January 9, 2026
Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver
Pat Bryant suffered a scary concussion in the Week 16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and didn't play in Week 17. Bryant returned in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, though, to catch four of his five targets for 31 yards. Although the first-year player out of Illinois wasn't in the top 50 receivers in half-PPR points per game during the regular season, he did have a pretty solid first year in the NFL, with 31 catches, 378 yards, and one touchdown on 49 targets in 15 games (seven starts). Bryant was more involved in the second half, too, being targeted at least five times in four of his last five games. Still, he averaged 2.1 receptions and 25.2 yards per game in a Broncos offense that spread the ball around in the passing game in 2025. Without knowing who the Broncos will face yet in the Divisional Round, Bryant is setting up as a low-floor, low-ceiling WR3/flex in fantasy playoff leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 9, 2026
Denver Broncos wide receiver
Marvin Mims Jr. had a disappointing third year in the NFL, catching 37 of 51 targets for a career-low 322 yards and only one touchdown in 15 regular-season games. He added 12 rushing attempts for 78 yards and one touchdown. Last year, he caught only two more passes, but he went for 503 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 17 games. Mims, known as a big-play receiver, had just 8.7 yards per reception and 21.5 yards per game. He was a victim of quarterback
Bo Nix spreading the ball around in 2025, and the emergence of both
Troy Franklin and rookie
Pat Bryant as receiving threats behind WR1
Courtland Sutton. Mims' only receiving score of the year came way back on Sept. 14, and he eclipsed 50 receiving yards just two times all year. Regardless of who Denver faces in the Divisional Round of the postseason, Mims will be a low-upside WR3/flex option for fantasy managers in playoff leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 9, 2026
Denver Broncos running back
Jaleel McLaughlin was only active for eight games in 2025 and didn't make his season debut until Week 6. It wasn't until after
J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury that McLaughlin started to really become a factor in Denver's backfield in Week 11. The 25-year-old finished his third year in the NFL with a career-low 37 carries for 187 yards (5.1 yards per tote) and one touchdown, adding four catches for 27 yards. Head coach Sean Payton continues to say that he'd like to get McLaughlin more work, but it has been rookie
RJ Harvey who has been the Broncos' clear lead back. To close out the regular season, McLaughlin had 13 carries for 81 yards on the ground while adding a 17-yard catch in two wins against the Chiefs and Chargers. The Broncos have a bye in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs this weekend, but at best, McLaughlin will be a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex option in playoff leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
January 9, 2026
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury didn't share the same offensive vision for the future, multiple team and league sources told ESPN's John Keim. According to these sources, Quinn "wanted a different offensive identity" and spoke with his staff about "wanting a better run-pass balance." The Commanders finished ninth in number of rushes, but they ranked 25th in carries by running backs in 2025. Quarterback
Jayden Daniels developed a special relationship with Kingsbury, but he also has a strong relationship with former QBs coach
David Blough, who has been promoted to take Kingsbury's job. It was a disappointing 2025 for the entire organization, but perhaps more so for Daniels, who was limited to seven games with three different injuries. Washington's offense will seek more balance under Blough next year, but if Daniels is going to bounce back to how he played in his impressive rookie campaign, he's going to need to get healthy first.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - John Keim
January 9, 2026
The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala reports that former NFL quarterback
David Blough is taking over as the Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator. Blough was a practice-squad QB for the Detroit Lions just two years ago, but he quickly transitioned to coaching as Washington's assistant quarterbacks coach and helped fill in when QBs coach Tavita Pritchard left for Stanford. Blough is a quick riser and a bright offensive talent, but he'll have big shoes to fill in his new role in D.C. after Kliff Kingsbury mutually agreed to part ways with the organization to pursue another head-coaching job. He has worked closely with young QB
Jayden Daniels and will need to continue to develop his relationship with him as Daniels heads into his third NFL season. During his playing career, Blough played for Kingsbury, Bears head coach Ben Johnson, and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Athletic - Nicki Jhabvala
January 9, 2026
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is scheduled to interview for the Tennessee Titans' head-coaching job next Wednesday, sources told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. McDaniel has generated significant interest around the league since the Dolphins fired him on Thursday after posting a 35-33 record and two playoff trips in his four seasons at the helm in Miami. He is not only generating interest for head-coaching jobs around the league, but also openings at offensive coordinator. The Lions are one team interested in McDaniel as a coordinator. The Cleveland Browns are another team reportedly interested in talking to McDaniel about their head-coaching position. If McDaniel is hired by the Titans, it would be good news for the development of quarterback
Cameron Ward, who struggled in his first year in the NFL after being taken first overall by Tennessee last April.
