Category: MLB

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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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.

Labor Day steals fast upon us, and in baseball language, this means we’re closing in on the point in the season when a team’s record and standings are a truer indicator of underlying value than vague talk about “parts” and “clubhouse vibes” and “potential.” It’s been a difficult year for the Orioles by most measures—a losing record (65-69), injuries hitting both the rotation and the bullpen, and a trade deadline that saw several key pieces sent off. Even so, with roughly a month remaining in the season, the Orioles remain within range in a tight AL Wild Card race: the Yankees and Red Sox hold the top two spots, while the Cleveland Guardians hold the third, with Baltimore, Texas, and a few others a handful of games away.

The Orioles have us at least thinking about believing again. But is hope warranted? There is good news and bad news here.

One hopeful piece is the offense: the lineup has started to heat up at just the same time Cleveland has to be caught. The Orioles’ offense has been a drag all year —while they’ve hit well for power, their .237 team batting average is one of the worst in the league. But you wouldn’t know it of late. The batting average is up by 20 points, and their latest series against the Cardinals was one of their most prolific to date. The Birds put up 13 runs on Tuesday, eight more on Wednesday, and five more in Thursday’s loss. Several players are leading the charge. Pete Alonso has nine homers in his last 16 games. Coby Mayo has been part of the resurgence too—he’s tied Matt Olson for the MLB lead with 14 homers against lefties—and Christian Encarnacion-Strand is suddenly OPS’ing over .800 and racking up clutch hits right and left. Dylan Beavers and Jackson Holliday are finding it, too. Eight different O’s hitters are now carrying a 100-plus wRC+.

The trouble is, the offensive resurgence is coinciding with a stretch where the pitching is starting to flag. The bullpen is one culprit, if not a surprise one. This is a collection of nobodies, to put it affectionately, especially given the injuries. Keegan Akin was lost to elbow pain in July and is done for the year. Ryan Helsley has been on the injured list since July 3 with UCL inflammation—his second elbow-related IL stint of the season—and while he’s avoided surgery, there’s no clear return date. Félix Bautista has been on the shelf with elbow troubles for over a year. And selling off Tyler Wells at the trade deadline, the closest thing the O’s had to a closer with Helsley on the shelf, certainly wasn’t a move designed to help win close games now. Recently calls to the ‘pen have proven suspect: manager Craig Albernaz still hasn’t settled on a ninth-inning option, cycling through Andrew Kittredge—who did lock down Wednesday’s save—Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram, and Alex Hoppe, the last of whom only arrived in early August.

Another, less expected problem is that the Birds’ rotation is looking as shaky as it has all season all of a sudden. This is a solid group on paper—Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Chris Bassitt, Shane Baz, and Brandon Young—but lately they’re showing wear and tear. On Thursday, Trevor Rogers showed signs of fatigue, allowing six runs on seven hits in five innings, undone by a hanging changeup and control problems. Kyle Bradish is also losing his magic, collapsing in the fifth inning Wednesday and leaving the bullpen to cover 4⅔ scoreless frames just to save the win. Bradish just signed a five-year extension and is already at 143 innings this season, after throwing barely 70 combined in the previous two years while recovering from elbow trouble. Brandon Young, the rookie who nearly threw a perfect game this year, is also worth watching for fatigue: his 3.50 ERA is a genuine achievement for a consummate dark horse, but 123⅓ innings is already more than he’s ever thrown as a professional. And Shane Baz, through no fault of his own, is apparently a bad-luck charm for the Orioles’ offense, sporting a league-high 14 losses despite a 4.02 ERA and the third-worst run support of any starter in baseball.

