November 26, 2025
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end
Brenton Strange returned from the Injured Reserve in Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals and showed no signs of rust. He converted on all five of his targets for 93 receiving yards. Strange has always been a favorite target of quarterback
Trevor Lawrence, and given their history together, Strange provides a reasonable floor as a tight end in PPR formats. His upside will be limited by the cluttered pass-catching room that now includes
Brian Thomas Jr. (ankle),
Jakobi Meyers,
Parker Washington, and Strange. And while Lawrence is not the type of quarterback to make all of those pass-catchers a great fantasy play weekly, Strange's rapport with Lawrence provides a floor that makes him worth an add if you are struggling at the tight end position or lost
Tucker Kraft (knee) or
Sam LaPorta (back) to injury. Fantasy teams in a pinch, deep leagues, or even two flex spots can also consider Strange for that role. On the season, he's hauled in 25 of his 29 receptions for 297 yards in six games (one of which he was injured early on and did not return).
--Nicho RoesslerSource: RotoBaller
November 26, 2025
With
Garrett Wilson (knee) currently on the Injured Reserve, the New York Jets have been looking to see who would step up and be the team's top pass-catching option. Over the last two weeks, third-year receiver out of Alabama, and a former second-round pick,
John Metchie III, has stepped up and answered that question. The Jets brought in
Adonai Mitchell via trade, and although he has seen 13 targets over the past two games, he has yet to turn that into any production. On the other hand, Metchie has seen 10 targets in the last two games, scored twice, and has hauled in nine of those 10 targets for 110 receiving yards. In Week 12, with
Tyrod Taylor under center, Metchie saw a season high of seven targets, and could be working his way into flex consideration in fantasy football while Wilson remains sidelined with the injury.
--Nicho RoesslerSource: RotoBaller
November 26, 2025
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that Green Bay Packers running back
Josh Jacobs (knee) is "good to go" and will be available to return from his injury for the pivotal Thanksgiving matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers (7-3-1) sit half a game ahead of the Lions (7-4), and the Packers won comfortably over the Lions in Week 1 and have a chance to cement themselves at the top of the NFC North with a win on Thursday. The Chicago Bears (8-3) currently sit atop the NFC North; however, the Packers still face them twice in Weeks 14 and 16, so they control their own fate in the NFC. Jacobs' return is a significant step in the right direction for them to make this end-of-season run. His injury in Week 11 looked bad at first glance, so this news of him already being back is great news for the Packers fans and Jacobs' fantasy owners.
Emanuel Wilson filled in for Jacobs last week and played great, rushing for 107 yards and two touchdowns, so Jacobs' upside may be capped because Wilson has earned more playing time. Still, Jacobs is also a set-it-and-forget-it type of player in fantasy football, regardless of the tough matchup. On the season, Jacobs has 11 touchdowns, 648 rushing yards, and 237 receiving yards.
--Nicho RoesslerSource: Ian Rapoport
November 26, 2025
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports on Wednesday that, despite being limited by calf and knee injuries in practice this week, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver
George Pickens (calf, knee) is expected to play on Thanksgiving against the Kansas City Chiefs, per a source. Pickens popped up on the injury report earlier this week, which caused some stress for Cowboy fans and Pickens' fantasy owners. Still, leading up to the Thanksgiving matchup against the Chiefs, it appears that Pickens will be good to go and can be started confidently as a WR1. Pickens has been spectacular in 2025, heading for career highs, and currently has 1,054 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 67 receptions through 11 games. Even with
CeeDee Lamb returning from injury after missing three weeks earlier in the season, Pickens has continued to produce at an extremely high level and has now scored more than 10 fantasy points in half PPR leagues in all but one game this season, which was Week 1 in his first game as a Cowboy. That puts him at the WR2 overall on the season in fantasy points scored in half PPR leagues, only behind
Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
--Nicho RoesslerSource: Dianna Russini
November 26, 2025
Minnesota Vikings quarterback
J.J. McCarthy, who entered concussion protocol earlier this week, is not expected to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. Next in line to take snaps for the Vikings is rookie quarterback
Max Brosmer, out of Minnesota, who is set to take the first meaningful snaps of his career. Brosmer, undrafted in the 2025 draft, was signed by the Vikings as a priority undrafted free agent. He will look to bring a Vikings offense back to life, featuring playmakers who have underformed all year due to McCarthy's poor play, such as
Justin Jefferson,
Jordan Addison,
T.J. Hockenson, and
Aaron Jones Sr. McCarthy, the Vikings' former first-round pick in 2024, has struggled mightily in 2025, completing only 54 percent of his passes, throwing for 929 yards, six touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in six games played. While it's not clear the timeline and return for McCarthy, as concussion protocols are a tricky game to play, it's possible that if Brosmer plays well, the Vikings continue to let him play to see what they have in him, as it's been a lost season for the (4-7) Vikings after high hopes coming into the season after having 14 regular season wins in 2024 with
Sam Darnold under center.
