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One of my favorite movie series throughout my late high school and early college days was The Matrix. Back then, the martial arts sequences (“I know kung-fu”) had me on the edge of my seat. And there’s probably a picture floating around the internet somewhere of me dressed as Morpheus for Halloween. But later on, the concept of choice and Neo’s conversations with The Oracle came back to me at this point of the fantasy season.

I’ve made plenty of wrong calls throughout the course of the 2025 season. Just watch the compilation the crew put together after Justin Boone ran away with the Primetime Picks segment. But when you’re in the thick of it, there’s always another week to work out — a new set of angles to consider. Now, with some time on our hands, let’s go through some of this year’s biggest busts. And not just why we made the choice, but also what it’d take for us to consider them again in ‘26.

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Justin Jefferson, Vikings (Draft Rank: WR2, EOS Rank: WR26)

Let’s be honest with each other here. Everybody who drafted Justin Jefferson in the early first round knew the risks with his situation. But his ADP, at worst, indicated that we were willing to push the concerns coming out of training camp aside. Besides, HC Kevin O’Connell had built up trust within the fanbase and fantasy community over the years. From Kirk Cousins to “The Passtronaut Game,” O’Connell’s status as a QB whisperer was untarnished. And to start the season, the results were favorable for folks who took the plunge on Jefferson:

Week 1 was about as good a season-opener as the Vikings and fantasy folks could’ve hoped. Jefferson had a 39% target share, caught J.J. McCarthy’s first TD and the Vikings won in primetime. However, McCarthy’s peripherals set off alarm bells. He averaged -0.53 EPA per dropback with a 39.1% passing success rate on just 20 attempts. In other words, what we saw wasn’t sustainable. However, whatever development plans O’Connell had for McCarthy went out the window, leaving Jefferson in the worst situation possible.

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• w/ Carson Wentz: 29.4% (target share), 68% (catchable target rate), 18.2 (PPR PPG)

• w/ McCarthy: 30.4%, 60%, 9.4

• w/ Max Brosmer: 25.6%, 65%, 4.7

I brought this up back in Week 8, fully acknowledging that Carson Wentz was a disaster, but he at least knew how to get the ball to Jefferson. I’m sure people with Jefferson on their roster went through the same process each week. They’d see him averaging 8.2 targets per game (tied for ninth-most among receivers), check the matchup and pray for a touchdown.

His problem wasn’t volume. It was either an inaccurate throw or an ill-timed miscue that dragged him down. But (hopefully) those are things the QB and WR can work on over the offseason.

For right now, I’m assuming McCarthy (with a healthy Christian Darrisaw and a plan to mitigate Ryan Kelly’s potential retirement) will be the Week 1 starter. With an offseason to get right, news of the triumvirate of McCarthy, O’Connell and Jefferson getting together to figure out what concepts the on-field duo are most comfortable with would get me back on board. The two found a rhythm in Week 16, with Jefferson running his second-most snaps from the slot and McCarthy triggering to throw faster than he had all season (2.65 seconds). If they can use that game as the blueprint for designing the offense for 2026, Jefferson’s ADP will be worth the cost.

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Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars (Draft Rank: WR9, EOS Rank: WR44)

As I’ve often said, progress isn’t linear. The success a player accrues one year won’t always translate to the next, especially if the situation changes. And it did for Brian Thomas Jr. in his second year. But the adjustments were supposed to be positive.

First, he’d be getting his QB back. Trevor Lawrence and the then-rookie played together for half of the season before a shoulder injury and concussion put T-Law on IR. However, even with Mac Jones taking over, Thomas ranked in the top five in yards per route run by season’s end. He showed the ability to win at every level as a route runner. Bringing in Liam Coen as the play-caller was all we needed to see to keep Thomas as a staple of the 1-2 turn in drafts.

But there were problems from the start.

I could excuse a 25% target rate in Week 1, after watching Thomas soar to 35% of the looks to close out ‘24. Jacksonville just traded up to add Travis Hunter. The target distribution would take some time to get right. But catching just one of the seven balls thrown his way was a red flag. And a Week 2 wrist injury, causing Coen to field questions about Thomas’ effort, didn’t help matters. So, with another mouth to feed and a bruised wrist (and ego), the second-year receiver took a step back despite the similar workload.

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• Target Rate (Weeks 1-7): 21.3% (2024), 21.8% (2025)

• Slot Snap Rate: 22.9%, 21.9%

Now, the blame wasn’t all on the receiver. Lawrence ranked 24th in adjusted completion percentage over the same span, with misfires to Hunter and everyone else. But it didn’t deter Coen from testing what worked best.

Against the 49ers, Thomas primarily played on the perimeter, but in the short and intermediate parts of the field (9.7 air yards per target). Lawrence and Thomas started to get in sync on multiple out-breaking routes, but still no touchdowns. A couple of weeks later, Thomas was in the slot for 33.3% and 44.4% of his targets, avoiding the brunt of the Seahawks’ and Rams’ coverage and finally finding the end zone. The loss of Hunter and Thomas’ high-ankle sprain delayed the trio from getting the much-needed reps required for this offense. But one Jakobi Meyers trade later, and we’re starting to see what works for BTJ in Year 2.

Sometimes the best solution is the simplest one. What’s a way to use a 6’3”, 209-lb receiver who can run a 4.33 40-yard dash? Send him downfield!

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Since Thomas’ Week 13 return, 15 of his 26 targets have come on out-breakers or vertical routes. He’s averaging 17.8 air yards per target. But, more importantly, his catch rate is up to 57.7% with just one fewer first down than Parker Washington. I’m excited to see how the Jags perform in the playoffs, but the larger question is what to expect next year.

