JESS BRYANT

The Athletic • November 11 2025

Critical fantasy football insights for Week 11: Has Alvin Kamara finally expired?

New England Patriot Drake Maye continued to play like an MVP in Week 10, and Mack Hollins posted over 100 receiving yards as a result. Davis Mills led the Texans to a win over the Jaguars, feeding the ball to Nico Collins, who finished with 136 yards receiving. Jakobi Meyers didn’t have a standout game for Jacksonville, but it’s clear that getting him involved is part of the Jags’ plans. Meanwhile, are we ready to call Trevor Lawrence a bust yet? Speaking of busts, or those formerly known as suc...

The Athletic • November 4 2025

Critical fantasy football insights for Week 10: Sam Darnold, Rashid Shaheed a potent pairing

Is it just me, or is this season bonkers? J.J. McCarthy led Minnesota to a win over Detroit, and Carolina secured a win, holding Green Bay to only 13 points. Daniel Jones finally fell from the heavens; Drake Maye continued to look like a franchise quarterback, and Christian McCaffrey led San Francisco in rushing and receiving. Rico Dowdle showed that he deserves to be the No. 1 over Chuba Hubbard, and Kyle Monangai secured future Chicago touches, filling in for D’Andre Swift. TreVeyon Henderson,...

The Athletic • October 21 2025

Critical fantasy football insights for Week 8: Bo Nix’s historic fourth quarter and more

Where to begin. Week 7 was a highlight reel of oddities. Oronde Gadsden finished with more receiving yards this week than any tight end since last season. Bo Nix set a modern-day (since 2000), single-quarter fantasy-point record. Daniel Jones led the Colts to yet another win with high-level play, and Drake Maye looks like the real deal. New York teams faltered, the Jets worse than the Giants, but the latter in a more heartbreaking manner, and Justin Fields was benched … again. And we must ask wh...

The Athletic • October 14 2025

Critical fantasy football insights for Week 7: The case for Sam Darnold, Tre Tucker and more

What do quarterbacks Drake Maye, Jaxson Dart, Daniel Jones, Jacoby Brissett, Caleb Williams and Sam Darnold have in common? They were top-10 fantasy QBs in Week 6. Baker Mayfield, who continues to hear “M-V-P” chants, finished as a QB1, as did long-shot Trevor Lawrence. In Los Angeles, the Rams may be without Puka Nacua next week. What’s that mean for Davante Adams’ value, and why is Tre Tucker still on waivers in many leagues? And then there are the handcuff running backs who could become more...

The Athletic • September 5 2025

For the 10th straight year, their fantasy football draft began with tears

WESTFIELD, N.J. – For those steeped in the traditions of fantasy football, the gathering in the backyard of Joseph Verga on the final Thursday of August would have felt familiar — at least most of it.Verga and over a dozen of his friends and neighbors situated themselves around a few large tables adorned with a spread of spirits and wings. A large-screen TV was paired with a projection screen that streamed the results of their annual draft. Last year’s league winner, Jon LaConti, added his name...

The Athletic • June 9 2025

THE BAT X fantasy baseball cheat sheet: Add Ben Brown, stream Agustín Ramírez

Baseball season is well underway, and with a plethora of articles, statistics and metrics available, it can be challenging to know who to start, sit, fade and trade. Using Derek Carty’s THE BAT X projection system, The Athletic has developed a weekly program that helps fantasy managers with difficult roster decisions.THE BAT X has been the most accurate original projection system in fantasy for five consecutive years and provides estimates based on a wide range of metrics, including Statcast met...

The Athletic • June 4 2025

What Saquon Barkley’s retirement talk means for his fantasy football stock

Saquon Barkley is coming off his most prolific rushing season ever, flaunting a Super Bowl ring, and preparing for another season behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. But for all of the recent dominance, there’s also been recent talk of future concerns around the Eagles running back who finished as fantasy’s second-highest scorer (PPR) at the position in 2024. And it starts with the specter of a sudden end to his NFL career.In the most recent edition of the “Green Light with Chris Long,...

The Athletic • May 21 2025

What the tush push ruling means for the fantasy football values of Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley

The Philadelphia Eagles’ efforts this offseason to lobby for the tush push to remain legal in the NFL paid off. The play popularized by the Eagles has not been banned. Ahead of the ruling, The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena and Dianna Russini reported that “key” NFL committees recommended banning the play. But that wasn’t enough.Why did the Eagles care so much? Because the tush push has worked for them and, perhaps surprisingly, the Buffalo Bills. Jalen Hurts had 11 rushing touchdowns from the 1-yard...

