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Hank Brown Has Perfect Passing Day In Rout Of Northern Iowa
Quarterback has been a sore spot for Iowa since Chuck Long graduated in 1985. Senior quarterback Hank Brown had a perfect afternoon for Iowa in the Hawkeyes' 55-0 rout of Northern Iowa. Brown completed all 12 of his passing attempts for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Brown took over for Jeremy Hecklinski in the second half of the first game and hasn't looked back. He doesn't have a lot of fantasy value right now, but this is a situation worth monitoring if you are desperate for a quarterback in your college fantasy leagues. Brown has also rushed for 34 yards and a touchdown this year.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Braden Pegan Scores Twice Against His Former Team
Utah State transfer Braden Pegan saved his best game of the season for his former team. The Utah wideout caught eight passes for 122 yards and two scores in Utah's 33-0 shutout over Utah State in the Battle of the Brothers. Pegan led Utah State in receiving yards in 2025. He had seven receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown in his first two games for Utah. Pegan has 10 more receptions than any other Utah WR. He's worth a look in your fantasy leagues if you need receiver help.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
SMU's Kendrick Raphael Rumbles for 3 TD vs. Louisville
Cal transfer Kendrick Raphael carried the ball only 15 times in SMU's first two games of the season, for 78 yards and 1 touchdown. The senior RB had a career day in SMU's loss to Louisville, setting a career high with 197 yards and tying a career best with three touchdowns. Raphael also caught two passes in SMU's 41-31 loss at Louisville. Raphael may have been dropped in your league because of the slow start. Now is the time to check the waiver wire. Raphael could be the pickup that salvages your fantasy season. This should be a sign of things to come.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Traylon Ray Comes Up Big For Mississippi vs. LSU
West Virginia transfer Traylon Ray was used sparingly in Mississippi's first two games of the season. The junior only mustered four receptions for 56 yards. He was a key part of Mississippi's 32-24 win over LSU on Saturday night. Ray caught a team-high seven passes for 115 yards and a score. Deuce Alexander is still the WR1 on this team, and TE Caleb Odom gets more targets than most TEs, but this could signify Ray ascending to WR2 over Horatio Fields (five receptions) and Johntay Cook II (one catch). Ray is worth an add in deeper leagues and is one to keep an eye on in Mississippi's next game.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Micah Gilbert Has Career Game vs. Michigan State
Notre Dame WR Micah Gilbert game into the Week 3 matchup against Michigan State with 14 career receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Gilbert hauled in eight passes for 170 yards in Notre Dame's 27-10 victory over the Spartans. Coming into this game, no Notre Dame receiver had more than eight receptions, and only Jordan Faison had over 100 receiving yards on the season. Gilbert had five catches for 81 yards in the first two games of the season. This was Notre Dame's first real test of the season, and Gilbert was easily CJ Carr's favorite target. He's worth a look if you are thin at WR in your fantasy leagues.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Mike Evans' Primary Receiver Role Continues to Grow
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans is trending up in fantasy football as injuries impact other members of the position group. Evans was impressive in his Niners debut last week, catching six of seven targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. He didn't have the highest participation rates we've ever seen, but they were respectable. Additionally, rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle) was placed on injured reserve this week. It will be interesting to see how much of the Stribling work gets re-allocated to Evans versus others, as we haven't heard any rumblings about the Niners bringing in a different depth receiver for Week 2. In full, Evans ranks as the WR11 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings, making him a worthwhile fantasy starter for Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Shohei Ohtani has "Good Chance" to Play Next Week
There is a "good chance" that Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani (knee, biceps) will be activated from the 10-day injured list for the series against the division-rival San Diego Padres at home next week, manager Dave Roberts told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Ohtani is eligible to come off the IL on Wednesday, so he could be back as the team's designated hitter for the second game of the series at Dodger Stadium. The four-time MVP apparently looked good after running the bases and taking simulated at-bats off a Trajekt machine before Saturday's game. There is still a little time for the 32-year-old Japanese native to help the Dodgers and fantasy managers in the final stretch of the 2026 regular season. However, the Dodgers probably are not going to rush him back, so it would not be a surprise to get a game or two off in the final four or five games of the year. Ohtani has hit .277/.380/.522 with a .902 OPS, 30 homers, 80 RBI, 89 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases in 502 at-bats. It has been a strong season, but nagging left-knee and right-biceps injuries since early July caught up with him, and he was placed on the IL after hitting an un-Ohtani-like .241/.322/.472 with a .795 OPS in 27 games in August.
Source: The Athletic - Fabian Ardaya
Source: The Athletic - Fabian Ardaya
Rhamondre Stevenson Still a Potential Fantasy Starter in PPR Leagues
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson might see a slight drop in volume during Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but only because teammate TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) is returning to the backfield to make his season debut. With that being said, we don't know if Henderson is on a snap count, and the coaching staff has been quite secretive about its backfield decisions in previous years. Regardless of how it shakes out, we expect Stevenson to maintain decent volume after being one of the few Patriots to make a highly positive impression on offense in Week 1. He had 18 carries in the season opener, and while his 2.8 YPC was concerning, we like to see that he caught five passes for 44 yards. Stevenson has consistently been a willing receiver and blocker, even before Henderson was drafted to the team. As a result, he should continue to handle a similarly large target share while rotating with Henderson for ball-carrying responsibilities.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Christian Watson Approaching Must-Start Territory in Fantasy Football
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson has shown massive development and growth in the last year, and he's now firmly entrenched as a high-end WR2 in fantasy football. He could soar even higher if he strings together more performances that prove he's really a WR1 (top-12 wide receiver) in fantasy football. After last week, it would be hard to argue against that concept. He had six catches for 147 yards and two touchdown in the season opener, playing 76% of the offensive snaps. Managers shouldn't overthink the decision here; Watson is RotoBaller's WR14 for Week 2 against the New York Jets, and he belongs in 100% of fantasy lineups.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Payton Tolle Not Starting This Weekend as Boston Prepares for Playoffs
WEEI's Rob Bradford reports that it is "sure looking like" Boston Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle has a "good shot" at pitching Game 1 of a wild-card series to kick off the postseason with the way the Red Sox are lining things up. It means that the 23-year-old southpaw will not get a start this weekend against the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays. The former second-rounder from TCU in 2024 has had a strong first full season in the big leagues with Boston in 2026, going 9-6 with a 3.02 ERA (3.04 FIP) and 1.07 WHIP with 166 strikeouts and 38 walks in 143 innings across his 25 starts. Another lefty, Patrick Sandoval, is now scheduled to make the start for the BoSox in the series finale in Tampa. Tolle allowed four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 31, but he has only given up one earned run with one walk and 19 punchouts in 12 innings across his last two starts against the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals in September.
