NUVI Alumni 2026
Team Whitehead · 3 points, 7th in the standings (a four-way tie at 3, broken on points for) · 1–2 with two top-five weeks · $83 FAAB remaining · roster full at 14/14 + 1 IR · Week 4 vs. Team Stowell (2–1, 3 points)
Through Week 3 · one point for winning your matchup, one point for finishing in the weekly top five · ties broken by total points for
| # | Team | Pts | Record | Top 5 | Points For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Jensen | 6 | 3–0 | 3 | 380.40 |
| 2 | Breaking Burrow | 5 | 3–0 | 2 | 367.74 |
| 3 | Team Lackey | 4 | 2–1 | 2 | 366.92 |
| 4 | Cee Deez Nuts | 3 | 1–2 | 2 | 357.42 |
| 5 | Team Carvalho | 3 | 2–1 | 1 | 350.56 |
| 6 | Team Stowell | 3 | 2–1 | 1 | 336.30 |
| 7 | Team Whitehead | 3 | 1–2 | 2 | 316.54 |
| 8 | His Airdness | 2 | 1–2 | 1 | 349.82 |
| 9 | Team Carnahan | 1 | 0–3 | 1 | 324.70 |
| 10 | Bijan Mustard | 0 | 0–3 | 0 | 270.04 |
| Team | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Jensen | W T5 132.16 | W T5 110.80 | W T5 137.44 | 6 |
| Breaking Burrow | W 108.96 | W T5 124.88 | W T5 133.90 | 5 |
| Team Lackey | — 86.98 | W T5 143.20 | W T5 136.74 | 4 |
| Cee Deez Nuts | — 114.20 | T5 109.02 | W T5 134.20 | 3 |
| Team Carvalho | W T5 153.00 | W 108.70 | — 88.86 | 3 |
| Team Stowell | W 110.10 | — 100.36 | W T5 125.84 | 3 |
| Team Whitehead | T5 118.06 | W T5 114.22 | — 84.26 | 3 |
| His Airdness | W T5 150.12 | — 98.66 | — 101.04 | 2 |
| Team Carnahan | T5 129.52 | — 94.82 | — 100.36 | 1 |
| Bijan Mustard | — 81.32 | — 85.88 | — 102.84 | 0 |
W matchup win · T5 top-five scoring week · score shown beneath
Team Jensen is the only team that has taken every available point: 3–0 with three top-five weeks, for 6 of a possible 6. Their lowest score, 110.80 in Week 2, still cleared the cut line. That is the profile this format rewards. Breaking Burrow is also 3–0 but missed the top five in Week 1, and that single miss is the whole one-point gap between them.
Week 3 split the league into two groups. Five teams scored 125 or more, and the other five all scored 103 or less. A 23-point gap between fifth and sixth is the widest of the season by far. Last week the cut was decided by 0.32 points. This week, nobody in the bottom half came close. When the top five clears 125, lineup decisions at the margins stop mattering. What decides the point is having a ceiling that can reach 125.
The middle of the table is crowded. Four teams are tied at 3 points: Cee Deez Nuts (1–2), Team Carvalho (2–1), Team Stowell (2–1) and Team Whitehead (1–2). Two of them got there on wins and two on top-five finishes. Only the points-for tiebreaker separates them. Cee Deez Nuts had the best week of the four, going from 1 point to 3 by winning and finishing top five in the same week. That double is the fastest way up the table in this format.
His Airdness has the sixth-most points for in the league (349.82), within a point of fifth, and is ninth with 2 points. They scored 150.12 in Week 1 and have not reached the cut line since. Team Carvalho's path looks similar: 153.00 in Week 1, then 108.70 and 88.86. One big week goes into the points-for total, but it earns at most one top-five point.
Scoring format note: through Week 9, every team plays every other team once and both points are live (matchup win plus top five, maximum two per week). From Week 10 the matchups stop counting and each weekly top-five finish earns two points.