The Athletic • May 19 2025

THE BAT X fantasy baseball cheat sheet: Add Ezequiel Tovar, stream Jordan Beck and more

Baseball season is well underway, and with a plethora of articles, statistics and metrics available, it can be challenging to know who to start, sit, fade and trade. Using Derek Carty’s THE BAT X projection system, The Athletic has developed a weekly program that helps fantasy managers with difficult roster decisions. THE BAT X has been the most accurate original projection system in fantasy for five consecutive years.This week’s iteration suggests adding a now-healthy Ezequiel Tovar, where avai...

The Athletic • April 17 2025

How to watch the Chicago White Sox in 2025: Schedule, broadcast info and blackout rules

The Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005. After the 4-0 sweep, Sox fans pulled out their flip phones and Sidekicks to call their adversaries, Chicago Cubs fans, and rub in the victory.But that was then. The White Sox made it to the divisional series in 2021 and haven’t seen a playoff bid since. Last year’s 121 losses and impossibly low expectations this year have been tough on South Siders’ fans. But, they’re loyal. Wrigley Field? No way. The fun happens at Rate Field, with its panaram...

The Athletic • March 24 2025

2025 fantasy baseball draft kit: Rankings, sleepers, cheat sheets, strategy and more

Welcome to our fantasy baseball 2025 draft kit, offering award-winning rankings (and award-winning writers), projections, a customizable cheat sheet, sleepers, strategy, and everything in between — basically whatever you need to run roughshod over your leaguemates this season!Be sure to check back here often. We’ll be regularly adding content to this draft kit page throughout the preseason, and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to drop a request in the comments and we’ll s...

The Athletic • March 17 2025

March Madness 2025: Upsets, predictions, storylines and odds for the NCAA tournaments

Let the fun begin! The NCAA tournament brings the madness of bracketology, upsets, high- and low-stakes pools and mascot mayhem.To help you own your bracket pool, we’re compiling expert analysis, upset picks, predictions, odds (games and props), matchup previews, guides for filling out your bracket and lighthearted features into one centralized location. Consider this your March Madness cheat sheet for all tournament-related endeavors.While many college basketball fans might immediately think of...

The Athletic • February 10 2025

Super Bowl 2026 odds: Eagles open as early favorites while Chiefs fall; Giants, Titans dead last

The Philadelphia Eagles picked apart the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to thwart KC’s three-peat and win Super Bowl LIX. With this year’s championship decided, sportsbooks are already looking ahead to Super Bowl LX. The Eagles opened as the betting favorites to win it all at +650 at BetMGM, while the Baltimore Ravens (+700), Buffalo Bills (+750) and Kansas City (+750) come in next. Rounding out the top five are the Detroit Lions at +850. Despite missing the playoffs entirely, the San Francisco 49ers...

The Athletic • February 9 2025

Super Bowl 2025 betting hub: Best bets, predictions, live odds for Chiefs vs. Eagles

Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs is here. The NFL’s top event is the most bet-on sporting affair in the U.S. each year thanks to high viewership and the wide variety of betting options available to anyone with internet access (subject to state-specific restrictions). Below you’ll find everything you’ll need when it comes to picks, predictions, live odds and more.Think of this as your cheat sheet for all things Super Bowl betting. We’re compiling expert analys...

The Athletic • January 26 2025

Commanders at Eagles: How to watch, odds, expert picks with Philly TD favorites in NFC Championship

The Washington Commanders may be the darlings of the NFL playoffs, but the Philadelphia Eagles are nearly touchdown favorites over Jayden Daniels and company. Philadelphia opened as a 5-point favorite, and the line dropped to as close as 4 points on some sportsbooks but it has since moved to 6 points and held. Injury designations did not move the line as of Sunday morning.The Commanders are in the Conference Championships for the first time since 1991 — the year Washington beat the Buffalo Bills...

The Athletic • January 15 2025

Christian McCaffrey might be the worst No. 1 fantasy football pick. And not just because of 2024

When fantasy managers score the No. 1 draft pick, the season feels ripe with opportunity. Any one of several supremely talented players can serve as your champion, leading your roster to undreamt heights in a quest for fantasy glory. Unless, that is, you draft Christian McCaffrey when he’s the consensus top pick — those managers will end up cowering in a fetal position at the base of a desolate crater McCaffrey has dug for them.The 2024 fantasy season was fraught with disappointment for those wh...