Hunter should be back in the lineup, and Meyers got a multi-year extension. These are good problems for an organization, but tough for fantasy because Thomas is already on the path to getting back in sync with Lawrence as the team’s X-receiver. And with the personnel in place, there’s not much to suggest that’ll change. But Thomas does have two things working in his favor. One, he can operate across the middle of the field, opening up more concepts for him in the future. Plus, Lawrence is still as aggressive as ever. At 9.5 air yards per attempt, there’ll be enough targets for Thomas to stay in the low-end WR2, high-end WR3 conversation for 2026.

Ladd McConkey, Chargers (Draft Rank: WR11, EOS Rank: WR27)

I’ll talk to Matt Harmon about this, but we should come up with another receiver archetype. Harmon’s been the best at contextualizing WR play, with it now being understood that outside pass-catchers are sometimes playing a different sport than the guys on the interior. But then again, Ladd McConkey might be challenging that idea.

There were 12 receivers that lined up in the slot on more than half of their snaps. Of those 12, seven earned more than five targets per game. See if you can spot the difference.

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• DeVonta Smith: 6.8 (Targets per Game), 11.9 (Receiving aDOT)

• Wan’Dale Robinson: 8.8, 8.5

Hopefully, the clip gave it away. In any case, McConkey has the “coveted” slot role that we’ve cherished for other WRs in the past, but both he and Smith are downfield threats from their pre-snap alignment. That’s supposed to be the easy job! For reference, when Ja’Marr Chase goes to the inside, his aDOT drops to 4.2 air yards, and he has a 73.3% catch rate. Meanwhile, we’re just hoping McConkey sees the ball thrown his way. At a 26% target rate to end his rookie campaign, we didn’t think opportunities would be hard to come by.

However, we expected him to be Justin Herbert’s only option when targeting the intermediate and deep parts of the field. We were wrong.

• Target Share (on throws of 5 or more air yards): 24.2% (McConkey), 18.4% (Quentin Johnston)

• Yards per Route Run: 2.1, 2.5

Quentin Johnston’s ascension into being a reliable option has been one of the bright spots for the Chargers. Even if the third-year receiver plays on the boundary, his ability to come down with contested catches (relative to the previous two years) and create first downs (just eight fewer than McConkey, with two fewer games played) has spread the Chargers’ passing game out. And that’s without even mentioning Tre’ Harris and Oronde Gadsden II popping up throughout the year. Plus, I’m assuming most will point to L.A.’s offensive line (or lack thereof) as the reason behind the shakeup for the former Bulldog. But even when Herbert’s protection was healthy, the rotation wasn’t working in McConkey’s favor.

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• Target Share (Weeks 1-3): 19.8%, 3rd (out of the three WRs)

• Air Yard Share: 19.4%, 3rd

• Yards per Route Run: 1.37, 3rd

Let’s assume Keenan Allen retires. But then one of Harris or KeAndre Lambert-Smith soaks up some looks. Gadsden takes a step forward. Simply put, there will always be somebody within the receiving corps for Herbert. More importantly, an option to allow him to attack downfield (9.4 air yards per attempt in the first three weeks) makes McConkey’s slot role less valuable than others. As a result, without a drop in draft price, it’s hard to see him returning value in 2026.

Bucky Irving, Buccaneers (Draft Rank: RB10, EOS Rank: RB35)

The requirements for an early-round RB are simple: maintain a majority of the carries and earn a significant amount of targets. Both descriptors sound subjective, so I’ll add some thresholds.

Over the five seasons before ‘25, a rusher needed to average at least 15.0 PPR PPG to be in the top 10 by the end of the season. Their rush share was 53.6%. Plus, the average target rate was 10.6%, with the lowest in the sample being 3.8% (2021 Derrick Henry).

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Bucky Irving’s college profile highlighted his pass-catching skill set, and he was up to an 11% share at the close of ‘24. With the former fourth-round RB at the head of a potent offense, despite losing their OC, Irving’s status as the RB1 wasn’t in doubt. And even with the team coming into the season with offensive line problems, his dual-threat ability sustained his value.

We couldn’t have asked for a better opening script through the first four weeks. Baker Mayfield was under fire on 41.8% of his dropbacks, but still averaged the 11th-most attempts of any starter. Accordingly, Irving was just behind Jahmyr Gibbs in targets per game. Coupled with his 17.3 rushing attempts each week, we had an RB1 on our hands.

But, of course, injuries had to ruin everything.

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Now, don’t get me wrong. Irving is still fun to watch. He turns what would be a loss for some into a positive play at least once a week. However, there are no style points in fantasy scoring (yet). Each touch has to mean something (e.g., like a reception for a first down) or set the team up for a score (e.g., an explosive gain). That’s why contextualized usage can point us toward the right players. And in Irving’s case, they were indicating we should look elsewhere.

• Rushing Share: 71% (pre-injury), 64% (after return from injury)

• Short-Yardage Share: 79%, 58%

• Two-Minute Snaps: 75%, 54%

During the first month, the Bucs’ RBs enjoyed a 20.1% target share from Mayfield. But with Chris Godwin Jr., Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan back, there were fewer attempts to split between Irving and Rachaad White. Even worse for Irving was his loss as the goal-line option. To be fair, Tampa only ran one running play from inside its opponents’ 5-yard line through the first month. But that number has been up to eight since Week 13, and Irving hasn’t seen the ball once. Sean Tucker (seven carries) and White (one) have that job. So, independent of Tampa making it to the postseason, we’ll still have questions about Irving’s role heading into 2026.

Both White (unrestricted) and Tucker (restricted) are free agents at the end of the season. But since neither carries a significant cap hit, one or both will be back. If it’s just Irving plus another, we can project more work funneling back his way with the offseason to get healthy. However, with another campaign and no real development as a goal-line or short-yardage option, Irving should be more of an RB2 than a top-12 option.

