Best Ball season is winding down quickly for everyone. But as far as our content here on our Degen Substack, we are making the full “PIVOT!” back to NFL in-season content.

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We’ve completed our Best Ball rankings update for all active rankings to reflect all today’s news and more.

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We’ve done small, quick updates over the last several days to keep up with immediate news like the Ashton Jeanty injury scare and Kayshon Boutte trade.

We did a bigger rankings update today. All our active Best Ball Rankings are updated. Both CSV files and images are updated on each page.

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I’m breaking down weekly NFL Preseason usage and how to react to that in real-time.

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Preseason Week 2 Notes & Action Items:

Running Back Notes:

Malik Davis RB 2?:

A week ago, the heavy workload and strong performance from Jaydon Blue had me thinking that he had won the RB2 role.

Now, after reports from the Cowboys that Davis has that role, and he got the start in this game, that appears to be the direction things are going.

Davis filled in well last season, and while the team has some hope to create a role for Blue, I think the team still trusts Davis the most.

This is a good lesson that sometimes what we see is ‘noise’ and that we should be careful about turning it into actionable signals.

Kaelon Black is CMC’s Backup?

Black got the start for the 49ers despite missing a fair amount of camp. Though Jordan James is still out, it is still very promising that Black was out there with the starters.

Trusting a rookie to handle this role and helping to protect your franchise QB is pretty telling of the faith they have.

Black played well in his opportunity and has gotten some buzz from the 49ers camp. He’s still a contingent play at best, but if anything were to happen to CMC, he could take on the lead role.

Tyrone Tracy in Trouble?

Back-to-back preseason games where Tracy had a major mistake (a fumble this time), coming on the heels of Najee Harris signing, and you have to wonder what Tracy’s role is this season?

When the Giants passed on adding a back in the NFL draft, Tracy appeared to be one of the safer RB2s in the league. Now he’s maybe not on the team?

Skattebo is locked in as the starter, and Harris can very well be the number two back. Veteran Devin Singletary appears neck-and-neck with Tracy for the 3rd spot. At this point, Tracy could struggle to make the team, much less have a fantasy role.

Marshawn Lloyd is RB 2 in GB:

It is becoming clearer that Lloyd will be the change of pace/back-up RB to Josh Jacobs this season in Green Bay. Chris Brooks was worked in some, with Jacobs not playing, but Lloyd currently has the job.

Given Jacobs off the field issues, Lloyd is shaping up to be a solid mid-round pick. A guy with some standalone value, but now some real contingent value on a top offense.

Wide Receiver Notes:

Pat Bryant is WR 3:

The Broncos have been notorious for mixing in their WRs in preseason in an order that isn’t reflective of their depth chart come NFL season.

Still, the starters were out there in this game, and it was clear that Waddle and Sutton were in a tier on their own. When the starters did go to three wide receivers, they were joined by Bryant.

I still think given the depth chart the number 3 role could be a committee approach, but Bryant does seem to have the lead here. He is probably the one most worth drafting, and could carve out a solid role behind the Broncos’ two starting receivers.

Omar Cooper gets “starting” workload:

Read more

Boutte to the Texans! How we’re reacting!

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What does this mean for the Texans WR room:

This is a big move for the Texans, and here is how I’m approaching this with each wide receiver.

Nico Collins:

Boutte is a legitimate big play/target earner, so it could take a slight hit to the big upside case for Collins. This shouldn’t keep him from still being a top 15 receiver, but the bold case of him being top 10 or top 5 even does lose a little bit of luster.

I still expect Collins to be in line for 120-130 targets, and 1,100-1,200 yards and 7-10 TDs, but I think that’s about the pinnacle of what we can expect. This should keep Collins as a Rd 2-3 turn player.

Kayshon Boutte:

Boutte was stuck as the third option in the Patriots WR room, and now has the opportunity to be the Texans’ clear number two option. This is a situation that we should absolutely be investing in as he moves up the board.

It could take him a couple of weeks to ramp up in the new offense, but we have a big play receiver who has flashed plenty over the last two years, now in line for 80-100 targets. This is exactly the type of receiver we love in Best Ball, and his price just isn’t likely to reflect his upside.

Boutte will no doubt start rising up the boards, but my guess is that his ADP reaches a ceiling in the 130-140 range. Even there, I think I’d be in “buy” mode for the upside case here. There are other solid or upside receivers in that range (Coker, Shaheed, Nailor, Samuel, and Boston), but we should be taking Boutte in that group as well.

Jaylin Noel:

Noel has been dealing with some injuries, but it’s looking like he could be in line for the slot role in this Texans offense. This role by itself isn’t the most appealing fantasy-wise, but I think it’s at least worth some late-round consideration.

Noel has some upside to play in two-WR sets, but that is unlikely to materialize now that Boutte is on the team. Draft him accordingly, but don’t expect much of a ceiling here.

Xavier Hutchinson:

Hutchinson was the player who benefited the most from Jayden Higgins’ injury, but now he will be relegated back to a reserve role. He can back up multiple positions, and he could maybe see some more playing time early in the year. The upside, though, is pretty limited, and for the majority of the year he is probably at best the team’s 4th WR.

I think you can still take him maybe in 20 round if you want, but I think he’s very unlikely to be a fantasy producer this season.

Tank Dell:

Dell is back to being completely undrafted at this point. The early buzz of him being “back” and “practicing” was clearly overblown. He’s not been participating and doesn’t seem anywhere close to being NFL game-day ready.

This already felt like a long shot for him to have any fantasy impact this season, and now with Boutte in the mix, there is very little hope. Even if he does get healthy for later in the season, he’s still likely well behind on the depth chart.

What does this mean for the Patriots WR room:

The lesser fallout from this trade is that it alleviates some of the logjam in the Patriots WR room. From a playing time perspective, the Patriots’ top two receivers were set with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, but the 3rd spot was likely to be a rotation between Boutte, Mack Hollins, and slot-only receiver Demario Douglas.

Boutte was the most talented pass catcher of that trio and had some ability to back up all three WR roles. Hollins likely would have been in on more run and neutral situations (as well as some Red zone), while Douglas would be in when the team wanted a dedicated quick slot receiver.

Second-year WR Kyle Williams probably most directly steps into Boutte’s role as the most talented wide receiver behind the two starters. The question is, does he get the same level of target share that Boutte might have gotten? I think Williams is now worth an 18th-round flier, but I wouldn’t expect a lot of fantasy upside. I think the 3rd WR role on the Patriots remains a committee approach.

The real beneficiaries here are probably A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. While no one questioned them being the starters and the top target earners, their roles are even more locked in. Boutte had developed into a solid pass catcher and likely would have earned a modest target share if he were the team’s number three option.

While those targets will get spread out a bit, this likely adds a few extra targets to both Brown and Doubs, helping their upside case.

Hyperfragile builds in Best Ball can be very powerful! I finished 10th in the Bulldog in 2024. But even better, the first BBM Champion, Justin Herzig (and current Best Ball Jeopardy SemiFinalist), won with a hyperfragile build.

The BBM1 Champ Herzig joined the Toxic Tower recently and mentioned how he liked hyperfragile builds this Best Ball draft season to handle the expensive RB prices. It felt good to be lockstep with the sharp former BBM champ.

I’ve mentioned this on our shows throughout draft season, and I have some hyperfragile teams that I really like (some I’ve drafted on stream).

What is this build structure? It’s drafting at least 3 running backs very early (usually in the first 5 rounds), but then stopping at 4 total running backs.

See example and benefits below!

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Benefits to Hyperfragile Builds:

RB in to hit the Flex:

If you’re running backs that you invested high draft capital in stay healthy and have massive seasons, it can be very powerful. Usually you’ll have an RB hit the flex on Underdog, which is +EV in TD-hunting formats.

Hitting the Right Position Pockets:

It allows you to target QBs and WRs in the middle of the draft, and 3 TEs late. In my opinion, that optimizes the pockets of the draft where those positions are the strongest and have the most value.

