Category: Sport

NFL Free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft will completely shake up the fantasy football landscape in the coming months.

Before the roster movement begins, Justin Boone is identifying one fantasy-relevant player from every team who’s most likely to break out during the 2026 season.

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Early Breakout Candidates

Early AFC South Breakout Candidates

Houston Texans – Jayden Higgins, WR

Higgins was unable to achieve full-time status in the Texans offense as a rookie, but he earned playing time immediately while taking the field for 42% of the snaps or more in every game this season.

The second-round pick saw his role grow later in the year, leading to at least 50 yards and/or a touchdown in six of his last nine games. That included 88 yards and a score during fantasy championship week.

Most importantly, Higgins looked like a player who belonged and could eventually emerge as a quality No. 2 receiver in Houston’s passing attack behind Nico Collins.

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Though Higgins’ fantasy ceiling is slightly lower due to Collins’ presence, the 23-year-old still looks like a WR3/flex option in 2026. If you doubt that, just know that from Week 10 on, Higgins was the WR35 in fantasy points per game.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆

Indianapolis Colts – Josh Downs, WR

Downs is a talented playmaker packaged in a smaller frame at 5-foot-9 and 171 pounds. That might be why the Colts have primarily used him as their third receiver, which has limited his production and fantasy outlook.

Even so, Downs did manage at least 50 yards and/or a touchdown in 50% of his games this season.

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There’s also the potential for a shakeup in the Colts’ WR room this offseason with Alec Pierce heading to free agency. That’s led some to suggest the team could cut Michael Pittman Jr. in favor of re-signing Pierce. Either way, it appears as though the depth chart will look a little different in 2026.

That could create an opportunity for Downs, who has the skill to be a more impactful player if he gets the chance.

Remember back in 2024 when Joe Flacco replaced Anthony Richardson Sr. in seven games? During those Flacco starts, Downs posted weekly fantasy finishes of WR8, WR25, WR16, WR34, WR21, WR75 and WR18 — all while averaging 7.1 receptions and 66.4 receiving yards. It’s a small sample size, but a glimpse of what Downs could do in the right setting with competent quarterback play.

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Perhaps I’m being a little hopeful for a Downs’ breakout in Year 4, but there’s no doubt in my mind he can perform as a fantasy WR3 with upside in the right environment.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆

Jacksonville Jaguars – Bhayshul Tuten, RB

Despite being a Day 3 pick, Tuten was highly touted heading into his rookie campaign due to an intriguing prospect profile and the ambiguity in the Jaguars’ backfield. When Tank Bigsby was traded, it only fanned the flames of Tuten eventually carving out a major role and possibly even emerging as the starter.

However, Travis Etienne Jr. had an outstanding season and didn’t leave the door open for his new teammate to emerge.

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Tuten’s first season wasn’t a total bust, though. The 23-year-old scored seven touchdowns and made some big plays in the process.

We now enter an offseason where Etienne is set to become a free agent, and if the Jags don’t bring him back, then Tuten would immediately become one of the hottest names in fantasy drafts.

As it stands, Tuten remains an explosive young talent who was a favorite of general manager James Gladstone. If a path to the starting job presents itself, fantasy managers should be ready to draft him everywhere as a potential top-20 back.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★★☆

Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward, QB

We can talk all day about how Ward played better than his stats might indicate during his rookie season, but he still has a long way to go before he proves himself as the potential franchise QB the Titans hoped they were getting with the first overall pick.

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From a fantasy perspective, he’s not going to give you big numbers with his legs, so we’re talking about more of a pocket passer in an offense that lacked weaponry last year.

However, Ward did enough his first year to keep me interested in what he can develop into if his situation improves.

That will depend on what the front office can do this offseason in terms of adding skill position talent and finding an offensive coordinator to pair with new defensive-minded head coach Robert Saleh.

Just know that Ward doesn’t come with an elite fantasy ceiling. Even in a best-case scenario, he likely tops out as a low-end QB1, and we are a long way from getting there.

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The 23-year-old will likely be more of a volatile fantasy QB2 in 2026, unless we see some stunning moves by the Titans before next season.

Fantasy breakout potential: ★★★☆☆

Early Breakout Candidates

Texas announced Friday that Arch Manning underwent “minor foot surgery” earlier in the week.

The school said the procedure was “a preventative measure to address a previous injury.” Manning “will be limited during off-season workouts but is expected back during spring football.”

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Manning was 248-of-404 passing for 3,163 yards, 26 TDs and seven interceptions in his first year as Texas’ starting quarterback. He was the preseason favorite for the Heisman despite throwing just 95 passes over his first two seasons of college football.

Manning’s season got off to a bit of a rough start as he threw an interception in each of Texas’ first three games and he had five picks through the first five games of the season. Things got a lot better after a Week 6 loss to Florida, however. Manning threw 15 TDs and just two interceptions across Texas’ final eight games of the season and rushed for scores in each of the Longhorns’ last three games.

He was named the MVP of the Longhorns’ Citrus Bowl win over Michigan after he was 21-of-34 passing for 221 yards and two scores while rushing nine times for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Manning ended up as Texas’ No. 2 rusher in 2025 with 92 carries for 399 yards and led the Longhorns with 10 rushing TDs. No other Texas player had more than three rushing scores.

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Texas has bolstered its offense ahead of the 2026 season through the transfer portal. The Longhorns have added ex-Arizona State RB Raleek Brown and former NC State RB Hollywood Smothers and also landed star Auburn WR Cam Coleman. He’s set to pair with Texas’ top receiver Ryan Wingo to give the Longhorns one of the best receiving duos in the country in 2026. Texas also said Friday that Wingo had undergone offseason wrist surgery. Wingo had 54 catches for 834 yards and seven scores in 2025.

Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico, the FBI announced on Friday.

Wedding, 44, was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List for charges that include murder and money laundering. He is also accused of being the leader of the largest cocaine distribution operation in his native Canada.

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The FBI had announced in November it was increasing the reward for information leading to Wedding’s arrest and/or conviction from $10 million to $15 million.

FBI director Kash Pastel posted on social media that Wedding was arrested in Mexico and will be transported back to the U.S.

“This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice,” Patel wrote.

Wedding placed 24th in the parallel giant slalom as a part of Team Canada during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Department of Justice claims that, since then, he built a criminal enterprise that worked with prominent Mexican cartels to move hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia into Mexico by boat or plane, then into the U.S. and Canada via semi trucks.

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Additionally, authorities allege that Wedding’s group orchestrated the murder of three people, one of them a federal witness who was set to testify against Wedding before he was gunned down at a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia. Wedding allegedly found the witness by posting his picture to a website that has since been taken down.

During a November news conference, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Wedding “one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizers in the world,” while FBI director Kash Patel described him as “a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar.”

Bondi claimed over 2,000 kilos of cocaine have been seized over the course of the investigation, as well as “numerous” weapons, $3.2 million in cryptocurrency and $13 million in other assets.

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Wedding also faces separate charges from 2015 for drug trafficking in Canada. He had been previously convicted in the U.S. on conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, according to federal records.

If convicted on the murder and attempted murder charges, Wedding faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison in addition to the continuing criminal enterprise charges.

The Kansas City Chiefs will go into next season trying to bounce back from their worst season in over a decade. The Chiefs missed the playoffs at 6-11 and lost QB Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL that might hold him out to start 2026. TE Travis Kelce might also call it quits and retire.

On the coaching front, the Chiefs opted to go back to former OC Eric Bieniemy with Matt Nagy out of town. There will be several things on the offseason to-do list, but one thing the team must surely address is the running back position.

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Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth discussed Kansas City’s need for a legit No. 1 running back going into 2026 on a recent episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast. Smyth has the Chiefs as the No. 1 team in need of a back going into next season. The two talk about the fit between pending free agent RB Breece Hall and K.C.

Smyth points out that while Hall got all the goal-line carries with the New York Jets this past season, the Jets were also never in the red zone due to poor QB play. Hall had consistently been an RB1 and even was an RB2 this past season despite the Jets’ struggles.

Hall was still the RB21 in fantasy points per game (11.9) in half-PPR scoring despite New York ranking in the bottom five in most offensive categories this season. He finished with 1,065 rushing yards and four touchdowns, plus 36 catches for 350 yards and another score. Hall has never had more than five rushing touchdowns in any of his four NFL seasons.

