NFL Player News

He’s the fourth rookie the Ravens have officially locked up post-draft, joining fourth-round OL Ben Bredeson, fifth-round DT Broderick Washington, and sixth-round WR James Proche. Madubuike (6’3/293) was a top-50 recruit and three-year starter at Texas A&M, rotating between multiple positions across the defensive line. He led the Aggies with 11.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks as a redshirt junior. Madubuike is both shorter and lighter than most interior linemen, but he wins with 84th percentile adjusted SPARQ athleticism. On tape, Madubuike played up to his 4.83-second forty time and 31-rep bench press, often escaping from initial contact as a pass rusher. In the NFL, Madubuike will need more technical refinement to reach his ceiling and may be forced into a rotational pass-rushing role given his size, making him a boom-or-bust Day 2 prospect.

Rapoport also adds that Badie did suffer a back injury that may land him on injured reserve, but this is by all accounts good news for the third-year back out of Missouri. It was a scary scene in the Meadowlands after Badie was carted from the field and then carried into the Broncos’ locker room after the play. We’ll know more about how much time he’s expected to miss later in the week, but it’s fair to assume Badie won’t be active for Week 5 against the Raiders.

Wicks’ season-high snap share came on the heels of a Christian Watson injury, but his 58 snaps were only seven fewer than Romeo Doubs (65), who led the team. Wicks led the Commanders with 13 targets against the Vikings and should see an increased role, with Watson likely to miss extended time. We should temper expectations for Wicks entering Week 5 against the Rams, but the second-year receiver has been targeted on an impressive 26.5 percent of his routes this season. He’ll have some appeal as a WR4 next week.

As simplistic as it sounds, Brissett will be the Patriots’ starter until he isn’t. Brissett hasn’t thrown for more than 168 yards in a game this season and has two touchdowns to one interception while leading the Patriots to a 1-3 start. Brissett has also taken 15 sacks on the season, which is more an indictment on the Patriots’ offensive line than it is his play, but things haven’t been great, regardless of how you slice it. Drake Maye lies in wait, but it’s hard to blame the Patriots for wanting to avoid throwing the rookie into a near-impossible situation to succeed. Maye will get his chance eventually, but the Patriots don’t appear interested in forcing him on the field in what already has the makings of a lost season.

Daniels exited in the first half of Sunday’s loss and didn’t return to the field. It’s a tough loss for the Steelers, who also lost rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu for the season after he suffered a dislocated knee cap before Week 3’s matchup against the Chargers. Daniels has started all 36 games he’s appeared in for the Steelers since joining them in 2022 and was having a strong season before going down. Guard Spencer Anderson filled in for Daniels following his exit and will presumably takeover at right guard for the Steelers for the foreseeable future.

Head coach Mike McDaniel said on Saturday that Mostert “is trying” to play on Monday night but also suggested the team would exercise caution by not rushing him back too soon. Mostert was limited in practice all week, leading us to believe a Week 5 return is very much in play. It will be De’Von Achane’s show for at least one more week, but Mostert is undoubtedly on the mend after missing the last three weeks.

Per Rapoport, an MRI revealed no fracture in Watson’s ankle, but the injury could land the third-year receiver on injured reserve. Watson was carted from the field in the first half and obviously didn’t return to the field. He’s caught just five passes for 80 yards and one touchdown on the year. Dontayvion Wicks emerged to play on a season-high 58 snaps last week, and will be in line to see a busier workload while Watson is out.

That is now two straight weeks where Andrews has dropped his only target, sending fantasy managers scrambling for answers at the tight end position in the immediate future. The veteran tight end made numerous key blocks to spring running back Derrick Henry, resulting in the King surging to 209 combined yards from scrimmage. If only fantasy managers got points for sick blocks.

Flowers and the rest of the Baltimore pass game simply weren’t needed in this one as the Ravens rode 209 yards from scrimmage from running back Derrick Henry to a convincing win. The low usage appears to be induced by game plan considering the stout nature of the Buffalo pass defense and comparatively poor run defense. Flowers could find a bounce-back spot against the Bengals in Week 5.

Likely was targeted just twice on a night quarterback Lamar Jackson attempted only 18 passes, continuing to share tight end duties with both Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar. It appears Likely’s fantasy managers will need to roll with the punches considering Baltimore’s propensity to focus on the ground game when they are able to control the game environment.

Hill served as the clear passing situation and change of pace back behind Derrick Henry but caught all six targets and a touchdown, propelling his fantasy score to a season-high in the process. He also doubled the targets of any other Ravens skill position player when quarterback Lamar Jackson attempted just 18 passes, indicating a clear focus in the game plan against the Bills. Hill should continue to return sporadic fantasy scores for as long as Henry remains healthy.