Source: WEEI - Rob Bradford
Source: WEEI - Rob Bradford
Bhayshul Tuten a Steady Fantasy Option with Large Workload
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten played less than 50% of the snaps in Week 1, but he handled 15 carries in the season-opening win and cemented himself as the team's primary ball-carrier. Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. handled similar snap shares, but the latter had just six touches. At this point, there's no question that Tuten is the one and only Jaguars running back worth starting in fantasy football. The only concern is that the Jaguars throw the ball so much, so Tuten may not have a ton of touchdown opportunities on the ground. Nevertheless, he's a high-end RB3/flex based on rushing alone, and the touchdown upside could vault him to the low-end RB2 range. As it stands, he ranks as the RB25 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for his Week 2 matchup against the Denver Broncos.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Jadarian Price on Track for Another Step Forward in Week 2
Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price had a decent performance in his NFL debut last week, and we expect him to have an even bigger role when he returns to action on Sunday for the team's Week 2 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. In the season opener against New England, Price had a 48% snap share with 10 carries and 52 yards, plus two small receptions. Given his highly efficient performance, he seems likely to build on his involvement with more than 50% of the snaps and at least a dozen carries on Sunday against Arizona. We could also see the Seahawks prefer a run-heavy approach with Drew Lock quarterbacking the offense in place of Sam Darnold (glute). He ranks as the RB24 in RotoBaller's latest Week 2 fantasy football, making him a worthwhile starter in most fantasy leagues with 8+ teams.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Matthew Golden Taking First Steps Toward Year 2 Breakout
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden will look to build on his existing momentum during Sunday's Week 2 contest against the New York Jets. After a relatively disappointing rookie season, Golden took a huge step forward in Week 1 of the 2026 season with six catches for 95 yards. He's working on solidifying himself as the No. 2 receiver behind Christian Watson and ahead of Jayden Reed, and another big game on Sunday would help that effort. The Jets posed a tough matchup for the Titans last week, but we wouldn't be surprised to see their secondary get exposed by a combination of Watson and Golden. The 23-year-old Texas product remains a high-end WR3/flex while continuing to build his track record in Year 2. Specifically, he ranks as the WR31 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for Week 2. He can be started in most leagues with 10+ teams.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Xavier Edwards Leaves Early on Saturday With Thumb Discomfort
Miami Marlins infielder Xavier Edwards (thumb) left Saturday night's game at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres early with discomfort in his left thumb, according to Christina De Nicola. The Marlins' training staff was checking Edwards' left hand out when he fouled a ball off in the seventh frame. It is worth noting that Edwards previously missed time this season with a sprained left thumb, which he might have aggravated on Saturday night. Before leaving the ballgame, Edwards went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He was replaced at the keystone in San Diego by Jared Serna. If the 27-year-old switch-hitting middle infielder did aggravate his left-thumb sprain, there is a good chance that he will not play again for the Marlins in the final week of the 2026 season. Edwards came into Wednesday's contest with a nice .282/.361/.373 slash line with a .733 OPS, a career-high six home runs, a career-high 52 RBI, 61 runs scored, and 21 stolen bases in 141 games played. He has stolen 20-plus bases in each of the last three seasons, including a career-high 31 back in 2024.
Source: MLB.com - Christina De Nicola
Source: MLB.com - Christina De Nicola
Aaron Judge Hopes to be Back for Postseason, No Timetable Given
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (calf) said on Saturday that his right-calf strain is in the soleus muscle, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. However, Judge would not say what grade of strain his MRI exam revealed. "I'd like to be back by the postseason. That's definitely the plan. I got really no answers for you on any timeline or anything like that," Judge said. The New York Daily News' Gary Phillips reports that neither Judge nor manager Aaron Boone has shared much information on his injury, with the Yankees treating his calf strain like "classified CIA intel." "It doesn't matter what grade it is," Boone said. "We're at nine games left [in the season]." Because we have no idea of the exact severity of his calf injury, it is entirely plausible that Judge could miss most, or all, of any potential Yankees playoff run in October. Judge has been throwing, working out, and getting treatment, and he said he is "gonna do everything we can do to get back as soon as we can." Boone, though, merely said he is "hoping for the best." It will be difficult for the Yankees to go all the way if they do not get Judge back for the playoffs. It has been a frustrating year for the three-time MVP and all of his fantasy managers, as he has only played in 66 games due to a stress fracture in his rib, slashing .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs, 41 RBI, 45 runs, and five steals.
Source: MLB.com - Bryan Hoch
Source: MLB.com - Bryan Hoch