The Athletic • January 5 2025

NFL Week 18 fantasy football, betting cheat sheet: All hands on deck for Vikings and Lions

Welcome to the Week 18 fantasy and betting cheat sheet, a one-stop shop for The Athletic’s game previews, injury and weather updates, and expert analysis. Bookmark this page and check back often, as we offer regular updates through Sunday to assist with fantasy lineups and betting decisions.Player rankings referenced in this article are current as of Jan. 5. For updated rankings, see the “Fantasy football player rankings” section.The latest NFL news and headlinesLast updated: 3:05 p.m. ET, Jan....

The Athletic • January 2 2025

NFL Week 18 injuries and benchings: With playoff seeds on the line, who’s starting or sitting?

While the vast majority of fantasy leagues crowned their champions following Week 17, some leagues prefer to span the entirety of the NFL season. And that makes cobbling together a starting lineup a bit complicated for fantasy managers in Week 18 when NFL teams weigh the risk of injury against the reward of a playoff spot or improved seeding.Twelve of the 14 playoff spots are set but three division titles remain up for grabs. Several of the seed lines are locked down, but most remain up for grab...

The Athletic • December 9 2024

The top 5 fantasy football QB performances ever: Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen now tops the list

Leading NFL MVP candidate Josh Allen had the best fantasy performance by a quarterback ever in Week 14, logging an incredible six touchdowns (three through the air, three on the ground) en route to 51.88 fantasy points.Not only is Allen’s monster day the best of the fantasy era, if you applied fantasy scoring rules to earlier pro football contests, Allen still tops the charts. The second-best historical QB performance was over six decades ago, in 1961, when Houston Oiler George Blanda would have...

The Athletic • November 8 2024

Ja’Marr Chase didn’t crack the top 5 fantasy football outings. Here’s who did

The Thursday Night Football matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens was electric, thrilling — all the adjectives — and Ja’Marr Chase logged a truly legendary fantasy football performance. Chase scored 55.4 points per reception (PPR) points and became the first player in the league to score over 50 fantasy points in a game on three separate occasions. But where does the star pass catcher’s Thursday performance rank on the all-time list?Surprisingly, Chase’s point total does no...

Fantasy Life • October 12 2024

Week 5 Fantasy Football Roundtable: Rookies, WR2s, and More

Welcome to Fantasy Life's Week 5 Expert Roundtable! We're using data and eye tests to make best guesses and reconstruct rosters a month into the season.The Fantasy Life staff explores which rookies have made their claim as franchise-changers, transforming both the league and fantasy lineups. We're also giving props to WR2 weekly locks, keying in on fantasy-relevant matchups, and fine-tuning our squads on the field and off (see Week 5's pop culture question).Join me and some of your Fantasy Life...

Fantasy Life • October 11 2024

Fantasy Football Expert Roundtable: Who Can You Trust In Week 4?

Every week offers more insight as to how real-life football will play out and how fantasy players can start the right players each week. In Week 3, a lot of people had Diontae Johnson, Tre Tucker, and Jauan Jennings on their benches and started Davante Adams, Nico Collins, or Tyreek Hill.It’s impossible to predict how each week will go, and Adams, Collins, and Hill are no-brainer weekly starters for now. But when it comes to Flex positions, Jauan Jennings and Tre Tucker made a case for themselve...

Fantasy Life • October 9 2024

Fantasy Roundtable: Top 5 Tight Ends, Chiefs RBs, and More

For this week's roundtable, I invited Kendall Valenzuela, Matthew Freedman, and Dwain McFarland to help fantasy players sort out the Chiefs' backfield, the Top 5 tight ends, the must-start rookies, and more. Much, much more. Let's jump in!Kendall: First of all, can someone please turn off these injuries?? The backfield will become a full-blown committee in Kansas City, but I have Samaje Perine on more of my teams than Carson Steele or Kareem Hunt. Perine is a better pass-blocker and pass-catcher...

Fantasy Life • October 5 2024

Fantasy Football's Early Surprises, Week 2 Start/Sits, and More

Week 2 is here, and with actual data from Week 1, we can make more informed decisions when setting our fantasy lineups. Deshaun Watson, Will Levis, Bo Nix, Daniel Jones, and Bryce Young all underperformed, posting passer ratings below 53.0. On the flip side, Anthony Richardson looks like a franchise quarterback, and Sam Darnold is making a solid case for Comeback Player of the Year.Fantasy Life's LG Showrunner, Ed Eck (check out our show on LGChannels.com!), emphasized to me earlier this year th...