-RBs: In today’s NFL with a ton of split backfields, the early running backs allow you to draft workhorse running backs or strong 1A RBs with a goal-line and pass-catching role (yes, I’m thinking about Cam Skattebo).

-QBs: We know there is a very strong pocket of true starting QBs that are drafted in Rounds 6-10. I love to draft two QBs in that pocket, and then tack on a late QB like Aaron Rodgers.

-WRs: By drafting 8-9 WRs, you are throwing volume at the position and can get strong values mid-to-late. Especially late in drafts, you can take a couple upside swings on WRs that have massive spike-week potential to hit your lineup a few times.

Some late upside WRs I like drafting in hyperfragile builds include Troy Franklin, Keon Coleman, or fun rookie WR shots.

The middle round WRs may not feel as sexy, but there’s a lot of strong WR1s or WR2s in this range on good offenses to target.

Some examples I like to target here (Rounds 5-14) are WRs like Mike Evans, Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Christian Watson, Chris Godwin, Courtland Sutton, DK Metcalf/Michael Pittman, Jags WRs, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen, KC Concepcion, and Romeo Doubs to name several of my favorite WR targets in the middle of drafts.

-TEs: I’ve had the most success in Best Ball with mid-to-late round TE builds. And that’s the secret to making these hyperfragile builds work, in my opinion.

Catch up on WRs and QBs and then address the TE position late. The late-round TEs are less likely to be dead roster spots than other positions.

Every year we see this cohort hit. Think Dallas Goedert last year or Jonnu Smith the year before.

There’s plenty of mid-to-late-round TEs I like this year. In the middle of drafts, I like drafting Dallas Goedert, Jake Ferguson, Isaiah Likely, Juwan Johnson, and George Kittle.

My favorite late-round TE this year is Pat Freiermuth. I’m genuinely shocked his price hasn’t gone up during draft season with positive coachspeak and Rodgers-speak. But I’ll happily take advantage! I also like Terrance Ferguson, AJ Barner, and Cade Otton late.

My favorite draft structure for these hyperfragile builds is 3-4-8-3. But if you draft two mid-round TEs, you could also do a 3-4-9-2 build.

Recent Hyper Fragile Build:

Read more

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Underdog 2026 Superflex Rankings - Steve - UPDATED August 20

Underdog 2026 Superflex Rankings - Meg - UPDATED August 20

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NOTE: Updated again on August 19 after Jayden Higgins’ news.

Now that the Preseason is underway, we’ll do weekly Preseason Notes & Action Item reports.

Be sure to follow our NFL Beat Reporters TRUSTED List on Twitter. I hope this is helpful, because there are plenty of beat reporters who are just noise.

We also have a Follow/Do NOT Follow Beat Reporter List for Paid Substack subs.

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Preseason Week 1 Notes & Action Items:

1 - Oronde Gadsden is going way too high in drafts.

It hasn’t been great vibes for Gadsden all offseason, with the Chargers bringing in two veteran TEs and a fullback.

One of those veteran tight ends is a pass catcher, David Njoku, and it’s tough to see just what Gadsden’s weekly role is.

Charlie Kolar could lead this team in snaps given his blocking ability, and he will just naturally earn some routes and targets.

Fullback Alec Ingold will take some snaps when ideally it would be a two-TE set instead. Most of those snaps are of course runs, but not all of them.

Njoku, though, is the most direct threat to Gadsden, as he can be the pass-catching, playmaking threat on the team.

Njoku, like Kolar, sat this game, leaving Gadsden in a tough spot for consistent meaningful playing time.

Right now, Gadsden is at best Mike Gesicki, as a pure pass-down TE who comes in during certain situations.

Truthfully he could be in an even worse role as Gesicki faces less competition from another pass-catching TE. Yet Gesicki goes 40-50 spots later. Right now Gadsden needs to plummet down boards, and Njoku should be going in the 16th round range.

Action Items:

I’ll be raising Njoku and lowering Gadsden more in Tuesday's rankings update (was already low on Gadsden).