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The Chiefs went most of the season with inconsistent play at RB between Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. Rookie Brashard Smith also mixed in here and there. Kansas City posted 106.6 rushing yards per game, in the bottom third of the NFL. The running game has never been a strength of the Chiefs during this current dynasty under Andy Reid but it was never a huge weakness.

Harmon points out one potential snag in Hall going to the Chiefs — the franchise tag. New York has plenty of cap space, around $66 million to be exact, so Harmon thinks there’s a good chance the Jets smack the tag on Hall at $14 million for running backs and keep him at least up until the 2026 trade deadline.

Yahoo analyst Justin Boone has Hall ranked as the RB20 in fantasy football for 2026 as we approach the offseason. In his early top-150 rankings for next season, Boone has Hall at 37th overall.

Before Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton encouraged the home fans to be loud and told them that they would get a break soon.

“They’re going to have plenty of rest after this one,” Payton said. “Two weeks.”

After being asked about Payton’s comments, Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte said he did not hear the comments, but that the Broncos “can rest in Cancun too at the end of the day.”

After his response to reporters on Thursday, Boutte downplayed his comments on social media.

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“I was saying its obviously “win or go home” so you’ll rest regardless,” Boutee wrote on X.

This Sunday, the Broncos and Patriots will revive a rivalry that featured matchups between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the later stages of their careers. Both teams dominated the regular season, going 14-3.

One team will have two weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl, while the other will start their offseason, in Cancun or elsewhere.

The Patriots are coming off back-to-back wins over the Chargers and Texans to reach their first AFC Championship since 2018. New England is led by second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who was announced as an MVP finalist on Thursday.

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The Broncos are coming off a 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills to advance to their first AFC Championship since 2015. On one of the final plays of that game, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle fracture.

Former Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham will start in Sunday’s game for the Broncos, who could get running back J.K. Dobbins back for the game. Dobbins has been out since Week 10 with a Lisfranc injury.

With the 2025 fantasy football season now complete, it’s important to take stock of what we learned during the year — what we got right, what we got wrong. Today, I’ll do my AFC audit. The NFC audit is also out.

We’ll start in the west and move our way back east.

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AFC WEST

Kansas City Chiefs

What I got right: I appreciated that the 2024 success was misleading — the Chiefs outkicked their metrics and point differential by about four wins — and this team was likely headed for a major regression season.

What I got wrong: I didn’t grasp how much of a screaming value Rashee Rice presented. Although Rice ultimately got hurt, he was unquestionably a right answer when he was active.

Los Angeles Chargers

What I got right: Although I did project the Chargers to be a playoff team, I don’t think I read anything right with their fantasy prospects.

What I got wrong: I expected Ladd McConkey’s second half of 2024 to be symbolic of what he might do in 2025, and that was a gigantic miss. I also expected Omarion Hampton to be a smash rookie, something that might have happened had he not been injured, and working behind an injury-ravaged offensive line. I also underestimated what Keenan Allen had left in the tank.

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Denver Broncos

What I got right: Courtland Sutton would be a steal at his ADP — his 2024 and 2025 stats are just about identical — and J.K. Dobbins would be a useful “play for now” pick, someone who starts fast but might not have full-season relevance. I also faded Evan Engram all summer, and he didn’t do much.

What I got wrong: I was ahead of the market on Marvin Mims Jr., to my detriment. The Mims breakout I envisioned ultimately belonged to Troy Franklin.

Las Vegas Raiders

What I got right: I was bearish on the Pete Carroll experiment. I suspected Ashton Jeanty would get more receiving work deeper into the season, which he did.

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What I got wrong: Nothing major. This looked like a bad team in the summer and it played out as such.

AFC SOUTH

Indianapolis Colts

What I got right: Daniel Jones winning the QB job would be a boost for the entire offense. Alec Pierce was a late-round sleeper or early-season FAAB target.

What I got wrong: I didn’t expect Tyler Warren to start as fast as he did, though like several teammates he slumped after Jones got hurt.

Jacksonville Jaguars

What I got right: Liam Coen is a right-answer head coach who would perk up this offense and organization. Trevor Lawrence was a value QB pick. Travis Hunter would struggle in his rookie year.

