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Articles by Jacob Herlin
Let’s Stream Defenses: Week 6 (2026 Fantasy Football)
It’s fumble season! It feels like every defender is attempting the Peanut Punch on every play, and forced fumbles are indeed up. Through five weeks, we’ve seen an average of 0.98 forced fumbles per team-game, up from .67 last year. 2025 was a down year in this regard – in the five prior seasons, the league rate was always between .77 and .82 – but 2026 is still a notable increase compared to that norm. This is good news for streamers because it makes fumbles slightly more predictable.
Let’s Stream Defenses: Week 5 (2026 Fantasy Football)
It’s Week 5 and we’re really in the season now. Four weeks of results is enough data to have a solid read on who the good and bad matchups are, byes are starting, and the losing-est fantasy teams have lost hope at 0-4. For the most part, it’s still too early for it to be worth spending a bench spot on a defense. But if you have the Vikings, you should seriously consider holding them through their Week 6 bye. Even with some tough-looking matchups in the middle of the season, they’re just that good.
Let’s Stream Defenses: Week 4 (2026 Fantasy Football)
It’s Week 4 and, as it goes with the NFL, the injuries are piling up. At the start of the season it was hard to find a defense with a matchup you felt good about, but by now there are several teams that have had to turn to their 2nd or 3rd option at quarterback. So before we get to fantasy football D/ST streamers this week, let’s check in on some of the QB situations that have been in flux lately.
Let’s Stream Defenses: Week 3 (2026 Fantasy Football)
It’s Week 3, and football is in full swing. We’ve seen enough action that the landscape for fantasy defense matchups is quite different from our expectations a couple of weeks ago. Here’s a look at our fantasy football defense rankings and waiver wire options for Week 3.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice: Players to Add, Stash & Drop (Week 3)
It’s rare for a fantasy football waiver wire week to get an “A” grade in this article. Far more often, we lament the lack of quality waiver options. Week 3 gets an A-minus, but hey … it’s still an A. This is indeed a good week for waivers. There are a couple of widely available gems who’ll spark vigorous FAAB bidding. There are appealing options at the always-in-demand running back position. There are a number of worthwhile additions at wide receiver.
Let’s Stream Defenses: Week 2 (2026 Fantasy Football)
Week 1 is in the books, so we finally have some real NFL results to look at for our fantasy football teams! One week is not a lot of data in the grand scheme of things, but it is infinitely more than zero. The big takeaway from Week 1 is that scoring is way up. The league scored a combined 791 points, which ties 2012’s record for the highest-scoring Week 1 since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. The 96-point Bears-Panthers game was the highest-scoring Week 1 game in history, but it wasn’t just them.
Let’s Stream Defenses: Week 1 (2026 Fantasy Football)
We’re back, baby! Football starts tomorrow, and you know what that means – it’s finally time to pick up a defense. You didn’t draft a defense, did you? This series is all about the defense streaming lifestyle. The idea is this: the path to success with fantasy football defenses is picking up whoever has the best matchup every week, not in sticking with a defense that is good in in a real-world sense.
The Primer: Week 1 Edition (2026 Fantasy Football)
The Primer is presented by Leaguebase. Leaguebase is the private clubhouse for the one league that actually matters: the one with a decade of rivalries and inside jokes behind it. Connect your Sleeper, Yahoo, or ESPN league and everything comes with you: rosters, standings, power rankings, and a record book stretching back through every past season, even across different platforms. Your league’s whole story, finally in one place. Offseason? What offseason?
Fantasy Football Sleepers: Most Accurate Expert Picks in 2025
The NFL preseason has officially begun, which means fantasy football season is already underway. The time to plan out your draft strategy is now. The early rounds of the draft get a lot of attention, and you can certainly lose your league by screwing up the first 5 rounds, but nailing them is not enough to win your league. The difference between a merely good fantasy team and a league-winner is further down the roster, so it’s worth having a plan for how you’re going to draft in the 12th round.