2 - The Cardinals offense has some questions after Preseason Week 1.

Read more

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We will be writing NFL Training Camp/Preseason News & Action Items twice a week each week this month.

Be sure to follow our NFL Beat Reporters TRUSTED List on Twitter. I hope this is helpful, because there are plenty of beat reporters who are just noise.

We also have a Follow/Do NOT Follow Beat Reporter List for Paid Substack subs.

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Jordyn Tyson:

Steve’s Action Items:

This is the 2nd hamstring injury for a player who had hamstring issues in college. This has the potential to linger into the start of the season. Even if it doesn’t, the significant camp and preseason missed time will be a setback.

I’ll be bumping down Tyson in our next rankings update tomorrow/Saturday.

Chubba Hubbard:

Steve’s Action Items:

Hamstring injuries are never great for a running back. It’s something that could linger or reaggrevate early in the season.

Even if he’s ready to play Week 1, he might need to be limited early on. This could lead to a situation where Jonathan Brooks naturally surpasses him.

Hubbard's is definitely a concern in formats like season-long or eliminator that value every week the same.

In all formats, Hubbard should go down, and Brooks should go up. In many builds, Brooks has RB2 appeal. I’ll be adjusting players in my rankings tomorrow.

Kayshon Boutte:

Read more

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Underdog Rankings LIVE Contests:

Underdog 2026 Classic Rankings - STEVE - UPDATED August 10

Underdog 2026 Classic Rankings - Meg - UPDATED August 10

Underdog 2026 Eliminator Rankings - Steve - UPDATED August 10

Underdog 2026 Weekly Winner Rankings - Steve - UPDATED August 10

DraftKings Rankings:

DraftKings 2026 Rankings - Steve - UPDATED August 10

Drafters Rankings:

Drafters Season-Long Rankings - Meg - UPDATED August 10

The importance of a 3rd quarterback has grown more and more important in recent years, yet the market hasn’t fully adjusted. Here are three late QB options that I am taking late in Best Ball drafts.

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Bryce Young:

Young failed in this role a year ago, but all the key elements are still in place. Former top overall pick, with some rushing upside, and should start all 17 games at a cheap price.

We know we have two good receivers to pair with him in McMillian and Coker, as either makes a great stacking partner. Young’s rushing floor also could make him a guy to use unstacked.

This is the make-or-break year for Young, and the Panthers are doing what they can to support him, including changing their play-caller.

While there are some concerns about upside, we saw Bryce Young down the stretch in 2024 be a very capable fantasy producer.

While the Panthers played more conservative football last season, they can’t rely on Rico Dowdle to be the focal point of the offense. They might need to throw the ball more than they did a season ago if they hope to be competitive.

Ideally, we see Young’s targets go up, and this gives him some ceiling potential with his rushing ability as well.

Aaron Rodgers:

Stop me if you’ve heard us (especially Meg) mention that Aaron Rodgers is a great late-round QB pick in Best Ball this year!

I’m not going to stop, but we have been discussing this since the Spring and all Summer!

Late Round QB Builds

Value of the Late Steelers Stack

Winning QB Room After Pick 100

Late Round Stacks

Any Show with Meg and Steve on Fanspeak Network!

But to lay it out simply again…

Rodgers is a Hall of Fame quarterback and maybe the best pure passer of the football.

He’s NOT washed and still has a high TD rate.

He’s reunited with HC Mike McCarthy.

Mike McCarthy’s offense is top 10, usually top 5, when the team is healthy.

They added weapons like Rico Dowdle and Michael Pittman Jr. and added to the offensive line.

He does not have bench-risk like many of the QBs he’s drafted around

Every year, we see multiple late-round drafted QBs that are top 10 QBs that season, and it’s usually because of weapons or coaching!

Examples of Late-Round QBs drafted and finishing as top 10 QBs:

2023 - Baker Mayfield, Jordan Love, and Brock Purdy

2024 - Baker Mayfield, Bo Nix, Sam Darnold

2025 - Matt Stafford

Are you riding with the Fanspeak Fam on Aaron Rodgers stacks?

