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We've got a new Pope—and he's from Chicago. If that's not a sign the Bears might finally get it together, what is?
Meanwhile, our own Sigmund Bloom is blessing you with his latest QB Tiers and Value Picks. The Footballguys Staff is all over their favorite wide receiver sleepers—you'll want these names before your leaguemates get them.
And Cecil Lammey rounds it all out with the latest News and Notes you need to stay sharp.
Let's roll.
J
PS. The Post-Draft Footballguys Rookie Draft Guide is LIVE! Version 3 includes team fits, updated depth charts, and — for the first time — the Post-Draft Bloom 100. It’s available exclusively for ELITE, HALL OF FAME, and G.O.A.T. subscribers and built to give you the edge in every rookie draft.
Quarterback Tiers and Value Picks – Sigmund Bloom sorts QBs into tiers for 2025 and highlights key value picks like Baker Mayfield and Justin Fields to target late.
Rookie Sleeper Picks, Wide Receivers – Rachel Tootsiepop and the Footballguys Staff break down 2025 rookie WRs with sleeper appeal — including Tre Harris, Elic Ayomanor, and Jack Bech.
Among the biggest movers this week: Lamar Jackson surged 6 spots, Jayden Daniels climbed 4, and Bo Nix jumped 8. But which of these rising QBs most deserves the boost?
So today, we ask you Footballguys:
🗳️ POLL: Which rising QB most deserves their recent NFFC ADP surge?
When you vote in the Poll below, you'll see the current standings, and we'll post the final results in the next edition of the Daily Update.
🗳️ POLL: In a 2025 PPR League, if Josh Allen is off the board, which QB are you drafting next?
Carolina Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks (knee) was placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list Thursday, May 8, and will miss the entire 2025 season.
Our view: Terrible news for Brooks here. He fell to the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft because of a 2023 knee injury he suffered in his final season with the Texas Longhorns. Brooks barely played as a rookie, then he re-injured the ligament in Week 14. The Panthers move forward with Chuba Hubbard as their top back. Free agent Rico Dowdle and rookie Trevor Etienne will compete for reserve snaps.
Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne is not 'guaranteed' a roster spot heading into the season, in the opinion of Jacksonville.com's Demetrius Harvey, who notes that the team has put a lot of work into reshaping the offensive line and running back rooms under new head coach Liam Coen. That includes drafting RBs Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen.
Our view: Tuten has a ton of speed, and Allen is a player who could thrive on all three downs due to his athleticism and contact balance. If the team moves on from Etienne, those two rookies could play a larger role.
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Using tiers in fantasy football offers several strategic benefits beyond simple rankings. Rankings are linear, but tiers group players of similar value together. This helps you recognize when there's a big drop-off in talent, so you don't overreact to slight differences in rank. Example: If multiple wide receivers are left in a tier but only one player in the current running-back tier, you're more likely to take the running back before that tier is eliminated.
We'll cover every positional tier as the offseason moves on; today, we look at quarterbacks.
The players in this group have established themselves as annual top 5 fantasy plays, which makes them worth paying up for early in your draft.
Jackson emerged as the clear QB1 last year, facing defenses that had to also worry about Derrick Henry. There's no reason to think he won't do it again or be even better with a maturing offensive line and the addition of DeAndre Hopkins.
Allen got off to a slow start last year because of a couple of blowouts and a spirited performance from the Texans defense, but was Jackson's equal from Week 6 on. You'll probably have to break the seal on quarterbacks if you want him.
Hurts has a small worry with the league seemingly on the warpath to ban the tush push. He underperformed a bit when A.J. Brown missed three weeks, but was back at his 2023 scoring level (which was good enough for QB2 behind Allen) after Brown returned until Hurts had to leave Week 16 early with a concussion.
This group's scoring range is just a little below the elite tier, and any of them could finish ahead of any or all of the elite quarterbacks. If you want to spend early on quarterback, it's probably best to wait a little bit and dip into this group instead of the elite tier.
Daniels was a revelation in both fantasy and NFL circles last year, but there's a heightened injury risk - which was responsible for his mid-season slump. C.J. Stroud's down second season looms over the decision about taking Daniels, who is going off the board closer to his ceiling than his floor. Daniels finished the season on a heater that would put him in contention to be QB1 overall if he can carry it over to this season, so don't let me talk you out of taking him at ADP.
All Burrow did was finish as QB3 last year, scoring at the same level as Allen and Hurts in 2023, which was good enough for them to be QB1 and QB2 that year. It's also the same level Burrow scored at in 2022. His ADP has crept up close to the elite tier, so the fantasy community has caught on.
Mayfield was an elite QB1 for fantasy last year when he wasn't missing both starting wide receivers. His team spent their first-round pick on another wide receiver, so it's hard to see why he is going multiple rounds after the top five. Mayfield is easily the best value on the board at quarterback, unless you think he will come back to earth without Liam Coen. In that case, you should be all in on Trevor Lawrence instead.