Generated Tuesday, September 29, 2026, about 2:45pm MT · all Week 3 games final · league data pulled live from the ESPN API · claims process Wednesday, September 30, at about 1:00am MT
What went wrong in Week 3: the Saturday lineup call cost 27 points. The late check benched Zay Flowers (15.4) for J.K. Dobbins (6.3) and started Brian Thomas Jr. (1.8) over Terry McLaurin (19.7). Flowers tested his hamstring in Rio, was active on a snap count, and led Baltimore in receiving on 21 snaps. Rachaad White (11.1) also sat behind Mark Andrews (5.4). Justin's best possible lineup would have scored about 117. That is still short of Breaking Burrow's 133.90 and the 125.84 cut line, so no standings point was lost. The miss was a real error of process, though: the call treated a "does not expect to play" report as settled when it was not.
Justin scored 84.26 in a loss to Breaking Burrow. That was ninth of ten, and the lowest score of the season for this roster. Taylor and Barkley combined for 18.2 on 38 carries. Neither is hurt; both were inefficient.
| Player | Pos | Bye | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Status and Week 3 usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Allen | QB | 7 | 40.8 | 17.5 | Questionable Left knee contusion from a helmet hit in the 4th quarter against the Chargers. He missed no snaps. Joe Brady downplayed it, and Dr. David Chao called him "hurt, not injured." Expected to play at New England. The backup is Kyle Allen. |
| Jonathan Taylor | RB | 13 | 29.2 | 9.2 | 23 carries for 68 yards (2.96 per carry) and 2 catches. The workload is intact; the efficiency was poor. Plays Washington in London. |
| Saquon Barkley | RB | 10 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 72% of snaps, 15 carries for 82 yards. No sign of the stinger. 73 of the yards came before halftime, and he had only 4 carries after the Eagles fell behind. |
| J.K. Dobbins | RB | 10 | 3.6 | 6.3 | 52% of snaps and 17 of Denver's 20 running-back carries, but only 49 yards. Jonah Coleman is on short-term IR with a high-ankle sprain until at least Oct 25, so Dobbins keeps the early-down role. RJ Harvey (6 catches) handles passing downs and was checked for a head injury. |
| Rachaad White | RB | 7 | 14.3 | 11.1 | Out-snapped Croskey-Merritt 36 to 23 and handles third downs. Caught a touchdown. The wait-and-add-him-free call from last week paid off. |
| Tank Bigsby | RB | 10 | 11.8 | −0.5 | Drop 2 snaps (4%) and a lost fumble. Shipley played 13 snaps and is clearly Barkley's backup. |
| Terry McLaurin | WR | 7 | 7.0 | 19.7 | 6 catches for 77 yards and a TD with Marcus Mariota at quarterback. Mariota starts again in London. Daniels is expected back in under three weeks. |
| Zay Flowers | WR | 13 | 0.0 | 15.4 | On a 21-snap count, he led Baltimore with 5 catches for 84 yards. Jesse Minter says he is nearing a full workload. Plays Tennessee with Baltimore favored by 11.5. |
| Jameson Williams | WR | 6 | 5.3 | 8.9 | 4 catches on 4 targets for 49 yards. Three quiet weeks despite elite route participation. Carolina at home, total 50.5. |
| Brian Thomas Jr. | WR | 7 | 7.0 | 1.8 | Watch 23 of 62 snaps (37%) and 1 target, while Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers each played 81%. No injury was reported. This looks like a role change, not bad luck. |
| Rome Odunze | WR | 10 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 3 catches on 6 targets with Case Keenum at quarterback. Caleb Williams (Grade 2 hamstring) is out for Week 4, with Week 6 his likely return. Kalif Raymond, not Odunze, leads the Bears in targets. |
| KC Concepcion | WR | 11 | 8.2 | 2.9 | Drop candidate 9 targets but only 2 catches for 9 yards, on about 24 offensive snaps. Plays Thursday against Pittsburgh in the lowest-total game of the week (38.5). |
| George Kittle | TE | 8 | 18.0 | 26.2 | 6 catches for 82 yards and 2 TDs. All the way back. |
| Mark Andrews | TE | 13 | 10.9 | 5.4 | Watch Hand injury against Dallas. He returned in the 3rd quarter and caught 3 passes for 24 yards. Check Wednesday's practice report. |
| Jordyn Tyson | WR | 8 | — | — | IR Eligible Week 5; the initial two-month timeline points to mid-to-late October. When he is activated, a receiver has to be dropped. |
The bye map has one new problem. Rachaad White plays for Washington, which also has its bye in Week 7. Week 7 now takes four players: Josh Allen, Terry McLaurin, Brian Thomas Jr. and Rachaad White, including the only quarterback. The quarterback slot is the only one that cannot be filled from the bench. Nothing else on the bye map has changed: Jameson Williams in Week 6, Kittle in Week 8 (covered by Andrews), Barkley, Dobbins and Odunze in Week 10, and Taylor, Flowers and Andrews in Week 13.
The September 23 waiver run was the most expensive of the season. Six claims won:
| Date | Team | Player | Bid | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23 | Bijan Mustard | Jonah Coleman (RB) | $12 | The national #1 add. Dropped Sep 26, three days later, for Terrance Ferguson. Coleman is now on IR. |
| Sep 23 | Team Carvalho | Jared Goff (QB) | $10 | No healthy QB at the time. |
| Sep 23 | Bijan Mustard | Adonai Mitchell (WR) | $9 | |
| Sep 23 | Breaking Burrow | Josh Downs (WR) | $8 | Beat Team Stowell's $6. |
| Sep 23 | Team Carnahan | Dalton Schultz (TE) | $8 | Carnahan's first claim of the season. Beat Bijan's $4. |
| Sep 23 | Team Whitehead | Tank Bigsby (RB) | $2 | Uncontested. |
| Sep 24 | Team Carvalho | Alvin Kamara (RB) | $1 | Mid-week drop, claimed on the 24-hour window. |
| Sep 25 | Team Stowell | Blake Corum (RB) | $1 | Stowell's first winning claim. |
Price read: the top nationally hyped add now costs $8–12, and has for two straight weeks. Unhyped depth players still go for $0–2. Total league spend is $83 of $1,000. Only three teams have never won a claim: Cee Deez Nuts, His Airdness and Team Lackey, all at $100. Bijan Mustard has spent the most ($23, $77 left), followed by Team Whitehead ($17, $83 left) and Team Carvalho ($16, $84 left).
Waiver priority (1→10): Cee Deez Nuts, His Airdness, Team Lackey, Team Jensen, Bijan Mustard, Team Carnahan, Breaking Burrow, Team Whitehead, Team Carvalho, Team Stowell. Justin moved up from 9th and now beats Carvalho and Stowell on equal bids.
The same rule as last week, which predicted both $8+ bidders correctly: a team is a threat only if it has an acute hole and has shown it will pay.
| Team | FAAB | Priority | Acute need | Threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bijan Mustard | $77 | 5 | Coleman gone, Charbonnet on IR. Bryce Young is his only QB and Carolina has its bye in Week 5. | High on the #1 running back. Medium on a QB: past QB bids were $1, $1 and $3. |
| Team Stowell | $99 | 10 | Etienne out for an extended stretch, Jacobs on the exempt list, Brooks on IR. RB depth is McCaffrey and Corum. | High on running backs. Has bid $6 and $1. Loses ties to Justin. |
| Team Carvalho | $84 | 9 | Owns Breece Hall, so Braelon Allen is his handcuff. Otherwise deep at RB. | Medium on Braelon Allen specifically. Loses ties to Justin. |
| His Airdness | $100 | 2 | Lost Achane for the season. Still has Kyren Williams, Javonte Williams and Woody Marks. | Wild card: the obvious motive for Gordon, but has never bid. Beats Justin on ties. |
| Team Jensen | $91 | 4 | None. Deepest roster in the league. | Low |
| Breaking Burrow | $91 | 7 | Puka Nacua questionable; otherwise deep. | Low |
| Team Carnahan | $92 | 6 | Nico Collins questionable; six running backs. | Low |
| Team Lackey | $100 | 3 | Rico Dowdle (toe), a bench player. | Low: has never bid. |
| Cee Deez Nuts | $100 | 1 | Caleb Williams out, but Stafford starts. | None: zero acquisitions all season. |
Conviction: high on the need, medium on the player. 7.1% rostered · 9.3, 15.6, 26.0 this season · NYJ bye Week 13 · Week 4 at CHI, Week 5 vs. CLE, Week 7 vs. MIA
This page has recommended a second quarterback three weeks in a row, and none was added. Goff went for $10 while Justin passed. The issue is now more pressing for two reasons. Allen's knee bruise is very likely nothing, but it is a reminder that Justin's QB depth is zero. And Week 7 now takes four starters, not three.