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Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks (Draft Rank: RB15, EOS Rank: RB23)

Honestly, looking at Kenneth Walker III’s ranks from the draft and through Week 17, you could make the case that he wasn’t a bust. But it doesn’t feel that way. After an injury-riddled ‘24, Walker’s 38.6% forced missed tackle rate was the metric fantasy analysts (me) latched onto when projecting what things would look like this year. And we got glimpses of it throughout the season.

However, his absence gave us more time to watch Zach Charbonnet. And we (again) should’ve taken notice. Across his five starts during the fantasy regular season, Charbonnet finished as an RB1 three times. Sure, he benefited from a couple of short runs for a TD. But the underlying metrics pointed to a split backfield long before Week 1 came around.

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• Rushing Success Rate (as starters in 2024): 42.5% (Walker), 47.3% (Charbonnet)

• Adj. Yards After Contact per Att.: 3.2, 4.1

• Explosive Play Rate: 6.8%, 8.8%

In either case, the allure of Walker in an outside-zone blocking scheme that OC Klint Kubiak was installing kept the veteran RB as a staple of early/middle rounds. It was fair to question whether or not the new offensive staff would see Walker as the unquestioned bellcow, but a foot injury sustained in early August should’ve added more cold water on the idea. But even after the bye, he couldn’t separate from Charbonnet on the same concepts that were supposed to elevate him into the RB1 discussion.

• Rushing Success Rate (on outside zone runs after the bye): 51.9% (Charbonnet), 27.9% (Walker)

• Adj. Yards After Contact per Att.: 5.9, 4.4

• Forced Missed Tackle Rate: 37.0%, 39.5%

My hope for Walker is a change in scenery for 2026. He’s one of 16 players on Seattle’s roster who will be free agents after the season. Five of which are on the defensive side with over 500 snaps this season. With HC Mike Macdonald being a defensive coach, prioritizing his defenders and letting Walker test the market would make sense. Minnesota, Kansas City and Jacksonville (assuming the Jaguars move on from Travis Etienne Jr.) would be ideal landing spots for a rusher with Walker’s vision and utility in the passing game.

However, if he re-signs with Seattle, it’d be hard to expect anything different than what we saw in 2025.

The 2025-26 NFL MVP race has narrowed to two quarterbacks — Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye — looking to win their first MVP honor, and before the Rams’ Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons, it appeared to be Stafford’s to lose.

Unfortunately, after a three-interception performance in a 27-24 loss to the Falcons, Stafford may have done just that.

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Stafford entered Week 17 as the -210 favorite at BetMGM to win the award, with Maye at +165. Maye had the great fortune of playing a New York Jets team with no interest in winning, but still carved them up to the tune of 19-of-21 passing for 256 yards and five touchdowns. He also had three carries for 22 yards for good measure.

The MVP odds were changing constantly on Monday night, but Stafford’s poor play in the first half and comeback effort falling just short left Maye as a prohibitive favorite coming out of the game.

On Tuesday morning, Maye was as high as -700 to win the award at BetMGM, before some buyback took him to -500 (implied probability of 83.3%). Stafford is at +325. Bills QB Josh Allen is among three players with the next-best odds at 250-1.

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Maye has the second-most wagers (6.5%) and most total dollars wagered (14.11%) at BetMGM to win the award and represents the sportsbook’s biggest liability.

Entering his second season, Maye opened with 66-1 odds to win the award at BetMGM, but has led the Patriots to a 13-3 record and their first AFC East title since 2019. He also leads all QBs in Total QBR (76.5), Expected Points Added (108.4) and completion percentage (71.7%).

The Patriots are 11-point home favorites in Week 18 against the Miami Dolphins, while the Rams are 7.5-point home favorites against the Arizona Cardinals.

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 time: The Golden State Warriors are cooked

Fact or Fiction: Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets will be just fine

Nikola Jokić, the NBA’s best player, is hurt, and he is rarely so.

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The ripple effects of a hyperextension to his left knee, which will cost him at least four weeks of the season, will be many. Because the NBA requires its players to appear in 65 games to be eligible for its postseason awards, Jokić’s quest to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain as the sixth player ever to win four MVP awards may be on hold for another year.

(The 65-game rule is revealing itself to be ridiculous, as both Jokić and Victor Wembanyama — once favorites to win the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively — may no longer be in the conversation for either honor before we reach the season’s midway point. The media is fully capable of weighing the entire scope of a player’s candidacy, including missed time, without an arbitrary cutoff.)

Here, though, we are more concerned with Jokić’s Denver Nuggets and what this injury means for them.

After all, the Nuggets, when healthy, or when healthier (we’ll get to their additional injury woes), looked every bit as good as the team that won the 2023 NBA championship, if not better. Certainly deeper. Because of Jokić they felt like the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game series, even as Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs beat the defending champs three times in a two-week span.

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The Nuggets are, as we speak, in third place in the Western Conference, owners of a 23-10 record, comfortably on another side of the bracket where they would not have to face the Thunder until the Western Conference finals. It is right about where they wanted to be and where we expected them to be.

That was a big deal, too, because Jokić had maintained a 56-win pace in the absences of three starters — Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun — all of whom remain on the injury report. That is right: Jamal Murray, who could be in line for his first All-Star selection, is now the team’s sole healthy starter.

With the newly acquired Jonas Valančiūnas in place of Jokić and homegrown talents Peyton Watson, Spencer Jones and Jalen Pickett in tow, Murray led the Nuggets to a 106-103 victory against the Toronto Raptors in their first game without their offensive hub. Denver head coach David Adelman was visibly pleased with his team’s performance, knowing how difficult it is going to be to win at all without Jokić.