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What I got wrong: I wish I had seen Travis Etienne Jr. as a smash pick, emerging from a nebulous backfield. I coveted Brian Thomas Jr. all summer; he was an enormous bust. I didn’t expect Jakobi Meyers to onboard so seamlessly after a midseason trade from the Raiders.

Tennessee Titans

What I got right: Tony Pollard would be a useful value pick. Cam Ward would show signs of future stardom, despite an ordinary supporting cast.

What I got wrong: I projected Calvin Ridley to have another boring value vet season, but he was a total bust.

Houston Texans

What I got right: C.J. Stroud was a player to avoid. Nick Chubb had little left. The rookie WRs wouldn’t onboard quickly.

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What I got wrong: Nico Collins was a mild loss for fantasy, because of injuries. That hurt. My timing on Woody Marks was off for most of ranking season.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens

What I got right: Nothing major. I had them going to the Super Bowl, and the Ravens didn’t even make the playoffs.

What I got wrong: I thought this would be the season Zay Flowers had some positive touchdown regression. Flowers was an effective player, but the touchdown column remained light.

Pittsburgh Steelers

What I got right: Aaron Rodgers would cap the upside of the offense. DK Metcalf would be inconsistent. Jaylen Warren would be solid.

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What I got wrong: I underestimated Kenny Gainwell all season; he wound up being the MVP of the team.

Cleveland Browns

What I got right: The quarterback room had zero right answers. Jerry Jeudy couldn’t be trusted.

What I got wrong: Although Quinshon Judkins did little down the stretch, he outkicked my expectations in the middle of the year. I also didn’t expect Harold Fannin Jr. to be so impactful as a rookie.

Cincinnati Bengals

What I got right: Chase Brown was a summer value. Cincinnati’s defense would be horrible again, to the benefit of the offense.

What I got wrong: My dreams of a Joe Burrow/Ja’Marr Chase stack were quickly crushed by Burrow’s injury. I also had trouble timing the market after Burrow came back — note the Bengals scored 32 points on the Ravens for Thanksgiving night, then were shut out by the same Ravens two weeks later. Doesn’t make a lot of sense. Cincinnati also scored 45 points one week after the Baltimore shutout — it was that kind of season.

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AFC EAST

New England Patriots

What I got right: I had Drake Maye taking a big step forward and Mike Vrabel guiding the Patriots into the playoffs. Two clean hits.

What I got wrong: I didn’t expect Stefon Diggs to be this useful in his age-32 season, off a major injury to boot. I expected TreVeyon Henderson to take over the backfield at some point, which never happened.

Buffalo Bills

What I got right: Dalton Kincaid was one of my most rostered tight ends — he was very good when he played. I didn’t see a breakout season for Keon Coleman.

What I got wrong: I expected a minor regression year for James Cook, and although he lost four touchdowns from the previous year, he also won the rushing title. An unmistakable right answer.

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Miami Dolphins

What I got right: I pretended Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t on my cheat sheet, and projected a lost season for Tyreek Hill. Even if Hill had stayed healthy, this passing game was unlikely to support him.

What I got wrong: I misjudged the chances of De’Von Achane smashing despite all the failure around him. He’s a special talent, and he was a league-winning player in 2025.

New York Jets

What I got right: I expected them to be one of the five worst teams in football, a mark they met the entire season.

What I got wrong: I thought the Konami Code could push Justin Fields into fantasy relevance, no matter how mediocre his passing might be. Fields basically forced the Jets to bench him.

With the 2025 fantasy football season now complete, it’s important to take stock of what we learned during the year — what we got right, what we got wrong. Today, it’s the NFC audit. I did the AFC audit earlier in the week.

We’ll start in the west and move our way back east.

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NFC West

Los Angeles Rams

What I got right: I targeted Kyren Williams as a versatile part of a narrow usage offense, and although Blake Corum started to creep into the picture in the second half, Williams was a winning pick.

What I got wrong: I totally blew it on Puka Nacua, probably my biggest regret of 2025. While I appreciated his ability to dominate between the 20s, I worried about his lack of touchdowns prior to this season. Sure, Davante Adams came to town and was the better red-zone receiver, but Nacua still has a monster season. I also worried too much about Matthew Stafford’s age and health status before the year — he had an MVP-level season.

