Welcome to the weekly Fantasy Notebook, the must-stop spot for keeping your finger on the pulse of Fantasy Nation. NFL news and developments drive fantasy values. The Notebook is here to keep you in the loop on all of it throughout the season -- and into the offseason.
A Developing Story . . .
Before we get into the topic du jour, we have breaking news. As first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter late Wednesday night, former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the Giants are working to finalize a deal to make him the franchise's next head coach.
Schefter adds that the two sides have not yet finalized the deal with Harbaugh's contract still being negotiated. But without any setbacks, Schefter reports, "Harbaugh is ready to accept the Giants' deal and the Giants are expected to hire him as soon as possible."
Harbaugh, who was fired by Baltimore last Tuesday, will now head into the future with franchise cornerstones Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers, Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence II, Abdul Carter, and Cam Skattebo, among others.
I'll have more on this hire -- and the others that are sure to follow in the coming days. But now, back to our regularly-scheduled programming . . .
Wild Card Weekend Lived Up to the Name
Wild Card Weekend was excellent viewing for the most part, with four of six games absolutely fulfilling the "wild" portion of the name.
It was also mostly fantasy-friendly, with eight of the 12 teams scoring at least 23 points, and half of that cohort scoring 30 or more.
The Outcomes Were Important
No, not just in terms of who advances to the Divisional Playoff round. For those teams, the Rams, Bears, Bills, Patriots, 49ers, and Texans, the immediate outcomes are obvious: They join the Broncos and Seahawks in further pursuit of a Super Bowl berth.
But let's not lose sight of what lies ahead for the six teams -- the Steelers, Eagles, Chargers, Packers, Jaguars, and Panthers -- that were eliminated. Some of them have already made significant changes that will impact future plans.
All of them face issues that will help determine the fantasy values for the players involved.
This week's Notebook will begin the process of sorting out what some of the immediate moves, some possible changes coming, and the longer-term outlooks associated with them mean for investors.
We'll get the ball rolling with a huge coaching change with major NFL and fantasy implications.
Tomlin Steps Down . . . And All That Goes With It
Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday.
During his 19 seasons as Steelers head coach, Tomlin, 53, amassed a 193-114-2 regular-season record and never had a losing season.
Even with a Super Bowl-winning season in 2008, the playoffs haven't been kind. Tomlin held an 8-12 record in the postseason. His departure came the day after a crushing Wild Card loss to the Texans -- his seventh-consecutive postseason defeat.
Still, the news was a surprise.
"I wasn't shocked," Steelers president Art Rooney II said on Wednesday. "But I wasn't expecting that conversation yesterday, either."
Tomlin signed a contract extension following the 2023 season that the team initially announced would run through the end of 2027.
However, as The Athletic's Mike DeFabo explained, had Tomlin stayed, the Steelers would have needed to decide by March 1 whether to exercise a team option for 2027 or make 2026 the final year of his deal.
Rather than reaching that crossroads, Tomlin chose to step away of his own accord, and the Steelers will be looking to hire just their fourth head coach since 1969 . . .
What's Next for Tomlin
Because he resigned while still under contract, the Steelers retain Tomlin's rights and can negotiate compensation if he returns to the NFL before the end of the 2027 season.
Even with compensation involved, Tomlin drew immediate interest.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, in the hours after the news of his decision broke, teams contacted Tomlin to express their interest.
Rapoport added that those teams were told Tomlin does not plan to coach in 2026.
Even if teams with vacancies are inclined to make Tomlin an offer he can't refuse, those teams need to work out an eventual deal with the Steelers before Tomlin can even be contacted with offers . . .
A More Likely Option?
Andrew Marchand, who covers media for The Athletic, was told by multiple sources that if Tomlin wants to pursue a career in television, Fox Sports, ESPN, NBC, and CBS -- most of which have openings -- would all be interested.
Amazon Prime Video doesn't currently have any openings on its Thursday Night Football show, but can't be entirely ruled out . . .
How Did We Get Here?
Known for his hard-hitting defenses and continuing the Steelers' organizational tradition of dominant run games, Tomlin struggled to find consistency at quarterback following Ben Roethlisberger's retirement in 2022.
The Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett with a 2022 first-round pick, but the Pitt product was traded away after two seasons.
Including Roethlisberger's final season as a starter, the Steelers have a different Week 1 starting quarterback in each of the last five seasons.
In 2025, Pittsburgh made high-profile moves to land Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver DK Metcalf.
Results were mixed for the most part, but in the end, not good enough . . .
What's Next for Rodgers?
Rodgers' one-year deal expired with Monday's loss, but he recently expressed he hadn't thought about what was next for him.
In his postgame press conference, Rodgers said he wasn't going to make an "emotional" decision about his future.
But in June, he told the Pat McAfee Show that he was "pretty sure" 2025 would be his last season.
Beyond that, as Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio pointed out, Rodgers picked the Steelers in part due to the presence of Tomlin.
If Tomlin isn't there, Rodgers may not want to be. And the Steelers, post-Tomlin, may not want Rodgers.
The next coach, whoever he may be, may want to turn the page at the quarterback position . . .
What's Next for the Steelers?
As ESPN's Brooke Pryor noted, Mason Rudolph is under contract for another year, and the team also selected former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round of the 2025 draft. The Steelers have been doing their homework on the 2026 quarterback draft class, but with a pick at No. 21, they aren't likely to land one of the few top-tier rookie signal-callers unless they use draft capital to move up.
First and foremost, the team must decide on Tomlin's replacement.
As of Wednesday, Chris Shula was the early betting favorite to land the job.
According to Kalshi, a regulated financial exchange where you trade on real-world event outcomes, Shula, the Rams' defensive coordinator, is the betting favorite, with odds of +190.
At 39 years old, Shula would fit the profile of what the Steelers are looking for: A young coach who could have the job for many years, just as Tomlin, Bill Cowher, and Chuck Noll did.
Shula has been with the Rams since 2017 and has been around football his entire life, as the son of former Bengals head coach Dave Shula and grandson of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula.
If Shula isn't the Steelers' choice, other candidates with listed odds include Brian Flores at +400, Robert Saleh at +700, Curt Cignetti at +750, Jesse Minter at +800, and Vance Joseph at +850.
Immediate Fantasy Takeaways?
The Steelers did what they could with this offense, built around a quarterback who averaged a league-low 2.59 seconds to throw and a single legitimate receiving threat in Metcalf. They improved across several metrics compared with last season's Justin Fields/Russell Wilson offense, but they still ranked 15th in offensive efficiency and 16th in offensive EPA.
From a fantasy perspective, there hasn't been much here for us to get excited about beyond Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren.
Gainwell, who was an under-the-radar free-agent signing last March, was a revelation.
As Sports Illustrated's Michael Fabiano reminded readers this week, Gainwell was the fourth Steeler running back drafted this summer -- after rookie Kaleb Johnson, Warren, and Cordarrelle Patterson.
Gainwell, who finished the season as RB16, was drafted as RB139, according to NFFC Average Draft Position (ADP) data.
But the former Eagle is on a one-year deal.
After he emerged as their most versatile offensive playmaker, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler believes the Steelers will most assuredly push to re-sign him. Though he would welcome a return, free agency will be tempting after Gainwell took a discount this year.
Regardless of the next head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback, Gainwell (assuming he returns) and Warren will remain players of interest for us.
Metcalf, too -- although we'll want to be mindful that his 12.4 points per game left him at the tail end of the WR2 conversation. His outlook could improve if the team finds a complementary receiver to take some of the attention off Metcalf . . .
An Eagle Leaves His Roost
With his season over after a failed Super Bowl repeat bid, Jalen Hurts sounded like a quarterback who was ready for a fifth Eagles offensive coordinator in five seasons.
A day after the Eagles were knocked out of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, Hurts didn't give an endorsement for the beleaguered Kevin Patullo, whose house was egged earlier this season as he became the top target for fans' frustrations.
According to the Associated Press, Hurts declined a chance to stump for Patullo. Specifically, Hurts was asked if he wanted Patullo back.
"It's too soon to think about that," Hurts said Monday as the Eagles cleaned out their lockers.
Instead, the veteran signal caller put the decision on head coach Nick Sirianni, general manager Howie Roseman, and owner Jeffrey Lurie . . .
It Didn't Take Long
On Tuesday, Sirianni informed Patullo that the team was making a change.
"I have decided to make a change at offensive coordinator," Sirianni said in a statement. "Ultimately, when we fall short of our goals, that responsibility lies on my shoulders."
Maybe so, but Sirianni wasn't going to fire himself . . .
Picking Up the Pieces
Sirianni hired Patullo as the Eagles' pass game coordinator in 2021, promoted him to associate head coach in 2023, and then promoted him to offensive coordinator in 2025 after Kellen Moore left to become the Saints' head coach.
The move proved to be a costly misstep.
Patullo struggled to find his footing as the team's play-caller, resulting in Philly finishing 19th in scoring and 24th in yards -- both easily the worst results on Sirianni's five-year tenure as head coach. From 2022-24, the Eagles never finished worse than seventh in scoring or eighth in yards.
Following their Week 9 bye, the Eagles surpassed 20 points only three times in 10 outings, including the 23-19 loss to San Francisco that ended their season.
Philadelphia's struggles on that side of the ball became a point of contention all season, highlighted by a defense that was capable of delivering a repeat instead of slowly being wasted.
Now Sirianni needs to find a playcaller who can get the most out of an offense that has significant talent but came up short this season . . .
The QB Has Thoughts
While Hurts wasn't willing to discuss Patullo specifically on Monday, he did talk about the need to find a "home base" for the offense in 2026, essentially an identity that never materialized in 2025.
What kind of home base does Hurts envision?
"We've got time to figure it out," Hurts said.
Hurts had two games this season in which he failed to complete a pass in the second half. That should be almost impossible for any NFL quarterback, much less the Super Bowl MVP.
"It was a challenging year," Hurts said . . .
The Numbers Bear That Out
Hurts' 307.1 fantasy points in 2025 were his lowest total since he took over as the full-time starter in 2021.
Diminished rushing totals were a factor.
As Fabiano pointed out, the 2025 season was the first time Hurts had failed to rush for more than 600 yards and double-digit scores during his time as the starter . . .
Barkley Reboot?
Running back Saquon Barkley spent much of his follow-up season to winning Offensive Player of the Year held in check.
He finished his second campaign with the Eagles, having turned 280 carries into 1,140 yards and seven scores. He also hauled in 37 of 50 targets for 273 yards and two touchdowns over 16 regular-season contests.
From a fantasy perspective, it was also a disappointment.
Barkley finished as RB15 with an average of 14.5 points per game -- well off his RB2 ADP this summer (he was drafted with the third pick overall).
Should we have seen it coming?
Barkley is one of nine running backs in NFL history to rush for 2,000-plus yards in a single season. Much like his eight predecessors, his fantasy points fell off the following year.
That disappointing outcome, along with a change of playcaller and some better injury luck along the offensive line, will likely make him a better value this summer . . .
Brown Out?
Wide receiver A.J. Brown criticized his role at various points during the season, first via a cryptic social media post and later on a Twitch stream, which he later refused to apologize for.
On a more positive note, Hurts said Monday that everything was good between him and Brown. "A.J. and I will talk," Hurts said. "We're in a great place. Maybe you all can talk to him and ask."
Brown did not give reporters that chance.
According to AP sports writer Dan Gelston, the "Always Open" sign still dangled over Brown's locker even with the wideout nowhere to be found.
Brown was one of the few prominent Eagles to skip Monday's media session.
The wideout also left the locker room without talking to reporters after Sunday's loss, which left Sirianni to explain the circumstances of a sideline kerfuffle between the two.
The skirmishes seem fairly common at this point.
And despite Brown telling us at one point this year, "If you got me on Fantasy, get rid of me," the outcome wasn't as horrible as it seemed during the course of the season.
He finished the year as WR11, with an average of 14.7 points per game. Brown was drafted as WR10 with the 18th pick overall this summer . . .
Other Issues
Other than Brown, tight end Dallas Goedert, a key red-zone option, will be a free agent.
According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, at 31, Goedert is coming off an 11-touchdown campaign and will want to cash in on what probably will be his final good years. The Eagles don't have a ton of cap space to pay him, but they also don't have a good TE2 waiting in the wings . . .
Chargers Bolt From Roman
The Chargers fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and offensive line coach Mike Devlin on Tuesday. The moves came two days after the Chargers' 16-3 playoff loss to the New England Patriots, a game in which quarterback Justin Herbert turned in one of the worst performances of his career.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh opened the door to the move postgame, marking the first time he was noncommittal when asked whether Roman was the right person to call plays for this team.
Through two postseason games under Roman, the Chargers scored just one touchdown, which came when the game was well out of reach in last year's 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans.
As ESPN.com's Kris Rhim reminded readers, Roman's offense began the season looking like it would be among the league's best.
The passing offense was seamless, and the offensive line protected Herbert in a Week 1 win over Kansas City . . .
But They Couldn't Sustain It
The offense never returned to the heights of that opening game. Rhim noted that Roman is known as one of the league's most creative run-game architects, but his teams rely on having a physical, dominant offensive line.
That foundation never materialized this season, in part due to injuries.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending left patellar tendon injury in training camp, and Joe Alt played just six games, ending his season in Week 9 with a high right ankle injury.
According to Rhim, the Chargers used 29 different offensive line combinations, ranking third in the league. Their top free agent signing, right guard Mekhi Becton, struggled throughout the season. Becton ranked 46th as a guard in pass block win rate (91.2 percent) and 61st out of 62 eligible guards in run block win rate (63.4 percent).
Becton said Monday he was never comfortable playing in Roman's scheme but declined to elaborate on specific issues.
"It was a lot of different things I'm not used to," he said.
Clearly, however, pass protection was a huge issue . . .
Herbert Hammered
According to ESPN.com's Ben Solak, in 12 of Herbert's 18 starts in 2025, the Chargers gave up a quick pressure rate (pressures in under 2.5 seconds) greater than 15 percent.
The league average for quick pressure rate this season was 13.8 percent.
Solak contends the Chargers were also consistently out-coached.
"[Roman's] usage of wonky personnel and diverse running schemes is valuable," Solak acknowledged, "but the Chargers haven't delivered against playoff-caliber defenses."
Solak went on to suggest that while the offensive line was dreadful, "Few if any efforts were made to change the game around the offensive line. No screens, rollouts, trick plays.
"When was the last time the Chargers truly outschemed their opponent?"
That's likely a primary reason Roman is out.
It's also worth noting that whoever the next Chargers offensive coordinator is, he will be the fifth of Herbert's career . . .
Here's to Better Health
In addition to the offensive line, the backfield was limited by injuries as well. After Najee Harris was lost to an Achilles injury in Week 3, rookie Omarion Hampton rose to the occasion, delivering a pair of high-end performances, averaging 20.2 fantasy points per game in two contests as the lead back before a fractured ankle cost him seven games. He was up and down in his return, but there is reason for optimism.
As Late-Round Fantasy's Brandon Gdula pointed out, Hampton's snap rate in Week 17 ballooned to 81 percent after he logged a 78 percent snap rate through his first four games of the regular season.
Gdula believes that the early-season role would have returned if not for the injury . . .
Receiving Confusion
And yes, we'll all be looking to get a better handle on the pecking order at wide receiver.
The big issue this year was Ladd McConkey's failure to deliver as expected. Drafted as WR11 (with the 25th pick overall), the second-year man finished the year as WR37 with an 11.3-point per game average.
The downturn could have been a byproduct of Keenan Allen's arrival.
McConkey lined up in the slot 72 percent of the time as a rookie. He did that 64 percent of the time this year, with Allen getting a 34 percent slot rate.
In addition, the emergence of Quentin Johnston may have further diluted opportunities.
Even if Allen doesn't stick around, Johnston and second-year man Tre' Harris will be factors as we advance.
Given the circumstances, it's safe to assume we'll be getting McConkey at better prices this summer. But the question remains: Will he return value . . .