--Keith HernandezSource: NFL Network - Tom Pelissero
January 9, 2026
The Baltimore Ravens announced on Friday that they completed an interview with former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski for their head-coaching position. The Ravens are casting a wide net for their next head coach following the firing of John Harbaugh earlier this week after 18 years with the organization. Stefanski has been a hot head-coaching candidate this cycle after the Browns fired him on Monday. He has already met with the New York Giants and is expected to interview with the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, and Tennessee Titans as well. Stefanski spent the first 14 years of his NFL career on the Minnesota Vikings' coaching staff before joining the Browns in 2019. He finished 45-56 during the regular season in his six years as Cleveland's head coach, leading the team to its first playoff appearance in 18 years and first playoff victory in 26 years.
--Keith HernandezSource: Baltimore Ravens
January 9, 2026
New York Giants running back
Cam Skattebo (ankle) is out of his walking boot after being "stuck" in it for eight weeks, and he said he is on schedule in his recovery from a gruesome dislocated right ankle that he suffered in Week 8, according to Dan Salomone of Giants.com. Skattebo said he will soon start "upping" his speed, and training camp remains his ultimate goal for a return date. The 23-year-old fourth-round pick out of Arizona State last April should be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season this fall as long as he doesn't suffer any setbacks once he begins ramping up on-field workouts.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. remains in the fold in New York's backfield, but before Skattebo's injury, he had become the Giants' clear preferred option at RB. Skattebo is a bruising dual-threat back that had 410 rushing yards and five scores on 101 carries in his first eight NFL games, adding 24 catches for 207 yards and two more TDs.
--Keith HernandezSource: Giants.com - Dan Salomone
January 9, 2026
Houston Texans running back
Jawhar Jordan (ankle) remained sidelined at practice on Friday due to a high-ankle sprain that he suffered on an illegal hip-drop tackle in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Indianapolis Colts, league sources told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. High-ankle sprains often sideline players for multiple weeks, so the 26-year-old Jordan is looking like a long shot to be able to play on Wild-Card weekend on Monday night against the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers. Jordan had taken over RB2 duties in the final few weeks of the regular season from veteran
Nick Chubb before his injury. With Jordan now looking unlikely to play on Monday, expect Chubb to be active against the Steelers and serve as the backup to rookie RB
Woody Marks. Jordan had only 43 rushing attempts for 193 yards and no touchdowns in four games for Houston during the regular season.