“It’s gonna be like this every night,” he said. “We’re gonna have to find a way to get to the fourth quarter.”

That will not be easy. When Jokić has been on the bench this season, the Nuggets have been outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions, operating at a 26-win pace. In a relatively small sample size, without Jokić, Gordon, Johnson and Braun, the Nuggets have been outscored by 19.8 points per 100 meaningful possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, or worse than the bottom-dwelling Washington Wizards.

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On the bright side, Denver has one of the league’s easiest schedules in January, featuring 11 games against could-be lottery teams, including a pair apiece against both the Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.

Then again, the Nuggets are now without Valančiūnas, too, as he suffered a right calf strain in the win over Toronto, and he too will miss at least four weeks. That leaves DaRon Holmes, a 2024 draft selection who has played a total of 34 minutes in his NBA career, as the team’s lone healthy center. This is bad.

[Get more Nuggets news: Denver team feed]

Just how bad is going to be the question. The Nuggets lead the sixth-place Minnesota Timberwolves by only three games in the loss column. Drop any lower than that, and Denver is in danger of losing its grip on a guaranteed playoff seed. And the seventh-place Phoenix Suns trail the Nuggets by just four losses.

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It is likely that Denver takes a tumble down the standings. If they go 4-13 in the month of January — entirely within the realm of possibility — the Suns would only need to play .500 in order to catch them.

Remember, though, that Jokić will be back, as will Gordon, Johnson, Braun and Valančiūnas — all presumably by the All-Star break, when the Nuggets will have two months to play themselves back into championship contention. They should still operate at their 56-win pace, if not even better, and settle somewhere around 50 wins, which was good for anywhere from the third to the fifth seed last year.

Worse-case scenario: The Nuggets fall into a fourth or fifth seed and have to play the Thunder in the second round, where they took Oklahoma City to seven games — despite a similar litany of injuries — last season. Or worst-case scenario: They fall into the play-in tournament, where they would have to win one of two games (does anyone think they wouldn’t?) and could face OKC in the playoffs’ opening round.

Just as likely, the Nuggets could play their way back into the third seed. Or land the sixth seed.

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Is either scenario really so bad? They will, in all likelihood, have to face the Thunder anyway, and couldn’t it be advantageous to play them earlier in the postseason, when the wear and tear of the playoffs on Jokić’s knee, Gordon’s hamstring and so on and so on will not be so harsh? And we could either be treated to one of the great first-round series of all time or a Western Conference finals for the ages.

Either way, the Nuggets are not cooked. They are merely on hiatus, as our League Pass watching will be less entertaining without Jokić in rotation. But we have seen enough to know: The Nuggets are capable of winning the title again, capable of beating the Thunder, so long as Jokić is healthy, and with two months still to build chemistry they can still hit the ground running in the playoffs, even if on the road.

And who knows: Maybe this experience for Watson, Jones and Pickett, plus all the other role players who could be called upon in a playoff series, will better prepare them for the moments that actually matter.

Determination: Fact. The Nuggets will be just fine.

Take a look at that final four.

That weird, disorienting, beautiful final four.

One of Indiana, Oregon, Ole Miss or Miami is going to win the College Football Playoff national title. Can we pause for moment and celebrate how impossible that would have seemed a mere three years ago and how cool it is now?

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Here’s Indiana, historically one of the worst programs in major college football, bullying everyone to a 14-0 record and the well-deserved status as national championship favorite thanks to a genius named Curt Cignetti who was hiding in plain sight until he was 60 years old.

Here’s Oregon, the poster child for new money that hung around the elite for so long it became the establishment, hoping to deliver the national championship 87-year-old Nike founder and mega-booster Phil Knight yearns to experience.

Here’s Ole Miss, the school that never lost a tailgate party but also never won a modern-era SEC championship, trying to save its conference from a playoff humiliation while the coach who built the program watches from Baton Rouge because he deemed it easier to win a title there.

And here’s Miami, a team that wasn’t projected to make the CFP until the selection committee pulled a switcheroo at the last second and vaulted the Hurricanes over Notre Dame for the final spot in the field.

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Meanwhile?

Goodbye Georgia. See ya, Ohio State. Best of luck in your future endeavors, Alabama.

This sport has changed in ways nobody truly saw coming. But here’s a question: What took so darn long?

We should all spend the next 2½ weeks wrapping our minds around what’s happened to college football this season. In Year 2 of the 12-team playoff, the sport has gone crazy in the best possible way. All we ever wanted was a postseason where the teams deemed to be elite by poll voters or committee members to prove it on the field in a playoff format that looked like every other level of football.

Now we have it, and it’s proven one thing definitively: When you put teams into a tournament bracket, unexpected stuff happens.

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Even in college football.

Of course, we knew this last year when the 12-team playoff debuted, resulting in a championship game between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds. But because those teams happened to be Notre Dame and Ohio State — the bluest of blue bloods — it didn’t really register.

This year, regardless of how the semifinals turn out, we are going to have a championship game between programs that have largely been considered have-nots for most of their history. And yes, that even includes Miami, whose dynasty era has faded so far into history — and with so much futility in between — that head coach Mario Cristobal almost recoils at the suggestion it can be recreated.

Which begs another question: Is this an anomaly or the new normal for college football?

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Probably a little bit of both.

As the playoff moves forward and likely expands to 16 teams — hopefully it stays there for awhile — we may not get a semifinal set quite this unlikely. The elites aren’t going to stay down forever.

But it would be a mistake to assume that this is only a product of the talent being spread around more evenly due to NIL and the transfer portal.

Obviously, it’s a huge factor. Programs like Alabama and Georgia can’t stockpile recruits and have an assembly line of talent ready to go when their best players move on to the NFL. All programs now will have roster holes. That’s just the way it is.