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Arizona Cardinals

What I got right: I didn’t trust Kyler Murray and that proved to be correct. I also steered into the offense after Jacoby Brissett took over, and we had a blast in the second half of the year — although the Cardinals kept losing games.

What I got wrong: Trey Benson was an interesting speculation play behind James Conner, but ultimately, both got hurt and neither paid off. I was one beat slow to fully accept Michael Wilson, which meant I didn’t get much of the FAAB pickup of the year.

San Francisco 49ers

What I got right: Because I trusted the Kyle Shanahan infrastructure, I was usually rewarded by replacement pieces of this offense. Mac Jones and Jake Tonges were useful in spot starts. I basically crossed Brandon Aiyuk off my summer cheat sheets, which was the right move.

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What I got wrong: I viewed the 2024 Jauan Jennings breakout as more signal than noise, and although Jennings wasn’t bad in 2025, injuries kept him from being a needle-mover. I also had some Ricky Pearsall breakout tickets; injuries and a touchdown allergy (no scores) kept him down.

Seattle Seahawks

What I got right: I liked waiting on this backfield and taking Zach Charbonnet at value; given that Kenneth Walker III and Charbonnet had similar fantasy returns, the patience was rewarded. I had a fair share of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, not worried he would collapse tied to Sam Darnold. Of course, I wish I had all the JSN, given that one out of every three targets in this offense was aimed in his direction.

What I got wrong: The Seattle D/ST was somewhere in the mid-teens for draft season, a screaming opportunity. I also missed the boat with potential Seattle futures; it was clear early on that this team had a viable chance to win the strong NFC West (if not win the Super Bowl), and the odds were juicy for several months.

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NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

What I got right: The Bijan Robinson bandwagon sure was crowded, but I definitely had a seat near the front. What a blast. Injuries kept Drake London from being a second-round smash, but his production in his 12 healthy games at least validated the selection.

What I got wrong: I probably overrated the upside of Michael Penix Jr., though thankfully, he wasn’t on my rosters. I also avoided Kyle Pitts Sr., and although he was late to the party in 2025, he was a dominant player in the final quarter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

What I got right: I was worried that Mike Evans and Chris Godwin Jr. could be in dangerous pockets for their career, and both had lost fantasy seasons.

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What I got wrong: I expected Baker Mayfield to have a regression season but still be a credible fantasy option. Everything was fine for about a month, but eventually this team crash-landed.

New Orleans Saints

What I got right: I didn’t trust Alvin Kamara into his age-30 season, and it was easily the worst year of his career. I also saw a narrow passing tree as a potential path to some fantasy values; Juwan Johnson was an early-season FAAB hit. I believed in Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough, and the faith was rewarded.

What I got wrong: I had some Chris Olave shares this year, but ultimately not enough. Rashid Shaheed was a hit on the Saints, but he faded into obscurity after the trade to Seattle.

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Carolina Panthers

What I got right: Although the stakes never felt that high, I didn’t get much right with the 2025 Panthers.

What I got wrong: I was a beat late to trust Rico Dowdle’s breakout, and when I finally got in step, the story all but evaporated. I wasn’t sure if Bryce Young’s late-season play in 2024 was symbolic of a breakout coming, but I kept an open mind. In hindsight, I wish I had kept my mind closed.

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings

What I got right: Nothing. This offense broke my heart.

What I got wrong: I figured quarterback whisperer Kevin O’Connell would at least coach up J.J. McCarthy to an adequate standard of play. That didn’t happen, so Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison went down with the ship. Somehow it was Jalen Nailor and Josh Oliver leading the team with touchdown catches, four each.

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Chicago Bears

What I got right: I viewed Ben Johnson as a right-answer hire and he was definitely that.

What I got wrong: I didn’t draft enough Bears — Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift and Colston Loveland were all winning players. I liked Rome Odunze to be the team’s breakout receiver, and for a month, life was wonderful. Unfortunately, Odunze slumped — and got hurt — over the final three months.

Detroit Lions

What I got right: I figured the offense would still be strong even after the loss of Ben Johnson, and it was. Amon-Ra St. Brown was one of my recurring first-round picks.

What I got wrong: Nothing major. My preseason ranks of Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams and the Sun God wound up being validated.

