NFL Player News

Rattler and the Saints got completely manhandled by the Packers in what would become the first shutout of the 2024 NFL season. While Rattler was far from sharp in this one, he was commanding an offense without its top four primary skill position players with all of Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, and Taysom Hill out of action. The Saints managed to possess the ball for only 22:47 in game time while Rattler also lost a fumble on a play that mirrored something you would see in Pop Warner. The future of the franchise remains uncertain as they limp towards the end of the regular season, but it is fair to question whether the Saints whiffed on Rattler in this year’s NFL Draft.

Mixon, along with the rest of the Texans offense, was nowhere to be found in the first half. He was fed the football in the second half after Houston took a multi-score lead against a collapsing Chargers team that committed four turnovers on the day. Mixon grinded his way past the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time since Week 13 after a slow end to the regular season. The game-script sensitive Mixon requires neutral and positive script to get there for fantasy purposes, and that won’t change in the Divisional Round as the Texans likely hit the road against stiffer competition.

Dobbins was stuffed early and often against a Houston front seven that has snuffed out opposing rushing attacks for most of the season. He was not targeted in the season-ending loss. The 2024 campaign was a career-revival season for Dobbins after suffering back-to-back season-ending injuries as a member of the Ravens. He quickly emerged in LA as the team’s lead back, gaining 905 yards and scoring nine touchdowns on the ground while catching 32 passes for 153 yards. Dobbins was efficient enough with a 4.6 yards per carry, though his breakaway long speed has definitely diminished from his early years in Baltimore. Dobbins showed enough in 2024 to draw interest in free agency this spring. Entering his age-27 season, Dobbins — an unrestricted free agent — has a chance to stick with longtime OC Greg Roman if he doesn’t get a shot to function as a lead back elsewhere.

McConkey dominated targets in the LA offense, as he’s done for most of the past couple months. It was the most yards by a rookie in a playoff game in NFL history. Missing one game in his rookie seasons, McConkey was 23rd in wideout targets, ninth in receiving yards, and 15th in receiver receptions in a Chargers offense that was pass-first in the season’s final eight weeks. He operated primarily from the slot and earned Justin Herbert’s early on. He had five games with more than 90 receiving yards and seven games with at least six catches, demonstrating an ability to get open and find the soft spots in zone coverage throughout the season. If the Bolts remain pass heavy in 2025, McConkey could be viewed as a top-15 fantasy receiver in PPR formats. At worst, he would profile as a safe weekly option.

The Steelers enter the playoffs among the healthiest teams in the NFL. With Georg Pickens fully healthy, the Steelers will hope the mercurial wideout comes through with a big outing against a vulnerable Baltimore secondary.

Flowers, who led the Ravens in targets the last time they played the Steelers, will miss Baltimore’s Wild Car game, making Rashod Bateman the de factor WR1 for Lamar Jackson. Flowers’ absence could lead to more looks for tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely too. Baltimore’s defense, one of the best in the league over the final month of the regular season, will be without Williams at safety.

“Barring something unforeseen,” Vrabel, who played for the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, will be New England’s next head coach after the team parted ways with Jerod Mayo after the 2024 regular season. Vrabel’s Titans teams went 54-45 over six seasons, with three playoff berths. Among the most hard nosed, conservative coaches in football, Vrabel appears locked in for the job a year after losing out to Mayo, who took over for legendary head coach Bill Belichick. Vrabel’s first priority will be finding an offensive coordinator who can get the most out of Drake Maye and a receivers room bereft of talent.

Oh, good, another running back to enter the Denver backfield rotation. Jaleel McLaughlin has taken over as the primary rusher for the Broncos, with Javonte Williams in on clear passing situations and Audric Estime serving as the primary change of pace option. Badie could potentially make his presence felt on special teams should he be active for the Wildcard Round against the Bills.

Jones has been managing a quad injury for almost a month now, something that has capped his practice reps through the start of playoff preparations. He again sheds an injury designation on the team’s final injury report of the week as the Vikings prepare to face the Rams in Arizona for Wildcard Weekend.

The questionable designation comes after Akers missed practice Saturday with an illness, although head coach Kevin O’Connell relayed that he expects Akers to be able to play come Monday. Fellow running back Ty Chandler missed practice earlier int he week with an illness but returned to the practice field Saturday, ultimately free a game designation.