Fantasy Football Rankings: Wild Card Playoffs (2026)
Here are our fantasy football rankings from our analysts for the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. You can find our expert consensus fantasy football rankings for the week here. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings, and analysis. Here are our fantasy football rankings for the NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round.
NFL Teams That Have Something to Play For Week 18
It’s Week 18, the final chance for some players to make a statement before the long wait for the next September, and while some teams have a lot to play for, some might be slightly less motivated. Whether you’re playing in a fantasy championship, DFS, sports betting or just merely wondering which games might be worth watching, here is everything that could matter in Week 18.
6 Fantasy Football Lineup Landmines: Start/Sit Advice (Week 18)
Arguably, the most frustrating thing in fantasy football is seeing someone in your starting lineup struggle that week. Therefore, the logic behind this article is simple — identify fantasy football lineup landmines. These are players you’re leaning towards starting this week, but who could end up being a landmine that blows up and destroys your starting lineup, potentially costing you your matchup.
Fantasy Football New Year’s Resolutions
The 2025 fantasy football season is over. Unless your league foolishly plays in Week 18, it’s time to look forward to next year. For redraft players, there isn’t much to do until training camp. However, dynasty players have already dived into the upcoming offseason, starting with free agency and the NFL Draft. This year has had several surprise fantasy performances. Unfortunately, we also saw many star players struggle with injuries.
10 Most Intriguing Players of Week 17 (2025 Fantasy Football)
I was about to go to bed last night when I heard a commotion downstairs, so I went down to check it out. Imagine my surprise when I encountered Santa Claus, who was dutifully placing presents beneath our Christmas tree. He must have known we’d be out of town for Christmas and decided to pay us an early visit. “Hey, man,” I said quietly, not wanting to startle him. “If I’d known you were coming, I would have put out milk and cookies.” Santa turned to face me and smiled a wry smile.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 17)
As the 2025 fantasy football season comes to a close, it’s time to hand out the hardware and recognize the kicker of the year, rookie of the year, breakout star and biggest disappointment. I hope this weekly column gave you a real edge along the way, whether it helped you lock in dependable options, spot emerging trends or avoid costly mistakes. The kicker position may be easy to overlook, but this season once again showed how often it can swing matchups and decide championships.
Fantasy Football Points Allowed: Best & Worst Matchups (Week 17)
It all comes down to this. After months of draft discussions, trade talks, waiver Wednesdays, and everything in between, Week 17 is the finale of the fantasy football season. Championships will be won and lost (and humiliating punishments will be avoided or suffered) based on how players score this week. With these lofty stakes in mind, here are the best and worst fantasy football matchups at every position in Week 17.
Fantasy Football Points Allowed: Best & Worst Matchups (Week 16)
If you’re reading this, congrats on making it to the fantasy football semi-finals. Whether you are coming in rested off a bye or just secured your spot with a win in a wild Week 15, it’s time to look ahead to Week 16. As always, this article is here to help identify borderline starters with particularly good (or particularly bad) matchups to help you set an ideal lineup and win your matchup. Let’s get right into it.
Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings: Week 16 (2025)
With the fantasy football playoffs in full swing, this will be the final handcuff report of the 2025 season. The fantasy season seems to come and go in the blink of an eye. For those of you who have followed along this year, I hope you enjoyed the article and got good use out of it. We definitely had some hits (Woody Marks, Devin Neal, Emanuel Wilson) as well as some big misses (Bhayshul Tuten, Hassan Haskins).
Fantasy Football Quarterback Streamers & Waiver Wire Pickups (Week 16)
Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season is in the books. Hopefully, your team pulled out the victory. However, the only easy win was last week’s win. So, let’s look at the top streaming quarterback options for Week 16. More Waiver Wire Pickups Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice Fantasy Football Trade Tools Fantasy Football Quarterback Streamers & Waiver Wire Pickups All the quarterbacks in this article are rostered in fewer than 50% of ESPN leagues.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 16)
Through 15 weeks of the NFL season, Jason Myers leads all players with 179 fantasy football points, with Brandon Aubrey trailing in second place with 159. Cameron Dicker is third with 152. Ka’imi Fairbairn is fourth with 142 points, despite missing two games with a hamstring injury.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 15)
Sebastian Junger wrote The Perfect Storm about the rare 1991 North Atlantic weather event where a nor’easter, a high-pressure system, and the remnants of Hurricane Grace collided to create an unusually powerful and destructive storm. The story later became a critically acclaimed film and box-office success starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. The same idea applies when predicting kicker success.
