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.
Keeping Our Egos In Check
Week 8 was the latest reminder that it's a humbling pastime we've chosen. We should know this.
We are playing a game, based on a game, built on variance and volatility.
But some weeks are more extreme than others. This season, it seems wilder than ever.
Endeavor to Persevere
Yet here we are, trying to sort through the aftermath of the previous week in order to set the best lineup possible for the next. It's who we are. It's what we do.
And the challenge is why we love it so much. And we need to take some time to celebrate that, with some . . .
Midseason Fantasy Awards
As we head into the stretch run to our fantasy playoffs, let's take a moment to recognize the players who have stood out most through the first eight weeks —for better and for worse. We'll be using the Footballguys Player Historical Stats set for PPR scoring for this exercise.
Fantasy MVP
The player who's provided the greatest overall fantasy advantage this season.
The Candidates
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs
- WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- TE Trey McBride
Making the Cases
Smith-Njigba is putting together a dominant, record-pacing campaign. Through eight games, he's accounted for 51.5 percent of the Seahawks' receiving yards with 985. That's the highest receiving yards share in the NFL since at least 2016, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Not surprisingly, JSN heads into Week 9 as WR1 overall, scoring 27.5 points per game.
That's 6.7 points ahead of the second-highest per-game average at the position.
McBride has put together a TE1 overall performance over the first eight weeks for the Cardinals, extending his streak of catching at least seven passes in every game this season in Dallas last week. His 18.8 points per game, however, are behind Brock Bowers' 21 points per game (with Bowers playing only six games this year).
Meanwhile, Gibbs has racked up 199.8 fantasy points over seven games played this season. His 28.5 points per game are extraordinary. While that average is only 5.6 points ahead of Ken Walker III, running back is a position of greater scarcity than wide receiver. And that makes the final decision here easier . . .
The Winner: Gibbs
As SBNation's Ryan Mathews wrote, "Gibbs is the best running back in the NFL," and if he's going to keep doing what he's been doing over these first couple of months, he should end up being the NFL MVP.
Making him the first-half fantasy MVP isn't difficult.
Gibbs is averaging the most yards from scrimmage among running backs (149.9 yards), and the next closest player -- Walker -- is over 20 yards off pace. He leads the league in missed tackles forced (51) in just seven games, according to Pro Football Focus. Last year's leader in missed tackles forced was Bijan Robinson at 86.
He's averaging over 110 rushing yards per game and on pace for nearly 1,900 rushing yards, which really helps put 2,000 yards in perspective given how incredible Gibbs has been.
He's averaging more than a touchdown per game (1.4) and is on pace for 24 total scores -- the highest mark since LaDainian Tomlinson set the single-season record 20 years ago with 31 en route to his MVP award.
Perhaps most important, Gibbs is returning the investment we made in him. It's not unusual for the first pick overall to fall short of that number during the season. Gibbs hasn't. Smith-Njigba is a strong second-place finisher here.
Best Draft-Day Value
The biggest return relative to average draft position.
The Candidates
- WR Christian Watson
- RB Jaylen Warren
- QB Tyler Shough
Making the Cases
Watson has been producing at a prodigious rate for the Packers and fantasy managers. He became the first NFL player since Jerry Rice in 1986 to record at least 25 catches, six touchdowns, and an average of 18-plus yards per catch through his team's first five games of the season. During Week 8 on Thursday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers, Watson suffered a broken rib, left the stadium for a hospital check, returned to the game, and finished with a team-high 8 catches for 113 yards.
Drafted as WR27 with the 55th pick overall, Watson is currently WR3, averaging 18.6 points per game.
Shough has put together a solid start to his second season as the starting quarterback for the Saints. He opened the year with a bang, throwing for 410 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime loss to the Lions. He followed that with an efficient performance in a win over Baltimore and multiple-touchdown outings against Las Vegas (four TDs) and the New York Giants (three TDs). But his pace has cooled thanks to a pair of tough defensive tests against the Vikings (96 yards, 2 INTs) and against Pittsburgh.
Shough was drafted with the 140th pick overall as the QB20. He's currently QB10 with 18.8 points per game.
Warren is having a breakout 2026 NFL season in Pittsburgh, overcoming early-season competition concerns. He has continued to lead the NFL in explosive tackle-breaking and yards-after-catch efficiency out of the backfield.
Drafted as RB27 with the 67th pick overall, Warren is currently RB7, averaging 17.8 points per game.
The Winner: Warren
Warren has been very good, both for fantasy and his real-life team. Heading into the Steelers' bye week, Warren is the NFL's seventh-leading rusher with 704 yards on 119 carries.
Warren is second in yards from scrimmage in the NFL, with 998 yards, including 294 receiving yards.
Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt called Warren "a bowling ball with teeth, man . . . he's a hard tackle."
Warren put together a career-defining performance in a 34-22 victory over the Colts in Week 5, recording 15 carries for 101 yards and a 50-yard rushing touchdown alongside 6 receptions for 87 yards and an 80-yard receiving touchdown (188 total yards from scrimmage).
Last week, Warren tied his career-high with 143 rushing yards and added a rushing touchdown against the Browns.
This is a tough call with Watson coming in a close second and Shough landing at No. 3, with both falling behind due to the positional scarcity that adds to Warren's value.