Fantasy Football: 5 Things We Learned in Week 9

Jeff Heuerman Should Be on Your Radar

As you probably already knew, the Denver Broncos traded longtime receiver Demaryius Thomas to the Houston Texans last week. The move opened up a massive opportunity for the other receivers on the team, and many presumed the primary beneficiary would be second-round draft pick Courtland Sutton.

In Week 9, Sutton did benefit from the move, nabbing 3 passes on 5 targets for 57 scoreless yards. But the biggest beneficiary -- at least for this past week -- was tight end Jeff Heuerman.

Heuerman went ballistic in the loss to the Texans, catching 10 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown on a team-leading 11 targets. The third-year tight end has quietly been on the field a ton this year, playing just about as many snaps as the other top pieces in this offense. He'd even put up decent numbers (for a tight end) before the Thomas trade. We should have expected a bump in his production with Thomas gone, but no one could have predicted this kind of output.

If you take a look at Heuerman's route tree from Week 9, you'll see that the Broncos were using Heuerman all over the place. He lined up in the backfield, they used him inline, and he even caught a few passes out wide. That kind of utilization is a good indicator of his future usage, and it's clear the Broncos see Heuerman as an important piece of this offense.

The Broncos will be on their bye in Week 10, but keep your eyes on Heuerman. His 28% target share was second behind only Travis Kelce among all tight ends in Week 9. That kind of volume is rare in the NFL, let alone for a tight end. If you need a tight end and can wait a week, consider stashing Heuerman.