#ProDeacs - NFL Week 4
WR Greg Dortch - Arizona Cardinals
Entering the Cardinals week four matchup against the Carolina Panthers, Dortch couldn’t have played any better. The undrafted journeyman caught 20 of the 23 passes that Kyler Murray threw his way, and was tied for 12th in the entire league in receptions.
Dortch was thrown into a starting role with Cardinals 2021 second round draft pick Rondale Moore out with an injury. Moore returned to action on Sunday for the Cardinals, and took back his full time slot role from Dortch. Moore saw 65 snaps to Dortch’s 27. Marquise Brown is the de facto top receiver for Arizona until DeAndre Hopkins comes back. So, it’s surprising that coach Kliff Kingsbury felt it was necessary to give reserve wideout Andy Isabella 14 snaps, taking away even more from Dortch.
Dortch caught his only target for six yards, while Moore only caught three balls for 11 yards on five targets. A key play in the first half was when Kingsbury schemed up a fly sweep for Moore on a 4th-and-1, which got blown up for a loss of four yards.
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Cardinals beat writers were surprised of the sharp decrease in playing time for the former Deac, who performed at a very high level when he was given an every down role. The Cardinals clearly like Moore a lot, so it’s definitely possible that Dortch’s days of being an important factor in this offense are over unless another injury occurs. We’ll see if anything changes when Arizona takes on Philadelphia on Sunday.
This is absolutely terrible and unacceptable
— Andy Kwong 🏈 (@akwong31) October 2, 2022
Greg Dortch earned his snaps. Easily the Cardinals most reliable weapon this season and he's seeing the bench in favor of two guys that have done nothing this year
Most definitely inexcusable https://t.co/hx8RRGRau9
And the fantasy football community isn't happy about Dortch's decrease in playing time either.
S Jessie Bates III - Cincinnati Bengals
Jessie Bates recorded six tackles and a pass deflection in the Bengals win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday. His six tackles were the second-most on his team.
Bates made a key tackle in the 4th quarter, stopping Miami RB Raheem Mostert from doing even more damage on this play.
Raheem Mostert starts the drive with an explosive 25 yard run! #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/jN4PXxHpjl
— Pro Football Culture (@proftblculture) September 30, 2022
Looking to continue their two-game win streak, the Bengals will travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
DE Boogie Basham - Buffalo Bills
Carlos “Boogie” Basham only played 17 snaps in the Bills 23-20 victory over Baltimore. He made one tackle. Per Pro Football Focus, the Bills have the best team pass rush grade in the league. And Basham has a higher grade than the guys playing ahead of him - Von Miller and Gregory Rousseau. That is extremely impressive stuff.
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Basham has been tremendous at applying pressure on quarterbacks in his second NFL season, winning 37% of his rushes.
While Basham won’t be passing either of those guys on the depth chart, he is performing at a very high level and will continue to be a factor on one of the best defenses in the league.
In the Bills next game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he’ll get the opportunity to hunt down a familiar face - former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett.
WR Kendall Hinton - Denver Broncos
Hinton has now recorded three straight games with at least one reception over 20 yards, and has displayed a connection with Russell Wilson. Hinton caught 2 of 3 targets for 39 yards in the Broncos’ loss, 1 yard short of his career high receiving yardage (40).
Hinton’s rotations in the slot position (30 snaps on Sunday) should continue considering his recent success. After being elevated from the practice squad three straight games, by rule the Broncos must add him to the active roster if they want to keep him around. Considering he played 26 more snaps than the next wide receiver, KJ Hamler, it’s almost a given that the Broncos will solidify Hinton’s roster spot.
CB Essang Bassey - Denver Broncos
Essang Bassey saw nine snaps at the strong safety position, operating in the Broncos’ nickel. Bassey was promoted to Denver’s active roster on September 15 to provide depth in the secondary following safety Justin Simmons’ placement on Injured Reserve. Safety P.J. Locke entered concussion protocol prior to Sunday’s matchup and will remain out, so Bassey’s rol will likely expand in the coming weeks. Bassey has been a regular on special teams, but this could be his chance to earn his spot in the secondary.
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Additional Notes
LB Luke Masterson - played 25 snaps on special teams this weekend. The rookie has not played in his linebacker position since the first game of this season, but perhaps the Raiders will give him a chance after his career-opening interception on Patriots QB Mac Jones in the preseason.
LB Justin Strnad - played 27 snaps on special teams for the Broncos, but neither Bassey and Strnad could convert on a onside kick attempt in the second quarter against the Raiders. He will likely remain a reserve behind linebackers Brandon Chubb and Josey Jewell.
CB Marquel Lee - A Wake Forest defensive favorite drafted by the Raiders in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Lee has been out of the spotlight for a bit. He has recently been reported at work outs with both the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last week. Lee amassed 115 tackles in his NFL career, spanning over four seasons with the Raiders.
CB Ja’Sir Taylor played 20 snaps in special teams for the Chargers on Sunday, though the 2022 sixth round pick has yet to see a defensive snap this season. Ja’Sir certainly has an eye for the camera though:
tex marks the spot pic.twitter.com/m25DfcFHLX
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 2, 2022
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Eliot is a contributing writer for Deacons Daily