Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) said on the Up & Adams Show on Friday that his recovery from knee surgery is a "little bit" ahead of schedule. Penix suffered a torn left ACL in Week 11 against the Carolina Panthers, but he's hoping he'll be ready to roll for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season this fall. The 25-year-old has already recovered from two ACL tears in his right knee in college, so he's pretty familiar with the rehab process. He's been attacking his rehab diligently since having surgery on Nov. 25, but there's no guarantee that Penix will be ready for Week 1, making him an extremely volatile QB2 target in fantasy football drafts this fall. Before his knee injury, the former eighth overall pick out of Washington was extremely inconsistent in nine starts in his first year as the full-time starter, completing 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine TDs, and three picks.

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New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) told ESPN's Jordan Raanan that his rehab has been "phenomenal." Nabers suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee on Sept. 28 and had surgery in late October. The 22-year-old's recovery time will be extended due to the full meniscus repair he underwent, in addition to his ACL surgery. However, since his injury occurred so early in the previous season, Nabers has a chance to be ready for the start of training camp in late July. We will be keeping a close eye on Nabers' progress throughout the offseason. The former sixth overall pick's progress as we approach training camp will determine his 2026 fantasy value. In his rookie campaign in 2024, Nabers caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns on 170 targets. With promising young quarterback Jaxson Dart now in the picture, Nabers' fantasy ceiling could be even higher despite suffering a significant knee injury in 2025.

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Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III, who is in the final year of the four-year, $8.44 million deal he signed in July of 2022, said he is interested in re-signing with the team in the offseason, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com. "I've been here four years, so you know I've gotten to know a lot of stuff about Seattle, and you know a lot of the city, and I feel like they feel good about me as well," Walker said. "So if it was my choice, though, I'd definitely stay." The 25-year-old has been key to the Seahawks' run to the Super Bowl this year, recording his second career 1,000-yard season and generating 100-plus scrimmage yards in three straight games, including the playoffs. Walker has 38 carries for 178 yards and four rushing touchdowns in two playoff games, tying for the most TDS in a single postseason in Seattle history. He matched his career high of 4.6 yards per carry while playing all 17 regular-season games for the first time in his four-year career. Walker is an explosive runner who will look to score for the third straight game in the Super Bowl against the Patriots on Sunday.

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Los Angeles Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford was named the 2025 NFL Most Valuable Player on Thursday night for the first time in his 17th season in the league. Stafford beat out New England Patriots second-year QB Drake Maye for the award by just one vote. The 37-year-old also made the Pro Bowl in 2025 for only the third time in his career after one of his best all-around seasons. Stafford completed 65% of his 597 pass attempts for a league-high 4,707 passing yards, a league-high 46 touchdown passes, and only eight interceptions in 17 regular-season starts. In three playoff games, he added 936 passing yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. There was some doubt as to whether Stafford would return for an 18th NFL season following the Rams' loss to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship, but the former Georgia Bulldog announced on Thursday night that he will be returning. With weapons galore in L.A. on offense, Stafford will be a clear QB1 fantasy target going into next season.

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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday evening, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Smith-Njigba broke out as the best receiver in the NFL in his third year in the NFL with no DK Metcalf around in Seattle. The 23-year-old former 20th overall pick in 2023 out of Ohio State immediately clicked with quarterback Sam Darnold and caught 119 passes for a league-leading 1,793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 163 targets over 17 regular-season games. JSN added 13 catches on 16 targets for 172 yards and two more trips to paydirt in the playoffs to lead Seattle to Super Bowl LX this Sunday against the New England Patriots. It would be a surprise if Smith-Njigba doesn't have a big game this weekend to cap off a phenomenal year. He will be one of the first receivers off the board in fantasy football drafts this fall.

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Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger was named the 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year on Thursday night, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Schwesinger was a tackling machine in his first year in the league in 2025 after the Browns took him in the second round out of UCLA. The 22-year-old managed to win the award despite missing the season finale due to an ankle injury. In 16 games played, Schwesinger tallied 156 tackles (67 solo), 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, nine QB hits, two interceptions, and three pass breakups. He quickly put himself on the map in IDP fantasy leagues and should be a popular target in those formats in 2026. Schwesinger's ankle injury shouldn't prevent him from being ready for Week 1 of the regular season this fall. Cleveland's defense was one of the strongest units in the NFL this year, with pass-rusher Myles Garrett setting the single-season sack record as well.

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Denver Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto (wrist) had a cleanup surgery on his wrist this week, multiple sources told Luca Evans of The Denver Post. Bonitto injured his wrist in the Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts after slamming the ground in frustration, and he played the rest of the year with a club on his right hand. The procedure was a simple clean-up and shouldn't affect his preparation for the 2026 campaign. The 26-year-old had surgery to remove a bone spur in his foot in the preseason, and he admittedly was beat up during the 2025 season. Bonitto still managed to play in every game in his fourth year in the league and made the Pro Bowl for the second straight season, recording 46 tackles (31 solo), a career-high 14 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 28 QB hits, and two forced fumbles in 17 regular-season contests. The former second-round pick will enter the 2026 campaign as one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, with 17.5 sacks the last two years.

