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The Week 9 Thursday Fantasy Preview was curated by senior staff writer Steven Pintado using statistics from the Fantasy Points Data Suite. If you want access to these stats (and dozens of other proprietary figures) sign up here and use promo code NERDS to save 25% on a Data Suite or All-In subscription. Without further ado, let’s dig in to the Thursday fantasy preview!

TRADE ALERT: Diontae Johnson Traded To Baltimore

The Carolina Panthers are trading veteran receiver Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens.

• The Ravens receive Diontae Johnson & a 2025 6th Round selection.
• The Panthers receive a 2025 5th Round selection.

What It Means For The Panthers

The Panthers are selling short on Johnson, who they knew they would lose this offseason. The Panthers need to evaluate their young talent, especially with 1st-Round pick Xavier Legette. He should see a full-time workload for the rest of the season as a fantasy WR4. The player in dynasty leagues to pick up is undrafted rookie Jalen Coker.

We saw Coker on full display in Week 8, filling in for the injured Diontae Johnson. Coker finished with 4 receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. Outside of Johnson, Coker is the only other Panther to have at least 2 games over 65 receiving yards. He should be someone to watch down the stretch of the season—and picked up off of all dynasty waivers.

What It Means for the Ravens 

The addition of Diontae Johnson is going to make this pass-catching group messy. While the passing offense has been good this season, the Ravens are still a run-first offense. Johnson is a player who needs targets, so it will be interesting if he digs into the Ravens WR1 Zay Flowers‘ target share. This could make Flowers drop from a solid WR2 down to a flex option. Despite this potential drop in opportunity, Flowers can be a trade-for-less option. Johnson has a history of injuries and drops. Flowers is the slot receiver and is fantastic after the catch. Johnson’s arrival shouldn’t drastically change your dynasty outlook on Flowers.

With Johnson’s addition, Rashod Bateman‘s role in the offense could take a significant hit. Bateman, who was already struggling to make an impact as a WR5 in league, could see his targets further reduced by Johnson’s presence. The tight ends also face uncertainty with the shifting target distribution. Isaiah Likely could potentially become a bench player, losing his startable fantasy value on the team. Beyond Flowers and possibly Mark Andrews, these pass catchers are likely to see a decline in fantasy value.

What It Means for Diontae Johnson 

While it’s a great career move to be traded to a winning team, Johnson’s fantasy value takes a hit. Despite uneven quarterback play in Carolina, Johnson was part of an offense that averaged 23 attempts per game per Fantasy Points Data Suite. While it wasn’t a good offense, Johnson had a 24% target share.

As part of the Ravens, Johnson will be part of an offense that is averaging 29.5 attempts per game. Unfortunately, Johnson will have to battle for targets with four other pass catchers who have over a 10% target share in the Ravens offense. I wouldn’t expect Johnson to be fed targets in this offense; his target share could take a big hit from what he received in Carolina. Johnson may be more of a touchdown-or-bust receiver for the rest of the season. Johnson has shown he can be a red zone threat. He had 9 targets in the red zone with the Panthers this season. We could be losing the consistency in our lineups that Johnson offered in the first half of the season.

Houston Texans (6-2) vs New York Jets (2-6)

Game Summary | Thursday Fantasy Preview

Team	Def. Rank Vs. QBs	Def. Rank Vs. RBs	Def. Rank Vs. WRs	Def. Rank Vs. TES	Def. 2 Man %	Def. Zone %	Offensive Plays Ran	Points Per Game	Pass Yards Per Game	Rush Yards per Game
Texans	22nd	5th	27th	4th	28.2	65.6	65.4	23.5	232.5	118.9
Jets	6th	13th	5th	6th	37.3	59.3	60.9	18.8	224.5	86.1

Quarterbacks | Thursday Fantasy Preview

Houston Texans

Player

Fantasy Rank (6 PPT)

Week 9 Ranking

Start %

FP/G

A/G

SCRM

YDS/G

1 Read %

YAC %

Press %

ADOT

CHK %

C.J. Stroud

17th

Low QB2

72%

17.5

33.3

2.9

254.1

60.2

46.4

38.5

7.6

13.2

New York Jets

Player

Fantasy Rank (6 PPT)