Circling back to the question of the playoffs, it’s hard to think, even if the Orioles continue to hang tough with the Cleveland Guardians, that these flaws won’t surface down the stretch against a bunch of competitive AL East teams hungry to make the playoffs. The Yankees (75-58) and Red Sox (73-60) are already hold the two spots, and they’re pretty well uncatchable at this point. Three games separate the Orioles from Cleveland, bearer of the third spot, but their schedule requires them to face all their neighbors in the AL East down the stretch. A thin bullpen and a tiring rotation might be surmountable against the Athletics and Rockies, but they’re much harder problems against Boston, Tampa Bay, and Toronto—all clubs with real postseason ambitions of their own—on the way to the finish line.

The O’s are more than talented enough to make noise in the wild-card race, but do they have the depth to do much damage beyond it? It’s hard to think so. At the same time, you want to catch the bug and ride out the momentum of this season while we can. So let’s enjoy a stretch against weaker competition, a three-game set at Oakland beginning today and a weekend trip to Colorado, while we try to figure out once and for all who the 2026 Orioles really are. If this team is for real, this stretch is the time to prove it.

Tue Denver Broncos host the Minnesota tonight for their preseason finale. Coming off an embarrassing blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers last week, the Broncos have a lot of issues to work out. Here are several storylines to watch this evening in Denver’s last gridiron battle before the regular season kicks off in a few weeks against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

Can the Broncos play disciplined and dial back the penalties?

The Broncos have experienced an impressive turnaround with Head Coach Sean Payton leading the way. Despite incurring a historic amount of dead cap by moving on from Russell Wilson several seasons ago, Denver has assembled one of the best rosters in the NFL. Moreover, General Manager George Paton has done a tremendous job inking the team’s best players to long-term contracts that have aged well as the market continues to explode at premium positions.

Coming off their first AFC title in a decade and 14-win season, the Broncos are in the best spot they have been in ages. However, they have one of the toughest schedules for the upcoming 2026 season. They face a gauntlet in the first half of the season—going head-to-head against a lot of playoff teams and potential Super Bowl contenders. It’ll be tough to win those games, especially if they continue their poor trend of drawing flags.

Last season, the Broncos were the fourth-most flagged team in football. A lot of offensive drives were stalled due to them, and many drives for the opposition were extended due to consistent defensive holding, pass interference, or roughing the passer penalties. So far this preseason they have had 18 called against them. That’s a nine per game average which is absolutely alarming.

This is a well-coached team, but the miscues and penalty issues that have plagued them for the past several seasons needs to be addressed. Payton was visibly upset with their lack of discipline after their loss to the Packers and mentioned it has to be rectified. That’s one of the major things I’m looking forward to seeing.

Will the Broncos’ rushing attack bounce back?

One of the reasons why the Broncos were able to trounce the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason opener was because of their ground game. They rushed for over 160 yards. By doing so, they set the pace of the game and controlled the clock. Against the Packers last week, they had less than half of that and barely averaged three yards per carry.

That isn’t going to cut the mustard when it matters most. The Vikings have a well-coached defense led by Brian Flores who has a penchant for being aggressive and blitzing. Sometimes, that can backfire on them, and they were in the bottom half of the NFL last season with respect to run defense. I want to see Denver take advantage of that and have a strong rushing performance this evening.

Having a solid ground attack will make a huge difference for the Broncos this season. Fans across Broncos Country saw what happened in the second half of the season without J.K. Dobbins. I’m hoping to see Denver deploy a formidable rushing attack against Minnesota and would like Dobbins, alongside RJ Harvey and Jonah Coleman, to show what kind of trio they can be in the regular season.

What players make the strongest case to make the final 53-man roster?

Continuity was a major theme for the Broncos this offseason. Outside of trading for Jaylen Waddle and their 2026 NFL Draft class, Denver didn’t opt to bring in a lot of outside players to their roster. It’s a team loaded with quality starters and solid backups at most positions. Truth be told, there aren’t a lot of positions up for grabs.

The preseason finale against the Vikings will be the last chance for fringe roster players to make a case to earn a spot on the roster. The spots I’m looking at the most are who impresses the most at safety. With Taylor Rapp in the fold alongside Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga, those three will be locks for the final roster.