--Nicho RoesslerSource: Dianna Russini
November 26, 2025
Miami Dolphins running back
De'Von Achane is putting together a phenomenal 2025 season, handling 164 carries for 900 yards and five touchdowns to go with 54 receptions (71 targets) for 370 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver. Achane is the RB4 in PPR points per game this season at 21.4, and is currently on a monster four-game run. The star running back has 428 rushing yards with 22 receptions in the past four games, a feat that only
Jahmyr Gibbs has matched in any four-game stretch this season. Since 2016, the only running backs to hit those dual-threat marks or better over a four-game span include
Christian McCaffrey,
Ezekiel Elliott,
Todd Gurley, and
Le'Veon Bell. Achane's ability to break off explosive runs, combined with his elite pass-catching ability, has made him a fantasy cheat code since entering the league in 2023. He will remain an elite RB1 in Week 13 against the New Orleans Saints.
--Kyle McCarthySource: RotoBaller
November 26, 2025
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver
Ja'Marr Chase will return on Thanksgiving night against the Baltimore Ravens after serving a one-game suspension for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey. Chase unsuccessfully appealed the suspension after clearly being caught on video doing the unsportsmanlike act. The superstar wideout is back, however, and will be joined by his star quarterback,
Joe Burrow, in a big Week 13 divisional game. In two games against Baltimore last season, Chase caught 10 of 12 targets for 193 yards and two touchdowns, and then 11 of 17 targets for 264 yards and three touchdowns. With fellow star wideout
Tee Higgins (concussion) ruled out, Chase should be in for a huge game on Thanksgiving night.
--Kyle McCarthySource: RotoBaller
November 26, 2025
Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver
Brandin Cooks signed with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday and figures to immediately factor into the Bills' plan at wide receiver in some capacity. The Bills have been tinkering with their wide receivers on the roster over the past few weeks, trying to find the right combination on the field. They signed the former Buffalo Bill
Gabe Davis back to the roster along with former Kansas City Chiefs wideout
Mecole Hardman, but then he was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. Second-year wideout
Keon Coleman has served as a healthy inactive for the past two games for disciplinary reasons. Cooks will have an opportunity to make an impact, although it will take him some time to get up to speed. The veteran hasn't shown much in the past two seasons with the Saints and Cowboys, but he isn't too far removed from a solid 2023 season with the Cowboys, where he recorded 54 receptions for 657 yards and eight touchdowns on eight targets in 16 games. Cooks could be worth monitoring over the next few weeks to see how he is integrated into the offense.
--Kyle McCarthySource: RotoBaller
November 26, 2025
Dallas Cowboys running back
Malik Davis has been active for the last five games, mostly contributing on special teams. However, Davis has seen a slight uptick in playing time on offense in the past two games. After playing just 10 snaps total and handling three carries for six yards in his first three games active on gameday, the 26-year-old has played 25 snaps total and rushed seven times for 44 carries in the past two weeks. Davis noticeably has a bit more explosiveness than starter
Javonte Williams and adds a useful change-of-pace element to the Cowboys ' backfield. He had three carries for 24 yards in Dallas' comeback win over the Eagles in Week 12, reaching 15+ mph on two of those carries, per Next Gen Stats. Davis looks like the clear handcuff to Williams at the moment and is stashing on benches in 12-team leagues and deeper.