All of these quarterbacks have elite QB1 upside from both a season-long and weekly point of view. There's reason for optimism that all three are in improved situations. There's also risk, as all are coming off of disappointing seasons. This group allows you to take a QB1 with a top 5 ceiling outside of your top 5-6 picks and will fit well in most draft plans.
If Mahomes could only keep Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy on the field at the same time, he could get back to the fantasy penthouse where he once resided. We've been trying to talk ourselves into a bounceback year for two offseasons in a row now, so Mahomes is as each as he's been since his breakout 2018 campaign.
Murray didn't click in Drew Petzing's offense, he didn't return to pre-ACL running production levels, and Marvin Harrison Jr.. wasn't the impact rookie that we projected him to be. Any or even all three of those conditions could change this year. Murray has said his knee was still bothering him last year and he's ready to run more if they want him to, which gives him the potential to be the biggest hit on the quarterback board, given his inexpensive price.
Fields was once again a high-ceiling QB1 option even in Arthur Smith's offense before he ceded the job to Russell Wilson. He's less likely to lose his job this year in New York. Fields is also playing behind a talented offensive line with a new offensive coordinator coming from the successful Detroit staff (Tanner Engstrand). As the cherry on the sundae, he'll be reunited with college teammate Garrett Wilson. Fields is a value pick going well later in redraft than when he was in a lesser Bears offense.
Prescott gets a big boost from the acquisition of George Pickens. The Cowboys also neglected their backfield in the draft and free agency and should have to rely on the passing game to move the ball. Of course, Prescott was set up with a similar scenario last year and mostly disappointed, so that's why he's much cheaper this year.
Free-agent QB Aaron Rodgers (Jets) has been in communication with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the offseason and, according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor, it is 'unlikely that Rodgers wasn't privy' to the team's decision to trade WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
Our view: It's a bit odd if a player not signed was involved or aware ahead of time when it comes to a receiver. The Steelers remain in contact with Rodgers and hope he signs with the team. Until that happens, the Steelers will trot out Mason Rudolph as their top quarterback in offseason workouts.
Dallas Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert is likely to be the player 'most impacted' by the acquisition of WR George Pickens, in the opinion of ESPN's Todd Archer, who notes that Tolbert split time between the WR2 and WR3 spots a season ago based on whether former Cowboys (and current New Orleans Saints) WR Brandin Cooks was available.
Our view: No surprise here. Tolbert is now expected to slide into the No. 3 role behind Pickens and WR CeeDee Lamb. In 17 games last year, Tolbert caught a career high 49 catches for 610 yards and seven touchdowns. That was good for the no.39 ranking in standard-scoring leagues at the wide receiver position. With the addition of Pickens, Tolbert goes more into 'what the heck' flex territory than he was a WR4/deep flex option in 2024.
After trading WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers now hold multiple third-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. In the opinion of ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers could use one of those in a package to acquire a veteran receiver in a trade -- to that end, Fowler mentions San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee), Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore, and Green Bay Packers WR Romeo Doubs as possible targets. In free agency, Fowler highlights Amari Cooper (Bills) and Keenan Allen (Bears) as potential fits.
Our view: DK Metcalf is the clear-cut no.1 receiver for the Steelers, and we'll see how things shake out behind him. Guys like Robert Woods, Calvin Austin, and Roman Wilson will compete to create a pecking order. We'll see if the Steelers take a longer look at any of the available veterans...and oh yeah - if/when they sign QB Aaron Rodgers.
Free-agent WR Gabe Davis (Jaguars) could receive some interest from the New York Giants since he is familiar with head coach Brian Daboll's offensive scheme, in the opinion of GiantsWire's John Fennelly.
Our view: Davis spent time working with Daboll when they were with the Buffalo Bills. The Giants may be looking for a veteran to add to the room with young players like Malik Nabers and WanDale Robinson at the top of the depth chart. If added, Davis would compete with guys like Darius Slayton, Lil Jordan Humphrey, and Jalin Hyatt.
Detroit Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa figures to make his initial impact on special teams, in the opinion of beat writer Tim Twentyman.
Our view: TeSlaa is a physical freak with a great size/speed combination, but he never was a returner in college at Hillsdale or Arkansas. The Lions wanted to take a chance on his insane athleticism, and that's why they moved two third-round picks to select him at no.70 overall. Most young players begin on teams, but it may not be long before TeSlaa is making noise on offense for the Lions. We love his upside in dynasty formats.
Carolina Panthers LB Jadeveon Clowney, TE Jordan Matthews and WR Dax Milne were released Thursday, May 8. The team also waived WR T.J. Luther, OG Andrew Raym and DT Jerrod Clark and waived/injured DT Popo Aumavae (undisclosed).
Our view: Clowney is the biggest name here, and it's not a surprise considering there were rumblings he could be cut before the draft. In 14 games last year, Clowney totaled 5.5 sacks and can still get after the passer in a part-time role. Clowney should have no problem getting a job for 2025.
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