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San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was named the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year on Thursday night, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. McCaffrey was limited to only four games in 2024 due to Achilles and knee issues, but he played in all 17 regular-season games in 2025 and led the 49ers in both rushing (1,202) and receiving yards (924). The four-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro handled a career-high 311 carries and scored 10 rushing touchdowns while also catching 102 passes on 129 targets with an additional seven trips to the end zone as a receiver. The Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 was the RB1 in half-PPR fantasy scoring this year after he slipped to the late first round of many drafts following his injury-plagued 2024 campaign. CMC is entering his age-30 campaign and has a lengthy injury history, but it's simply too hard to ignore his game-changing dual-threat abilities out of the backfield as the engine of San Fran's offense.

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Carolina Panthers first-round wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was named the 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year on Thursday night, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. McMillan got to work right away after Carolina took him eighth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Arizona. The 22-year-old operated as quarterback Bryce Young's top target from the get-go and finished his rookie campaign with 70 receptions on 122 targets for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 regular-season games. He also caught five of his seven targets for 81 yards in the Wild-Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams in his first career playoff game. McMillan's strong chemistry with Young bodes well for his future, and he'll head into Year 2 in 2026 with clear WR1 potential, although the lack of passing volume in Carolina's offense could be an issue.

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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique) was a full participant in practice on Thursday, according to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Darnold was upgraded after being listed as limited on Wednesday's injury report. The 28-year-old signal-caller injured his left oblique in practice just days before the team's Divisional Round win over the San Francisco 49ers. He attempted only 17 passes in the 41-6 blowout win over the Niners, but Darnold bounced back for fantasy managers in the 31-27 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship, going 25-for-36 for a season-high 346 yards and three touchdowns. Darnold won't have an easy test against the New England Patriots' defense in Super Bowl LX this Sunday, but he should be able to move the ball enough to put Seattle in position to win the game. Fantasy managers should not be worried at all about his oblique affecting his performance.

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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett became the second player in NFL history to unanimously win the Defensive Player of the Year award on Thursday night, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. J.J. Watt was the only other defensive player to do so back in 2014 with the Houston Texans. The 30-year-old seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time first-team All-Pro was a man among boys in terms of rushing the passer in 2025 in his ninth year in the NFL. Garrett set the NFL's single-season sack record with 23 in 17 games for the Browns. In addition to becoming the second player to ever win the award unanimously, Garrett also won the award for the second time in his career, with the first coming in 2023, when he had 14 sacks in 16 games. The former first overall pick in 2017 out of Texas A&M now has a whopping 125.5 sacks in 134 regular-season games played.

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New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson established himself as the team's clear top option at the position in his second NFL season in 2025. Across 15 games played, the 24-year-old hauled in 45 receptions for 528 yards and five touchdowns on 74 targets. Johnson played at least 80% of the Giants' offensive snaps in 12 out of the 15 games he was active for. Additionally, all five of his touchdown grabs came from Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, an encouraging sign for the chemistry between two young pieces in the New York offense who should be able to grow together in the coming years. Heading into 2026, the Giants should be getting star wideout Malik Nabers (knee) back from the knee injury that sidelined him for the majority of 2025, which will take some targets away from Johnson. Still, New York's offense profiles as an improving unit as a whole, which should only help Johnson's overall production. He may not have a superstar ceiling, but Johnson profiles as a tight end whose stock is on the rise in dynasty fantasy formats.

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Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. arguably had the best season of his career in 2025, recording 88 receptions for 928 yards and five touchdowns on 118 targets across 17 games played. The 25-year-old stepped up for Atlanta late in the season when star Falcons wideout Drake London missed time due to a knee injury and established a good rapport with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. However, heading into 2026, Pitts Sr.'s outlook is in flux. Pitts Sr. is set to hit unrestricted free agency, although Atlanta could look to keep him around via the franchise tag or with a new contract. If he remains with the Falcons, Pitts Sr. will have a new coaching staff around him and will no longer be catching passes from Cousins, who is expected to be released at some point this offseason. Pitts Sr. remains a highly talented player, and his 2025 output may be an indication that he's finally starting to put all the pieces together. However, his track record of inconsistency and uncertain future in Atlanta makes it difficult for fantasy managers to value him heading into 2026 and beyond.

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Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers entered the 2025 season as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders and got off to a relatively slow start to the year, recording 33 receptions for 352 yards and zero touchdowns across seven games with Las Vegas. However, the 29-year-old hit the ground running after a mid-season trade sent him to Jacksonville, hauling in 42 catches for 483 yards and three touchdowns on 61 targets across nine games played with the Jaguars. Jacksonville also locked Meyers up on a three-year extension shortly after acquiring him, proving that he had earned the faith of the organization. Between wideouts Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr., tight end Brenton Strange, and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter (knee), Meyers has plenty of competition for targets in Jacksonville. However, recent reporting indicates that the Jaguars may deploy Hunter primarily at cornerback in 2026. Additionally, Meyers established himself as arguably the favorite option of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence even while sharing the field with Washington and Thomas Jr. in 2025. Meyers is getting closer to the wrong side of 30 years old, putting his long-term dynasty value in question, but he profiles as a reliable PPR option over the next couple of years in Jacksonville.

