News

1. Oct 5
   Likely caught seven of 12 targets for 66 yards in Sunday's 36-24 win over Arizona.

   The targets and catches led the Giants on the day, but Likely's yardage total was well behind Malik Nabers' 112. Likely has remained an important part of the passing game with Jameis Winston under center instead of Jaxson Dart (knee), and in Winston's three appearances (two starts) the tight end has delivered a 14-112-0 line on 27 targets, seeing double-digit looks twice. Likely will look to find the end zone for the first time since the season opener in a Week 5 road clash with the Commanders.

   RotoWire via ESPN
2. Oct 4
   Fantasy football: Leading scorers through Sunday's early games

   Everything that happens in the NFL has additional context when viewed from a fantasy football perspective. From position battles to injuries and so much more, the news cycle will constantly affect player values in fantasy football. Our fantasy football buzz file, with contributions from our ESPN fantasy writers and our NFL Nation reporters, aims to provide fantasy managers with the intel they need as news breaks around the league. Oct. 4: Leading scorers through Sunday's early games CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys – 41.3 Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams – 36.7 Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys – 31.3 Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans – 30.8 Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears – 28.0 Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams – 27.7 Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals – 26.7 Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots – 26.16 Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens – 25.8 Romeo Doubs, WR, New England Patriots – 23.8 Click here for a full list of all the week's scoring leaders. Oct. 2: What to expect from Eagles without DeVonta Smith By Matt Bowen With reports that a hamstring injury will keep Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith out of the lineup this Sunday in the home matchup against the Rams, let's discuss the fantasy implications for Philadelphia. If you're a Smith manager, you can pivot to Dontayvion Wicks or Makai Lemon as streaming options, as both are available in slightly more than 50% of ESPN leagues. You can also check out the last-minute pickups column for a handful of other viable options at wide receiver. Wicks scored 12 or more points in each of his first two games, catching a touchdown in Week 1. He has a big-play element to his game (19.9 YPC), so he will see more vertical opportunities Sunday against a Rams defense that will mix man and zone coverages. He can be played as a WR3/flex with more upside due to the third-level targets (seven targets of 15 or more air yards this season). Lemon has seen only nine targets on the season, catching seven of them for 38 yards. However, the rookie has run 28 routes per game and his role should expand versus L.A. Going back to Lemon's college tape at USC, he can manipulate coverage at the top of the route, plus he accelerates thorough the ball. Those are good traits to have in this league. He should be viewed as a lower-tier WR3 for this matchup. Expect the Eagles to be more run-heavy in this game without Smith, which should put Saquon Barkley at 15-20 carries. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts — who was already outside of the top 10 QBs in our consensus ranks — will have an even lower ceiling heading into Sunday. Yes, Hurts can provide a boost to the lineup due to his running ability, as he averages 29 yards per game, but he has scored only one rushing touchdown on the season. Oct. 2: You should be paying attention to Aaron Rodgers By Adam Rank At least for one night in Cleveland, Aaron Rodgers turned back the clock. Was it the 299 passing yards? The three touchdowns? Or the fact that I really believed that his desperation heave in the waning seconds of the game was going to find its way into the mitts of a Steelers receiver who would carry it into the end zone for a walk-off touchdown? Sure, all of it. Look, I make no apologies for being the supporter of a team that was on the losing side of "Rodgers magic" way too many times. However, I'm not going to lie when I tell you I was seriously nervous on that final throw. I've seen it too many times. The point is, Rodgers was very impressive for the second consecutive week. Although, the interception at the end, we could have done without. Still, another huge performance which raises the question: What do we do with Rodgers moving forward? Patrick Mahomes and Bryce Young are on a bye next week. (Oh yeah, the bye weeks are getting ready to start!) A number of quarterbacks are missing this week and possibly next. But it goes a little bit beyond that. Like, what if some of the guys we believed in back in August continue to struggle? I'm looking at you, Justin H

   ESPN
3. Sep 29
   Likely caught two of five targets for 13 yards during the Giants' 12-7 win over the Titans on Sunday.

