Category: Baseball

The worst position group for the Cleveland Browns last year was arguably the wide receiver group. GM Andrew Berry took on the assignment to improve this group and get them out of the hole of being ranked #32 last year. In case you are scoring at home, that is dead last.  

In the April draft, Berry selected KC Concepcion of Texas A&M in Round 1, and then with his very next pick he chose Washington’s Denzel Boston.  

RELATED: 2026 GAVE FANS WHAT THEY WANT

Each NFL club usually retains five or six receivers. For the Browns, Jerry Jeudy and the two rookies are a lock. The coaching staff really likes the development of Isaiah Bond. That leaves two spots.

Berry signed Tylan Wallace from the Baltimore Ravens, who is a receiver but was inked for his return skills. But still, he would count as one of the six spots.

That leaves one. The competition is between Cedric Tillman, Larvadain, Luke Floriea, Malachi Corley, and undrafted rookie Ben Patterson.

Tillman was released before “The Turk” shows up on August 30. That means the one roster spot is down to one guy.

Floriea was signed to a reserve/futures deal in January. Jamari Thrash and Corley were tendered in March. Wallace came to Cleveland during the free agency period. Undrafted rookies Aaron Anderson and Kole Wilson were inked right after the draft.

Anderson and Thrash ended up injured and were waived with an injury designation. Undrafted rookie Ben Patterson was then signed to fill the void.

The Ohio kid

Back to Floriea, which is pronounced as “Flo-REE-uh.” He is an Ohio player. He grew up in Mentor, Ohio, and attended Mentor High School, where he played basketball and football despite only being 5’-8” tall and weighing 179 pounds. Floriea was an exceptional basketball player, playing 101 contests and averaging 11.5 points a game, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 4.4 assists. 22 times in his final three seasons, he was named the “Player of the Game.”

In football, he played receiver and ran a 4.48 in the 40 with a vertical leap of 32”. As a senior, he had 52 receptions for 939 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was named Second Team All-Ohio, First Team All-District, and First Team All-County. He was listed as a three-star recruit. Athletics run in the family, as his sister Paige was a track star.

He had plenty of offers, but chose Kent State.

His career totals are 48 games played, 100 receptions for 1,321 yards, 12 TDs, a 13.2 yards-per-reception average, and four rushes for 23 yards with a single score. Floriea was also a return man with seven kickoffs for a 17.8 yards-per-return average, plus 21 punt returns with an average of 7.6 yards per return.

After his junior and senior seasons, Floriea was named First Team All-MAC and received a Hula Bowl invite. As a senior, he caught 44 receptions for 699 yards with seven touchdowns. He ranked fifth in the conference in yards per catch (15.9).

The sixth and final receiver spot on the Browns’ roster is up for grabs. Last year, Floriea was a bubble guy as well, was waived, and then spent the year on Cleveland’s practice squad.

Versus the Patriots

Going into the final preseason game with the New England Patriots, it was made known that the starters weren’t going to play, and this contest was for the bottom third of the roster to prove that they deserved a roster spot.

Like Floriea.

Against New England, Floriea was lined up with the second team. The final catch of the first drive impressed.

Cleveland had driven down to New England’s seven-yard line with a first-and-goal. Rocket Sanders had gotten most of the yardage to finally get the offense down close. With Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, he found Floriea who had come from the left slot to the right flats, alone at the 9-yard line.

He then headed to the right pylon despite three defenders bearing down on him. Staying in-bounds by inches, he fought his way to the pylon for the game’s first touchdown with CB Kindle Vildor and S John Saunders all over him.

Luke powering it in for 6!#NEvsCLE on @NFLonPrimepic.twitter.com/b8BAvwthgP

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 28, 2026

It wasn’t the crossing route, or getting wide open, or his decision to turn upfield, or his speed. It was the fight to get into the end zone for points that was the most impressive.

Make that two touchdowns in two weeks.  

On the next possession, the pass was to WR Greg Larvadain with 7:31 left in the first quarter. Larvadain caught the ball while Floriea then walled off his man, which gave the receiver an extra six yards on the completed pass. It’s plays like this that don’t show up on the stat sheet.

Let’s discuss his second touchdown of the game.

The Browns drove down to New England’s fourteen-yard line. Dillon in shotgun, with Floriea now as the right slot receiver. He did a right juke, then immediately cut to the inside and headed towards the left center of the end zone. He pretty much shrugged off his man, CB Marcellas Dial, but still had a safety man deep. The pass hit him perfectly at the seven-yard line with two steps now on Dial.

