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    Blue, Mafah will get a ‘bunch’ of preseason work

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    DAL Running Back #23
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    Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said RB Jaydon Blue and RB Phil Mafah “are going to get a bunch of work” in the preseason.

    Per Schottenheimer, Blue and Mafah “are in a tight battle for the backup running back spot.” Blue has received positive reports for some time now. His speed and receiving ability make him an ideal complement to starting RB Javonte Williams, who “probably won’t get a whole lot of run” in the preseason. If Blue can secure the role, he could warrant FLEX treatment on a weekly basis. Mafah (6'/234) is a burly rusher. Were he to win the RB2 job, he may be ill-suited to playing on passing downs, which could benefit Williams. We’ll see how things shake out in the preseason. Stay tuned.
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  • DAL Running Back #33
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    The Cowboys drew up a lot of carries for Williams early in this one. The 26-year-old back totaled seven carries for 45 yards on his team’s first two possessions, and punched in a two-yard score late in the fourth quarter to put the Cowboys up 10-0. Williams would mostly be bottled up by the Ravens after his score, but he did break free for a 22-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up a Brandon Aubrey field goal — which was blocked. This is undoubtedly the best game of the season for Williams, who hadn’t gone for more than 41 yards in either of his first two games. That said, he still struggled at times to get going on the ground, as seven of his carries went for two or fewer yards. His volume remains reliable enough to keep him in the RB2 conversation for next week’s game against the Texans.
  • DAL Running Back #33
    The Cowboys dominated through the air on Sunday, but the same can’t be said of their efforts on the ground. Washington bottled up Williams all afternoon, with his biggest play coming on a nine-yard run on the Cowboys’ final drive. Williams has just 71 rushing yards on 24 attempts (3.0 YPC), but has also seen nine targets in his first two games. He remains the unquestioned leader of the Cowboys’ backfield and will be a volume-based RB2 in next week’s game against the Ravens.
  • DAL Running Back #33
    Williams understandably operated as a clear workhorse for a Cowboys team with little depth at the position following Malik Davis’ season-ending injury earlier in the week. His two second half scores and five receptions masked poor rushing efficiency on a night the Cowboys ran only 52 offensive plays, although a robust 32.7 percent total opportunity share foreshadows the potential for continued elite counting stats for the remainder of the regular season. Fantasy managers can continue to start Williams as a volume-driven RB1 as the team prepares to host the Commanders in Week 2.
  • DAL Running Back #20
    Regarding Davis’ injury, Fowler’s source said simply, “it’s bad.” The Cowboys’ No. 2 running back is undergoing further testing, but we expect them to place him on injured reserve before long. The Cowboys waived RB Jaydon Blue and RB Phil Mafah last month. Blue has since signed with the Eagles’ practice squad. The Cowboys have RB Emari Demercado on the active roster behind RB Javonte Williams. Currently, only RB Israel Abanikanda is on the practice squad in Dallas.
  • PHI Running Back #23