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But there is something about tournament play that should make us question how many national champions we remember from the past would have made it through a bracket that forced them to play three or four teams of similar talent.

Think about all the BCS controversies over the years or teams that were overwhelmingly talented but stubbed their toe at the wrong time and slipped enough in the polls that they never got a chance.

Take the 2012 season as an example. If you remember, that was the year the epic SEC championship game between Alabama and Georgia came down to the final play for a spot in the national title game against a plucky but undertalented Notre Dame team that managed to get to No. 1 by winning every close game.

Would either of those teams have survived a 12-team playoff that would have given Georgia a second chance, that would have included a great Oregon team whose only loss was 17-14 in overtime to a Stanford team that would have also been in the field? Oh, and you also would have had to deal with the team that beat Alabama: Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M, which was playing as well as anyone in the country at the end of the season.

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You think that might have been a fun playoff to watch?

Sure, as you go through history, there were certainly some inevitabilities that could have won a championship in any format. The Joe Burrow-led LSU team from 2019 comes to mind as one of those teams that was so dominant, they probably weren’t losing to anyone.

But as we look back through history, it’s fair to question whether some of those BCS matchups that were supposed to pit No. 1 against No. 2 were influenced by brand bias and preseason ranking.

It’s hard to come to any other conclusion when you see teams that were ranked No. 7 (Oregon), No. 10 (Miami), No. 20 (Indiana) and No. 21 (Ole Miss) four months ago survive the gauntlet and earn their way to the top.

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For far too many years, the paradigm of college football was based mostly on what we thought we knew about teams.

It used to be a beauty pageant. Now, it’s a month-long exam.

Finally, the results are in. They may not be what we expected, but at least we know we’re getting the truth.

Rory McIlroy would welcome back former PGA Tour stars who left for LIV Golf, saying those players have “paid their consequence.”

The reigning Masters champion was a guest on this week’s “Overlap” podcast and said that while Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has helped elevate the majors and Ryder Cup — making those events the only times during the year where the best players are all together — the sport needs them together more often in order to be relevant.

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McIlroy’s comments come nearly two weeks after five-time major winner Brooks Koepka announced he would step away from LIV Golf for the 2026 season. That decision leaves open the question of whether he will pursue a return to the PGA Tour.

Should Koepka attempt a return, McIlroy believes that no punishment is needed as it would be in the best interests of the PGA Tour.

“They’ve made the money but they’ve paid their consequence when you talk about their reputation and some of the things that they’ve lost by going over there,” McIlroy said. “If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be okay with it. But, it’s not just me, and I recognize that not everyone’s in my position. It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.”

Fellow PGA Tour member Billy Horschel had a similar response earlier this week, saying that he was once in favor of a punishment for any LIV players who want to return, but now sees it as a betterment of the product.

Koepka, DeChambeau, along with Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson were the biggest names to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Their departures created tension between the tours and players, with some arguing there should be a consequence in order to return.

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The PGA Tour has indicated that a pathway back from LIV would require a player to sit out at least a year after playing in a non-sanctioned event. LIV’s final event ended on Aug. 25, 2025; a year’s delay would make Koepka ineligible to play until at least the PGA Tour’s fall events. He could potentially play on the DP World Tour.

McIlroy has been one of the biggest anti-LIV voices on the PGA Tour since its inception. He doesn’t like what it’s done to golf and the fractures that it has created.

Those feelings have softened, however, with McIlroy saying that he felt his earlier comments were “too judgmental” and that he realized other players are in a different position than him or Tiger Woods.

“You get this offer and what do you do?” McIlroy said in Jan. 2024. “We all turned professional to make a living playing the sports that we do and I think that’s what I realized over the past two years, I can’t judge people for making that decision.”

LIV Golf has made changes for 2026, including the biggest decision of moving from 54 holes to the traditional 72 in order to better its chances of players receiving Official World Golf Rankings points.

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Will that be enough for LIV Golf to gain relevancy? In McIlroy’s eyes, time is running out.

“If LIV is failing to capture the imagination and they’ve spent so much money on this venture and it isn’t making a return for them I don’t know how much longer they can keep it going,” McIlroy said.

When my editor told me to write a “Way-too-early bold fantasy football predictions” piece, at first I thought it was going to be a cake walk. After all, ya boy loves thinking outside the box and challenging groupthink. Easy peasy, I’ll knock this out in like an hour tops …

But then I do what I do and start going down rabbit holes … I start looking at projected cap space … examining pending free agents … postulating team needs, schematic fits, inside/outside run rates, slot/wide alignment — wait, what about potential OC changes??? And what about win totals? Should we really be investing in bad teams …

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Next thing you know, it’s New Year’s Day and I’ve spent about four hours researching the entire league for no good reason at all.

It’s a long way of saying, it would’ve been easy to just throw smashed bananas on the wall and come up with bold predictions that don’t make sense and could never happen, but what’s the fun in that? Here are five bold predictions for 2026 based on plausible spending and team needs:

Breece Hall signs with Pittsburgh, explodes for 1,500 yards and 10 TDs

Kenneth Gainwell only signed a one-year deal and while it’s possible the team re-signs him, given his productivity, I wonder if they make a splashier move at a position that has been critical for Mike Tomlin-led teams. Interestingly, Jaylen Warren is a potential cut candidate given his contract.

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Per Spotrac, Pittsburgh currently has the eighth-most projected cap space and you have to think they will spend some of that at running back.

A juiced-up version of Gainwell, Breece Hall is a perfect fit for the predominantly outside run scheme Arthur Smith deploys. And while Kenny G was good as a pass catcher too, Breece is downright electric as a receiver out of the backfield.