His speed got him to the three as S Dell Pettus approached, Floriea gave him a right-turn head bob. This caused Pettus to pause, which gave Floriea a millisecond. Then the two met at the one with a fight to cross the goal line.

DG + Luke = TD 🙌#NEvsCLE on @NFLonPrimepic.twitter.com/mYVj4n5MnH

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 28, 2026

Yes, both scores were against the Patriots’ second-team defense. We get that. However, receivers have the job of catching passes and trying to score. Floriea is doing both. He doesn’t drop balls. He doesn’t throw his arms up when he doesn’t make a contested catch. He accepts incompletions. He runs crisp routes. He sells his fakes. He does his job.  

This year, it just seems different for Floriea. His routes have more meaning. He is giving extra deception and is selling it more.

I’ll be completely honest: What you saw from Luke Floriea tonight is what we see every day in practice. He consistently gets open, makes plays, works hard and is a great teammate.

This isn’t a feel-good story anymore. I talked about him last year, and he continues to produce.… https://t.co/yL72FhBOJm

— Lance Reisland (Coach Riz) (@LanceReisland) August 28, 2026

Take Floriea’s touchdown-not-touchdown in the second quarter. The throw was bad and died heading towards the ground. Yet Floriea made the effort with both hands and was one inch away from his third touchdown of the game. In fact, the initial call was touchdown, but the replay showed a small skip off the turf.   

Is it enough?

Patterson did some good things in the Patriots game, including the 52-yard gain and leading all receivers. He seems destined for the practice squad. Larvadain has had a roller coaster in training camp as well as in preseason games. That might become two down.

Sources: Former #Jets WR Malachi Corley is signing with the #Browns.

I’m told Corley had multiple opportunities on the open market, and ultimately chose Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/bHXDWo8MGn

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 27, 2025

Corley is a guy who failed to wow anybody in preseason, but the coaching staff loves him. He offered more as a complete player last year, even though that was with another staff. But he has a lot of potential, has genuine juice, and came from a college program that was on full throttle every game on offense. He is a weapon once he catches the ball and is an above-average kickoff returner, adding to his versatility. The last receivers on the depth chart usually have to also play on punt and kick coverage units as well, something Corley has experience with.

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Preseason Comparison:

vs. Chicago Bears

Corley: 2 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0.0 average, 0 TD

Floriea: 2 targets, 1 reception, 35 yards, 35.0 average, 0 TD

Larvadain: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 37 yards, 9.3 average, 0 TD

Patterson: 0 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0.0 average, 0 TD

vs. Buffalo Bills

Corley: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards, 13.5 average, 0 TD

Floriea: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 31 yards, 15.5 average, 1 TD

Larvadain: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards, 2.5 average, 0 TD

Patterson: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards, 5.0 average, 0 TD

vs. New England Patriots

Corley: 2 targets, 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0.0 average, 0 TD

Floriea: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 29 yards, 9.7 average, 2 TDs

Larvadain: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards, 9.6 average, 0 TD

Patterson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 71 yards, 35.5 average, 0 TD

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What do you think about Floriea’s chances of making the roster? Should the Browns choose WR talent over special teams contributions to keep the Mentor native?

Hello all! Fantasy football is back for yet another year! Can you believe it? The NFL has been given the go-ahead for another season! This plucky upstart of a league may just make it after all. And as long as the NFL is still churning out football games, I’ll have my drafting tiers for all of you fake footballers. There is plenty of drafting software out there now that can help when you sit down to pick your team, but will they be FREE like my tiers? Will they! No. They probably won’t.

My tiers are like other tiers you’ll find out there in the wild, but these are in PDF form and are printable! This new fangled technology has disrupted the whole fantasy football market! I always draft from printed tiers because it’s easier to see the whole picture of the draft with all the positions and players on one page grouped into tiers of similar value. Give it a go!

2026 Fantasy Draft Strategy

First off, I really want to grab two running backs from Tier 2. If I get the first or second pick, I’ll grab Jahmyr Gibbs or Bijan Robinson. That gives me tremendous fantasy floor and upside and lets me go with the best pick between a wide receiver and running back.