The last two spots, if Denver opts to keep five safeties like last season, will come down to Devon Key, Tycen Anderson, J.L. Skinner, and Miles Scott. Key, given his prowess as an All-Pro special team’s player seems likely. Whichever player flashes the most in their defensive reps, in my opinion, will be the one to make the squad.

Outside of safety, the battle for two depth spots behind Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad looms large. Karene Reid has played well in both preseason games and seems like a good bet to make the squad. The last spot will come down to Red Murdock, Taurean York, and Jordan Turner. My gut tells me Murdock has the inside track for this one given the praise he has received from Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph throughout training camp.

Last but not least, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the offensive trenches. The Broncos have been banged up at center and most all the reserve lineman struggled immensely last week against the Packers. While I’m confident in the team’s starters to play at a high level, finding the right combination of depth players behind them will be crucial. There have been far too many offensive line penalties and blown blocks the past two weeks.

What about you, Broncos Country? What things are you keeping a close eye on in the preseason finale against the Vikings? Sound off in the comments section and let me know what you think.

Anyone who has followed the Jets at any sort of detailed level over the years knows they have seen their fair share of preseason standouts. For the most part, these players don’t work out.

For every Wayne Chrebet, there have been countless guys who Jets fans have gotten excited about, only for them to never make much of an impact at the NFL level. Zach Sudfeld, Rontez Miles, Chris Streveler, Ryan Spadola, Clyde Gates…well, you get the point.

Preseason normally doesn’t tell us much, and unfortunately, beating up on a bunch of backups and fringe roster players doesn’t necessarily translate to making valuable contributions during the regular season. However, what if I told you there was a player on the 2026 Jets who might actually be able to make an impact going forward because of his intriguing profile and history?

Listen, listen. I know how this sounds.

I just gave you a complete warning about why you cannot delude yourself into buying into positive preseason performances. I’m always reminded of Tobias Fünke’s hilarious line from Arrested Development whenever I start talking myself into one of these guys:

That pretty much sums it up. It never works. Or, at least, it hardly ever works in NFL terms. But as fans, we delude ourselves into thinking there’s a chance.

This year, my guy is Nate Lynn.

Lynn is a recent acquisition who stood out in the Jets’ preseason opener last week. And while it would be incredibly premature to suggest he’s going to become some sort of impact player (or even make the team), there are enough things about his background and profile to make me at least a little more interested than I normally would be in a preseason standout.

Let’s take a look at Lynn’s history and why there might be something here.

Background

Lynn is a 24-year-old edge rusher entering his third season in the NFL.

He originally came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2024 after a strong collegiate career at William & Mary. Known for his versatility, Lynn played all over the defensive line in college, often moving inside despite weighing around 255 pounds.

That versatility was a big part of what made him interesting. He had impressive speed for someone who spent so much time lined up around the B-gap, although his testing numbers were much more modest when viewed strictly through the lens of a stand-up edge rusher.

Still, Lynn evidently did enough to impress then-Lions general manager Brad Holmes and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

After a solid offseason and training camp, Lynn’s rookie season was unfortunately cut short in his very first preseason game against the Giants. He suffered a torn ligament in his shoulder, which was particularly discouraging considering he had already flashed with a sack in the game.

Lynn spent the entire 2024 season on injured reserve. Then came 2025.

Once again, Lynn generated buzz throughout the offseason, with Brad Holmes publicly describing him as “impressive.” And his preseason performance backed that up. In four preseason games (the Lions played in the Hall of Fame Game) Lynn accumulated 10 total pressures and a sack. Those 10 pressures ranked among the top three of all edge rushers that preseason, while his PFF grade and pass-rush win rate were both in the 99th percentile among qualified pass rushers. Despite all of that, Lynn was cut.

That came as somewhat of a surprise. A quick look at the Lions 53-man roster projections from beat writers that summer shows that Lynn was generally expected to make the team. The overall sentiment seemed to be that he had done enough to stick around. Instead, he ended up signing with the Titans’ practice squad.

