5 Fantasy Football Splits That Matter for Week 9

A.J. Derby and Demaryius Thomas Up, Emmanuel Sanders Down

The Denver Broncos announced on Wednesday that Brock Osweiler would replace Trevor Siemian as the starting quarterback. Rather than focus on how miserable Osweiler has been in the past, though, there's actionable information to be had if we instead focus on his approach historically.

In eight games with Denver in 2015, Osweiler targeted Demaryius Thomas on 79-of-275 attempts (28.7%). He also targeted his tight ends at the time (Owen Daniels, Vernon Davis, and Virgil Green) on 27% of said attempts. Both tendencies carried over into his tenure with the Houston Texans the following season when he primarily targeted DeAndre Hopkins (42.5% target share from Osweiler), C.J. Fiedorowicz (15.8%), and Ryan Griffin (13%).

With that being said, both Thomas and A.J. Derby should be valuable based on sheer volume moving forward. Pat Thorman has also noted the Philadelphia Eagles have run the ninth-most no-huddle plays over the last month while allowing 66.3 offensive plays per game (ninth-most in that span, as well). Assuming Denver continues their up-tempo pace with Osweiler under center, this matchup makes for one that could quietly lead to several more opportunities for both offenses.

Given how prone Osweiler is to inaccuracy and turnovers, though, consider this game a rare case in which receivers for Denver and the Eagles defense -- 10th-ranked passing defense according to Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP -- are in play.