Week 9 Ranking

Start %

FP/G

A/G

SCRM

YDS/G

1 Read %

YAC %

Press %

ADOT

CHK %

Aaron Rodgers

22nd

Mid QB2

78%

17.3

35.5

1.4

242.5

65.8

53

24.2

7.3

9.9

• Houston, on the road, has allowed the opposing quarterback to throw for at least 2 passing touchdowns.
• The Jets have allowed a QB1 in 2 of the last 3 games.

Running Backs | Thursday Fantasy Preview

Houston Texans
Player	Fantasy Rank (PPR)	Week 9 Ranking	Start %	FP/G	ATT/G	ATT %	Off. Snaps/G	TGT %	i5%	i20%	EXP Run %	MTF/ATT	YACO/ATT	YBCO/ATT
Joe Mixon	1st	Mid RB1	95%	22.4	20.4	46.4%	61%	12.0	75	81.5	5.9	0.09	2.68	2.25
Dameon Pierce	65th	Outside the Top 48	25%	4.2	3.5	6.4%	14%	0.8	0	8	7.1	0.21	5.57	1.43
Dare Ogunbowale	56th	Outside the Top 48	50%	5.3	2.9	10.5%	33%	6.4	0	7.9	0	0	2	0.52
New York Jets
Player	Fantasy Rank (PPR)	Week 9 Ranking	Start %	FP/G	ATT/G	ATT %	Off. Snaps/G	TGT %	i5%	i20%	EXP Run %	MTF/ATT	YACO/ATT	YBCO/ATT
Breece Hall	11th	Low RB1	91%	16.2	13.9	62.7%	76%	15.1	87.5	63.6	4.5	0.11	2.69	1.16
Braelon Allen	47th	Mid RB4	60%	6.6	6.1	27.7%	26%	4.8	12.5	22.7	2	0.16	2.78	1.04

• The Texans have allowed an opposing running back to rush for over 75 yards in 5 of the last 6 games.
• The Jets have given up a rushing touchdown in 3 of the previous 4 games.

Pass Catchers | Thursday Fantasy Preview

Houston Texans
Player	Fantasy Rank (PPR)	Week 9 Ranking	Start %	FP/G	Off. Snaps/G	TGT/G	TGT %	RTE/G	SLOT RTE %	YAC	EZTGT	1READ %	MAN WIN RATE	ZONE WIN RATE
Tank Dell	60th	Low WR2	83%	8.8	70%	5.4	15.4	30.3	25.5	72	4	18.2	28.3	13.4
John Metchie	146th	Outside the Top 60	50%	1.5	29%	0.8	3	6.6	33.3	17	0	4.1	0	7.7
Xavier Hutchinson	152nd	Outside the Top 60	45%	1.4	36%	0.6	2.9	11.3	36.7	21	0	2.9	25	7.5
Dalton Schultz (TE)	TE28	High TE2	68%	5.7	83%	4.8	13.2	28.0	27.2	78	1	12.8	12.5	4.5
New York Jets
Player	Fantasy Rank (PPR)	Week 9 Ranking	Start %	FP/G	Off. Snaps/G	TGT/G	TGT %	RTE/G	SLOT RTE %	YAC	EZTGT	1READ %	MAN WIN RATE	ZONE WIN RATE
Garrett Wilson	13th	Low WR1	92%	15.9	96%	10.4	28.4	36.4	37.8	245	5	34.5	28.1	13
Davante Adams	33rd	High WR2	89%	12.1	95%	7.5	17.9	32	43.8	30	0	22.5	16.1	5.4
Tyler Conklin (TE)	TE20	Low TE2	55%	7.8	86%	4.8	12.0	29.3	48.7	138	3	8.8	9.5	2.6

• Houston has held every opposing tight end under 45 receiving yards in every game this season.
• The Jets have allowed a TE to produce 45 or more yards in 3-straight games.

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