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After an injury-marred campaign in 2024, Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco entered 2025 in need of a bounce-back effort. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old struggled with inefficiency, recording 563 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 137 touches across 13 games played. Pacheco averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, his second-straight season under four yards per rush attempt after averaging 4.7 yards per carry over the first two years of his career. Pacheco spent most of the 2025 season splitting backfield work with veteran Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, with Hunt dominating touches in short-yardage situations and around the goal line. Pacheco is now set to hit unrestricted free agency, so he's not guaranteed to be back in Kansas City. Based on his performance over the last two seasons, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where Pacheco finds himself in a committee backfield or even a straight RB2 role for the 2026 season. In dynasty formats, Pacheco's future fantasy value profiles as uncertain at best coming off his shaky 2025 campaign.

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Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown posted another excellent season in 2025, recording 117 receptions for 1,401 yards and 11 touchdowns on 172 targets across 17 games played. The 26-year-old has established himself as one of the most consistent pass-catchers in the NFL, logging three straight seasons with at least 115 catches, 1,200 receiving yards, and double-digit touchdown grabs. Heading into 2026, St. Brown will be entering his age-27 season and should remain locked in as the top pass-catcher in the Lions' offense. Detroit should get tight end Sam LaPorta (back) back from the back injury that sidelined him for a significant part of 2025, and the Lions have other talented receiving options in wideout Jameson Williams and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Still, St. Brown has proven to be the number one option for Detroit quarterback Jared Goff. St. Brown remains a high-end wide receiver option for both dynasty and re-draft fantasy managers as he continues his prime seasons.

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Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) suffered a torn ACL in Week 9 of the 2025 season, putting an early end to a promising breakout campaign. Across his eight games played before getting hurt, the 25-year-old recorded 32 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns on 44 targets. Even with the injury, recent reporting indicates that the Packers have begun extension negotiations with Kraft, signaling that the young tight end remains a big piece in the team's plans. Green Bay traditionally spreads the ball around to a multitude of pass catchers, which limits Kraft's volume-related production. However, he has proven the ability to be highly efficient on a low number of targets. For his career, Kraft is averaging 13.7 yards per reception and has hauled in 15 touchdown grabs on just 154 total targets. Given the timing of his injury, Kraft has a chance to be ready for the start of the 2026 season. Despite the unfortunate injury setback, Kraft remains a high-end tight end option for dynasty fantasy managers coming out of 2025.

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The Green Bay Packers have already started contract-extension talks this offseason with tight end Tucker Kraft (knee), according to Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com. Before Kraft's season-ending torn ACL on Nov. 2 against the Carolina Panthers, he was the team's leading receiver with 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight games, and he was well on his way to his first Pro Bowl appearance in his third year in the league. The 6-foot-5, 259-pounder is entering the final year of his four-year, $5.54 million rookie deal, and the Packers would like to lock him down for the long-term. "Obviously, he's a really important part of this football team," Gutekunst said. The 25-year-old is ahead of schedule in his recovery from ACL surgery, which means he's currently expected to be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season. Despite his major knee injury last year, if Kraft is a full-go for the start of next season, he'll be a high-end TE1 target in fantasy football drafts.

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Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said on Thursday that rookie safety Nick Emmanwori (ankle) is fully expected to play in Super Bowl LX on Sunday against the New England Patriots, but the team will be overly cautious with him going into the weekend to make sure he's fine after rolling his ankle in practice on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington. The 21-year-old second-round pick was limited on Wednesday and is currently dealing with a low-ankle sprain. Emmanwori might be limited in practice the rest of the week, but it sounds like he's going to give it a go for the big game this weekend, which is great news for Seattle's secondary. In his first year in the NFL, Emmanwori totaled 81 tackles (56 solo), 2.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, four QB hits, an interception, and 11 pass breakups in 14 regular-season games to put himself in contention to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

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Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said on Thursday that running back Joe Mixon (foot, ankle) will attempt to play in 2026, according to Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle. "Joe (Mixon) worked really hard to get himself ready. He's committed to trying to be able to play football this year. We'll see if he's physically able to do it or not. It's a little bit of a moving target," Caserio said. The GM said late last month that Mixon's foot/ankle injury last year was a "freak thing" that ended up keeping him out all year. The 29-year-old will attempt to play in 2026, but Caserio admits that it's no sure thing. Mixon has one year left on the three-year, $25.5 contract restructure that he signed in March of 2024, and the Texans can clear $8 million in salary cap space this year by cutting him. Even if Mixon sticks on Houston's roster, they could add to the RB position after Woody Marks took over as the primary back in 2025.

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