    Blue was waived by the Cowboys and went unclaimed, and the 2025 fifth-round pick will remain in the NFC East. He’ll begin the campaign behind Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley as backups to Saquon Barkley, but some strong performances in practice could give the 22-year-old a chance to receive touches in 2026.
  • FA Running Back #23
    Blue now becomes a free agent and can be signed by any running back-needy team, including the ability to sign onto the Dallas practice squad. It has been quite the fall from grace for Blue over the previous 24 hours, seemingly going from the favorite for backup duties for the Cowboys to without a home. It is also noteworthy that only one running back was claimed during the waiver period, veteran Emari Demercado, by this same Cowboys team. Blue appears to have lost all fantasy value and faces an uphill battle for a meaningful role in his sophomore campaign.
  • FA Running Back #23
    Well this one is going to leave a mark. 2025 fifth-rounder Blue was a summer ’25 fantasy creation the Cowboys never seemed to get behind, confirming as much when they made him a Week 1 healthy scratch. That set the tone for a bitterly disappointing rookie year that featured just 39 touches. This offseason seemed to be different, however, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer spending the spring dishing out over-the-top positive quotes on his second-year back. The praise again died down during training camp, but Blue showed well in his preseason action. Just apparently nowhere close to well enough to beat out survivor veteran Malik Davis for No. 2 status behind Javonte Williams. Blue is still only 22 years old, but his back-to-back failures to earn pass-catching duties in a backfield that could really use such a player is an ominous sign for his NFL future. He’s now a tenuous hold in dynasty leagues despite his youth and past high expectations. All of that being said, it is possible once the cut-down dust settles that either Blue or fellow waived sophomore Phil Mafah end up back on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster.
  • FA Running Back #37
    Mafah became the odd man out of the backfield rotation behind starter Javonte Williams Sunday, and Jaydon Blue also being waived leaves Malik Davis as the primary backup in Dallas at the start of the season.
  • DAL Running Back #20
    Davis appears to have secured a roster spot, but we won’t know for sure until Sunday. The broadcast initially referred to him as the starter, but it was instead RB Phil Mafah who took the field. Mafah dominated backfield touches throughout the first half, repeatedly running into Saints defenders on runs up the middle. He was spelled by RB Israel Abanikanda. Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue does not seem to be playing this evening. Last Sunday, The Athletic’s Jon Machota predicted Blue would seize the No. 2 running back job from Davis in-season.
  • DAL Running Back #20
    Davis got the start in Saturday’s preseason game against the Cardinals, rushing five times for 29 yards while adding one catch for eight yards and a touchdown. The 27-year-old back has gained steam in recent weeks as the favorite to win the Cowboys’ RB2 job out of camp, but Machota also said he believes “Jaydon Blue takes (the RB2 job) during the season.” Blue rushed 15 times for a team-high 75 yards in Saturday’s win over the Cardinals, ripping off multiple chunk gains on the day. While we still have one preseason game left to go, Ultimately if Javonte Williams goes down this will likely be a committee, but Davis could have some stash value in deeper leagues.

