News

1. 20h ago
   Fantasy football: McMillan, Lamb, Walker III among leading scorers through Sunday Night Football

   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 4 p.m. ET games Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers – 45.2 CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys – 41.3 Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams – 36.7 Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys – 31.3 Kenneth Walker III, RB, Kansas City Chiefs – 30.9 Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans – 30.8 Tyquan Thornton, WR, Kansas City Chiefs – 28.1 Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears – 28.0 Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams – 27.7 Emanuel Wilson, RB, Seattle Seahawks – 27.0 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 looki

   ESPN
2. Oct 4
   Loveland caught six of nine targets for 57 yards in Sunday's 23-12 win over the Jets.

   Loveland led the team with nine targets, tying his total from the previous three games combined. The 2025 first-round pick has been trending in the right direction after a painfully slow start, increasing his yardage total from zero to three to 31 to 57 in the first four games of his second regular season. Considering that Loveland's best game of the season came Sunday in Tyson Bagent's first start of the campaign, Loveland probably wouldn't mind Bagent sticking in the starting role for Week 5 at Green Bay, though Caleb Williams (hamstring) will reprise the starting job once healthy.

   RotoWire via ESPN
3. Oct 2
   What to know before setting your lineup for Week 4: Mariota, Tuten in store for breakout week

   The NFL returns to London this week when the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts square off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Commanders and Colts are middle of the pack in terms of offensive scoring, but being "mid" is a welcome relief in Tottenham, a club that didn't score their first goals of the English Premier League season until Week 4 against Liverpool. And it didn't score at home until the following week before the international break. As we head into October, Tottenham is also still winless … wait a minute, this is supposed to be a fantasy football column. I will say this about Commanders QB Marcus Mariota, he finds a way to make Terry McLaurin more efficient. McLaurin has notched nine targets in back-to-back weeks, and he has a great matchup against the Colts, who have struggled against the pass this season. And isn't this what Sauce Gardner was supposed to prevent? McLaurin is a great WR2 start this week. On the other side, Josh Downs should have a good opportunity against the Commanders who have given up a league-leading six touchdown receptions to the position this season. I know it's tough to get up early for these games (though U.S. fans of the EPL are veterans at this), but you're going to want to see this show. And if you're a Tottenham supporter, you're going to want to see people actually scoring in your stadium. Let's look at some other notes you need to know heading into Week 4. Quarterback notes What are we doing with our Los Angeles Chargers? Sorry, don't mean "our" like a team we support. But "our" as in players we (mistakenly) drafted. Justin Herbert might still be a start for you because most of the good quarterbacks have already been streamed off waiver. Herbert has yet to top 250 passing yards in a game this season. He has gone four consecutive games with one or no touchdowns dating back to last season. I've made the decision to move on from Herbert and will start Mariota this week, which will probably mean that Herbert will have the week of his life against the Seattle Seahawks in what will be Mike Macdonald's first time facing his former head coach at Michigan. I just can't stand the thought of playing Herbert again. C.J. Stroud was another streaming option, considering the matchup against the Dallas Cowboys who just recently traded for Joey Porter Jr. The Cowboys have given up more than 27 points per game this season (25th). They have allowed a third-down conversion rate of 59%, which is the worst in the NFL. The matchup is there for Stroud, but there is just something about the Houston Texans' offense that doesn't sit right with me. The return of Nico Collins would help, but I'd rather stick with Mariota or Sam Darnold in desperate times. Kyler Murray is a top-10 quarterback this week for me, with or without Justin Jefferson. And you can almost reason that the Minnesota Vikings would be better served to just keep Jefferson on the bench because it's the Miami Dolphins. Still, Murray has a 70.6 Total QBR against AFC teams in his career, the second-highest Total QBR against AFC teams since he entered the league in 2019. I'll give you one guess who is first … and you're right, it's Patrick Mahomes. Running back notes The Dolphins' running back situation makes me sad. Ollie Gordon II was a top waiver-wire add this week, but I don't know how you can get him into your lineup. I'd start him over Isaiah Davis, Blake Corum and Woody Marks, for instance, but that's not exactly what you call a glowing recommendation. It's sort of like trying to pick out the best sushi roll at the gas station. Did the Pittsburgh Steelers expose the Cincinnati Bengals defense last week, or was that a one-week thing? I don't know, I'm kind of worried that the Bengals' defense (that looked great the first two weeks of the season) is regressing. Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and the Bengals also gave up 138 rushing yards. This feels as if we could have the Bhayshul Tuten breakout game a lot of fantasy ana

