NFL Player News

Van Pelt didn’t seem to get much credit for how Drake Maye played last year in New England, and Van Pelt’s offense in Cleveland certainly looks better in retrospect after the disastrous 2024 season the Browns had. He’ll look to get some McVay Magic coursing through his fingertips and prepare for the 2026 offensive coordinator carousel.

Douglas is worth a late-round pick. Dolphins QB Malik Willis attempted five passes tonight, sending two his way. Both of Douglas’ targets were downfield throws. Douglas erred on the first. After managing to get wide open, running toward the right sideline, the rookie wide receiver experienced a blip in his spatial awareness and ended up securing the pass while stepping out of bounds. Willis gave him another chance on a vertical route from the slot, firing a long ball to the lanky receiver downfield. Willis fought contact with his right hand while high-pointing the pass with his left, and critically retained possession as he landed hard on his back. The third-round rookie looks good.

Willis’ lone incompletion was not his fault. His intended receiver stepped out of bounds during the catch. The Dolphins’ new quarterback was not afraid to push the ball downfield and scrambled twice in Commanders territory. One carry occurred in the green zone, and Willis managed to break an attempted horse-collar tackle before being pushed out of bounds at the four-yard line. Willis won’t fool you into thinking he is an elite quarterback, but his dual-threat profile should yield QB1 spiked weeks this season.

Spring and summer reports indicated that the Dolphins’ new coaching staff wanted to operate a run-heavy offense. Those reports weren’t lying. Achane took run after run up the middle until he punched one in from one yard out. Questions remain as to how efficient this offense might be, but Achane is seemingly set to handle a large workload again this season. Backup RB Jaylen Wright was the RB2 tonight, taking his first carry for 13 yards up the middle.

Coleman took a few snaps with tonight’s starters after replacing RB RJ Harvey on the second drive. Coleman picked up two first downs on the ground, barreling through contact on both plays. He earned one target as a receiver out of the backfield and took it for a five-yard gain. Unfortunately, the play was erased by a penalty, but it was good to see him get involved through the air regardless. Coleman looks like a capable player. He is worth speculatively stashing on fantasy benches at this time.

The report comes from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Bisontis is expected to miss most of the season and could end up missing all of it. Rapoport ambiguously adds that “only the MCL will be repaired,” leaving room for interpretation as to whether Bisontis’ knee took more damage in the injury. This is a very unfortunate situation for the second-round rookie. Hopefully, he makes a complete recovery and returns to form without issue.

Mariota appeared to injure his knee when he turned to hand the ball off to his running back, and immediately started limping. He was seemingly patting his right knee while sitting on the field, talking to trainers after the play. He was able to leave the field under his own power, but we do not expect him to return. He was replaced by QB Sam Hartman.

Coen discussed both RB Bhayshul Tuten and RB Chris Rodriguez during his presser. Regarding Tuten, Coen said the second-year back has shown that he has “bought in” over the past year, and complimented his ability to take “hard coaching” while noting his 4.28-second 40 speed. Coen adds that Tuten has to continue working on making his reads and not overthinking things. Regarding Rodriguez, Coen complimented his recent downhill running and blitz pickups. Coen loves consistency at the running back position. This looks like it will be a committee to start the year. That said, if one player separates, things can change quickly. Tuten remains the high-upside pick, although Rodriguez can be productive in his own right.

Garafolo says that the Buccaneers remain steadfast in their position that Vea is not available. The team has also apparently kept the lines of communication open with Vea regarding a potential new deal, although “a deal is not imminent.” Vea is set to make roughly $18 million in the final year of his contract. Garafolo notes that the top of the defensive tackle market is now around $38 million annually, and Vea believes his production qualifies him for a contract extension in that tier.

Allen’s pass-protection skills have him locked in as the Jaguars’ third-down running back. He played in all 17 games last season, but earned just 11 targets — hardly enough for a PPR-relevant role. Per Shipley, “has gotten more looks in the passing game in training camp this year than he did at this time a year ago.” He adds that it is unclear as to how much more involved Allen will be once the regular season arrives, but he closes by saying that “it does seem like the uptick is about to be very real.” With two other players expected to be involved in the backfield, it could still be tough for Allen to become FLEX-viable, but only time will tell.

Egbuka reportedly underwent more testing with a specialist today, who confirmed Ebuka indeed sprained his toe but determined that the injury is “stable.” This is great to hear. The second-year player is a high-ceiling WR2 candidate this season. The Buccaneers face the Bengals in Week 1, in what should be a fantasy-friendly environment.