   After logging 13 catches through the first two games of the regular season, Likely was held to only two receptions in Week 3, the first game with Jameis Winston as the starter instead of Jaxson Dart (knee, IR). Likely's five targets were second most on the Giants behind Malik Nabers (six), but the scoring floors of all Giants pass catchers figure to be lower with Winston under center. That said, New York could turn the keys over to the recently acquired J.J. McCarthy if Winston continues to underwhelm. The Giants will stay home for Week 4 against the Cardinals, whose defense gave up a 6-82-2 receiving line to tight end George Kittle in a 36-30 loss to the 49ers in Week 3.

   RotoWire via ESPN
4. Sep 28
   Judging the biggest overreactions to NFL Week 3 games

   So we're through three weeks of the NFL season, and we don't know anything. And that's not an overreaction. What in the name of John Madden happened on Sunday afternoon? The Seahawks gave up 33 points and lost to the Marcus Mariota-led Commanders? The Bills turned the ball over five times and still won? The stuck-in-the-mud Steelers rolled up 411 yards of offense to beat the red-hot, revamped Bengals defense? The Browns improved to 2-1? Just when you think you can start to make sense of this season, you check the standings and wonder what's up with the 0-3 Chargers, 0-3 Texans, 1-2 Patriots, 2-1 Giants and the entire NFC West. It's a reminder that it's still too early to draw any real conclusions about how this season is going to go and that so much of what we think we know is actually an overreaction. Which is the fun part, after all, right? It's our Week 3 overreactions column, where we look at five potential takeaways and judge them as legitimate stances or irrational overreactions. Plus, we hit a few fantasy football overreactions at the bottom. Jump to: Purdy is the next NFL MVP? Giants are just fine with Jameis at QB? The Steelers will avoid a losing season again? Todd Monken will be Coach of the Year? Mendoza isn't playing anytime soon? Fantasy overreactions Brock Purdy should be the MVP favorite right now Has any quarterback in the league been more efficient through the first three weeks? Purdy has completed 72.3% of his passes for an average of 263 passing yards per game. He has thrown for nine touchdowns and one interception. He has rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The 49ers are bleeding wide receivers due to injury, and Purdy is just out there dicing up defenses like it's nothing. His team is 3-0 with two division wins, including that opener in Australia against everybody's offseason darlings, the Rams. The last pick in the 2022 draft has turned into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and right now it's hard to find anyone playing the position any better. Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION Oh, there are other candidates. Lamar Jackson just finished doing his thing in Rio. Patrick Mahomes will surely be in the conversation if the Chiefs keep it up. Josh Allen is also there, but he had a rough one Sunday despite Buffalo's win. Trevor Lawrence has been awesome in two out of three games. But no one makes a stronger case right now than Purdy, who just tied Steve Young's 49ers team record for most touchdown passes in the first three games of a season. The Niners haven't scored this many points in their first three games since 1998, which was the year Young did that. And he had Jerry Rice! The Giants are going to be fine with Jameis Winston at quarterback One of the bummer developments this past week was the Giants losing quarterback Jaxson Dart to a season-ending injury. After Winston's dreadful performance in relief during Monday night's loss to the Rams, the Giants spent a good part of last week discussing potential outside options while preparing Winston to start. He started Sunday and helped beat the woeful Titans in an ugly 12-7 slopfest. He did not light up the stat sheet, but he also didn't turn the ball over, which is always a massive win with Winston. And considering the game took place during the tail end of a rainy, windy nor'easter, it would have been tough for Dart or anyone else to look much better in those conditions. Winston and the Giants needed to come out of Sunday with any type of win, and they accomplished that. They're 2-1 through three games, which isn't a bad place to be. Verdict: OVERREACTION I don't think you can draw many conclusions from what we saw Sunday. The Giants ran the ball fine, which they'll have to continue to do, but the run game won't be as dynamic without the threat of Dart's legs. Winston has been in the league for 12 seasons now. There is no mystery about the type of player he is. He'll have one or two brilliant games followed by classic postgame on-field interv

   ESPN
5. Sep 22
   Likely secured five of 10 targets for 33 yards in the Giants' 28-6 loss to the Rams on Monday night.

   Likely's first catch came on one of Jaxson Dart's three completions before he exited the game with a knee injury, and the veteran tight end remained an integral component of the air attack once Jameis Winston took over. Likely's reception and target totals were team-high figures, and he's quickly generated a 13-111-2 line on 18 targets over his first two games in a Giants uniform heading into a Week 3 home matchup against the Titans on Sunday.

   RotoWire via ESPN

Injury reports

No injury reports this season.

League history

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