Why Geno over the bigger names: the Week 7 schedule decides it. Geno gets Miami at home in Week 7, a defense that just lost its best offensive player and is playing from behind. C.J. Stroud (home against the Winston-led Giants) is a close second. Sam Darnold threw for 379 yards and 4 TDs but has Kansas City in Week 7. Aaron Rodgers is at New Orleans. Bo Nix's completion rate is around 50% under a new coordinator. Geno also has the best schedule of the group over the next three weeks: Chicago's banged-up secondary, then Cleveland. FantasyPros ranks him the top streaming option this week.
Expected competition: Bijan Mustard is the only manager with a QB need, for his Week 5 bye. His QB bids so far have been $1, $1 and $3, and he tends to chase the name national columns are pushing, which is Darnold or Stroud. $4 clears every QB bid he has made. If he takes Geno anyway, Stroud or Brissett is very likely free on Wednesday morning. Do not overpay.
The drop: Concepcion caught 2 of 9 targets for 9 yards on about 24 snaps, and plays Thursday in the lowest-total game of the week. Of the seven active receivers, he has the lowest ceiling, and Tyson's return in mid-October will force one receiver out anyway. Drop him now for a need that is certain.
Conviction: medium. 1.6% rostered · Week 3: 61 of 73 snaps, 17 carries for 41 yards and a TD, 3 catches on 3 targets · MIA bye Week 6
Achane's torn ACL leaves Miami's lead-back job open for the rest of the season. Gordon played 84% of snaps in the first game without him. Jaylen Wright (foot and stinger) will return and take some of that work, and Gordon has averaged just 2.7 yards per carry for his career. He is not a star. But a waiver running back who is on the field for more than half the snaps every week, catches passes, and sees goal-line carries is rare. He would replace a back who played 2 snaps.
Why Gordon over Braelon Allen, the national #1: Allen's value lasts only as long as Hall's quad injury, reported as one to two games. Gordon's opportunity lasts the rest of the season. For a team that is not desperate this week, the longer runway is worth more. Gordon also covers the Week 10 bye, when Barkley and Dobbins are both out.
Expected competition: real. Stowell has the most urgent RB need in the league and has bid before, but his high is $6, and Justin wins ties against him. Bijan will probably spend on Allen, the consensus #1, the way he did on Coleman last week. His Airdness has the strongest motive, since Gordon replaces their own player, but has never placed a claim. $9 beats any bid Stowell has made and wins a tie against him or Carvalho. It loses only if Bijan or His Airdness goes to $10 or more. If Gordon goes for $12 or more, let him go.
The drop: Bigsby was added as Barkley insurance, and Monday night showed he is not. Barkley played through the stinger, and Shipley was the backup when it mattered. Bigsby is a waste of a roster spot.
Conviction: medium. 14.3% rostered · CBS 20%, FantasyPros $15 · handled all the RB work late in Week 3 after Hall's quad injury
He will start at Chicago and is a sensible one-week RB2. The problem is timing and price. The MRI on Hall was described as good news, with one to two games the likely absence. Three teams have motives: Bijan (the #1 add), Stowell (RB need) and Carvalho (Hall's owner). This is the one player this week likely to go for $12 or more, for perhaps two weeks of production. Last week's version of this call was to pass on Jonah Coleman at $12. He was on IR and off Bijan's roster within four days.
Conviction: low. 37% of snaps in Week 3; Washington and Meyers at 81%
Thomas's usage is the most worrying thing on this roster. But one game is not a trend, and Jacksonville plays Cincinnati in the highest-total game of the week (51.5). If he is under 50% of snaps again on Sunday, he becomes next week's drop, especially since he is also out in Week 7. Do not start him this week.
