Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II (rib) continues to see his fantasy football stock rise after an encouraging training camp and preseason. Gordon rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries during the preseason, and he also caught a pass for 10 additional yards. Outside of an isolated issue where head coach Jeff Hafley called him selfish for a 15-yard penalty, Gordon was praised by members of the coaching staff for the development and improvement that he has shown. Most notably, in early August, Hafley said that Gordon had the makings of a future every-down back in the NFL. That's high praise from the head coach, especially in an era of the league where true every-down backs are hard to come by. Miami obviously has a different every-down back right now in De'Von Achane, who possesses top-five upside in fantasy football. However, it sounds like Gordon is trending up and could have a significant role in the offense this year. Given the Dolphins' anticipated reliance on running the football, it wouldn't be a total shock to see two different running backs -- Gordon and Achane -- carve out fantasy relevance. For now, though, Gordon is more of a speculative late-round target in hopes that he can eventually ascend into the RB3/flex range. All the while, he remains a very appealing handcuff who could jump to the RB2 tier if Achane were to suffer an injury.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges' fantasy appeal is quickly slipping away. It initially seemed like Tonges was set for the No. 1 tight end role to open the season and therefore a late-round fantasy sleeper, but the increased likelihood of George Kittle (Achilles) playing in Week 1 has thrown a wrench in that outlook. Tonges was only going to be a potential fantasy starter if Kittle missed time; last year, he averaged 0.5 touchdowns and 12.3 fantasy points per game with Kittle on the sideline. There's still a chance that's the case for Week 1 of the 2026 season, but that's a worst-case scenario. Kittle is almost guaranteed to be back by Week 2 at the latest, leaving Tonges back in a depth role and off the fantasy radar. Rostering handcuffs in fantasy football is a good strategy, but it's not worth it at the tight end position. Tonges can be left on waivers in all redraft leagues, assuming Kittle is a go for the season opener.

Green Bay Packers running back Chris Brooks is headed for an increased role, at least on a temporary basis. Teammate Josh Jacobs was placed on the commissioner's exempt list last Sunday, sidelining him for an indefinite period of time and leaving a gaping hole atop the running back depth chart in Green Bay. While MarShawn Lloyd is the early favorite to operate as the Packers' No. 1 ball-carrier, we expect to see a heavy dose of Brooks out of the backfield, too. Jacobs' void is too big to be filled by just one player, so Brooks will offer impact carries and receptions, and more than just a change of pace. We expect to see him mix in around the goal line, too. Brooks' NFL opportunities so far have been hard to come by, but he has looked good whenever he's been given the chance. For example, in Week 18 last season, he rushed for 61 yards on 13 carries, good for an average of 4.7 YPC. Additionally, just about one-third of his total touches (13 of 40) were receptions, so there's some legitimate full-PPR and half-PPR upside here if he does indeed handle a significant snap share. Brooks is more of a speculative late-round draft right now, but Week 1 will paint a clear picture of whether he can be a low-end RB3/flex going forward.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp's fantasy appeal has been declining as the regular season gets closer. We already knew that Kupp was going to take a backseat to Jaxon Smith-Njigba again this year, but now he might also be losing ground to Rashid Shaheed. Seattle made an aggressive pursuit to re-sign Shaheed just months after trading for him, and they were successful. Now, Justin Melo of Sports Illustrated is saying that "the sky is the limit" for Shaheed in this Seahawks offense, potentially setting the stage for him to handle a weekly starter role while pushing Kupp further down the depth chart. We already saw Kupp start to lose his fantasy appeal in recent years; he has been WR38 or worse in each of his past three seasons, including WR53 last year. That trend should continue in 2026, and while he may be a fine dart throw in the last couple of rounds of a deeper-league fantasy draft, managers shouldn't get too attached, nor should they feel compelled to start him in any formats. As it stands, he has fallen all the way to WR85 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings.