WEEK 10
Up front, I just wanted to say today that it has been a busy week, but anyone who has reached out to me in the past week, thank you and I appreciate it. I will be responding to you individually in short order, but I am a bit behind with the show this week.
Today’s write-up begins with the CFB Schedule, but then moves into the 2026 Class Overview.
On the Audio Version Today:
NFL Full Coverage
What We’ve Been Tracking
What We Missed on Tuesday
All set up through this week’s NFL Preview
2026 Preview
Further Notes on CFB Games
Write-ups may be a bit shorter for the schedule piece. Look towards the 2025 or 2026 rankings for discussion on most players.
Make sure to follow the Fantasy for Real Twitter account if you use X/Twitter:
Times are in Eastern. Players without years are eligible for the NFL Draft. Years are when players are first eligible.
Jeanty plays on Friday, but otherwise, there is little of note for the Weekday games this week.
SATURDAY
BIG GAMES
GAME OF THE WEEK >> Ohio State @ Penn State on FOX at Noon
Key Players: Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State ; TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State ; Emeka Egubka, WR, Ohio State ; Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (2026) ; Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (2027) ; Drew Allar, QB, Penn State ; Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State ; Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State ; Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Our third “Game of the Year” Candidate in four weeks, the biggest factor to watch here will be how Drew Allar and Nicholas Singleton in particular respond to a difficult defensive environment. On the opposite side, the Ohio State Offensive Line is in a poor state, and the RBs for OSU struggled significantly against Nebraska to move the ball on the ground. If they cannot move the ball on the ground, it will put more emphasis on the best WR room in College Football.
Florida @ Georgia on ABC at 3:30 PM
Key Players: D.J. Lagway, QB, Florida (2027) ; Eugene Wilson III, WR, Florida (2026) ; Carson Beck, QB, Georgia ; Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia ; Nate Frazier, RB, Georgia (2027)
Similarly to the first game, there is a team with significantly more talent, but that team isn’t really the focal point. Yes, it will be a long time before D.J. Lagway is eligible for the NFL Draft, but it is certainly fascinating to see how he will play against Georgia in his second start against the SEC. For Georgia, before we were asking for Big Throws from Beck. Now, we’re asking for clean play, as well as more passing game usage for Trevor Etienne.
Oregon @ Michigan on CBS at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan ; Kalel Mullings, RB, Michigan ; Donovan Edwards, RB, Michigan ; Jordan James, RB, Oregon ; Evan Stewart, WR, Oregon ; Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon
This game has lost significant appeal from the pre-season, but for our purposes Michigan still maintains its place as a significant team on this list due largely to Colston Loveland. The top TE prospect takes on Oregon, who showcases quite a bit more potential fantasy talent. With more consistency, Evan Stewart can be a top pick in the NFL Draft, and Jordan James is one of my favorite runners between the tackles in this class.
TIER 2 GAMES
Indiana @ Michigan State on Peacock at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Aidan Chiles, QB, Michigan St. (2026) ; Nick Marsh, WR, Michigan St. (2027) ; Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana ; Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana
This game is on the fringe between Tier 2 & Rapid Fire, and likely belongs in Tier 2 if QB Kurtis Rourke is still out with his thumb injury; however, there are a few players on each side to monitor. Nick Marsh is putting up the kind of early production that is getting buried in the 2027 class, but would be at the top of the 2026 class, and so he should not be forgotten because of talented freshmen with bigger profiles. Elijah Sarratt of Indiana has good size and needs to continue to produce against Big Ten and likewise other higher level teams.
Texas A&M @ South Carolina on ABC at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Le’Veon Moss, RB, Texas A&M ; Noah Thomas, WR, Texas A&M ; Terry Bussey, WR/ATH, Texas A&M (2027) ; LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina (2026) ; Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, RB, South Carolina
This game has also taken a hit at QB, as while Marcel Reed has proven to potentially be the better option for Texas A&M, he does not at least have the profile of QB Conner Weigman. The most intriguing player for A&M is likely the freshman, Terry Bussey, who is one of the better athletes in College Football. For South Carolina, Sellers is not particularly highly rated on my lists, but he does have significant upside, and Rocket Sanders was once a fairly highly regarded RB prospect.