And let’s not forget, Tomlin is a legit kingmaker for this position. Le’Veon Bell, Willie Parker, Najee Harris, Rashard Mendenhall, James Conner and DeAngelo Williams all posted seasons with 1,100+ scrimmage yards and 10+ touchdowns. This doesn’t even include Jerome Bettis, who had 987 yards and 13 touchdowns in his age-32 season playing under Tomlin. Hell, Warren is two touchdowns away from doing that again this year!

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Jaylin Noel finishes as a top-30 fantasy wide receiver

Christian Kirk will be a free agent this spring and is entering his age-30 season. I would be shocked if Houston brings him back. His departure will open the door for the very under-utilized slot man in Noel.

Most will point to Jayden Higgins as the breakout guy given his size and draft capital, but to me, there was a reason Noel outproduced Higgins while they were teammates at Iowa State.

Whether it was collegiately or in the pros, every single time I watch Noel play, he’s either wide open or making explosive plays. The Texans desperately need quick separators given their OL woes and that’s 100% Noel.

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Houston would be wise to get Noel ramped up this offseason as a regular, consistent contributor.

Malik Willis signs with Dolphins, turns Jaylen Waddle into a top-12 WR 

The Dolphins are currently projected over the cap but once they part ways with Tyreek Hill, a huge chunk of space will open up. I have no idea how they navigate the Tua Tagovailoa contract but given their current draft position, they also won’t be in a spot to draft one of the top QB prospects either.

Willis, who is a pending free agent, has shown significant growth as a player while in Green Bay … but not so much that he’s going to demand a massive contract.

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This prediction is, of course, reliant on the team retaining Mike McDaniel. Remember, McDaniel comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree while Willis has played under Matt LeFleur, who is from the McVay tree. Considering McVay and Shanahan have shared lineage, this is an extremely long way of saying Willis would have strong familiarity with the scheme and playbook in South Beach, should he go there.

Willis’ arm talent was never a question and having that sizzle would be such a welcome change for these Miami pass-catchers. If this marriage happens, I love it for Jaylen Waddle.

Rico Dowdle goes to Washington, posts 1,300+ yards for the third straight year

All the “Bill Bros” will hate it, but Rico Dowdle is such a good (and affordable) fit for the Commanders.

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Despite being the more productive back in Carolina, Rico only signed a one-year deal while Chuba Hubbard is in the middle of a four-year, $33 million extension he signed last season. The team is stuck with Chuba for at least one more year.

In regards to Washington, because of the RPO scheme they deploy for Jayden Daniels, RBs have to be great at running between the tackles. Dowdle, in back-to-back years, has played for the Cowboys and Panthers; both are top-five in terms of inside run rates and in both spots, Dowdle has thrived. He’s compiled 1,300+ scrimmage yards in back-to-back seasons.

While I love Jacory Croskey-Merritt too, he’s a weird fit for this offense because he’s so talented running to the outside but not very good at running inside. Per Next Gen Stats, he leads all qualified running backs (100+ season carries) with 6.8 yards per carry on outside runs but averages a poor 3.48 YPC on inside runs. League average was 4.3 YPC and he was slightly worse than the calcified Kareem Hunt, who averaged 3.52 YPC between the tackles.

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If Dowdle signs with the Commanders, I love his upside playing alongside Daniels and company.

Bhayshul Tuten takes over backfield in Jacksonville, finishes as top-15 RB  

I think the Jags would be nuts to let Travis Etienne Jr. walk in free agency but I also think that’s the most likely outcome given that Jacksonville has too many other team needs.  Plus, ETN wasn’t a guy selected by the current regime, while Tuten was.

A fourth-round selection for Liam Coen and company, Tuten has incredible athletic traits, running a 4.32 40-time and jumping out the gym with a 40.5-inch vertical.

I’m positive LeQuint Allen Jr. will play an uncomfortable amount of snaps as well, but given the trajectory of this offense, sign me up.

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Bonus Prediction: Trevor Lawrence is the QB1 in 2026

It took him a minute to get acclimated to Coen’s playbook and coaching style but what we’ve seen on the back half of 2025 is exactly what us Lawrence apologists have been trying to tell the skeptics and haters for years now.

Over his last seven games (all wins), Lawrence is averaging 250.6 passing yards, 25.1 rushing yards and 3.0 total touchdowns per game. If you stretched that out across 17 games, we’re talking 4,687 total yards and 51 touchdowns. Absolutely bonkers stuff.

From a fantasy perspective, over his last seven weeks, Lawrence is the QB1 in total points and points per game in that stretch. Let me say it louder for the people in the back: LAWRENCE IS THE TOP SCORING QUARTERBACK SINCE WEEK 11.

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The addition of Jakobi Meyers very obviously solidified the pass-catching group and the collection of Meyers, BTJ, Parker Washington, Brenton Strange and potentially Travis Hunter should be one of the most complete units in football next season.

Considering their defense should still be a work in progress, Lawrence will have all the chance in the world to build upon the good bones he established this year.

Yahoo’s Fantasy football analysts get together to reveal the biggest lessons they learned throughout a raucous 2025 season — what will we take with us in 2026?

Biggest lesson this season? Situations matter

Talent is the trailer, environment is the engine. We love the 40 times and the vibes but bad offensive lines turn Ferraris into shopping carts. Ashton Jeanty got the volume yet ran into a Raiders front that got bullied weekly. Justin Jefferson is still him but shaky quarterback play had us chasing ghosts.

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Early season snapshots lie, too. Emeka Egbuka opened hot, then faded when roles shifted. Luther Burden III limped in as a rookie, then won leagues when the usage flipped late.

Coaching tweaks, injuries, depth chart churn — all of it is the weather we have to play through. The move here is to stay fluid. Trust what the teams are telling us in snaps, routes and red-zone work. Dump stale priors. Pivot faster.