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    Colston Loveland

    CHI Tight End #84
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    Colston Loveland caught all four targets for 31 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Loveland matched his to-date season total of one reception on the second play from scrimmage and narrowly missed his first touchdown of the young season after replay assist ruled him down inside the one at the start of the second quarter. The offense would turn the ball over on downs four plays later after failing to punch it in, allowing the Eagles to remain in the game for longer than they otherwise should have been. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction for the talented youngster, although the absence of Caleb Williams could further dent his fantasy upside in the immediate future. Loveland continues to be a TE1 in fantasy circles despite the slow start, which holds for when the Bears play host to the Jets in Week 4.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #15
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    Rome Odunze caught 3-of-6 targets for 44 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Odunze continues to function as the deep threat in Ben Johnson’s offense, which spells trouble for his fantasy value in the immediate future considering the absence of Caleb Williams. Case Keenum got the start under center against the Eagles, and while he kept the offense on track through veteran savvy, his general lack of arm strength limited the offense to hefty rates of attacking the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. It is unclear whether Keenum or Tyson Bagent will draw the start in Week 4, but the decision could dictate whether Odunze can be inserted into fantasy rosters against the Jets.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #10
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    Luther Burden caught 7-of-11 targets for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles, adding seven yards on one carry.

    Burden got the scoring started with a shovel-pass touchdown on the first possession of the game and continued to be the primary engine of the offense on a night the team was led by veteran journeyman Case Keenum. Head coach Ben Johnson handily outmatched his counterpart in Sean Mannion, keeping the offense in rhythm and unpredictable throughout. Burden should continue to improve upon his early-season returns for fantasy managers that chased him up draft boards this offseason, particularly once Caleb Williams returns to the starting roster in a few weeks. In the meantime, treat Burden as an upside WR2 ahead of a Week 4 meeting with the Jets in Chicago.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #14
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    Kalif Raymond caught 6-of-7 targets for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Raymond has now led the Bears in receiving in two of the team’s first three games, with Week 3 his best performance yet on the back of a 41-yard touchdown through busted coverage. It isn’t likely the career role player will lead the team in receiving throughout the season, but the early returns on investment must have fantasy managers ecstatic for those that either drafted him in the final round or scooped him off the wire following Week 1.
  • CHI Running Back #25
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    Kyle Monangai rushed 10 times for 31 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Monangai has exactly 10 carries in all three games to start the 2026 season, which pales in comparison to lead back D’Andre Swift, the latter of whom has seen 19 or more opportunities in each game. The lack of volume relegates Monangai to handcuff status in fantasy circles for the time being, at least until bye weeks begin in Week 5. He’ll be a difficult start in Week 4 against the Jets.
  • CHI Running Back #4
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    D’Andre Swift rushed 20 times for 84 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles, adding four yards on two receptions.

    Swift was unable to churn out consistent gains before the break but came alive with the team nursing a second half lead, gaining 53 of his 84 yards on five second half possessions. It was also the third straight game in which Swift handled 19 or more opportunities, something he did only seven times in all of 2025, cementing his status as a volume-driven, back-end RB1 in fantasy circles. He’ll remain a weekly start when the Bears host the Jets in Week 4.
  • CHI Quarterback #11
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    Case Keenum completed 24-of-34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ 27-7, Week 3 win over the Eagles, adding six yards and a touchdown on four carries.

    Head coach Ben Johnson was in his bag from the opening series, trusting Keenum to take to the air on the team’s first two plays from scrimmage. That set the tone for the remainder of the game as the Bears dominated time of possession, running 69 offensive plays to the 47 of the Eagles. Keenum was not perfect by any stretch, with no fewer than three attempts that placed the ball in immediate danger. He would escape with a clean sheet in the turnover department while exceeding expectations within the structure of Johnson’s offense, routinely delivering the football on time and where it needed to go. His counting stats were padded slightly by a 41-yard touchdown to Kalif Raymond against busted coverage in the third quarter and a fourth quarter rushing plunge from one yard out, but he did enough to guide the Bears to a 2-1 record ahead of a Week 4 meeting with the Jets. It remains unclear if Keenum will draw another start under center now that Tyson Bagent will have a full week of preparation. Neither would be an exciting fantasy option against Aaron Glenn’s New York defense.
  • PHI Wide Receiver #9
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    Makai Lemon caught 3-of-4 targets for 29 yards in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Bears.

    Lemon was the target on the team’s first play from scrimmage, gaining a first down on a first down play for the Eagles for the first time all season. The offense would sputter throughout the game on their way to only 47 offensive plays run from scrimmage, capping the fantasy upside of all involved in the process. Lemon has yet to live up to his lofty draft capital through the first three games of his professional career, but he could be called on for heavier work with tight end Dallas Goedert nursing an MCL sprain. Things don’t get any easier with a matchup against the Rams on deck for Week 4, where Lemon can safely be left on fantasy benches.
  • PHI Wide Receiver #13
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    Dontayvion Wicks caught 2-of-5 targets for 32 yards in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Bears.

    For his part, Wicks was consistently breaking free of coverage with smooth route-running ability, but the offense managed just over 23 minutes time of possession on 47 offensive plays, leaving all involved stuck on a sinking ship. Better fantasy days should be ahead for Wicks in the immediate future, at least for as long as tight end Dallas Goedert remains sidelined with an MCL sprain. That said, he draws a difficult matchup against the Rams in Week 4. Treat Wicks as a viable FLEX option in a tough spot.
  • PHI Tight End #86
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    Zach Ertz caught 1-of-2 targets for nine yards in the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Bears.

    Ertz saw his snaps managed after both signing with the team Tuesday and returning from a torn ACL suffered in 2025, grabbing one of two targets in his first game in an Eagles uniform since 2021. There is very little fantasy upside here even as Dallas Goedert nurses an MCL sprain. Ertz can safely be left on the waiver wire.