--Keith HernandezSource: KPRC 2 Sports - Aaron Wilson
January 9, 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end
Jonnu Smith (glute) was added to the injury report on Friday and was listed as a limited participant in practice, according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor. It's unclear if Smith injured his glute in practice on Friday, but either way, his status for Monday night's Wild-Card game against the visiting Houston Texans is now up in the air. We should have a better idea of his availability after Pittsburgh's final practice of the week on Saturday. With
Darnell Washington (forearm) out of the picture the rest of the way,
Pat Freiermuth would be the team's clear pass-catching tight end on Monday if Smith is unable to play. In offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's multi-TE system, Smith struggled to produce in 2025 after a career year with the Dolphins in 2024. He had just 38 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns for the Steelers during the regular season, and Smith should be ignored in fantasy lineups if he's active, especially with receiver
DK Metcalf returning from a two-game suspension.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Brooke Pryor
January 9, 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers running back
Jaylen Warren (illness) returned to a full practice on Friday, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Warren was under the weather and did not practice on Thursday. Now that he's back, he should be ready to rock by Monday night when the Steelers take on the Houston Texans in a Wild-Card playoff matchup. The 27-year-old back finished as the RB17 in half-PPR scoring during the regular season with 958 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 211 carries. He added 40 receptions on 45 targets for 333 receiving yards and two more TDs. Warren will be splitting the backfield workload with
Kenneth Gainwell, who has become a bigger part of the offense in the second half of the season. Warren should be considered a low-end RB1 during Wild-Card weekend while going up against a Texans defense that allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards to RBs this year.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Brooke Pryor
January 9, 2026
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver
Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle) is considered questionable to play on Sunday against the hosting Philadelphia Eagles in a Wild-Card playoff game, according to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. The questionable tag leaves the door open for Pearsall to play this weekend, but he's definitely on the wrong side of questionable after missing a full week of practice for the second straight week. The 25-year-old aggravated a PCL sprain in his knee that caused him to miss a big chunk of the regular season as well. Fantasy managers definitely shouldn't expect him to be active on Sunday. If Pearsall is officially out for a second straight game,
Jauan Jennings should operate as the team's clear WR1, with both
Demarcus Robinson and
Kendrick Bourne filling bigger roles behind Jennings. Tight end
George Kittle should also be heavily targeted.
--Keith HernandezSource: Bay Area News Group - Cam Inman
January 9, 2026
San Francisco 49ers tight end
George Kittle (ankle) has been cleared from the final injury report and will play on Wild-Card weekend on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. Kittle missed Week 17 with a sprained ankle, but he returned to play 95% of the offensive snaps in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Seattle Seahawks last Saturday. The expectation all along was that the 32-year-old veteran Pro Bowler would be good to go for the first round of the playoffs. The matchup isn't great -- the Eagles' defense allowed the second-fewest half-PPR points to opposing TEs this year -- but Kittle should still be considered one of the best options at the position in fantasy playoff formats. Kittle averaged 12.1 half-PPR points per game (third-most at TE) in his 11 regular-season contests.
--Keith HernandezSource: Bay Area News Group - Cam Inman
January 9, 2026
Philadelphia Eagles tight end
Grant Calcaterra (ankle) upgraded to a full practice on Friday and has been removed from the final injury report for Sunday's Wild-Card playoff matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Fellow TE
Dallas Goedert (knee) has also been cleared after the Eagles rested him in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders. Calcaterra might have been a TE sleeper worth considering for Wild-Card weekend in fantasy football playoff leagues, but only had Goedert missed a second straight game. The 27-year-old will most likely play a limited role on offense for the Eagles against the Niners, so fantasy managers should ignore him everywhere. Calcaterra had only nine catches in 15 regular-season games for 76 yards and one touchdown.
--Keith HernandezSource: Philadelphia Eagles
January 9, 2026
Philadelphia Eagles tight end
Dallas Goedert (knee) upgraded to a full practice on Friday and has been cleared to play in Sunday's Wild-Card game versus the visiting San Francisco 49ers. The Eagles held Goedert out, as they did most of their starters, during the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders. The 31-year-old is ready to play this weekend, though, and he'll be one of the best choices at the TE position for fantasy managers competing in playoff leagues. Goedert tied for the league lead with
Trey McBride for most touchdowns with 11 during the regular season. San Francisco's defense is also extremely banged up and allowed the eighth-most half-PPR points per game in 2025 to opposing tight ends. Goedert finished as the TE3 overall in half-PPR scoring, behind only McBride and
Kyle Pitts Sr.--Keith HernandezSource: Philadelphia Eagles
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