Secondly, I love the first three tiers of wide receivers. After I get my two running backs, I want to go hard in grabbing wide receivers from Tier 3 or Tier 2 if any have fallen.

Thirdly, tight end is deep this year and I don’t feel the need to use a top pick on one of the true studs. I will most-likely grab someone from Tier 3. If I happen to miss all the TEs through Tier 3, I’ll probably grab two tight ends to stream, unless I have really short benches and then I’ll stream from the waiver wire.

Fourthly, I see quarterback as deep as well. Sure, I’d love Josh Allen, but I think the strategic move is to wait, especially in home leagues that often grab QBs early. Which QB I get will probably depend a lot on how the draft goes. If we get into the 6th or 7th round, and someone from Tier 2 has fallen, I’ll grab him. If not, I’ll feel pretty good about getting someone from Tier 4. Jaxson Dart, who is in Tier 4, has a caveat in that I want to make sure I have a usable backup for him, as he spends way too much time in the medical tent.

Fifthly, I almost always wait until the final two rounds for kicker and defense. This is tried and true and I stick by it, but, if somehow Brandon Aubrey falls far enough, and I’m in a league that only starts QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, FLEX, K, D/ST, then kicker takes up a decent portion of your total score each week. Aubrey is going to have some 20 point weeks and average in the double-digits. That can be an edge. Also, be sure to check kicker scoring. If they give you a big boost for 50 and 60 yard field goals, try to get Aubrey.

Lastly, have fun!

Google Doc: PPR Tiers

PDF: PPR Tiers

Ahead of this weekend’s heavyweight title fight between Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic, both fighters showed face for the final press conference before their fists start to fly. Itauma, who has the opportunity to become a world champion at just 21 years old, makes it clear that he’s focused on the belt more than any record.

“I’m not trying to become the second youngest heavyweight champion of the world, I’m trying to beat Filip Hrgovic and become a heavyweight champion,” Itauma said. “Second of all, listen, this fight is what I’ve wanted. I’ve asked Queensberry for so long. I think it’s a style matchup that I reckon I can thrive on, the pressure I can thrive on. Now, it’s just waiting until fight night.”

Hrgovic, 34, hasn’t shied away from the moment himself, having expressed a lot of confidence and being somewhat dismissive of Itauma during their promotional run up to this fight.

“I just telling you facts,” Hrgovic said. “I’m not playing games. I just tell you what I think in the moment. Like I said, I’m not so smart to play these mind games…I think he’s a kid, he’s not mature enough. I think I’m the man, I’m in much better age, much more experienced, and that’s it. No mind games…God willing, I’ll beat him. I’ll smash the kid on Saturday, I’ll send him back to high school.”

Hrgovic would continue to goad Itauma over the course of the event, and you can check out full highlights from the press conference in the link below!

Missouri and Learfield have partnered together for a “historic” sponsorship, the school announced on Friday. With it bring a jersey patch for the Tigers, coming to an agreement with Ambetter Health. This is just the latest college football program to add a patch ahead of the 2026 season.

“In less than three years, we have more than doubled our sponsorship revenue with over 130% growth, establishing significant NIL resources to help our teams secure the talent to compete for championships,” Mizzou athletic director Laird Veatch said in a statement. “That investment reflects the momentum and strength of the Mizzou brand and demonstrates the value we’re creating for our partners. We have asked the major corporate brands in our great state to seize this opportunity to partner with us to continue elevating our university brand and state economy – and many of those brands are responding in record fashion. We are incredibly grateful to these partners, and to our Learfield colleagues at Mizzou Sports Properties, and proud of the momentum we’re building together.

“As we continue to build these powerful partnerships across Missouri, we’re grateful for the incredible alignment we have with state leadership, particularly Gov. Kehoe and Sen. Schmitt, who have clearly demonstrated their support and recognition of the economic impact and brand development power of Mizzou Athletics for the State of Missouri.”

Football is not the only program to work alongside Ambetter Health. Missouri says Olympic sports will also have a patch on their jerseys moving forward. This includes men’s and women’s basketball, along with the baseball program.

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Remember the days when rookie tight ends took a year or two to get up to speed with the offense and contribute in fantasy football? Those days are over. Last season three rookie tight ends cracked the the fantasy tight end top 12. If the player is good and the situation is right, coaches are going to get them on the field.

This year the rookie tight end class isn’t as deep as previous years, but there is talent there. And if things break the right way, we could again see a rookie tight end have fantasy value.

