It hasn’t been the brightest start for the Houston Texans. At 1-3 and trailing the Indianapolis Colts, it doesn’t seem like their year. But for fantasy owners, the performances of the individual offensive playmakers are the only things that matter.
On Thursday night, quarterback Brian Hoyer, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back Arian Foster were back in action.
Let’s take a look at how they performed during prime time. All stats and fantasy point totals are courtesy of ESPN.com.
Brian Hoyer
Ryan Mallett’s chance to take the starting job seems to have come and gone, especially with Hoyer’s performance on Thursday night.
Hoyer went through his reads well against the Colts, dissecting the defense and finding the open man. He mostly utilized short drops and quick passes to get in a rhythm, and once he got there, he stayed there.
His ability to complete the deep pass can’t hurt, either, per the NFL on Twitter:
Fantasy owners will have to monitor his status as the starter in Houston. But after this kind of performance, it seems unlikely that Houston will bench him.
In deeper leagues, or ones that start two quarterbacks, Hoyer could develop into a nice bench option if he is able to continue these kinds of results, though he is not likely to develop into much more.
DeAndre Hopkins
With Hoyer in, Hopkins saw plenty of action. The Texans’ No. 1 receiver lived up to his billing Thursday with double-digit catches, a dream for any owner who has him in a points-per-reception league.
Hoyer’s ability to hit Jaelen Strong for touchdowns might have prevented Hopkins from having one of the biggest fantasy performance of the week, but it’s apparent that Hopkins is a favorite of Houston’s quarterback.
In fact, he’s making history, something fantasy owners should be reveling in, as Texans PR explained on Twitter:
If there was any hesitation on whether you should start or sit Hopkins, this kind of performance should help you come to that decision, no matter what Houston’s quarterback situation looks like.
Now all you have to do is hope for consistency and watch the points roll in.
Arian Foster
Finally. For all of those owners who took flack from their friends for taking Foster in the draft, Thursday’s game was an opportunity for your patience to pay off.
In fact, NFL Network’s Michael Fabiano was all about Foster heading into the matchup:
But there were some nervy moments in Foster’s 2015 debut after he recovered from his groin injury. After tipping a Mallett pass that the Colts intercepted, Foster was evaluated for a concussion, per SportsCenter.
He saw plenty of the ball, getting over 20 touches in his first start of the season, and he caught passes out of the backfield.
While flirting with double-digit points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Foster is getting enough touches for fantasy owners to keep him in their starting lineups in the coming weeks. Once he gets back up to game speed, he should be good to go.
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