Every player in the pool is on waivers until about 1:00am MT Wednesday. After that, anything not claimed is a $0 add. Bijan Mustard makes his free-agent grabs between about 6:30 and 10:00am Wednesday, so anything Justin wants should be added early.
| Player | Pos | Rostered | Why he is likely free, and whether to care |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Stroud | QB | 39.0% | The fallback if the Geno claim fails. Home against Dallas this week and against the Giants in Week 7. HOU bye is Week 8. |
| Jacoby Brissett / Aaron Rodgers | QB | 4.5–5.9% | Brissett scored 25.6 against San Francisco and plays the Giants. Rodgers scored 22.7 and has the softest five-week schedule on the wire. The QB pool will not run dry. |
| Keaton Mitchell | RB | 15.6% | Played 26 snaps to Omarion Hampton's 29 and outscored him 13.7 to 5.6. The split is closing. He is the fallback if the Gordon claim fails. |
| Kaleb Johnson | RB | 8.4% | Justin's Week 1 buy. Jacobs is on the exempt list, and Johnson and Chris Brooks took the whole 4th quarter in Week 3. A three-way committee, but his arrow is up. |
| Kenyon Sadiq | TE | 33.6% | 23.5 points and now the Jets' starting tight end. Justin does not need a tight end unless Andrews' hand is a problem. If Wednesday's report shows Andrews missing practice, add Sadiq. |
| Kalif Raymond | WR | 10.3% | Leads Chicago in catches and targets (23.1% share), ahead of Justin's own Odunze. He is a signal about Odunze's value more than a pickup. |
| Malik Washington | WR | 13.4% | Routes on 83% of dropbacks and a 27.8% target share. A PPR floor play in a weak offense. Justin has enough receivers. |
| Mack Hollins | WR | 5.3% | With A.J. Brown on IR, New England's air-yards leader. Useful until Week 6. |
Consensus names that are already rostered in this league, so they are not options: Keenan Allen (Carnahan), Alvin Kamara (Carvalho), Jakobi Meyers (Jensen), Juwan Johnson (Cee Deez Nuts), Darren Waller (Bijan Mustard).
Avoid: Jalen McMillan (PCL, out 6–8 weeks), Jaxson Dart (out for the regular season), Baker Mayfield (thumb, Week 7 earliest), Tyjae Spears (3 carries, 0 targets), and the Seattle backfield, a three-way split with Charbonnet due back soon.
Generated Thursday, October 1, 2026, about 2:30pm MT · before Thursday Night Football (Steelers at Browns, 6:15pm MT) · lineup, projections, schedule and transactions pulled live from the ESPN API · Wednesday and Thursday practice reports · lines as of September 30
| Slot | Player | ESPN proj | Call | Game (MT) · line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Josh Allen | 22.3 | Start | NE @ BUF, Sun 11:00 · BUF −6.5, total 48.5 |
| RB | Jonathan Taylor | 20.4 | Start | IND vs WSH (London), Sun 7:30am · IND −3.5, total 47.5 |
| RB | Saquon Barkley | 14.2 | Start | LAR @ PHI · LAR −3, total 43.5 |
| WR | Zay Flowers Q | 15.4 | Start unless Out | TEN @ BAL, Sun 11:00 · BAL −11.5, total 43.5 |
| WR | Jameson Williams | 10.4 | Start | DET @ CAR, Sun night · DET −3.5, total 51.5 |
| TE | George Kittle | 13.7 | Start | DEN @ SF, Sun 2:25 · SF −3, total 47.5 |
| FLEX | Terry McLaurin | 12.9 | Start | IND vs WSH (London), Sun 7:30am |
| FLEX | J.K. Dobbins | 10.1 | Start | DEN @ SF, Sun 2:25 · DEN implied ~22 |
Bench: Rome Odunze (10.0), Mark Andrews (10.0), Rachaad White (8.3, Q), Brian Thomas Jr. (8.2), KC Concepcion (9.5, plays tonight), Keaton Mitchell (4.8, Q). Jordyn Tyson stays on IR. ESPN projects 119.4 for this lineup against 105.3 for Team Stowell's.
