlete as a former track standout at Purdue, and his slow development is rationalized by the positional switch. It hasn't shown up yet, but his background as a wide receiver should help him make a dent as a pass catcher soon, too. In the meantime he has 146 yards to show on just 19 carries over the last two weeks, so I think you can expect him to show more explosiveness soon as a pass catcher after his four receptions went for just 19 yards against the Rams. Mostert has a history of fumbling and will need to account for that.

Morris ran for 25 yards on nine carries against the Rams, but it's fair to wonder if he would have had much of a role if Breida hadn't aggravated his ankle issue. With just 253 yards and one touchdown on 71 carries (3.6 YPC), Morris has otherwise done nothing to warrant a significant workload.

Peyton Barber vs. Ronald Jones, TB

Barber suffered an undisclosed injury against the Browns and his availability for the upcoming week is up in the air at the moment, but it's possible that Sunday's game would have marked a regression for him relative to Jones regardless of health.

Barber finished that game with 30 yards on 11 carries, while Jones picked up 13 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Neither player has done anything impressive this year, and even if Barber misses time Jones might lose plenty of snaps to Jacquizz Rodgers, who saw three carries for eight yards Sunday. It's a bleak situation all around.

Wide Receivers

Amari Cooper vs. Michael Gallup vs. Allen Hurns vs. Cole Beasley, DAL

Have you seen this? Have you heard about this? The Raiders traded Amari Cooper to the dang Cowboys for a first-round pick.

It's a weird trade. I'm much higher on Cooper than most people and think the 'Cowboys Trade 1st For Cooper While Patriots Trade 5th For Gordon' meme is kind of weak, but Jerry Jones is delusional if he thinks this trade will fix the team's problems. The Cowboys have structural issues that will negate whatever sort of collection of talent they might have, and it otherwise looks like they overpaid relative to the market for Cooper. Even if the trade works out for Dallas, its impetus was the exact same sort of belligerent panic move that Jones made when he traded for Joey Galloway and Roy Williams. Jerry has to make oddly-timed high-profile trades for receivers every few years, he can't help it.

The timing is also weird in that it was Sunday's game where Gallup and Hurns finally gave the Dallas passing game some hope, and their invisibility prior to Sunday was only caused by Dallas' unforced error to force snaps to the likes of Terrance Williams, Deonte Thompson, and Tavon Austin. You can tell there wasn't much thought put into any of this. Dallas is on bye this week, in any case, so perhaps there's enough time to get Cooper prepared for Tennessee in Week 9. It's not as if the Cowboys have a complicated scheme.

But now it's even more difficult to guess how this sorts out. Cooper will have snaps and presumably targets set aside for him, leaving Hurns and Gallup to collide at outside receiver after both enjoyed breakout efforts against Washington. Beasley will presumably remain relatively unchallenged in the slot.

I think Cooper owners should hold on to or trade him rather than consider cutting him. The lost game hurts, but I don't think the situation beyond that is necessarily a downgrade. I still think Dak Prescott is a good quarterback, or at least better than Derek Carr. If you were hoping for a continued breakout for Gallup or/and Hurns, I think you should assume only one of the two can do it now, and perhaps neither.

Tre'Quan Smith vs. Cameron Meredith, NO

Meredith turned nine targets into eight receptions for 103 yards in the two games before the Week 6 bye, so it seems somewhat cruel that he saw no targets on just 18 snaps against Baltimore on Sunday. It was instead Smith who took the spotlight, playing 52 snaps while securing three of six targets for 44 yards.

If anything, this looked like it should have been an easier matchup for Meredith than Smith. Meredith plays more in the slot, where Baltimore is easier to beat than outside, where Smith lines up as the replacement for Ted Ginn in the field-stretching role. Perhaps it was a one-off game plan quirk for whatever reason, or perhaps it's even fair to wonder whether Meredith's surgically-repaired knee flared up a bit recently.

In any case, it seems like Smith is on the upswing, in which case the talented rookie could make a mainstream fantasy impact in Ginn's place. Smith constantly made big plays downfield at UCF, and the Saints have a need for someone who can lessen the pressure on Michael Thomas.

Tajae Sharpe vs. Taywan Taylor, TEN

It's a sign of dysfunction that the Titans can't get Taylor or Corey Davis going downfield at all, but until that changes it might be Sharpe who sees the most production after Davis. Marcus Mariota is unable or unwilling to throw downfield right now, and Sharpe's combination of reach and precision in the slot presents itself as a safety option for the beleaguered quarterback.

Sharpe turned nine targets into seven receptions for 101 yards against the Chargers, whereas Taylor's two targets yielded just an eight-yard catch. Taylor has had some issues holding on to the ball, which Tennessee can't afford given their substantial failings otherwise. I'd still tread cautiously here, but Sharpe is probably worth a speculative pickup in many PPR formats.

Tight Ends

Michael Roberts vs. Luke Willson, DET

This is more of a deep league sort of concern at the moment, but it's worth watching the tight end situation in Detroit. Willson hasn't been utilized much, seeing nine targets in six games, while Roberts saw only three targets even in his 48-yard, two-touchdown breakout effort against Miami on Sunday. Roberts was a touchdown machine at Toledo, though, and if the Lions offense keeps humming then he might offer some Bubba Franks-like utility if he can keep taking snaps from Willson and Levine Toilolo.