Then came another regime change, and Robert Saleh ultimately opted not to keep him around. That brings us to the Jets.

So, What Do We Make of Him?

Lynn has played just one preseason game with the Jets, but he immediately looked like one of the best players on the field, even if he was doing it against backups. He finished with two sacks against the Steelers and was the Jets’ second-highest graded defensive player in the game. One of those sacks came against Steelers starting tackle Broderick Jones.

Obviously, none of this means Lynn is suddenly going to become a star. If anything, he might still be more likely not to make the Jets’ 53-man roster. That’s the reality of being an undersized, relatively unproven edge rusher who has bounced around the league. The intriguing part though, is Lynn has now produced in essentially every preseason setting in which he’s been given an opportunity. In 2025, he was one of the most productive pass rushers in the entire preseason and still couldn’t crack the Lions’ roster. Now, a year later, he has joined another team and immediately flashed again.

Maybe this is just another case of a guy dominating against players who won’t be on NFL rosters in a few weeks. There are certainly plenty of reasons to believe that. But unlike some of the classic Jets preseason stars we’ve fallen in love with over the years, Lynn at least has a track record that makes me a little more interested. He has collegiate production, legitimate versatility, and he has already flashed on multiple occasions in preseasons.

Now he has one more preseason game to make his case. He’s got a lot to play for tonight. And I’ll be rooting for him.

The 2012 edition of the famed Madden game was graced by Peyton Hillis. He earned that honor after a season where he rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns. What followed was a season where he missed six games, he ran for less than half as many yards (587), and only found the end zone three times. In fact, after his double-digit touchdown season, he only found pay dirt six more times for the rest of his career. 

This is just one example of what is known as “The Madden Curse.” A phenomenon where NFL players are destined for a terrible season (and, in the case of Hillis, a terrible career) whenever they are bestowed with the privilege of being on the cover of the sport’s most popular game.

Why am I bringing this up? The NBA has something of a curse of its own brewing. You’ve likely heard some variation of this stat: there has not been a back-to-back champion since 2018. We’ve had eight brand new teams hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the last eight years. Even more damning, no reigning champion has even made it back to the NBA Finals in their title defense.

The reason for this is mainly due to the introduction of aprons making it hard to maintain your core for very long, but that’s besides the point. Right now, the New York Knicks are the top dogs in the association, staring down the brutal Curse of a Champion. But do they have what it takes to end this nonsense once and for all?

What’s Changed?

The Knicks do have quite a bit of continuity. Eleven of their 13 top players in total minutes played from last year are back. However, one of the two guys missing from that group is Mitchell Robinson – the second-best offensive rebounder in the NBA (Steven Adams is the king of the crop) and the heart and soul of a team that has finished top-six in the advanced version of that stat in four of the last five years. And the other loss was his heir apparent: Ariel Hukporti.

Their big addition is Andre Drummond – a veteran journeyman who is also known as a chairman of the boards. He should be able to mitigate some of the loss felt by Robinson. And offensively, their perfectly-fine tuned machine should keep running smoothly. 

The East has become more challenging. Both Robinson and Hukporti went to contenders, and the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and Cleveland Cavaliers all made trades in the last six months that should (theoretically) improve their teams. The San Antonio Spurs – the final boss for the Knicks this past postseason – are another year older and more battle-tested. The Oklahoma City Thunder are still a looming giant, and, for their sake, hopefully the injury gods aren’t so cruel this go around. The Los Angeles Lakers are re-tooled and frisky.

Can The New York Knicks Go Back-To-Back?

The big question for me is how much of last title run was real. According to Spotrac, the Knicks had the second-fewest dollars lost due to injury last season. Their postseason strength of schedule wasn’t exactly a Murderers’ Row, either. Before the Spurs (2nd in net rating), they beat the Atlanta Hawks, 76ers, and Cavaliers, who ranked 12th, 18th, and 9th in net rating, respectively.