Louisville @ Clemson on ESPN at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson ; Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson ; Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson ; T.J. Moore, WR, Clemson ; Bryant Wesco, WR, Clemson ; Ja’Corey Brooks, WR, Louisville
In other circumstances, I’m not sure exactly in what tier this game would place, but with few great teams in the ACC, and with them somehow avoiding each other in the regular season, Clemson has few opportunities to prove itself against teams even the caliber of Louisville. QB Cade Klubnik is one of the most improved players in College Football this season, and he is throwing to one of the most talented WR rooms in college football.
USC @ Washington on Big Ten Network at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington ; Denzel Boston, WR, Washington ; Makai Lemon, WR, USC (2026) ; Zachariah Branch, WR, USC (2026) ; Duce Robinson, WR, USC (2026) ; Ja’Kobi Lane, WR, USC (2026) ; Woody Marks, RB, USC ; Quinten Joyner, RB, USC (2026) ; Miller Moss, QB, USC
This game is not quite a “big game,” but it also isn’t too far off. Makai Lemon has taken a big step forward the last three weeks, and might be a candidate for WR1 in the 2026 class. While they have not been as productive, Zachariah Branch and Duce Robinson have as much physical upside as anyone in the class. On the Washington side of things, Jonah Coleman has not quite taken the league by storm like many other risers in this RB class, but he is a talented RB that should not be forgotten. Denzel Boston has also been consistently productive.
Kentucky @ Tennessee on SEC Network at 7:45 PM
Key Players: Dane Key, WR, Kentucky ; Barion Brown, WR Kentucky ; Nico Iamaleava, QB, Tennessee (2026) ; Dylan Sampson, RB, Tennessee
While Dane Key is not in a particularly strong tier in my current rankings, he is probably the closest WR to making the full leap into the top 20. Realistically, if he had one special trait that stuck out to latch onto, he might be there already. Instead, he is more of a possession WR where there are some questions with the upside, but his production this season has been excellent. For Tennessee, it is important to see Nico Iamaleava continue to improve and build on his previous performances. If he does this, he can still be the 1st Overall pick of the 2026 class.
QB GAMES
(Cam Ward) Duke @ Miami (FL) on ABC at Noon
RAPID FIRE GAMES
Minnesota @ Illinois on Fox Sports 1 at Noon
Key Players: Darius Taylor, RB, Minnesota (2026) ; Pat Bryant, WR, Illinois ; Zakhari Franklin, WR, Illinois
Stanford @ N.C. State on ACC Network at Noon
Key Players: Elic Ayomanor, WR, Stanford ; Kevin “K.C.” Concepcion, WR, N.C. State (2026) ; Noah Rogers, WR, N.C. State (2026)
Ole Miss @ Arkansas on ESPN at Noon
Key Players: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss ; Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss ; Ja’Quinden Jackson, RB, Arkansas ; Luke Hasz, TE, Arkansas
Arizona @ UCF on Fox Sports 1 at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona ; R.J. Harvey, RB, UCF
Texas Tech @ Iowa State on Peacock at 3:30 PM
Key Players: Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech ; Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa St. ; Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa St.
Wisconsin @ Iowa on NBC at 7:30 PM
Key Players: Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa ; Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa
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FIRST LOOK: WHO TO LOOK FOR IN THE 2026 CLASS
Note: NO players eligible for 2025 are under consideration for this list. Likewise, this list also does not bump someone like Arch Manning who is generally considered to be more likely a member of the 2027 Class.
Class Overview
There is a limit to what we know this early of course, and there will obviously be players who continue to breakout and members of the 2025 Class who return for the 2026 Class, but most of our elite profiles come from the early declare class. In 2023, 8 of the top 10 or so drafted players were Early Declares (Young, Stroud, Richardson, Bijan, Gibbs, JSN, Addison, Johnston); in 2024, 9 of the top 12-15 profiles were Early Declares (Williams, Maye, McCarthy, Brooks, Harrison Jr., Nabers, Thomas Jr., Worthy, & Bowers); and in my own 2025 Rankings, the top 3 players, 5 of the top 7, and 12 of my top 19 are early declares in a class with 0 QB early declares. It is also important to note that most of our elite players have been identifiable by this point. This is certainly not true for all of them, but again most elite profiles cannot be built overnight, particularly at QB/WR, which makes production at this point important. Players have gotten to 8 games at this point in many cases, which is two-thirds of their regular season.
At this stage, there is not a single Tier 1 player in this class. This is why I’ve used letters instead of numbers. They are not different, but it highlights that these are not the same tiers as last year. There is a lot of upside still, but there is not even a single Tetairoa McMillan or Luther Burden III profile that includes production at this point. To be clear on what I mean by that, a player like Arch Manning might be Tier 1 on promise, but he has not played enough to have earned it the way others have. A player like Nico Iamaleava might be Tier 1 on traits, tools, and potential to even go 1.01 as soon as next year, but as of today he has not played well enough to rank in the stratosphere of what Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, and Drake Maye were doing at this point, and even if that is a lofty standard, there are significant concerns about the consistency of Iamaleava’s play thus far. At RB, none of the players talented enough have seen a big enough role. This will be covered more on the player specific notes, but the player I may very well make my RB1 at this point is not well considered by the market it seems and the other players in that tier have either been a back-up or injured so far this season.
The biggest concerns though come at the pass catching positions. TE is tricky so I will not say definitively that there are no good profiles to bet on, but I have not found one to bet on and even Colston Loveland did feel like a good bet this time last year. Again, we’re still pre-2025 Draft, so maybe that comment ages poorly, but he has become a 1st Round Mocked player since then. However, the real concern is not TE but WR. WR is largely the most production focused position where that production highlights early and proportional production. With little time for these trajectories to change before year 3, these players are simply not producing. The overall production from the twenty-seven WRs ranked in the Top 200 of the On3 Consensus is atrocious. A player like Makai Lemon has risen into Tier A in 3 games, and none of those games were particularly huge, but there just isn’t much production in this class, and a trend line this strong in three games would be worth jumping on. Some of these WR reactions may be premature now, but we’re probably 2-4 games away from them not being premature at all.
The top-end upside of this WR class is deeply concerning as of right now on paper, and if it does not change by the end of the season, we can say all we want about breakouts next year, but there will already be a market pressure that looks towards 2027, sees better WRs, and grows envious. This is why I have been recommending that if you have to trade for a future pick, you should target 2027 instead of 2026, because I believe 2027 will grow in value at a greater rate. This may not be true, but it is a relatively small risk.
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2026 WATCHLIST / TIERS
QB
Tier A
Arch Manning, Texas ; Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee ; Avery Johnson, Kansas St.
Tier B
Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma ; Aidan Chiles, Michigan St. ; Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh
Tier C
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina ; Dante Moore, Oregon ; Malachi Nelson, Boise St.
RB
Tier A
Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame ; Cedric “C.J.” Baxter, Texas ; Justice Haynes, Alabama
Tier B
Mark Fletcher, Miami (FL) ; Quinten Joyner, USC ; Darius Taylor, Minneota ; Jahiem White, West Virginia ; Dylan Edwards, Kansas St. ; Roderick Robinson II, RB, Georgia
Tier C
Dante Dowdell, Nebraska ; Kedrick Reescano, RB, Arizona ; Abu Sama III, RB, Iowa St.
WR
Tier A
Carnell Tate, Ohio State ; Makai Lemon, USC ; Eugene Wilson III, Florida
Tier B
Zachariah Branch, USC ; Duce Robinson, USC ; Ja’Kobi Lane, USC ; Omarion Miller, Colorado
Tier C
Noah Rogers, N.C. State ; Jaden Greathouse, Notre Dame ; Jayce Brown, Kansas St. ; Kevin Concepcion, N.C. State ; Jalen Hale, Alabama ; Johntay Cook II, Texas ; Brandon Inniss, Ohio State
TE
Luke Hasz, Arkansas
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The clearest source for potential upside in this class comes from the Quarterbacks. Arch Manning is the biggest name, but there are a number of other QBs who have just as much fantasy upside. Starting with Arch though, in the time that we’ve gotten to see him play, he has most embodied a 1.01 for both the NFL Draft and Superflex Fantasy more than anybody else in this class. Mississippi St. as his SEC game leaves a bit to be desired from the perspective of the Defense, but short of trying to avoid an extra sack on limited pressures, Arch was fantastic in this game. He also has a phenomenal arm and has shown some excellent mobility. The player you can watch on Saturdays, is also a possible 1.01, but does not have significant rumors of trying to target the 2027 class is Nico Iamaleava of Tennessee. Nico has gotten better throughout the year (ignoring a strong starting point against terrible competition in the first couple weeks), and has started to connect on more plays and big plays that significantly boost the Tennessee offense. Unfortunately, he still has a tendency to miss a significant number of lay-ups as well. If Nico can start to hit the easy ones at a higher rate, as well as go down the field effectively, he could still become the 1.01 as his talent is that highly regarded. Right now, his trajectory would match closer to Drew Allar, who I do not currently project as a top 10 NFL Draft pick in 2025. Finally, putting Avery Johnson this highly could age poorly, but there is also no one here that deserves to be considered that much of a “floor” or “proven” prospect at this point, and Johnson has phenomenal rushing ability that would lead to tantalizing upside in Fantasy Football. He did not have a 200+ Passing Yard game for the first half of the season, but now has 4 in a row and Kansas State is looking like one of the better teams in their conference. He has 10 TDs and 2 INTs across those 4 games as well, and his passing statistics need to be graded on a different curve as someone with legitimately dynamic rushing ability.
If we were doing Risers this week, Jackson Arnold would be a strong candidate to be a riser. He did not play great in his return to duty, but Oklahoma is in such dire straits when it comes to their offensive personnel (OL terrible, top 4 WRs injured) that it just gives confidence to see him earn his job back. The fact that he lost his job is reason enough that he is not in a higher tier, but Arnold was a highly recruited player with some mobility and a good arm. Aside from Arnold, the other QB that many expected to be able to make the leap into the higher tier was Aidan Chiles of Michigan State. However, Chiles has been one of the worst QBs in the FBS at limiting turnover-worthy decisions. Chiles has the highest TWP% and most Turnover Worth Plays in the FBS this year, and by a good number (22 v 16). If Chiles can limit the mistakes, he should rise as a prospect, but that is a substantial if. A potential “dark horse” of this class, at least from the perspective of this pre-season, would be Eli Holstein, who seemed to have very bad vibes at Alabama, not just as a potential starter but even as someone competing for back-up roles. Yet, immediately after leaving Alabama, Holstein heads to Pittsburgh and is a significant factor in their undefeated record. Holstein has NFL traits as a former top prospect, but he is a bit erratic still, and while he might be able to take the leap next year, I myself do not see clear evidence of a significant enough leap coming that would lead to an early declaration and a 1st Round selection.
I would be significantly surprised if any player in Tier C was a member of the 2026 class, let alone a potential 1st Round pick, but they are here for upside talent. LaNorris Sellers has the most fantasy upside with mobility, while Dante Moore and Malachi Nelson were once each extremely highly regarded, but neither has found their way onto the field in a significant way in the 2024 Season, leading to it being very unlikely the play next year. Moore in particular seems like a potential heir apparent to Dillon Gabriel, so he could potentially rebound his stock after a few rough outings with UCLA in 2023.
At RB, there have not been any players to truly set themselves apart. Normally, I would not feel comfortable ranking a player this highly where I see little support for it elsewhere, but Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame is a player who pops in every facet as a RB. The only exception would be that while he is the lead RB for his team, he has not been a high volume RB. Love has double digit touches in almost every game, but he has never surpassed 17, with an average of 13.125 Touches/G. Among 90 RBs with at least 15 Targets, Love is 8th in PFF Receiving Grade, and among over 120 RBs with 75+ Carries, Love is 9th in PFF Rushing Grade. Love was the 77th Overall Recruit on the On3 Consensus. The bigger consensus names for fantasy analysis will be Cedric “C.J.” Baxter & Justice Haynes. Cedric Baxter was the easy favorite for the RB1 coming into the season as the clear RB1 for a National Championship contending Texas team, but he is missing this entire season with injury. Justice Haynes was with Baxter coming into their freshman seasons as the top two freshman RBs, and Haynes has flashed both as a ball carrier and receiver as well. However, Haynes has still yet to bump Jam Miller from the starting role, and if Miller does not declare for the NFL, that will be a tricky factor for Haynes draft stock. We have seen RBs like Josh Jacobs at Alabama get drafted highly with limited work and still produce well at the next level. Haynes could easily deserve that same praise, but it will be hard to put that faith in him anytime before we know the NFL is willing to do it.
There are a number of intriguing RBs here, though I’m not sure anyone sets themselves apart. As a stock, Quinten Joyner might be the one I want to invest in the most, as we’ve seen enough indicators that he seems to be the guy next year for USC as Woody Marks will be heading to the NFL. Considering Miller Moss is also (in my eyes) likely to return, this could be an explosive offense for Riley in 2025. Roderick Robinson II has the most physical talent, but has not seen the field in 2024. Dylan Edwards is one of the most likely to find a role in the NFL, but that is likely as a change of pace type RB. Darius Taylor has been up & down for Minnesota, but he has been getting worked in more & more as a receiver. Perhaps the most unheralded RB of this class is West Virginia’s Jahiem White, who has been one of the best performers in this class since the middle of his freshman season.
The biggest gap in this class is the clear lack of a Tier 1 WR that has been apparent most of the previous seasons by this point. Carnell Tate is the first name on this list, and he typically is seen as the WR3 for Ohio State behind Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith. This would not necessarily be an issue, except for the fact that he is being considered a possible WR1 for this class and he is behind a freshman one year younger on his own team. However, we did have a time where Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Chris Olave very recently were all active producing WRs for Ohio State at the same time, and the least productive that season (Olave) has been very solid at the NFL level. While OSU is most commonly associated with fantastic WRs right now, outside of Tate, USC has been the team in 2026 that has had the most potential at the WR position, but the player who has stepped forward had only 170 Receiving Yards just 3 Weeks ago. In the last 3 Weeks, Makai Lemon has 18 Receptions, 296 Yards, and 1 TD, and in this class of questions, that is enough to catapult him near the top of this list. To be clear, it is not just three games, but a combination of three games, what they mean for a growing role on that team, and all of that combined with the fact that Lemon was the 37th Overall Prospect on the On3 consensus, nearly a 5-Star grade, but even with that context, it is a testament more than anything to how lacking this class is up top. Finally, in many ways Eugene Wilson III has the best profile on paper, and he deserves credit for being a playmaker with dynamic ability and early production. However, Wilson’s role exists almost exclusively as an underneath threat. Wilson has a career ADOT of 3.6, and recently brought in his first career reception more than 20 yards downfield. Wilson has a profile that aligns more with the top of the 2nd Round at best, but there is still time to improve of course.
It seems odd to have this many players at one position from one team, but the early talents are a mixed bag, and we’re more hoping that one or two of these USC WRs step forward. Zachariah Branch was the #1 HS WR in his class, and was the de facto WR1 for the 2026 Class coming into the season, but he has largely been supplanted by Lemon, who is now doing what we had hoped Branch would do. There is still room here for another success, but in the last 3 games where Lemon’s numbers are mentioned above, Branch has only 75 Receiving Yards across 3 games. Branch has only averaged 32.7 Receiving YPG in his Career. Duce Robinson has better size than Branch and also adds the excuse of potentially playing baseball slowing his development, but as much as I myself have liked Robinson in flashes, he simply is not doing all that much. Branch & Robinson have the higher prospect upsides, but it is hard to ignore Ja’Kobi Lane when he outproduces them, so at a production based position, Lane is listed here as well. One potential wildcard for this class is Omarion Miller, who unfortunately will miss the rest of this season with injury. That is quite unfortunate also just from the perspective that he will miss his window to play with Shedeur Sanders, but Miller has flashed in at least two significant games so far in his career, and as a young player, flashes are still what we are looking for.
There are a number of people who may be shocked by the ranking of Kevin “K.C.” Concepcion, but there has been a lack of reaction to his 2024 production or lack thereof. Concepcion rose to prominence as the most productive WR in the 2026 Freshman class, but Concepcion is down to 8.5 Yards per Reception and is on pace for roughly 550 Receiving Yards in a 12 Game Season. If Concepcion was the physical talent of Robinson or Branch, he would have more leeway, but Concepcion was a 3-Star prospect who already had some questions towards his NFL translation and upside. If he is not contributing to his profile in production, then Concepcion’s questions will become hard to ignore. Jayce Brown has a good connection with QB Avery Johnson and has solid traits. Brandon Inniss at least has potential to grow in his role once Egbuka leaves or if he transfers to another prominent position. Johntay Cook could likewise fill in for Isaiah Bond, but it is quite disappointing that he is not finding more time this year particularly during other’s injuries, and he is another sophomore WR behind a freshman (Ryan Wingo). Jalen Hale has missed the 2024 season with injury, and did just enough as a freshman to get onto this list. However, he did not do so much that the expectations were very high coming into year two.
The only TE I have listed at this point is Arkansas’ Luke Hasz. At the beginning of his freshman season, Hasz looked like a clear TE to watch, but suffered a significant injury. Perhaps it is his recovery from that injury, but Hasz has been ineffective on low volume so far in 2024. After 250+ Receiving Yards in his first 5 career games, Hasz has under 200 Receiving Yards in 8 games this season.
TE is the least important position for early scouting for what I’m looking for. However, if anyone is aware of more TEs, feel free to comment them wherever this may be posted.
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Once again, I appreciate all the positive energy that you guys send my way.
Thanks,
C.J.
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