Conviction: medium. Dobbins, Andrews and Odunze project within 0.1 points of each other. The difference is in how sure each one is to get the ball.
Dobbins has the most secure workload of the three. He took 17 of Denver's 20 running-back carries in Week 3. Jonah Coleman is on IR until at least October 25. Dobbins practiced in full Wednesday, and RJ Harvey cleared the head check and still handles passing downs. The 49ers are 3-point favorites, so Denver should stay close enough to keep running. The weakness is efficiency: he has averaged under 3 yards a carry for two weeks. But 15 or more touches is a floor that neither alternative has.
Andrews has the worst game script. Baltimore is an 11.5-point favorite over Tennessee. The Ravens should be running the ball in the second half. Flowers is also moving back toward a full workload, and he takes the short targets Andrews got while Flowers was hurt. Andrews was limited Wednesday with the hand injury and has scored 10.9 and 5.4. He is still the first backup for Flowers (see below), not a FLEX start.
Odunze has the worst quarterback situation. Chicago will not name its starter, and Tyson Bagent is the reported favorite over Case Keenum. Odunze's target share is 14%, and Kalif Raymond leads the team in targets. He is the deep threat in an offense with a backup quarterback. He has a high ceiling but a low floor.
White does not belong in the decision this week. He missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with the shoulder, and Ekeler was signed for passing downs. Even if he plays, he is part of a three-way committee.
Conviction: high that he plays. Limited Wednesday. Thursday's participation was not yet reported when this ran. Baltimore's final report comes Friday afternoon.
Flowers played 21 snaps in Rio and led Baltimore with 5 catches for 84 yards. Minter's word this week was that Flowers is "really ready to push" toward full time. Baltimore's implied total is about 27.5. The Week 3 lesson applies here: he was benched on a pessimistic report and scored 15.4 on the bench. A Questionable tag after a week of limited practices means start him.
If he is listed Out on Friday or Saturday: before 7:30am MT Sunday, move Terry McLaurin from FLEX to the WR slot and put Mark Andrews at FLEX. Andrews caught 6 of 7 targets in the game Flowers missed. McLaurin's slot locks when London kicks off, which is why this has to happen early.
If he is scratched after 7:30am Sunday (an inactive at about 9:30am MT): McLaurin can no longer move, and a tight end cannot go in a WR slot. The swap becomes Rome Odunze into Flowers' WR slot. Odunze plays at 11:00, the same time as Baltimore.
Josh Allen: not on Buffalo's injury report, and a full practice participant Wednesday. The knee bruise is over. Buffalo's implied total of about 27.5 is the second-best of any starter here.
Jameson Williams over Brian Thomas Jr. and Odunze: Detroit at Carolina has the highest total of the week (51.5, Detroit implied about 27.5). Carolina lost its top two cornerbacks to long-term injuries last week. Williams has been quiet but runs a full set of routes. This is the week that should pay off.
Brian Thomas Jr. stays benched. Liam Coen explained the 37% snap share as a function of more two-tight-end sets and of plays designed for rookie Josh Cameron. That is a role change, not a one-week blip. Tuesday's rule still stands: if he is under 50% of snaps again Sunday, he is next week's drop. He is also out in Week 7.
Barkley: the matchup is tougher (the Rams allow the 11th-fewest rushing yards, and Philadelphia's implied total is about 20). He is still a must-start RB2 with no injury.
Keaton Mitchell was seen in a walking boot after Wednesday's practice (left ankle, listed limited). He is a bench stash behind Omarion Hampton and Los Angeles is a 7-point underdog in Seattle. There's no reason to start him.
Both claims failed overnight Wednesday: Ollie Gordon II ($11, drop Bigsby) and Braelon Allen ($6, drop Concepcion). Gordon went for $17 and Allen for $51. Justin added Keaton Mitchell as a free agent Wednesday morning and dropped Tank Bigsby, which was the fallback this page suggested. No quarterback was added. Justin plans to stream one in Week 7.