RADIO
Should DFS Players Roster Chase Elliott at Darlington?
Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports is starting 18th for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway after practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather. In 19 Cup races at Darlington, Elliott has eight top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.8. Elliott placed in the top 15 in six of the last seven races at Darlington, including a finish of 15th earlier in the season. After 26 races so far this year, Elliott has two wins, nine top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 14.8. Considering his equipment and track history, Elliott is a playable DFS option for all formats worth rostering this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Cole Kmet Has Fallen Off the Fantasy Radar
Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet is still going to play plenty of football. That doesn't mean fantasy managers need to care much anymore. Kmet's receiving work dropped to 30 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns last season, while Colston Loveland quickly became one of Caleb Williams' most important targets. Loveland finished his rookie year with 58 receptions for 713 yards and six scores, then spent this summer looking every bit like the featured receiving tight end again. Chicago can keep both players on the field in its two-tight-end packages, and Kmet remains useful as a blocker, but that hasn't brought his old fantasy role back. RotoBaller had him at TE38 in half-PPR rankings in August and now has him at TE40, compared with TE3 for Loveland. Kmet is even down at TE47 for Week 1. There will probably be a touchdown or useful game here and there, but he's well outside the group fantasy managers need to chase on draft day.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Ty Gibbs May have A Big DFS Performance at Darlington
Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing will start in the 28th position for this week's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The driver of the No. 54 Toyota will start in the same exact position as the spring race from Darlington earlier this year, where he went on to finish sixth. Through eight Cup races at the South Carolina track, Gibbs has six top-20 finishes with three inside the top 10. Through 26 races so far this season, Gibbs has two wins, 16 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 12.3. With high upside and some of the best equipment in the field, Gibbs is worth rostering in all DFS formats as a driver who can have a big performance this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
TreVeyon Henderson Still Sidelined With Week 1 Nearing
New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) was not present for the media-access portion of Sunday's practice, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. Henderson has not practiced since injuring his ankle on Aug. 24, and New England opens the season Wednesday night in Seattle. If he cannot play, Rhamondre Stevenson and Corey Kiner are the other running backs on the active roster. Reiss noted that Lan Larison and/or Hassan Haskins could be elevated from the practice squad to provide additional depth. Henderson ran for 911 yards and nine touchdowns on 180 carries as a rookie, adding 35 catches for 221 yards and another score. There was optimism late last month that the injury would not keep him out of Week 1, but his continued absence with only a few days left before the opener has made his status much harder to take for granted.
Source: Mike Reiss
Source: Mike Reiss
Darius Cooper Emerging as a Deep-League Sleeper
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper made a strong case for himself throughout August. The second-year wideout was already flashing early in camp, including multiple contested catches from Jalen Hurts, then backed it up in the preseason. Cooper caught two passes for 21 yards against Baltimore and followed with three catches for 44 yards against New England, giving him five receptions for 65 yards across his two appearances. That came after a rookie season in which he caught only nine passes for 92 yards. Cooper also made Philadelphia's initial 53-man roster, which matters in a receiver room that changed quite a bit after A.J. Brown was traded to New England. The path to regular targets is still crowded with DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore around him, so this remains a deep-league situation. Still, Cooper entered the summer fighting for a place in the rotation and did enough to come out of it with more offensive credibility.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Barion Brown Keeps Climbing After Strong Summer
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Barion Brown came into camp with special teams doing most of the heavy lifting for his roster case. That changed pretty quickly. Kellen Moore praised the sixth-round rookie after a standout practice in early August, and Brown kept showing up in New Orleans' camp coverage over the next several days. He carried some of that into the preseason, catching four passes for 53 yards against Jacksonville before scoring on a jet sweep in the finale against Dallas. Jordyn Tyson's hamstring injury has opened the door even wider. Tyson will miss at least four games on injured reserve, and the Saints kept only four receivers on their initial 53-man roster. Their current unofficial depth chart now has Brown with the first team at one receiver spot, along with both return jobs. RotoBaller still has him way down at WR129 in half-PPR formats, so this remains a deep-league play. Brown just looks a lot more likely to see offensive snaps than he did when camp opened.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Is Chris Buescher a Must-Start DFS Option for Darlington Lineups?
Chris Buescher of RFK Racing will start 35th for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Buescher obtained the lowest starting position of his Cup career for a Darlington race after qualifying was canceled and starting positions were set by a metric from the NASCAR rulebook. In 18 Cup races at the site, Buescher has eight top-10 finishes with an average finish of 15.2. After 26 Cup races this season, Buescher has 21 top-20 finishes with 10 inside the top 10. Buescher's average finish for the year so far is 14.9, which even includes a ninth-place result at Darlington from earlier in the season. Considering his equipment from RFK and overall track history, Buescher is a must-start option for all DFS formats with enormously high upside that is too great to ignore.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Baker Mayfield Building Some Bounce-Back Momentum
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has given fantasy managers a few more reasons to buy into a bounce-back. His numbers slipped to 3,693 passing yards and 26 touchdowns last season after the 4,500-yard, 41-score campaign he put together in 2024, but he also played through several injuries and still ran for a career-high 382 yards. Things have gone smoothly enough with new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson that Mayfield said in August the Bucs were in a good place with the new system. Chris Godwin Jr. has helped, too. Tampa Bay's camp coverage said Godwin had returned to peak form, and Mayfield called him the best version of himself after leaning on him throughout camp. There are still questions with Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan banged up and Mike Evans gone, so this is not suddenly a top-end QB1 case. Still, RotoBaller's positional rankings moved Mayfield from QB17 in August to QB16 in the Sept. 3 update. It's a small bump, but the summer has gone well enough to justify it.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Could Brad Keselowski be A Sneaky Play for Darlington Lineups?
Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing is starting 12th for this week's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Keselowski was given the starting position inside the top 15 after qualifying for the event was canceled due to weather. In 25 Cup starts at Darlington, Keselowski has two wins, 13 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 11.7. Notably, the driver of the No. 6 Ford placed in the top 15 in seven of the last eight Cup events at the site. With 26 races completed so far this year, Keselowski has six top-10 finishes and an average finish of 18.6. Although his starting position does not offer as much upside as others in his salary range, Keselowski is one of the more consistent drivers to perform well at Darlington. Fantasy players can start him with confidence in all formats, but especially in tournaments where he may get overlooked despite his solid track history.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Andrew Painter a Late-Season Waiver-Wire Target Amid Hot Stretch
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Andrew Painter has turned things around lately, and he's back on the fantasy radar as an appealing waiver wire target for the month of September. Painter owns a 5.55 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP over 21 outings this year. However, over just his last seven starts, he has a 3.12 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and just 2.9 BB/9. Two of his last three outings have gone seven innings with one or fewer runs. In his most recent start on Wednesday, he went seven shutout innings with six strikeouts, two hits, and no walks. Painter isn't currently a top-85 starter in RotoBaller's rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings, but that will change if he continues to pitch at such a high level. There's a real opportunity for fantasy managers to pick up Painter off the waiver wire and reap the rewards going forward. As it stands, he's rostered in just 24% of leagues.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Jake Tonges Appears Unlikely to See Fantasy-Relevant Workload
After failing to record a single reception over the first 20 games of his NFL career, San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges hauled in 34 catches for 293 yards and five touchdowns on 46 targets across 17 games in 2025. While Tonges had moments of fantasy relevance last season, his production was almost entirely contained to the six games that star 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) missed due to injury. While Kittle suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the postseason, he traveled with the team to Australia for their Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams and appears to be on track to avoid missing time in 2026. Given that Kittle is entering his age-33 season and returning from a major injury, Tonges remains a name for fantasy managers to be aware of on the waiver wire. However, as long as Kittle is active, Tonges is unlikely to be worth rostering in most fantasy formats.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Ross Chastain Presents Favorable Upside for Darlington DFS Lineups
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain will start in the 23rd position after qualifying for the Cook Out Southern 500, which was canceled due to weather at Darlington Raceway. In 14 Cup starts at Darlington, Chastain has nine top-20 finishes with four inside the top 10, and an average finish of 16.9. Through 26 Cup races so far this season, Chastain has 15 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 19.8. With Chastain placing 16th or better in each of the last six Darlington races, this track is a solid one statistically for the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet in recent seasons. As a result, he is a driver who is a favorable option for all DFS formats.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Mariners Top Infield Prospect Michael Arroyo to Join Major Leagues
The Seattle Mariners are promoting top infield prospect Michael Arroyo to the major leagues prior to Sunday's game against the Athletics, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Arroyo ranked as the Mariners' No. 3 prospect in the latest MLB Pipeline farm system rankings. He was originally signed as an international free agent out of Colombia in 2022. He was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A in the middle of the 2026 season, slashing .283/.359/.471 with 18 home runs, 81 RBI, 17 steals, and 117 wRC+ between the two affiliates. He also racked up an 8.1% walk rate and a 16.4% strikeout rate in the minors. Arroyo played the left side of the infield early in his minor league career, but he has only played second base and left field in 2026. He'll make his MLB debut on Sunday afternoon, batting eighth and playing second base.
Source: Daniel Kramer
Source: Daniel Kramer
Cooper Kupp May See Even Further Workload Reduction in 2026
Across 16 games (15 starts) in 2025, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp recorded 47 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns on 70 targets. While Kupp remained an important piece of Seattle's run to a Super Bowl title, his average of 4.4 targets per game was by far the lowest mark of his nine-year NFL career. Entering 2026, Seahawks WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba projects to once again dominate target share in Seattle. Unlike 2025, Kupp may also be behind Seahawks wideout Rashid Shaheed in terms of expected target volume. While Seattle utilized Shaheed in a low-volume, downfield role after acquiring him from the New Orleans Saints at the 2025 trade deadline, Shaheed has reportedly seen much more expansive usage in training camp. As Kupp enters his age-33 season, his days as a must-roster fantasy wide receiver may be behind him.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Kaelen Culpepper Remains Available in Most Leagues Amid Fantastic Start
Minnesota Twins shortstop Kaelen Culpepper has been fantastic at the plate ever since being called up for his MLB debut less than one month ago. Culpepper has played in 24 games (all at shortstop), and he's had no trouble living up to the hype that he possessed as a top prospect. So far, he owns a .307/.361/.466 slash line with three home runs, 10 RBI, a 6.2% walk rate, a 19.6% strikeout rate, and 133 wRC+. He's slugged eight extra-base hits, and although he's walking less than he did in the minors, his strikeout rate hasn't increased by much since his promotion. Culpepper's near-everyday role and impressive offensive contributions have helped him emerge as a top waiver wire option in fantasy baseball. He's still available in 89% of fantasy leagues, and he ranks as the #24 shortstop in RotoBaller's rest-of-season rankings.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