These points aren’t intended to dismiss the scope of their accomplishments. All past champions have benefitted from luck in some form or the other, but that doesn’t change the fact that luck played a part, and that luck isn’t something you can consistently bank on.

Even more than that, the Knicks unlocked were in a special kind of flow state for the final 16 games of the postseason – winning 15 of those contests by an average margin of victory of 17.1. Their ball movement and variance in attack points was exquisite, while their defense moved together like five puppets on a string in harmonious fashion. 

The New York Knicks have outscored their opponents by 272 points in the past 12 games

That's the best 12-game stretch from any team in NBA history, regular season or playoffs pic.twitter.com/BxQEJjDUca

— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) June 4, 2026

Did the Knicks crack the code and find basketball nirvana? Is this just who they are now? Or was this just lightning in a bottle – brought upon by a perfect confluence of factors? 

On FanDuel, the Knicks currently have the third-highest odds (best odds in the Eastern Conference) of winning the 2027 NBA Championship at +900 (an implied probability of 10%). I’m personally bullish on the Toronto Raptors and think they have the best blend of two-way balance on their roster of any East team, but even with that view, I still think they are only slightly better than the Knicks. And to me, I’d say that the oddsmakers are right to rank them as a top tier Eastern Conference team.

At the end of the day, it’ll come down to how well they can overcome the loss of Robinson, how much their continuity gives them an edge over the teams playing with new toys, how much of their postseason success carries over to next year, and if they can get another relatively clean bill of health. 

If those storylines end up falling in their favor, I certainly wouldn’t be shocked to see the Knicks repeat as champions and put an end to this dreaded curse once and for all. 

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers were off yesterday.

Evan Grant writes about a huge series against the best team in baseball and why it could have a lasting impact even beyond 2026.

MLB dot come assesses the situation in the AL Wild Card race.

Jack Leiter came out of the bullpen in his third rehab appearance.

And Evan also answered a bunch of Rangers questions in a YouTube live stream.

That’s all for this morning. The Rangers start up a series against the Brewers tonight at 6:40 with Cody Bradford on the mound for Texas.

Happy Friday!

Below you will find our dynasty rankings for the year’s NFL rookies. We of course need to take a long view in dynasty leagues, but we know that an offensive rookie who doesn’t get playing time in year one is going to have an uphill battle for fantasy relevancy. That means we want to pick players with at least a decent path to playing time, and it wouldn’t hurt if they are also on a team with a strong base offensively.

As evaluators we can love a player in college, but if he isn’t drafted early, giving him strong draft capital, he’ll need a lot of things to go his way before putting up consistent fantasy numbers. This means you can go off script a little when picking rookies, but you don’t want to wander too far from the first few rounds of the draft.

This year also is a little weak in offensive rookie depth overall, so if you do have a player you feel can make a jump despite poor draft capital, feel free to grab him, as there just aren’t a lot of strong prospects going in the 4th rounds of your rookie draft this season.

First overall pick

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Cardinals

His high ankle sprain is worrisome for this season, but he’s still the no-doubt No. 1 dynasty rookie pick. His ability should transition well to the NFL and despite landing on a down Cardinals team, he should see enough work to instantly be a fantasy asset when healthy. See if you can use his inauspicious start to trade for him or trade up to the No. 1 pick. He’s truly the cream of this crop.

When to draft Jordyn Tyson?

The Saints didn’t mind Tyson’s injury history, taking him 8th overall, with Carnell Tate as the only receiver ahead of him with pick No. 4. Tyson’s ability is great, but his injury history is scary, especially when you consider he suffered yet another hamstring injury during preseason and will miss at least the first few games of the year. We’ve seen players deal with recurring hamstring injuries that can plague them for years, but we’ve also seen players getting past the injury bug and put up strong, healthy careers.

I don’t love the overall talent in this bunch of rookies, so I’m willing to go after Tyson with the second or third pick despite the injury issues.