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Green Bay Packers

What I got right: I viewed Tucker Kraft as the must-draft player from the middle rounds, and for two months, he was a monster. I didn’t trust this offense to prioritize any singular wide receiver, and that happened again — Romeo Doubs’ modest 85 targets led the team.

What I got wrong: I probably should have steered into Christian Watson’s touchdown equity a little bit more down the stretch.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

What I got right: I proactively drafted Dak Prescott, liking his offensive pieces and viewing Dallas as a potential carnival team. The Dallas defense collapsed right on cue, and Prescott checked in as the QB5.

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What I got wrong: I probably overestimated CeeDee Lamb’s floor and George Pickens’s ceiling. I also didn’t give enough consideration to Javonte Williams, who was finally healthy again and had a breakout year.

Washington Commanders

What I got right: I worried about the older complexion of this roster, and doubted Washington would come remotely close to the 12 wins it bagged in 2024. I didn’t draft into this backfield proactively, and although Jacory Croskey-Merritt looked good and ended with decent final stats, that fade played out as correct. The backfield was simply too inconsistent and difficult to project on a weekly basis.

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What I got wrong: When the market continued to fade Terry McLaurin through his summer holdout, I kept an open mind. McLaurin never looked right in 2025. Obviously losing Jayden Daniels didn’t help.

New York Giants

What I got right: I expected Russell Wilson to fall apart, which he did, and I expected Jameis Winston to be fun when called upon, which he was. Alas, that only covers five starts between the two. I kept an open mind with Wan’Dale Robinson, who had another useful PPR-scam season at a tidy ADP price.

What I got wrong: I didn’t fully project Jaxson Dart’s rushing upside into his profile, and I underestimated the immediate potential of rookie RB Cam Skattebo.

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Philadelphia Eagles

What I got right: Like the rest of the world, I expected Saquon Barkley to have a regression season, especially with all those glorious long touchdowns from 2024. Barkley was still a good player, but it was right to softly fade him.

What I got wrong: Although I had some Dallas Goedert shares, I didn’t envision him dominating in the red area as he did. Too many of his 11 touchdowns were scored while he was occupying one of my bench spots.

The Dallas Cowboys have hired Philadelphia Eagles secondary coach and passing game coordinator Christian Parker for their defensive coordinator job, the team announced on Friday.

The 34-year-old Parker was hired by the Eagles in February 2024 and followed defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to Philadelphia after their time together with the Denver Broncos.

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Parker began his coaching career in the college ranks working on the defensive side of the ball for Virginia State, Norfolk State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. He got his start in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers in 2019 as the team’s defensive quality control coach. He moved on to the Broncos as the team’s defensive backs coach following the 2020 season.

[Get more Cowboys news: Dallas team feed]

Parker will be replacing Matt Eberflus, who was fired earlier this month after one season in charge of the defense. He will also be the team’s fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons.

The Cowboys gave up an NFL-high 30.1 points per game and finished 30th in yards allowed per game (377). They ranked 30th in turnovers created and 27th in sacks.

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“We got to do a better job of picking who’s going in there,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters about replacing Eberflus. “We will do a very intense, complete, focused job of replacing Flus and any holes left because of Flus’ job.”

Parker’s influence on the Eagles was clear as the team allowed an NFL-best 174.2 passing yards per game in 2024 and the development of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean helped improve the secondary. Both players earned first-team All-Pro status and Pro Bowl invites this past season.

Andy Reid is reconnecting with the offensive coordinator who made his Kansas City Chiefs offense hum. The Chiefs have agreed to terms with Eric Bieniemy, the team officially announced Friday.

Bieniemy will reclaim his post as Kansas City’s OC, taking over for Matt Nagy.

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Nagy, who was on an expiring Chiefs contract, was reportedly a finalist for the Tennessee Titans’ head-coach vacancy, although that was ultimately filled by Robert Saleh.

Coming off his three-year stint in Kansas City, Nagy interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator opening Wednesday, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

As for Bieniemy, he previously served as the Chiefs’ OC from 2018-22, helping two-time NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes win the first two of his three Super Bowls.

Bieniemy was part of Reid’s inaugural Chiefs staff in 2013, first working as the team’s running backs coach for five seasons before getting the promotion to OC.