Kenyon Sadiq, Jets

Sadiq went in the first round to the Jets and is easily the best tight end prospect in the draft. Unfortunately, Sadiq had to deal with a hernia which slowed down his progress. He will be available Week 1, but he’ll likely be eased back in. But this is dynasty, and Sadiq is the clear first tight end off the board in rookie drafts.

Eli Stowers, Eagles

Stowers went in the second round of the draft and is the heir apparent to Dallas Goedert in Philly. But Stowers has true receiving chops and is quicker and more versatile as a route runner than Goedert. It will be hard to keep him off the field. Sadiq and Stowers are in their own tier for rookie tight ends.

Eli Raridon, Patriots

Raridon has gotten praise in camp this year and he appears to be next in line for the starting job after Hunter Henry. Raridon can block, but his hands and ability out of the slot are what we are banking on in fantasy. The rookie should get on the field in 2TE formations and be a possible fantasy asset this season if Henry misses any time.

Marlin Klein, Texans

The Texans have Dalton Schultz, but Klein has the upside to develop into a starting tight end. It won’t be this year most-likely, but his elite athleticism and Day 2 draft capital give him a real shot to for a starting job after Shultz is gone.

Captain Lawrence Shankland insists the Rangers players must take responsibility for the "sickening" and "embarrassing" European exit - but denied the club are in crisis.

Rangers are out of Europe before the league phase after defeat in the Europa League qualifiers to Jagiellonia Bialystok was followed by a shootout loss to Jablonec in the Conference League play-offs.

Since leaving Hearts to take charge at Ibrox in June, Derek McInnes has won just two of his first seven games in all competitions and his side already trail Premiership leaders Celtic by five points.

Speaking after Thursday's night's defeat in the Czech Republic, Shankland said: "There's not been too many times in my career where I've had to apologise to our travelling support, but tonight it's certainly one for the team to give them that apology.

"It's obviously been a difficult start to the season and ultimately going out of Europe, it doesn't get much lower than this.

"It's sickening, to be honest, and we need to take responsibility for that as players.

"Obviously we're trying to learn as we go. When results aren't coming, sometimes you can get away with it, and you get results along the way, but that's not happened for us.

"We're getting punished on all fronts, so it is difficult, but we need to keep working hard at it.

"I wouldn't say crisis, but it is obviously a concern. We know that as a team, and for this club to not be in European football, it's an embarrassing moment for us as a team and in that changing room.

"You can't hide behind it, there's nothing to hide behind. The proof is there, it's just not good enough."

Shankland started on the bench in both games against Jablonec and the striker's dream move to the club he supports has not gone as planned.

He admits the European exit is one of the lowest points of his career, while there is no escape from the scrutiny as a Rangers player.

"Everybody's trying to do well, but right now it's not happening, myself included," he added.

"It's just not been at the level required for the start of the season and we're trying to find that form individually and collectively.

"It's difficult, you're judged on everything you do and of course I would have loved to have come here and had a better start, but it's not been the case so far.

"I don't lose belief in what we're doing. Right now it's a horrific feeling, it's a bad moment, but we're going to need to move on at some point. We've got a league campaign to go into."

The 2026 wide receiver draft class wasn’t filled with transcendent players, but that’s not going to stop us from grabbing some high upside rookies this year. In dynasty, I want my rookie running backs to get on the field quickly and show that they can be fantasy relevant sooner than later. With receivers, I’m willing to take a longer look but I still don’t want them to be buried on the depth chart going into their rookie season.

I like this group of receivers. It’s been fun watching them throughout training camp and preseason. And during that time, we’ve seen a few shine and raise their profile. Below, I’ll go through some of the receivers making a move toward playing time this season and hopefully secure a spot on your fake teams for years to come.

Ja’Kobi Lane, Ravens

The Ravens need help at receiver behind Zay Flowers, which pushed them to draft Lane in the third round and Elijah Sarrat in the fourth. So far, Lane has showed well in camp. He gets compared to Michael Thomas, with his sure hands and big frame. Rashod Bateman is the current WR2, but off field issues and just an inability to consistently put up numbers has that No. 2 job up for grabs.