Rookie risers

Each training camp and preseason elevates few rookies into positions where they could see work early on. Here are some I’ve moved up my draft board.

Mike Washington, RB, Raiders

Washington has looked great so far and has shown that his odd college career won’t define him. His speed and elusiveness are NFL caliber and he’s already won the backup job to Ashton Jeanty. And if Jeanty’s ankle isn’t ready for Week 1, Washington could be a flex start from Day 1.

Emmett Johnson, RB, Chiefs

The Chiefs are going to rely more on the run this season after Patrick Mahomes’ ACL tear and signing Kenneth Walker. They also drafted Johnson, who has already won the No. 2 job behind Walker. Walker is a great runner, but does miss games due to nagging injuries. I expect we’ll see Johnson get his shot sometime this season.

De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, 49ers

Stribling wasn’t draft evaluators favorite receiver, but there’s no doubt he has the physical attributes to play in the NFL and now it looks like he’ll have the opportunity. He still has Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey ahead of him on the target tree, but that tree is looking ancient and hollow right now. Stribling will get work this season and what he’s shown in preseason looks more than legit.

On Tuesday, college baseball took one step closer to implementing technology that can ensure more accuracy in the game.

The automated ball-strike system, known as ABS, was approved for use across all divisions of college baseball starting next season.

BREAKING: The automated ball-strike system has been approved for use in all college baseball divisions next season.

The Division I Baseball Oversight Committee and the Division II and Division III Playing Rules Oversight Panel voted to give teams the option, when available, of… pic.twitter.com/FeLIi8GcTt

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) August 25, 2026

Following NCAA approval in July, Tuesday’s statement was that the Division I Baseball Oversight Committee and the Division II and III Playing Rules Oversight Panels approved the usage of the technology.

Considered an experimental rule, individual teams will have the option to use the system as long as the technology is available at their facility.

The SEC experimented with ABS during their conference tournament in Hoover for the 2026 season. It was highly successful with a conversion rate of 56.2%. There were 105 challenges and 59 of those were overturned. Each team started the game with 3 challenges and retained them upon a successful attempt.

With umpiring being far from perfect, especially in the SEC, ABS feels like a no-brainer. It’s quick and barely slows down the flow of the game. The pitcher, catcher, or hitter can simply tap their hat/helmet a few times, the umpire announces the challenge, and the video board displays a box representing the strike zone and whether or not the ball touched the zone. The call is either changed or upheld and the game carries on all in the matter of 10-15 seconds.

LSU benefitted from ABS twice in the 9th inning of their final game of the year. With a loss meaning the end of their season, the Tigers were down 3-1 to Auburn and needing a rally. Derek Curiel was called for strike 3 with a 3-2 count, but immediately tapped his helmet and was correct.

Later that inning, Brayden Simpson was also called for strike 3 on a 3-2 count, which would have ended the game. He challenged and it was overturned, which awarded him a walk and he became the tying run on 1st base. LSU was unable to complete the rally, but neither of those players would have reached base if not for ABS.

I was told by a source close to the situation that while the technology will be allowed to be used through super regionals, it will not be available at the College World Series in Omaha. The reason for that was not explained, but as of now, they will revert back to full umpire control for the biggest tournament of the year.

The use of 18-inch bases was also approved for all three divisions of college baseball next year. As of now, 15-inch bases are the standard.

The double first base will now be required for all games. The SEC was first to experiment with that rule at the conference tournament in 2024. It became optional in 2025, then mandated for all Division I schools in 2026. Now, all of college baseball will be required to use it.

Division I baseball will use a 30-second timer for between batters, along with mound visits and offensive timeouts.

Other experimental rules that are on the table for all three divisions include a pitcher having two free disengagements with a third needing to result in a pickoff out or it would be considered a balk. It’s also possible that pitchers entering a game will face a three batter minimum, unless the inning ends.

Each of the last two possible rules are standard in the MLB.

Do you like these rule changes? Which ones do you look forward to and which would you rather not see in the college game?