Beyond the Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football Moves to Make (Week 15)
FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS ARE HERE LFG. Week 14 and the fantasy football regular SZN is in the books, and the fantasy football playoffs have arrived. The focus now shifts to rest-of-season takeaways and fantasy strategy once those first waiver runs clear. This means we’re zeroing in on what really matters: playoff stashes, injury fallout, drop candidates, player usage shifts, and schedule advantages — plus the key questions that were answered this week and the new ones we still need to figure out.
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Fantasy Football Week 13 Wide Receiver Rankings (2025)
Here are our fantasy football wide receiver rankings for the week from our analysts. You can find our expert consensus fantasy football rankings for the week here. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings, and analysis.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 13)
Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the Leon Lett Thanksgiving snow game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. In the closing minutes of the game, the Cowboys blocked a Pete Stoyanovich kick that would have ended the game had Lett left the ball alone. Instead, Lett touched the ball, and the Dolphins recovered the ball post-touch and were granted a chance for a short game-winning kick.
10 Fantasy Football Stats You Need to Know (Week 13)
FantasyPros publishes approximately 7.7 million pieces of weekly fantasy football content to help you win your league and eventually take home fantasy gold. It can be difficult to read such a vast amount of content, which is why we’ve rounded up a few of the most actionable, can’t-miss stat nuggets you absolutely need to know each week to aid with fantasy football start sit decisions.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Bryce Young, Rico Dowdle, Bucky Irving
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Mack Hollins, Jaylen Waddle, Sean Tucker
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Keaton Mitchell, Zay Flowers, Alec Pierce
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Breece Hall, Kimani Vidal, A.J. Brown
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Emeka Egbuka, Trey Benson, Deebo Samuel
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Tetairoa McMillan, Tee Higgins, Omarion Hampton
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Mark Andrews, RJ Harvey, Quinshon Judkins
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: TreVeyon Henderson, Christian Watson, David Montgomery
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Justin Jefferson, Stefon Diggs, Michael Wilson
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Javonte Williams, Bhayshul Tuten, Darnell Washington
The trade deadline is here… as in right now, blinking in red like your fantasy football league’s personal Doomsday Clock… and this is your last Buy Low Sell/High of the season. If your roster still has a few soft spots (or, you know, several fires burning at once), this is the week to make a move before the market slams shut. Fortunately, our Featured Pros have delivered one more batch of players to target and fade before the window closes.
6 Fantasy Football Lineup Landmines: Start/Sit Advice (Week 11)
Arguably, the most frustrating thing in fantasy football is seeing someone in your starting lineup struggle that week. Therefore, the logic behind this article is simple — identify fantasy football lineup landmines. These are players you’re leaning towards starting this week, but who could end up being a landmine that blows up and destroys your starting lineup, potentially costing you your matchup.
Fantasy Football Points Allowed: Best & Worst Matchups (Week 11)
For the first time since Week 7 — which feels like both ages ago and just yesterday — there are only two teams on bye this week. Especially considering that one of those teams is the Saints, we are basically at full strength from a fantasy football lineup-setting perspective (aside from managers with Jonathan Taylor, but I don’t feel sorry for them anyway). In a week like this, taking matchups into account can be the best way to break the tie between two decent options.
Fantasy Football Devy Spotlight & College Football Picks (2025)
Texas and Georgia collide Saturday night in a high-stakes battle “between the hedges,” with playoff survival on the line in Athens. The No. 10-ranked Longhorns, led by Arch Manning and the nation’s top pass rush, face a must-win against the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs, who look to defend their home turf and rekindle their championship hopes after a rare defeat at Sanford Stadium.
Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings: Week 11 (2025)
After taking Week 10 off due to a lack of relevant news, we are back. As we move deeper into the season and past bye weeks, now is the time to stash running back handcuffs in fantasy football. Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice Fantasy Football Trade Tools While there is nothing major happening at the running back position in the way of injury, there are some situations to monitor.
Beyond the Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football Moves to Make (Week 11)
Welcome back! Week 10 is in the books, and it’s time to sift through everything we just watched. This article isn’t about charts or graphs anymore — it’s about clear, actionable takeaways. My goal each week is simple: give you the most important moves to make across every game — who to add, drop, buy, sell, start, or stash — based on what actually matters (or what I think does). I’ve already done the legwork, digging into the data and film. You just get the results — no noise, no overthinking.
Fantasy Football Injuries to Know for Waiver Wire Pickups
I’ve been a fantasy football analyst (I prefer not to use the term expert, nor would I claim that title) for the last 15 years. Traveling back in my imaginary time machine, I’ve seen plenty of trends come and go within the space, the creation of new websites, statistics to track and the rise of DFS and betting.
Fantasy Football Points Allowed: Best & Worst Matchups (Week 10)
Can you believe it’s already Week 10? It feels like just yesterday we were kicking off the season, and now we are more than halfway through. Obviously, every fantasy football matchup is important, but this is where things really start to matter. Whether you’re competing for a bye, battling to make the playoffs or just trying to avoid coming in last, it’s time to lock in. With that in mind, let’s use the Fantasy Points Allowed tool to find the best (and worst) fantasy football matchups for Week 10.
Fantasy Football Devy Spotlight & College Football Picks (2025)
College football fans and devy fantasy football managers alike are in for a treat this week as the season heats up and playoff hopes hang in the balance. With a top-10 Big 12 clash headlining the slate, emerging stars continue to shape both real and fantasy football futures. From high-powered offenses to breakout underclassmen and a tightening Heisman Trophy race, there’s plenty to unpack.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 10)
History was made on Sunday when Cam Little of the Jacksonville Jaguars hit a 68-yard field goal try in the closing seconds of the first half against the Raiders in Las Vegas. Little, who made a 70-yard try in the preseason, showcased his strong leg in a regular-season game and is now part of the record books.
Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings: Week 9 (2025)
We are officially at the halfway point of the NFL season. For fantasy football leagues, teams that are contenders are starting to separate, while teams that have struggled have some difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks. This is somewhat like the dog days of August for baseball because the losses start to hurt more, and you realize that time is a thief. There are only so many weeks that you can make up ground, but don’t ever quit fighting. That last playoff spot is closer than you think.
Fantasy Football Week 9 Wide Receiver Rankings (2025)
Here are our fantasy football wide receiver rankings for the week from our analysts. You can find our expert consensus fantasy football rankings for the week here. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings, and analysis.
Week 9 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups (2025 Fantasy Football)
Week 8 is now in the books. There are numerous storylines to track, but perhaps the most significant is the overlooked IDP players who showed out in Week 8. There were a lot of defensive fireworks in Week 8, so there are more than a few intriguing names on the waiver wire in leagues of all sizes. Let’s take a look at some of the names that may be worth some of your free agent budget.
Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings: Week 8 (2025)
As we head into Week 8, it is hard to believe we are at the midway point of the season. We will have quite a few bye weeks for teams coming up that may give teams the chance to start working some younger players into the rotation. As fantasy managers, the next few weeks are also the time when we should be looking to lock up handcuffs for the stretch run. I would be trying to get out in front of this after this week, since this is the biggest bye week of the year.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 8)
Brandon Aubrey continues to be a cheat code in fantasy football and for the Dallas Cowboys, with a ho-hum 17-point performance on Sunday against the Commanders. Aubrey set an NFL record with his sixth career field goal of over 60 yards when he calmly drilled a 61-yarder against Washington. Considering that Aubrey is in just his third NFL season, he is likely to double and triple that record before he hangs up his cleats.
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