Cyrus Allen, Chiefs

Kansas City needs help at wide receiver. Rashee Rice is good, but he’s not a strong WR1. Add in his off-field issues and injury concerns, and there is room for another receiver to rise in the depth chart. Allen could be that guy or an approximation of that guy. He’s played well in preseason and has gotten plenty of praise from beat writers. I’m willing to take him ahead of his ADP due to his opportunity and offensive environment in KC.

Chris Bell/Caleb Douglas, Dolphins

The Dolphins are in full tank mode, but they’ll still play football games and the players want to win. They lack any veteran wide receivers worth a darn, so their rookies, Bell and Douglas have plenty of room to win playing time. Douglas has been consistent this summer, already winning a starting job come Week 1. Bell is coming off a knee injury, but has finally returned to practice and shed his no-contact jersey. Both receivers could win starting jobs with Jalen Tolbert and Malik Washington as their main competition.

Antonio Williams, Commanders

The Commanders offensive line is in shambles at the moment. The loss of Laremy Tunsil couldn’t have been bigger. Of course, one way to combat the pass rush are quick hitters and the rookie Williams specializes in just that. His ability after the catch should give him chances early on to be useful to the offense.

Germie Bernard, Steelers

Bernard hasn’t done enough this preseason to give us much hope he’ll be a useful fantasy player quickly, but I like his ability and think he can succeed in this offense. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have the hutzpah to go deep like he used too, which means he needs his receivers to catch passes close to mid-range and then make something happen.

The 2025 draft was not brimming at the seams with offensive talent that will quickly transition into big time fantasy football, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t quality running backs to be had from this group. Unfortunately, none of the top backs landed somewhere they’ll quickly be asked to be a bell-cow back. Last year Ashton Jeanie landed with the Raiders to be the no-doubt starter his rookie year, but that didn’t work out quite as well as many, including myself, hoped.

This re-draft year we won’t want to draft a rookie running back in the first round, and with Jeremiah Love’s high-ankle sprain, we’ll need to be a little wary how early we get him. Yes, these are dynasty rankings, but what happens in their rookie years is extremely important in projecting their career. We want that least be able to imagine a pathway to a starting job sooner than later. Running backs don’t have long careers and we want them to get their fantasy stats early and often.

Jeremiyah Love, Cardinals

Love is the no-doubt No. 1 rookie pick in dynasty and the first rookie to go off the board in re-draft. His ability coming out of college is on par with the top backs around the league and if healthy, should have a productive career. He’s very much ahead of the pack as far as draft capital and skill. I’m fine with trading rookie picks, as unproven is still unproven, but if you can’t get a good deal, Love looks like the real deal.

Jonah Coleman, Broncos

The Broncos backfield looks crowded, but JK Dobbins is injury prone and closing in on the end of his career, while RJ Harvey isn’t as effective between the tackles as Coleman. If Dobbins were to go down, Coleman would most likely be the lead back and he has three-down ability. I like his upside and he could get there quicker than you’d think.

Mike Washington, Raiders

Washington has all the attributes to be a starter in this league. He fell in the draft, but his physical make up is right up there with the best in the business and he’s shown well in preseason. If Ashton Jeanty can’t play in Week 1 due to his ankle, Washington would be the next man up and I’d be more than happy to start him in fantasy right from the start.

Emmett Johnson, Chiefs

Johnson lasted until the fourth round, but he’s quickly become the RB2 behind Kennth Walker in Kansas City. That’s a situation I like, as Walker has some trouble staying on the field. This is a situation where I’d be super happy to have both backs on my team.

Kaelon Black, 49ers

The 49ers make some odd picks at times, but they also sometimes work out. Kyle Shanahan is a master at scheming his offense, and rookie backs, if called upon, can take advantage of that. Black hasn’t secured the RB2 job behind Christian McCaffrey, but he’s shown the coaching staff enough to be right in the thick of it.

Rookie running back dynasty rankings

You may have heard that there’s a family reunion happening in Green Bay this week. Have you heard about this? Apparently Matt LaFleur and his younger brother Mike are both NFL head coaches, and their teams are playing each other for the first time.

I’m sure this is news to everyone reading this.

The LaFleur family storyline is fun, but both of these organizations need to focus on finalizing their rosters after Friday night’s game. For Packers fans, that should be the biggest priority here — identifying what the team’s last roster moves will be and getting a bit more clarity on how the lower levels of the depth chart stack up.