Fantasy is a proxy for Sundays, not our summer takes. In 2026, I’m drafting the player — but I’m betting on the ecosystem. Every time. — Ray Garvin

Rookie tight ends can onboard quickly

Although Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers were first-year smashes the last couple of seasons, their instant success felt more isolated and not necessarily symbolic of a sea change. But after watching what the 2025 tight end class accomplished, I’m willing to reevaluate the position as a whole. If you look at the receiving leaders among first-year players this season, four of the top six names are tight ends (Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., Oronde Gadsden II, Colston Loveland).

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There was ebb and flow, of course – Warren was better early in the season (before Daniel Jones got hurt), Loveland came on late. But we need to permanently scrap the idea that rookie tight ends can’t be fantasy-relevant in their debut seasons. The offensive schemes in college and pro football continue to move closer together, which gives these talented rookies a better chance at quick success.  — Scott Pianowski

Draft Year 3 and 4 wide receivers

The wide receiver position in 2025 was dominated by Year 3 to Year 4 players. Six of the top-12 scorers on a per-game basis were receivers in their third or fourth season. The fantasy community has a blind spot to these types of players breaking through to new heights. Because the space has become overly influenced by dynasty content, we have in some way become less patient with young players than ever.

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There is a sense that a player “is what he is” after just a couple of seasons. This leads to elite discounts on guys like Chris Olave and JSN this year and Nico Collins a few years back. This will be an archetype of receiver to heavily target in the mid rounds next season and beyond. — Matt Harmon

The late-round QB approach should never be doubted

While I touted drafting elite QBs like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson this summer, their advantage over other fantasy passers wasn’t as notable as in recent seasons. Allen still averaged two points per game more than other QBs, but he was closer to the pack than last year. Meanwhile, Jackson had his campaign derailed by injuries.

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At the same time, we had nine quarterbacks — drafted outside the first 100 picks in fantasy drafts — who were strong starters. Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye, Brock Purdy and Trevor Lawrence made up four of the top-six fantasy QBs in per game scoring. Other deep values like Jared Goff, Justin Herbert and Caleb Williams also finished as top-12 QBs. We even saw Daniel Jones post QB8 numbers through 13 weeks before getting hurt, and Jaxson Dart emerged as a top-10 fantasy option once he began starting in Week 4.

Though I was tempted by the high-end passers in 2025, the general focus should always be on trying to uncover the late-round quarterbacks with a path to significant production. — Justin Boone

If last year’s busts have a new situation, hurt feelings = value

I did a research study this offseason looking at fantasy players’ recent ceiling seasons compared to their ADP. I didn’t know what the result would be, but it did reveal one thing: emotions can drive down ADP too far. Travis Etienne Jr. was the RB3 in 2023; one bad season later and he’s ADP RB30 — right behind Kaleb Johnson. A new coach who produced two fantasy RB2s the year before insisted Etienne would be the starter and it seemed nobody wanted him because he hurt their 2024 team.

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Michael Pittman Jr. was very similar. The ADP WR46, even though he’d been a top-20 fantasy WR from 2021-2023. Javonte Williams, Chris Olave, Christian McCaffrey — the list goes on. This doesn’t mean to draft Justin Jefferson, Kenneth Walker III or Garrett Wilson no matter what, but rather if their situation changes.

Because if nothing changes, nothing changes. — Joel Smyth

Be patient with a player if the right signs are there

I know we want all of our players to come out of the gates firing, but situations can change, forcing us to lower expectations. However, if the usage undersells the production, I’d be willing to wait next season. Take Chase Brown, for example.

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After Joe Burrow went down, the Bengals ranked dead last in yards per game, but Brown was not only sitting at a 15% target share, he also had a lock on the backfield with a 59% rushing share and all of the goal-line carries.

Knowing HC Ben Johnson’s effect on Detroit’s running game, D’Andre Swift’s 61% rushing share entering their bye at least had him in the pole position should the Bears’ offense find its rhythm.

From George Pickens leading the Cowboys in end-zone targets before CeeDee Lamb’s injury to Zach Charbonnet taking 90% of the goal-line carries before Kenneth Walker III’s pre-season foot injury became a larger story, we tend to value perceived certainty over the potential for a week- or season-winning player.

So while I’ll still bet on my stars to perform, I’ll be more willing to look into the guys with lackluster starts to 2026. — Chris Allen

For many of you, the fantasy football season came to an end in Week 17. For others, it’s still going into Week 18 and the NFL regular-season finale. If that’s the case, you’ll still need to get lineup advice, which will be tricky to navigate as teams decide to rest players for the postseason.

Below you’ll find our consensus rankings for each position for point-per-reception scoring from analysts Justin Boone, Scott Pianowski, Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth. Good luck in your pursuit of a fantasy championship!

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PPR Consensus Rankings

Note: You can check out our consensus half-PPR rankings right here.

For many of you, the fantasy football season came to an end in Week 17. For others, it’s still going into Week 18 and the NFL regular-season finale. If that’s the case, you’ll still need to get lineup advice, which will be tricky to navigate as teams decide to rest players for the postseason.

Below you’ll find our consensus half-PPR rankings for each position from analysts Justin Boone, Scott Pianowski, Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth. Good luck in your pursuit of a fantasy championship!

Consensus half-PPR rankings for each position

Note: You can check out our consensus full-PPR rankings here.

Since the unofficial start of the NBA’s trade season on Dec. 15, much of the discussion surrounding which players might be on the move has focused on perennial All-Star and All-NBA-caliber performers with marquee names: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Trae Young, Ja Morant, et al. But with the Feb. 5 trade deadline now just over a month away, it seems like there’s an increasing level of interest around the league in the availability of — and the potential market for — Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr.