Shedeur Sanders:

While generally I’m looking for quarterbacks who will start all 17 games, it’s looking more and more likely that Sanders could be one of those guys.

Deshaun Watson is struggling in training camp. Even if Sanders doesn’t start the season, it is VERY likely he’ll play most of the games and the end of the season.

I still question the upside of Sanders and think he would be one of the weaker starting QBs in the NFL. He also doesn’t have much of a rushing upside either, limiting his fantasy production to getting 250+ yards and 2-4 TDs if you want a viable score.

The upside here is his low price, and the cheap price of his weapons. Both rookie receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston are simply too cheap.

Harold Fannin is a bit pricey for his position, but still offers some upside. I think given this young core of weapons, Sanders just needs to be a game manager to offer some appeal.

I wouldn’t expect many 30+ point games, but could he routinely be in the 18-25 point range? I think that is a pretty reasonable expectation, and he can be a guy who adds a couple points multiple times in the season.

Those extra points might end up being small overall, but at this price can be the difference between finishing 2nd and going to the playoffs or missing out in 3rd or 4th place.

I’ll be writing NFL Training Camp/Preseason News & Action Items twice a week each week this month.

Be sure to follow our NFL Beat Reporters TRUSTED List on Twitter. I hope this is helpful, because there are plenty of beat reporters who are just noise.

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All our Best Ball Rankings will be updated again, likely on Sunday.

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Zach Charbonnet/Jadarian Price:

As our friend, Emo Cowboy mentions, this seems like Charbonnet did not get a full ACL reconstruction.

Meg’s Action Items:

The news on his potential quicker return has baffled me, but I need to be open to drafting Charbonnet more.

The whole situation makes me nervous, but I’ll definitely continue to move Charbonnet up some in the rankings and move Jadarian Price (who is currently absent) down. Look for that in Sunday’s rankings update.

I don’t think I’ll draft Charbonnet a ton, because it’s hard to trust this situation and how he’ll come back from this January injury. But I will mix him in some in August.

Bhayshul Tuten/Chris Rodriguez:

Meg’s Action Items:

It’s no secret that Steve and I have been bearish on Tuten and bullish on Rodriguez.

Part of it is Steve’s assessment of Tuten as a prospect (a one-trick pony - SPEED) that lacks other very important RB traits (vision, contact balance, protecting football, etc).

And part of it is the price difference between Tuten and Rodriguez. Especially on Underdog scoring (TD hunting), I’m much more interested in the goal line RB at a massive discount.

But this seems to be a true 3-man backfield with Tuten as the “lead back”, Rodriguez as the short-yardage and goal line back (green zone work), and LaQuint Allen the 3rd down/pass-catching RB.

I know I’m already bearish on Tuten, but his price is way too high for someone that will need to break off explosive plays to pay off his price. He didn’t have many explosive plays over 15 yards as a rookie either. We don’t want RBs that get most of their work between the 20s and a limited receiving role on 3rd downs.

Isaiah Likely:

Meg’s Action Items:

Read more

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I’ll be writing NFL Training Camp/Preseason News & Action Items twice a week each week this month.

Be sure to follow our NFL Beat Reporters TRUSTED List on Twitter. I hope this is helpful, because there are plenty of beat reporters who are just noise.

We also have a Follow/Do NOT Follow Beat Reporter List for Paid Substack subs.

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49ers Wide Receivers:

WR Ricky Pearsall is out for the season (major hit to my bags) with his PCL injury/surgery. WR Mike Evans has a strained quad, but thankfully, it’s not considered serious.

WR Deebo Samuel has rejoined the 49ers, and teammates say he’s in great shape.

Then there is rookie WR De’Zhaun Stribling, who has rocketed up in ADP because of these injuries.

Meg’s Action Items:

I always say that I trust Steve as a talent scout. And he was not high on Stribling as a prospect, even after his NFL Draft capital.

I know he has every opportunity in the world now with Pearsall out for the season. But with Samuel back to the 49ers where he’s so familiar and in great shape, I’m leaning into Samuel over the rookie.