Of course, the family angle plays much better for big media sources, so that will surely be a main area of focus during the game broadcast and preview coverage leading up to the preseason finale. So, are you ready for a bunch more fawning coverage about the LaFleur family? We sure hope so, because here it is (along with some other newsy bits).

Football and family go hand-in-hand for the LaFleurs | Packers.com
Here we go.

First Packers-Cardinals LaFleur matchup: From Michigan brothers to NFL head coaches | ESPN
This one at least has an amusing anecdote: that the LaFleur family home has what Matt and Mike’s parents refer to as the “Focker Wall,” in reference to the movie Meet the Parents.

5 things to watch in Packers vs. Cardinals: The final wide receiver battle | Packers Wire
Here’s some actual discussion of what to watch on the field tonight, starting with the battle between J. Michael Sturdivant and Isaiah Neyor for a potential WR7 spot.

Grading Packers’ Signing of Jonnu Smith And Examining How He’ll Fit Offense | SI.com
It’s worth remembering who the offensive coordinator was in Jonnu Smith’s second NFL season: that’s right, Matt LaFleur.

2026 NFL 53-man roster deadline: Cut candidates, trade targets | NFL.com
Packers fans should keep an eye on the running back and tight end cuts from around the league.

The league is making it clear that you can’t just go back and forth between college and pro football whenever you want. That’s probably for the best, but the recent legal rulings have the sport in a very strange place.

Spilled pallets of cheese balls cause traffic mess on 105 Freeway in Lynwood | ABC 7
This is an absolute travesty.

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The New Orleans Saints are 0-2 in the preseason so far and didn’t look pretty in a 34-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. With New Orleans entering their final preseason match, it feels vital to go into the regular season on a high note.

Head coach Kellen Moore has already announced very few starters will see playtime against the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the reserves seeing the bulk of the playing time, there’s still plenty of matchups to pay attention to on Friday night.

Saints secondary vs. QB Joe Milton III

Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III has been lighting it up in the preseason. Through two games, Milton has thrown for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns with just seven incompletions. For short, the Saints defense that just allowed 254 passing yards is in for a challenge.

Milton’s talent is exceptional, and he may be one of the league’s best raw talents. While he hasn’t been able to put it all together as a starter in the league, his name often comes up as a trade target for teams looking for a young passer.

The Saints secondary had a strong showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first preseason outing, despite the loss, but followed it up quickly with a poor performance against the Rams. With questions entering the season centered around the secondary, they’ll need a strong performance on Friday to increase confidence in the depth.

Saints pass rush vs. Cowboys pass protection

Part of Milton’s success has been the Dallas pass protection. Through two games, the Cowboys have only allowed one sack, with Milton himself not suffering a sack.

In preseason week one, the Saints pass rush logged four sacks, with Michael Heldman recording two. But like every other facet of the game, the Saints’ pass rush was terrible against the Rams, failing to record a quarterback hit.

If New Orleans wants to slow down the powerful Cowboys offense, it will come with slowing down the Dallas quarterbacks. If the Saints can replicate their success from their first outing, they will severely increase their chances of coming out on top and winning their first game of preseason.

RB Kendre Miller vs. Cowboys run defense

Running back Devin Neal and Ty Chandler each suffered significant injuries against the Rams. These injuries only emphasized the depletion of available backs the Saints have in the running back room. With the injuries, the Saints traded for Zamir White.

Despite the trade, running back Kendre Miller is still the player with the best chance to take over for Alvin Kamara while he’s away with an injury. Through two games, the Cowboys have allowed 242 rushing yards. While facing a defense that has been vulnerable to the run, the Saints’ run game has been inconsistent.

In his preseason debut against the Rams, Miller only rushed for 22 yards on six carries. While underwhelming, the fourth-year running back had plenty of plays negated by penalties and still showed the ability to create explosive plays. Friday’s matchup is a great opportunity for the young running back, who has a big opportunity to see playtime this season.

Good quarterbacks are tough to find. And even generational talent coming out of college doesn’t always end up being as generational as you’d hoped. I’m looking at you Trevor Lawrence. This also wasn’t the best year for quarterbacks in the draft. But, so much depends on coaching, opportunity and the players around quarterbacks, that some fantasy value could come out of this draft class, but we may need to wait on it.

If you are in a 10-12 team dynasty that starts one quarterback, there really is no need to worry all that much about rookie quarterbacks, especially this season. Yes, Fernando Mendoza is going to play and Klint Kubiak may be able to get him into the upper tier of fantasy QBs sooner than later, but I’m not betting on its especially when I can make bets on RB, WR, and TE instead.

