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Fantasy mailbag: Should Josh Norman scare you away from Randall Cobb?

Thanks for submitting your questions for this week's NFL Nation fantasy mailbag. Send them anytime @MikeTriplett and I'll share insight every week from our 32 team reporters around the league.



@MikeTriplett: Great question. For those not paying close attention, the Carolina Panthers' Josh Norman has emerged as one of the NFL's premier shutdown cornerbacks. As Panthers reporter David Newton explained, Norman doesn't always shadow the opponents' top receiver. But when he did it against DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans and T.Y. Hilton, their numbers all went way down. I was on hand to witness Norman stealing a touchdown away from New Orleans Saints receiver Brandin Cooks with a fantastic interception in the end zone in Week 3.

Other times, Norman plays half the field, and teams simply decide to ignore him. During a two-week stretch against the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles, Norman saw a grand total of one pass thrown his way past the line of scrimmage -- and he rejected it.

Randall Cobb, however, is a slightly different case since the Green Bay Packers do such a good job of moving him around. Newton doesn't think Norman will shadow him everywhere he goes. And Packers reporter Rob Demovsky pointed to a game last year in which the New England Patriots put Darrelle Revis on Cobb.

"At the beginning, Cobb had a lot of trouble getting open, but then Mike McCarthy started moving him around more, even putting him in the backfield. Out of that formation, Cobb caught a 33-yard pass," Demovsky said. "He ended up with seven catches for 85 yards in the game. Not huge, but not terrible either."

Cobb had a quiet week against the Denver Broncos' stifling defense last week. But Demovsky wrote in this week's NFL Nation Insider Trading column that Cobb has expressed his determination to bounce back -- something he did after a slow start last year.

So I wouldn't bench Cobb. But I wouldn't expect a huge day, either.

@MikeTriplett: I'll give you two answers -- and they're both Pittsburgh Steelers.

Receiver Antonio Brown is a pretty obvious choice. ESPN fantasy analyst Matthew Berry has him ranked as this week's No. 1 overall flex option (colleague Eric Karabell has him ranked fourth overall and first among receivers).

Brown has his QB back now that Ben Roethlisberger has returned from injury. And when I asked Steelers reporter Jeremy Fowler how Brown might be affected by the loss of running back Le'Veon Bell to a season-ending injury, he said it should help if anything, because it means more passes to go around.

"Brown will get a minimum 8-10 targets," said Fowler, who said the only threat to Brown's scoring potential each week is fellow receiver Martavis Bryant, who is more of the big-play guy.

But my first instinct when I saw this question was to find a game-changer -- someone who could emerge from the bench or the waiver wire to have a big impact. And no one fits that bill better than Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams, who will definitely benefit from Bell's absence.

Fowler wrote in this week's Insider Trading column that Roethlisberger said he feels no need to change the play calling with Williams in the game - both as a rusher and a receiver out of the backfield. Williams averaged 102 rushing yards while Bell was suspended during Weeks 1-2, and Fowler said 20 touches per game is a reasonable projection.



From Twitter: thoughts on Winston this week?

@MikeTriplett: All four of these guys are decent options as bye-week fill-ins this month. But I think I'm most intrigued by Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Jameis Winston this week. Bucs reporter Andrew Astleford said Winston has shown improved comfort over the past three games while throwing for 683 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. And he's facing a New York Giants defense that just allowed seven touchdown passes to Saints QB Drew Brees.

"Winston said Wednesday that he's 'no Drew Brees,'" Astleford said. "But there's potential for the rookie to have a breakout passing performance at Raymond James Stadium."

The second-year guys are also maturing this year. The Oakland Raiders' Derek Carr has been on an even hotter streak with 622 yards, seven TD passes and zero interceptions over the past two games. He is the first Raiders QB with back-to-back three-touchdown games since 2004.

ESPN NFL Insider Kevin Seifert wrote this week about the improvement of the Jacksonville Jaguars Blake Bortles. But Jaguars reporter Michael DiRocco advised against starting Bortles this week in a tough matchup against the New York Jets defense. DiRocco said he expects this to be one of those "learning experiences" for Bortles and the Jaguars' young receivers against cornerbacks Revis and Antonio Cromartie.

Last but not least, Chicago Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson gave a strong endorsement to Jay Cutler, saying the only QB he'd take on this list ahead of him is Carr.

"Cutler, believe it or not, is playing efficient and smart football. He's actually coachable," Dickerson said. "Cutler is tight with offensive coordinator Adam Gase and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains, and his comfort level is obvious on game day.

"It took a long time to reach this point, but Cutler is the best player on the Bears' offense, even ahead of Alshon Jeffery, in my opinion."