Just six months ago, the Nuggets sent the Nets an unprotected 2032 first-round draft pick to take on the final two years and $79.1 million of the five-year rookie-scale-maximum contract that Porter signed in the summer of 2021. After an excellent start to his tenure in Brooklyn, though — one that has seen him play his way into potential All-Star consideration — Porter may well have gone from distressed asset into in-demand target.

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Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports that the Nets have shown a willingness to “listen to pitches” on their veteran players, including Porter, but they haven’t been “actively shopping” the 27-year-old swingman. It’s entirely possible that, as ESPN’s Shams Charania and others have reported, the Nets eschew a big move in favor of just continuing to serve as a cap-space-renting waystation for other teams looking to get off money and willing to pay with draft picks to do so.

If and when conversations begin to perk up over the next few weeks, though, Fischer highlighted several teams to keep an eye on in the potential running for Porter’s services: the Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls. All four prospective suitors make at least some sense.

[Get more Nets news: Brooklyn team feed]

According to multiple reports, despite a dismal 14-20 start that currently has them outside the East’s play-in spots, the Bucks’ braintrust continues to signal an intent to try to add talent at the deadline rather than detonating their build through any much-rumored-but-never-actually-consummated blockbuster that sends Antetokounmpo away from Milwaukee. While the Pistons sit atop the Eastern standings, they’re a middling 10-7 since their scorching 15-2 start, ranking 25th or worse in the share of their shots that come from 3-point range, team 3-point accuracy and half-court scoring efficiency in that span, according to Cleaning the Glass.

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The Warriors, similarly, have struggled mightily to find a consistent secondary source of offense beyond the seemingly ageless Stephen Curry. And while attempting to discern the motivations behind the machinations in Chicago has long been a mug’s game, Fischer notes that the Bulls and Nuggets had “serious discussions” about a swap that would’ve landed Porter in the Windy City before pivoting and shipping Zach LaVine to Sacramento; it’s at least possible a fresh round of discussions could be struck up with Brooklyn brass, if Chicago’s decision-makers are still fond of Porter’s talent.

And judging by what he’s put on film this season, they — and plenty of other front offices around the league — should be.

Porter’s averaging a career-high 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 58% on 2-pointers, 41% from 3-point land on more than nine attempts per game, and 81.2% from the free-throw line. There are only 14 NBA players this season averaging at least 25 points per game on .600 true shooting, according to Stathead — a list that includes five MVPs (Curry, Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, James Harden), three multi-time All-NBA selections (Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell) and two former All-Stars (Lauri Markkanen, Tyrese Maxey). Porter is on that list.

That’s the kind of company Porter’s been keeping offensively this season — the cream of the crop of high-volume, high-efficiency point producers. He has also more than doubled his previous career-best assist rate, dishing the helper on nearly 20% of his teammates’ baskets during his floor time, and is clearing the defensive boards more consistently than he has since his rookie season. And while he’s not a top-flight defender on an individual basis, Porter has shown a capacity to play his part in a defense playing at a top-flight level. Since shifting to supersized long-ball lineups featuring Porter at small forward alongside the 6-foot-11 Nic Claxton and 6-10 Noah Clowney up front with 6-8 rookie Egor Dёmin and 6-6 vet Terance Mann in the backcourt, with plenty of size coming off the bench, Brooklyn owns the NBA’s No. 3 defense since the start of December — all with Porter leading the team in minutes.

Add it all up, and by a handful of metrics — estimated plus-minus, value over replacement player, box plus-minus and player efficiency rating, among others — Porter has performed like a top-20-to-30 player in the NBA this season. A 6-10 sharpshooter who can contribute in a smaller role, can scale up his usage without a drop in efficiency, can cook with the ball in his hands and open up both your playbook and the rest of the floor for his teammates with his off-ball activity and gravity would seem to have a lot of value around the league if he actually hits the market. Whether the fact that Porter’s under contract for $40.8 million next season makes him more attractive (not a rental!) or less attractive (big chunk of money on the books for a guy with persistent back problems and a drop-foot issue!) likely lies in the eye of the would-be suitor.

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The question the Nets have to answer between now and Feb. 5: Is this as good (and as healthy) as Porter’s likely to be, making it the ideal time to sell high and try to get more draft capital and/or young talent for him in the perpetual game of asset arbitrage that rebuilding teams must play? Or is this really who Porter is, and what he can consistently be in Jordi Fernández’s system — and, thus, maybe an ideal play-finishing building block for the upwardly mobile team that Sean Marks and Co. are trying to build with all those big, young playmakers?

The answer will likely depend on a number of factors: how Porter plays over the next month; how many teams think of themselves as just one moderately sized swing from playing more meaningful basketball come springtime; how motivated Brooklyn’s front office is to do whatever it can to improve the chances of landing as high in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, given the fact that the Nets do control their own first-round pick this summer, and don’t control it in 2027. (Though, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes, there could be other paths to dropping in the standings that don’t include re-routing MPJ before February.)

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Ultimately, though, it likely depends primarily on just how hefty a price other teams signal they’d be willing to pay for Porter. Fischer reports that “re-tradable salary and a future first-round pick … might not be enough” to pry him away mid-season, given the possibility that the Nets might have their sights set on making bigger, more aggressive additions to their roster come the summer — moves that might require a significant salary like Porter’s as a financial make-weight. If someone ponies up a Mikal Bridges/Desmond Bane-style package of several legit first-round picks, then Porter will likely finish the season in a different uniform.

If not? Well, continuing to employ a top-25-to-35 player who fits what you want to do, and who already netted you an unprotected future first, doesn’t seem like too bad a deal — even if it means one fewer potential deal for NBA observers to obsess over.