Of course, if you are in a 2QB league, you’re going to need to take fliers on quarterbacks, because their value is much higher when you need 24 starting QBs instead of 12. When those bye weeks come around or injuries pop up, you’ll feel that crunch and desperation for any warm body set in.

The good news is that rookie quarterbacks are cheap to roster, especially this year. Throw them on your bench and see how it goes.

Fernando Mendoza, Raiders

Mendoza is the only quarterback in this draft assured to make an NFL start. The team invested the first overall pick in hi, and they’ll do all they can to make him an NFL QB. I’m still not taking him ahead of the top offensive players in this draft, even if it is a 2QB league. That doesn’t mean he is very much worth drafting for your bench in hopes that Klint Kubiak can work his magic.

Ty Simpson, Rams

After Mendoza, Ty Simpson is the only quarterback with strong draft capitol and he has an old Matthew Stafford nearing retirement ahead of him. This alone makes him worth a pick, but the talent is suspect. Sean McVay and Puka Nacua are enough to give Simpson more upside than he deserves though. He’s a must draft in 2QB leagues and 14 team leagues with deep benches.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in town for a weekend set with the Tigers, and the story will certainly revolve around Tarik Skubal’s return to Detroit. Rarely in franchise history has the organization had such a talented pitcher and it was a pleasure to watch the two-time Cy Young award winner’s career unfold. While Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and Alex Faedo were the hotshot first round picks, Skubal was the afterthought who, through a lot of hard work and development, turned himself into one of the greatest pitchers in Tigers’ history. At the same time, the circumstances between Skubal and the Tigers over his final year with the team are still too fresh in many minds for a dispassionate assessment.

My first experience with Tarik Skubal was just looking him up as a matter of course on draft day 2018, when the Tigers selected him in the ninth round. What we saw was a skinny, young left-hander with an obviously good fastball, but nothing else that really stood out. His breaking stuff and changeup were really mediocre, and my first thought was that he might make a good fastball heavy reliever.

He was impressive in a brief look in A-ball, but there wasn’t much new to report. Then came his full season dominance in 2019 as he tore through High-A, and then went absolutely nuts during a 42.1 inning stint at Double-A to close the year. He was comfortably sitting 95 mph and hitting 97-98 mph here and there, but the carry traits on his fourseamer were just outrageous. His slider was somewhat improved, but he was still heavily fastball reliant, and yet no one could hit him. He struck out 48.2 percent of hitters faced, with an insane 21.7 percent whiff rate. There still wasn’t much artistry to his approach. Instead it looked like a game of catch on steroids as he just threw fastballs by everyone with abandon.

It’s easy to forget how long a process it really was for Skubal to transform himself physically, mentally, and in terms of his actual stuff, into the beast we watched from mid-2023 until he was traded. His 2020 debut during the short COVID season wasn’t impressive at all, and he was marginally better as his slider improved in 2021, but still shockingly home run prone. It didn’t help that MLB cracked down on the sticky stuff in June of 2021, and Skubal’s fastball spin rate notably declined after the new policies and umpire inspections of pitchers was instituted. No doubt there was an adjustment period for him three in recalibrating the heater.

The first big evolution of his pro career came in the wake of those changes, as Skubal started using his sinker and slider more, and the latter pitch improved significantly. He also started leaning into his natural tendency to cut the fourseam fastball and began pitching inside much more aggressively to right-handed hitters, with good results. After being incredibly home run prone his first two seasons, he drastically cut down the home runs allowed in 2022 and was on his way to a very good season before blowing out the flexor tendon in his left elbow at the beginning of August. The process of recovering from that surgery was really where Skubal turned himself into the ace version of himself.

When Tarik Skubal emerged to start making rehab outings in June of 2023, he looked like a whole different person. His legs had turned into tree trunks, and his whole frame was bulked up with good muscle and moving faster and more efficiently than ever before. Suddenly the fastball was routinely 98-99 mph. Reportedly, analysts in the Tigers front office had come up with a seam-shifted changeup for him, and once Skubal got the feel for that pitch he was off to the races with the best fastball-changeup combination in the game.

