RADIO
Darnell Mooney's Path to Targets Keeps Shrinking
New York Giants wide receiver Darnell Mooney is getting squeezed out of the fantasy conversation. He signed in March with a decent path to targets after a 32-catch, 443-yard season in Atlanta, but rookie Malachi Fields has spent the summer making that path a lot less comfortable. Fields caught all three of his targets for 34 yards and a touchdown in the preseason opener, then kept building momentum in camp. SNY reported this weekend that the third-round pick could work in tandem with Malik Nabers, even though the Giants' unofficial depth chart still lists Mooney ahead of him. That's the problem for Mooney. New York also kept Darius Slayton and Odell Beckham Jr., while Nabers is working toward a Week 1 return. RotoBaller now has Fields at WR76 in half-PPR formats and Mooney down at WR106. Mooney still has speed and familiarity with offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, but there just isn't much room left for a dependable target share.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Mack Hollins Re-Enters the Deep-League Conversation
New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins has a little more room to matter in deeper leagues after Kayshon Boutte was traded to Houston. Hollins already found a way onto the field last season, catching 46 passes for 550 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games before adding 129 yards and another score over New England's final two playoff games. His summer was encouraging, too. Patriots.com noted that Hollins worked with the first-team offense in heavier personnel groupings, where Drake Maye found him repeatedly on play-action throws. The Boutte trade clears out one more receiver, but this is still a crowded room. A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs and DeMario Douglas sit ahead of Hollins on the unofficial depth chart, and Kyle Williams earned a role with a strong preseason. RotoBaller has Hollins at WR91 in half-PPR formats, so this is not a standard-league target. In deeper drafts, though, his blocking, size and situational role give him a slightly cleaner path to usable weeks than he had before the trade.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
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
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
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
Jake Tonges Appears Unlikely to See Fantasy-Relevant Workload in San Francisco
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
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
Antonio Williams' Path to Immediate Production in Washington May Be Blocked
A third-round pick out of Clemson this past April, Washington Commanders rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams appeared to have a chance to play a significant role in his team's offense at the start of the summer. However, the Commanders' addition of veteran wideout Stefon Diggs in early August may have eliminated Williams' path to high-end usage early on. Between Diggs and star wideout Terry McLaurin, Washington now has two wide receivers who should both easily clear 100+ targets if they are able to stay on the field in 2026. Commanders tight end Chig Okonkwo has recorded at least 50 receptions in three straight seasons and may also be more heavily featured in the Washington pass game than Williams. While Williams remains an intriguing option in dynasty leagues, his redraft value for 2026 could be limited without an injury to the wide receivers ahead of him on the Commanders' depth chart.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Travis Hunter a Risky Wide Receiver Option Amidst Major Role Uncertainty
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter was an inconsistent producer on offense as a rookie in 2025, recording 29 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown on 45 targets across seven games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Early reporting out of Jaguars camp this summer indicated that Jacksonville planned to continue using Hunter on both sides of the ball. However, more recent news indicates that the 23-year-old's efforts have been focused almost exclusively on defense as the season draws closer. Deploying Hunter more as a cornerback would make sense for Jacksonville given that the team has three quality wide receivers in Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr., and Jakobi Meyers. While Hunter still may see some snaps as a wide receiver, it seems unlikely that he will log enough playing time and/or a large enough target share to be a reliable fantasy wideout in 2026.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Oronde Gadsden's Stock Falling Due to Uncertain Role in Los Angeles
A fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden was a pleasant surprise for fantasy managers during his rookie season. Across 15 games (seven starts), the 23-year-old recorded 49 catches for 664 yards and three touchdowns on 69 targets. Despite the encouraging rookie campaign, Gadsden's fantasy value has fallen over the course of the summer. The Chargers added a pair of veteran tight ends in the offseason in Charlie Kolar and David Njoku, both of whom may currently be above Gadsden on the team's depth chart due to their superior skill set as blockers. Los Angeles also has plenty of target competition for Gadsden in its wide receiver corps between wideouts Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Tre' Harris. While Gadsden still carries some upside, his lack of a clear role in the Chargers offense makes him a player for redraft managers to avoid ahead of 2026.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Kenyon Sadiq Unlikely to be Immediate Contributor After Injury-Riddled Camp
New York Jets tight end Kenyon Sadiq (hernia) had his first pro camp slightly derailed due to a hernia. The rookie missed most of training camp, as well as all three of the Jets' preseason games. Being available throughout the summer is pivotal for all players, but especially rookies who are trying to adapt to the speed of the NFL while making a good impression. Sadiq's injury has delayed him significantly, making it unlikely that he carves out a fantasy-relevant role early in the season. His age (21) and draft stock (16th overall pick) still make him a must-roster tight end in dynasty leagues, but he's no longer a must-draft player in redraft formats. He has fallen to TE27 in RotoBaller's redraft rankings, and he could slip even further if Mason Taylor handles the bulk of the snaps in Week 1. Sadiq currently has a redraft ADP of 169.4, which corresponds to the 15th round of fantasy drafts and makes him the 23rd tight end off the board. At that same price tag, we'd prefer slightly safer tight ends like Dalton Schultz, Oronde Gadsden II, T.J. Hockenson, and AJ Barner.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Tyler Warren Carries High-End TE1 Upside with Improved QB Health in Indianapolis
Across 17 games as a rookie in 2025, Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren recorded 76 catches for 817 yards and four touchdowns on 112 targets. The 24-year-old got off to a dominant start to the season, but his production tapered off down the stretch. From Week 12 onward, Warren recorded just one touchdown catch and failed to log more than 43 receiving yards in any game. However, Warren's worst run of the season largely correlated with the health of Colts QB1 Daniel Jones, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 14. Heading into 2026, Jones will be back under center for Indianapolis. The Colts also traded away veteran wideout Michael Pittman Jr. over the offseason, which could put Warren in position to be the team's clear number one target in its passing game. Warren carries high-end TE1 potential for fantasy managers into 2026.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Keeps Building His Case for More Work
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has made a stronger case for more work heading into Year 2. The rushing production was already there after he turned 175 carries into 805 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, but the bigger development this summer has come without the ball. Washington senior writer Zach Selby called Croskey-Merritt's pass protection arguably the biggest thing that stood out during a good camp, and that matters after those struggles cost him snaps at times last season. Dan Quinn has also praised the progress he's made as a receiver. A late-August groin injury interrupted things for a bit, but Croskey-Merritt was back on the practice field Sept. 1 and spoke with reporters after practice two days later. Rachaad White still gives Washington another option, especially on passing downs, so this is not suddenly a one-back setup. Still, RotoBaller has moved Croskey-Merritt from RB43 earlier this offseason to RB37 in its Sept. 6 half-PPR rankings. He has done enough this summer to justify the bump.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