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Bieniemy coordinated Kansas City’s offense the first five seasons Mahomes was the team’s full-time starter. In the process, the Chiefs averaged 35.3 points per game in 2018, 28.2 points per game in 2019, 29.6 points per game in 2020, 28.2 points per game in 2021 and 29.2 points per game in 2022. They were top six in the league in scoring in each of those seasons, twice clocking out first.

For reference, Kansas City hasn’t averaged more than 22.6 points per game in a season since.

[Get more Chiefs news: Kansas City team feed]

Under Bieniemy’s watch, Mahomes hit the ground running. In his first full season, he tossed a career-high 50 touchdowns. In addition to winning the Super Bowl during the 2019 and 2022 seasons, the Chiefs also made it in the 2020 campaign before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stifled them.

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Despite generating yearly buzz when the NFL’s coaching carousel spun, Bieniemy never landed a head-coaching job. He left Kansas City in 2023 to run the Washington Commanders’ offense. But his stay in D.C. was short-lived, as the Ron Rivera staff largely turned over when Dan Quinn took the reins the following season.

Bieniemy headed to UCLA, but he was fired after one season, as the Bruins averaged a mere 18.4 points per game and went 5-7, including only 3-6 in Big Ten competition. He returned to the NFL in the lead-up to this season, joining the Chicago Bears as their running backs coach. Bieniemy oversaw a backfield that produced a 1,000-yard rusher in D’Andre Swift and featured an intriguing rookie in Kyle Monangai, who picked up 783 yards and five touchdowns on the ground while the Bears returned to relevance.

As a whole, Chicago averaged the third-most rushing yards per game (144.5) this season.

Bieniemy will now take what he learned from Ben Johnson’s system and be tasked with helping a Chiefs offense that desperately needs to innovate again.

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Kansas City ranked 25th in rushing, and, for the third straight go-round, Mahomes averaged fewer than 265 passing yards per game. The Chiefs are due for some upgrades at the receiver position.

Their offensive line getting healthy again will help. Mahomes has to successfully complete his recovery from a torn ACL, too.

But cutting down on penalties and finding new ways to catch defenses off guard will also be key for Bieniemy in assisting Reid, with an eye toward Kansas City recreating offensive fireworks.

Each week during the 2025-26 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.

Last week: Jonathan Kuminga is a good basketball player

Fact or Fiction: The Lakers can build a champion around Luka Dončić’s defense

Every time you type “JJ Redick” into a search engine, you’re hit with some headline like, Lakers coach blasts team’s effort, or, The latest attempt to solve Los Angeles’ defense!

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“Look, my staff and I, our analytics team, this is all we’re doing right now,” Redick told reporters following Tuesday’s 115-107 win over the shorthanded Denver Nuggets. “We’re trying to figure out what’s the best way for this team, with this group, to play defense.”

We are at the season’s midway point. (In fact, we are nearing the one-year anniversary of Luka Dončić’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, who face his former team on Saturday!)

This is an improvement from December, when Redick seemed to think there was no tactical adjustment to cure what ailed his defense, other than more effort from his players.

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“We practice this stuff enough,” he said after a loss to the Phoenix Suns. “We review this stuff enough. We show film on this stuff enough that to me it comes down to … just making the choice. It’s making the choice. There are shortcuts you can take, or you can do the hard thing, and you can make the second effort, or you can sprint back, or you can’t.”

Whether it is the coaching staff’s scheme or their players’ intention, the fact of the matter is: The Lakers’ defense is bad. On the season, they rate 25th out of 30 teams, allowing 117.3 points per 100 possessions. Since the start of December, when the Lakers are 11-13, they have allowed 119.2 points per 100 possessions, rating 29th on the defensive end. Only the Utah Jazz, who own the worst defensive rating in NBA history, have been worse than L.A.

One reason they are terrible at defense: Nobody gets hunted more than Dončić.

According to Synergy’s play-type statistics, teams complete 2.2 possessions per game opposite Dončić’s isolation defense, the most of anyone in the league. Granted, this only accounts for how many plays opponents finish against Dončić, not necessarily how many times he gets hunted throughout a game, but it gives us a good portrait of the problem.

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(Tyler Herro ranks second behind Dončić in that regard, to give you an idea of its accuracy.)