I’m also prioritizing Christian McCaffrey and Mike Evans. Evans quad strain is not serious, so I’m prioritizing the studs of this offense and Samuel. I also want to be with the field on TE George Kittle too.

Jets - Kenyon Sadiq:

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This is the 3rd and final part of my Underdog pricing breakdown for skill-position players.

Part 1 - The number of skill-position players that are drafted in the top 10 rounds of Best Ball drafts for all 32 NFL teams.

Part 2 - 4 Teams (Skill Positions) Overpriced on Underdog

Bonus: Meg’s 3 Late-Round Value Team Stacks!

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And now Part 3: The 3 Teams (Skill Positions) Underpriced on Underdog!

Editors’ Note: Steve has two of three of Meg’s “Undervalued” teams featured! You love to see it! ;)

Buffalo Bills:

RB James Cook (11.7), D.J. Moore (56.5)

This is just too obvious, as the Bills are one of the best offenses in the league over the past couple of years, and the promotion of Joe Brady to HC should hopefully make them even more aggressive.

In addition, they add a number 1 receiver in DJ Moore (who has familiarity with Brady). Yet they have just two players in the top 120?

Yes, James Cook is a borderline first-rounder, but even with him this team can support multiple top fantasy scorers. Cook himself has the upside to contribute both as a rusher and a receiver, and has “won” in both ways the past two years. Now if he puts it together, he could really pay off his ADP.

D.J. Moore is the bigger head scratcher. This is what everyone has asked for the past two seasons, giving Josh Allen a top weapon. Now they do that, and the market drafts him in the same range as a year ago with the Bears?

The Bills do have a pair of pass catchers going in the 125-140 range, but that doesn’t mean they can’t support these two premier weapons.

I think it also likely points to one or both of Dalton Kincaid or Khalil Shakir being a bit mispriced as well. This offense can lead the league in both yards and points, and it’s not being treated that way.

Even with accounting for a running QB, their skill players should go higher (see the Eagles prices).

Denver Broncos:

Jaylen Waddle (42.4), WR Courtland Sutton (83), RB RJ Harvey (86.4), RB JK Dobbins (97.5)

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Happy NFL Training Camp Kickoff!
Time to focus on the right signals & drown out the noise!

It’s important to remember this time of year that not all NFL Beat Reporters are equal. There are excellent NFL beat reporters, and some beat reporters are a lot of noise (homers, sensationalists, extremists) and everything in between.

While this is subjective, we have been plugged into NFL Beat Reporters for well over 15 years, since we started Fanspeak.com (website sold this past December 2025).

Steve used to network with some of these NFL beat reporters down in Mobile, AL, for the annual Senior Bowl (2012 through 2020). Shoutout to Jimmy Kempski, who covers the Eagles, whom Steve used to network with at the Senior Bowl and said is very dialed in.

We also did a lot of research to find the NFL beat reporters who report real news and actionable items. Not sensational reporting like Grant Cohn (covers 49ers).

Remember when Cohn said ALL of the 2023 Training Camp that QB Trey Lance would start over QB Brock Purdy?

I remember working at Run Pure Sports that summer doing Best Ball shows, and people in chat were actively drafting Lance because of Cohn’s reports. Big yikes! This is what we want to avoid!

That doesn’t mean that our Trusted Beat Reporters will never make a mistake. Or our “Do NOT Follow” list will never have anything right.

But there is so much information (like drinking water out of a firehose) in these next few weeks that I think it’s very helpful to chase the signal and drown out the noise.

For me, that is focusing on reports from NFL reporters we trust.

So check out our NFL Training Camp Resources below! We hope you find these useful!

NFL Training Camp Resources:

Twitter List of Trusted NFL Beat Reporters - follow the list on Twitter at this link!

Google Docs of Trusted Beat Reporter Master List & Do NOT Follow List

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Note that starting tomorrow night, we’ll have weekly NFL Training Camp Report articles that highlight a lot from these top Beat Reporters with actionable information for our paid Substack subs!