   ESPN
4. Sep 29
   Fantasy football matchup rankings: Upgrade Ladd McConkey, Brock Purdy in Week 3

   Making tough lineup decisions each week can be the most challenging part of the fantasy football process. When you're torn between two similar players and simply don't know which one to start, start the player with the superior matchup. Ah, but exactly how does one determine the best (and worst) weekly matchups? The matchup rankings provide a schedule-independent method to evaluate positional matchups each week, ranking all 32 opposing defenses in order of most to least favorable for opposing players at the four skill positions (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end). Instead of relying on season totals, we calibrate points-allowed data to show how each defense fared relative to the difficulty of the schedule it has faced. This provides a more fair approach to judging the quality of individual matchups. For the first three weeks, these rankings account for two things: my own opinion of the strength of that matchup, and what ESPN's projections tell us about it. As an additional reference point, 2025 full-season data is provided. "Adj. FPA," or adjusted fantasy points allowed, reflects how far above or below players' weekly PPR fantasy point averages that defense held opponents at that position. A positive number means the matchup is favorable; a negative number means it is unfavorable. Also, remember teams often use multiple running backs and wide receivers in a game, and these plus/minus averages cover all of a team's personnel at that position. Finally, a caveat: Matchups are only one ingredient in my rankings formula. Not every favorable matchup should be exploited, nor every unfavorable matchup avoided. If you want my — and the ESPN fantasy staff's — most complete source for whom to start and sit each week, consult our weekly rankings. Quarterbacks Matchups highlight: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (vs. Arizona Cardinals). Purdy leads the league in Total QBR (95.7), completion percentage (80.4%) and off-target percentage (zero off-target throws thus far), and he's one of five quarterbacks to score 20-plus fantasy points in each of the first two weeks. (*Extra credit for those who can name the five. Answer at the bottom of this section.) Purdy next faces the Cardinals, a defense that, while solid in a Week 1 upset of the Los Angeles Chargers, surrendered 21.40 fantasy points to Drew Lock in Week 2. The Cardinals have afforded quarterbacks the ninth-most points per passing attempt. Others to like: Sam Darnold/Lock, Seattle Seahawks (at Washington Commanders)  Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (at Cleveland Browns) Matchup to avoid: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (at Denver Broncos). Give him all due credit for his stateside, bounce-back Week 2 (26.98 fantasy points), in which he looked like his 2025 MVP self despite the absence of No. 1 receiver, Puka Nacua. But Stafford now faces one of the toughest matchups on his 2026 schedule, so let's not completely forget the stinker that was his Week 1. These Broncos held Week 1 star Trevor Lawrence to 6.16 fantasy points last week, and they were the ninth-toughest schedule-adjusted matchup for a quarterback in 2025. * The five: Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Purdy, Tyler Shough and Young. Running backs Matchups highlight: Quinshon Judkins, Browns (vs. Panthers). It's hard to make a compelling "start him" case for a running back from the league's sixth-worst offense (per EPA), and one who averaged 8.4 fantasy points the first two weeks. Judkins' Week 3 value vaults into the RB2 class simply upon the strength of the matchup. The Panthers have struggled to contain running backs, surrendering more than a fantasy point per carry to the position (1.07) — the next-closest team averages 0.85 — and a combined 19.8 to the Robinsons (Bijan and Brian Jr..), in what was an otherwise horrible performance by the Atlanta Falcons' offense. Others to like: Omarion Hampton, Chargers (at Buffalo Bills) Aaron Jones Sr., Minnesota Vikings (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers) Matchup to avoid: Bu

   ESPN
5. Sep 29
   Loveland secured all four targets for 31 yards in the Bears' 27-7 win over the Eagles on Monday night.

   Head coach Ben Johnson appeared to make a concerted effort to get the ball into Loveland's hands Monday after the tight end's slow first two games, and that approach met with some success. While all three components of Loveland's receiving line qualified as season-high figures, the second-year pro's longest reception went for just 12 yards, and he was well behind the wideout trio of Kalif Raymond, Luther Burden and Rome Odunze in receiving yards. Loveland's chemistry with fill-in signal-caller Case Keenum was encouraging, however, and the duo should have a chance to continue working together in Sunday's Week 4 home matchup against the Jets.

   RotoWire via ESPN

Injury reports

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