From that point in mid-2023 through 2025, Skubal was the best pitcher in baseball. In the process, he transformed what was possible for a club still trying to build up their roster. The Tigers front office was slow on the uptake in my opinion, and really never made a serious effort to capitalize as their young talent from the great Avila draft classes of 2018-2020 came into their own. The Tigers won a pair of Wild Card series, and came close to advancing to the ALCS last fall, but ultimately they were always a big piece or two short of looking like a legit World Series contender.

The point of going back through his history is just to re-emphasize that Skubal was never the guy. He turned himself into the monster he became with a ton of drive and hard-work. He did so as a perfect citizen in the Tigers’ clubhouse, providing leadership and motivation to all around him. He breathed fire on the mound and wasn’t shy of a little chirping with opposing teams and fanbases, all while maintaining a very open, light-hearted approach to the media. This isn’t Justin Verlander, who was always the man right from the start, with all the physical gifts one could ask for in a pitcher, including downright ludicrous durability. Skubal was a nobody who built himself up into one of the most overpowering pitchers in recent history, and secured his place in history already by winning back-to-back AL Cy Young awards.

It’s hard to find much fault with Skubal here. The time to pursue an extension was after his 2023 breakout. The Tigers apparently made one vague, lowball extension offer in 2024, and neither party broached the subject again. At that point he was too close to free agency to go offering a huge discount. Whether Skubal wanted to stay or not, and he’s always insisted that he’d love to be a Tiger for life, Scott Harris never seemed very interested. At the same time, as a Scott Boras client and union rep for the Tigers, whether Skubal would have considered a less than full market value extension is an open question. A question the Tigers never tested with an offer.

Losing a player of this caliber is really hard on a fanbase. Smaller market clubs are accustomed to being poached by the Dodgers and Yankees of the baseball world, but it never feels good, especially on a team that actually had preseason hopes. Tarik Skubal’s emergence as the best pitcher in baseball helped open a window of contention and gave us all a pretty good dose of postseason baseball. While some remain frustrated that he didn’t pitch an extra inning in Game 5 of last year’s ALDS, he’s certainly the one who did the most to get them there.

From the end of the 2025 playoffs until he was traded on August 1 to the Dodgers, an absolute storm of scutiny and speculation from national and local media followed Skubal wherever he went. At times, he didn’t handle it that well, as his natural desire to be open and well-liked by the Tigers’ fanbase led him into some traps. He couldn’t talk numbers, and by then it was finally clear to everyone if it wasn’t already, that he was going to free agency. But because he’s the one center stage and can’t hide from the drama, it was up to him to field the same types of questions over and over for the nine months until he was traded. He arguably put his foot in his mouth a few times, but for the most part he conducted himself admirably.

Fundamentally, all a player can do is play and conduct themselves like a professional. They’re judged by how they perform, and to a degree for how well they represent the franchise and the fanbase with their conduct. Skubal was close to impeccable on both counts, and while it’s natural for some to have some hard feelings, there’s really no reason to direct any of that at Tarik Skubal. He did everything he could to win in Detroit, even rushing through a bit of an experimental procedure on his elbow in May to try and get back to action as soon as possible. We were fortunate to have him and there’s really nothing to suggest the Tigers ever seriously pursued keeping him long-term.

What is really going to be interesting now though, is whether a combination of his somewhat injury plagued season and a whole host of issues with the league, the Dodgers, and the next CBA will impact his free agency. A year ago, he looked like he might land a $400 million deal from the Dodgers. Now, with a slightly down year at age 29, with the 2027 season in at least some doubt, and with their ownership mired in financial trouble, things are a lot less clear. Will the Tigers be involved? Who knows, but at least the field seems to be opening up.

When Tarik Skubal returns to the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight, let’s hope he gets a full throated standing ovation from the Tigers’ faithful. He’s earned it. His peak puts him among the best Tigers’ pitchers of all-time, and when some of the heat from the drama of the past year subsides, that legacy in Detroit is all that will remain. Seeing him on the mound is going to bring up a broad mix of emotions from Tigers fans, but it’s also a bit of a relief to have the drama behind us. The Tigers are headed into a tricky time for the organization and there’s a lot to consider going into the offseason. Tarik Skubal is not really one of those things right now, so perhaps Friday night will just be cathartic in a sense and everyone can move on, at least for now.

Welcome back home, Tarik. We hope you get the love you deserve, and then the Tigers drop an eight-spot on you somehow. It’s all in the game.