Issue #301: Everyone Loses Their Minds

By Derrick Ernst

August 16, 2026

Across the League

First issue exclusively posted to the website!

First week of preseason games!

First opportunity for everyone to overreact!

At least that’s what my X feed is full of. If I didn’t know any better, F. Mendoza is a future HOF based on his performance Thursday night. Fun fact, ARI squares off against LV on Jan 3. I’ll bet you by then C. Beck will be starting for ARI — a national championship rematch! You heard it here first. Coupled with all the interviews we’re getting out of Training Camp, it was a big week. Speculation galore. Perhaps I was bias and only seeking out reinforcements, but a lot of what I was seeing/reading/hearing aligned with my thoughts from months ago — the kind that were convincing enough for me to make players Draft Guide worthy.

You’re probably sick of me bringing him up, but it’s clear D. Achane is primed to be a fantasy force to be reckoned with. I mean, he has been already, despite how many care to deny it. He and J. Cook have virtually the same ADP. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to diversify and pair Achane with J. Allen instead of doubling up on Bills. Attempts and targets and Achane is who MIA’s offense will run through. He had seven carries for 39 yards and one TD on Thursday night. Can we all agree he’s good and doesn’t need to see the field until MIA’s opener? Jeff Hafley even came out and basically guaranteed his workload. When a HC says it, it must be true, right? I’ll choose to believe that more than the naysayers.

Source: ESPN

Side note, don’t you love how pretty much every article on ESPN needs to be accompanied by a video even if that video has nothing to do with the article’s subject? Also, there’s nothing quite like clicking on an ESPN video and being forced to watch a 15 or 30 second ad, especially if that video is shorter or the same amount of time as the ad. Drives me nuts, which is why I haven’t watched a video on that site in years.

In other news, it sounds a lot like Mike McDaniel reads TDF. I don’t know why it’s taken a lot of the fantasy community to come around to the fact that he’s the X factor and anything goes. This didn’t come to a surprise to me, but it did for everyone else:

Source: NBC Sports

Those three meaning O. Hampton, K. Mitchell, and K. Vidal. Mitchell didn’t play Thursday night, while Vidal did. If Mitchell is being viewed as a change-of-pace starter, it feels like a no-brainer to be targeting him at the end of drafts.

By the way, I’m a bit concerned over all the “high school crush” videos I’m seeing of J. Herbert and his fiancé, Madison Beer. I’m not hip enough to know who’s out kicking their coverage more, but distraction doesn’t equal and outpouring level of success, at least in my book. This just adds another layer to the Chargers saga. I believe I’ve said this before, LAC is the biggest question mark in the league. It was that way before the engagement and now it’s even more so after. It’s not like this results in Herbert forgetting how to throw the ball, but it may mean a few more incompletions and inconsistencies.

In other news, this is undoubtedly a big blow. One that has repercussions for several players. It’s a good thing we didn’t have much WSH exposure as is.

PFF ranked the Commander’s offensive line “just inside the top 20” before this news. After, they now rank them last in the league: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-line-rankings-2026

WSH ran the ball 41 times versus 27 pass attempts against MIA on Thursday night. I would expect this to change when more starters see the field, but that also means squaring off against starters on the other side of the ball too. All this to say, I think we’re targeting the right guy on this offense in R. White. If this proves to be as big of a setback as I’m anticipating, WSH will be in more unfavorable “to-go” situations than normal. That should bode well for White vs. JMC when considering “productive opportunities.”

Let’s touch on a few more preseason performances before getting out of here:

• Robert Tonyan, TE (PIT): That’s right, the former GB TE (and teammate of A. Rodgers) is now a Steeler. He caught all four of his targets on Thursday for 61 yds. I know PIT has Freiermuth as their TE1, but there’s a world out there that Rodgers’ existing rapport with Tonyan elevates him to TE1 status, at least for this season.

• Wan’Dale Robinson, WR & Carnell Tate, WR (TEN): It was all systems go for TEN on Thursday — virtually every starter saw the field. Robinson was as advertised: 4 tgt, 2 rec, 19 yds. That 9.5 YPC is right in-line with his career average (9.2). It was Tate who was a bit more cause for concern: 3 tgt, 0 rec. Still awaiting for that first official Ward to Tate connection. Not sure how much more time we’ll see either on the field this preseason, but if that was it, you can pencil in it being a bit shaky out of the gate for Tate as he finds his footing.

• Courtland Sutton, WR (DEN): I know Waddle didn’t play, but Sutton looked like he was already in mid-season form: 3 tgt, 3 rec, 60 yds. I’m still a believer in Waddle being the go-to guy, but if Sutton falls in your drafts (currently has a R8 ADP), don’t overthink making him yours. He’s been one of the more consistent options at the position throughout the years.