Of course, another reason they are terrible at defense: They failed to surround Dončić with anyone capable of stopping the ball. Dončić’s co-stars, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, are far from defensive stoppers. And Deandre Ayton is hardly a rim protector.

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As Redick said following a recent blowout loss, “I thought our low man was awful all night.”

Marcus Smart might be the Lakers’ best option at the point of attack, but the 31-year-old is four years and several injuries removed from being the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.

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“There’s really no defense, no scheme we can do when we’re giving up offensive rebounds in crucial moments like we are, or guys are getting wherever they want on the court,” Smart conceded in December. “And there’s no help, there’s no resistance, there’s no urgency. So, it’s tough. And JJ is right: There’s really nothing he can do. It’s on us.“

And us isn’t good enough, defensively, to win a championship.

Which begs the same question Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison answered in the negative at this time last year: Can you build a champion around Dončić’s defense?

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The short answer: Of course. (Spoiler alert: Nico was not right.)

A 24-year-old Dončić led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals with Kyrie Irving as his co-star. Daniel Gafford, Derrick Jones Jr. and P.J. Washington were the other three starters. That roster rated 18th on the defensive end during the regular season, hardly a juggernaut, and they came within three wins of a championship. Build the right team around Dončić — a roster full of two-way contributors — and obviously you can win a championship with him.

He is, after all, one in the handful of best basketball players in the world, averaging a league-leading 33.4 points per game, to go along with 8.7 assists and 7.8 rebounds a night.

All of which now leads us to the question at hand: Can the Lakers build a champion around Dončić? That is a far more complicated question to answer, and not just because their front office has made a series of missteps since winning the 2020 title. Then again, they did win that championship, they did acquire Dončić, and they did develop Reaves.

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(Ownership also may have been messy, but that is a story for a different day.)

The presence of James and Reaves, along with Dončić, is a defensive problem. They are three of the most talented scorers in the game, and the team’s three best players, and the Lakers want them all on the floor together, only they are being outscored by 7.4 points per 100 possessions, almost as bad as this year’s Washington Wizards, when that is the case.

Even if James, the 41-year-old phenom, who has lost several steps defensively, has a frosty relationship with Lakers leadership — a report he did not flatly deny on Thursday — it would be awfully difficult for them to piece together a trade by the Feb. 5 trade deadline, especially one that returns them enough help defensively to patch together a contender.

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He is, however, a free agent at season’s end, and it is becoming increasingly less surprising that James and the Lakers may mutually part ways this summer. In fact, the franchise can clear as much as $54 million in salary cap space in July, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.

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That gives the Lakers one chance — this summer — to spend on the roster around Dončić, before Reaves (assuming he opts out of his $15 million contract for next season) signs what could be something close to a maximum extension of his own. Then our question becomes: Can the Lakers build a champion around the defense of Dončić and Reaves?

Right now, the Lakers, when Dončić and Reaves are on the court without James, are outscoring opponents by 14.2 points per 100 meaningful possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, operating at a historic level offensively and a top-three level defensively.

That is beyond encouraging. The idea, then: Use the Mavericks’ blueprint, only with Reaves in the Irving role as Dončić’s co-star, and find three two-way forces to play along with them.

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Problem is: The 2026 free-agency class is a dud, at least in terms of defensive stalwarts. Might a 36-year-old Draymond Green decline his $27.7 million option for next season if more money awaited in L.A.? Does the oft-injured Robert Williams III interest the Lakers?

More likely, the Lakers will have to get creative, trying to trade players into their cap space, using their far-out future draft picks as bait, and possibly even dangling Reaves if a return is right. Can they get someone like Trey Murphy III or Herb Jones, or both, from the New Orleans Pelicans? Every other team in the league is in search of the same 3-and-D wings.

Our final question, then — another to come back to on another day — if we think we have sufficiently answered the one at hand (and of course the Lakers can build a champion around Dončić; any team can): Is Rob Pelinka the executive the Lakers want doing the job?

The Lakers are under new ownership, a group that did not hire Pelinka, and they will be both motivated to win and to spend, especially after investing $10 billion in the team.

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Determination: Fact. The Lakers can build a champion around Dončić. Just not this season. It will take time — perhaps years’ worth — but the good news is they have it. Dončić is 26 years old and under contract through the 2028-29 season. (Thanks again, Nico.)