--Kyle McCarthySource: RotoBaller
November 26, 2025
New York Jets quarterback
Tyrod Taylor performed well in his second start of the season in Week 12 against the Baltimore Ravens, completing 17 of 28 pass attempts for 222 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while adding five carries for 19 yards. Taylor performed well enough against his former team to remain the Jets starter moving forward. His 7.9 yards per attempt ranked eighth among quarterbacks, and his 71.3 QBR was the fifth-best mark in Week 12. The 36-year-old was a noticeable improvement over Fields for at least this game, with one of their trade deadline acquisitions,
John Metchie III, posting a career high six catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Still, the ceiling isn't high for Taylor in fantasy, and he's best viewed as a QB2/QB3 for Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons.
--Kyle McCarthySource: RotoBaller
November 25, 2025
Atlanta Falcons tight end
Kyle Pitts Sr. recorded two catches for 25 scoreless yards in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Saints. While the result was disappointing, the silver lining was that with five targets, the 25-year-old led the team in that statistic. The same was true the last time
Kirk Cousins was the starter in Week 8 against the Dolphins, a game that
Drake London (knee) also missed as he did on Sunday. It's not clear whether or not London will be back in Week 13, but if he were to miss the contest, Pitts could be the frontrunner for targets again, so it will be imperative to watch the injury reports this week. Cousins may spread the ball around a bit more than
Michael Penix Jr. did, though, which could limit the production of the receiving corps, including Pitts. The 6-foot-6 tight end has just one touchdown on the season, so even fewer targets could push him into TE2 territory for Week 13's matchup with the Jets, a defense that is middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to tight ends.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
November 25, 2025
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end
Pat Freiermuth caught all three of his targets for 19 receiving yards and a touchdown in a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. The 27-year-old secured
Mason Rudolph's lone passing score, a three-yard strike in the fourth quarter. Though Freiermuth ranks second on the Steelers in receiving yards and touchdowns, he's fifth in targets, trailing
DK Metcalf (ankle),
Kenneth Gainwell,
Calvin Austin III, and
Jonnu Smith. Even with
Aaron Rodgers (wrist) expected back in Week 13, Freiermuth can't be trusted for fantasy purposes, especially against a Buffalo Bills defense that has shut down opposing tight ends this season.
--Jorden HillSource: ESPN
November 25, 2025
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver
David Sills V caught two of his three targets for 16 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Saints. With
Drake London (knee) and
Michael Penix Jr. (knee) both missing this game, the offense looked a bit different, and the volume was more spread out, with
Charlie Woerner and
Dylan Drummond each earning three targets as well, the first targets of the season for Drummond. If London ends up missing another week, Sills could end up being a low-end WR/Flex flier again for desperate managers in deeper leagues. With a slight height advantage at 6-foot-3 over the other wide receivers who saw action this past weekend, perhaps the 29-year-old could see another red zone look or two against the Jets in Week 13 if London were out, a defense that is bottom-third in terms of fantasy points allowed to the wide receiver position.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
November 25, 2025
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver
Calvin Austin III hauled in four of his five targets for 36 yards in a 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears. Austin appeared to be losing playing time to
Roman Wilson in Week 11, but reclaimed a larger role in Week 12 and paced all Steelers in receiving yards. It's possible he operated as the WR2 due to his prior experience with quarterback
Mason Rudolph, who started in place of
Aaron Rodgers (wrist) and previously played alongside Austin in 2023. That said, fantasy managers shouldn't read too much into this change. Pittsburgh's wide receiver usage remains unsettled, and Austin is best left on watch lists as we monitor how the rotation shakes out heading into a Week 13 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
--Jorden HillSource: ESPN
November 25, 2025
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver
Roman Wilson failed to secure either of his targets in a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. After logging a 57% snap share in Week 11, the second-year pro took the field for just 28% of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps. Meanwhile,
Calvin Austin III, whose playing time dipped the week prior, led the team in receiving with only 36 yards. There is still hope for Wilson down the stretch since no one in the Steelers' receiving corps has established consistent production. However, he's off the fantasy radar in redraft formats heading into a Week 13 meeting with the Buffalo Bills.
--Jorden HillSource: ESPN
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