Beyond the numbers: Is Lamb or Pickens Dallas’ best WR?
Chargers open practice window for RB Omarion Hampton
Finding positive offensive takeaways from Monday’s action
Everything that happens in the NFL has additional context when viewed from a fantasy football perspective. From position battles to injuries and so much more, the news cycle will constantly affect player values in fantasy football.
Our Fantasy Football Buzz file, with contributions from our ESPN fantasy writers and our NFL Nation reporters, aims to provide fantasy managers with the intel they need as news breaks around the league.
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The valuation gap between George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb has narrowed following Pickens’ back-to-back games of at least 29 fantasy points.
Pickens has delivered eight top-25 weekly scores in his 11 games, his 72.7% rate tied for fourth-best among wide receivers, while his four games finishing among the position’s top five trails only Ja’Marr Chase (5) and Puka Nacua (5). Meanwhile, if we remove Lamb’s three injury absences, he has been a top-25 wide receiver in six of eight games (75%), but he hasn’t finished better than 10th (Weeks 2 and 7).
Lamb does have an advantage over Pickens, however, as his 29.0% target share since returning to action in Week 7 beats Pickens’ 26.0%, and he has three times as many red-zone targets (9-3) in that time. It’s a compelling battle between the two for the honor of top Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, and as you’ll see, our rankings of the two have narrowed this week, with both inside the position’s top eight.
The Los Angeles Chargers announced that the practice window is being opened for RB Omarion Hampton, who has not played since Week 5 against the Washington Commanders due to an ankle injury.
If Hampton returns this Sunday, expect him to have a split with Kimani Vidal and eventually work his way back to being the main guy as he returns to full health.
As fantasy managers look for him on practice reports, keep in the mind that the fantasy trade deadline is Wednesday at noon — so if you want to add him for your playoff push, act fast.
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Carolina Panthers 20-9 on Monday night in a game that wasn’t exactly a stellar offensive showcase for either side. Still, there were a few positive things that fantasy managers can use to help inform their lineup decisions going forward.
On pace for a record-setting 2,029 receiving yard season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has also been a model of consistent excellence at wide receiver. He has finished top 25 at his position in every one of his 11 games, two more such performances than the next best, and also leads with eight top-10 finishes.
It’s rare that we see a team defense/special teams put up the kind of consistent, weekly-start season that the Houston Texans have. The positional leader in fantasy points (118), the Texans have scored at least five points in every one of their first 11 games, matching the 2023 Baltimore Ravens as the only teams that can claim that among the past 15 NFL seasons.
Purdy’s inefficiency also boosts George Kittle who, since Week 8, ranks third among tight ends in fantasy PPG (trailing only Trey McBride and Brock Bowers). The 49ers also have the eighth-easiest remaining schedule for fantasy tight ends.
On the other side of the field, Tetairoa McMillan has played on over 80% of the offensive snaps for the Panthers this season and is the only Carolina wide receiver fantasy managers can trust in lineups. And you can trust him … even with the up-and-down play of quarterback Bryce Young, McMillan has still averaged 8.0 targets per game. Plus, the Panthers have the eighth-easiest remaining schedule for fantasy wide receivers.
Here are some other statistically-oriented insights to consider for Week 13:
Sam Darnold’s past two games — 4.26 fantasy points in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams, then 17.66 last week against the Tennessee Titans — perfectly encapsulates his inconsistent 2025. In 11 games, he has been a top-10 scoring quarterback an equal number of times as he has finished outside the top 20 (five apiece), as his scoring has vacillated and he has been largely susceptible to his matchups. The Seattle Seahawks face the toughest remaining schedule for a quarterback, making him a tough player to trust in the critical upcoming weeks.
Trevor Lawrence has scored 30 fewer fantasy points than expected, the widest margin in that direction among top-10 scoring quarterbacks. He has faced the position’s second-toughest schedule thus far, which could partly explain it. Lawrence does get a rare soft matchup in Week 13 against the Titans, though it also comes in a week where there aren’t any byes, which keeps him in more of the superflex/two-quarterback starting class. Enjoy it, though, as he has the seventh-toughest remaining schedule at the position.
With his 55.4 fantasy point outburst in Week 12, Jahmyr Gibbs has moved into a tie with Jonathan Taylor for the most points scored over expected of any player (81). It has been stated previously in this space, but the mark of a great player is often the ability to exceed expectations similarly, but in Gibbs’ case, pump the brakes ever so slightly. His remaining schedule is the third toughest among running backs, meaning there’ll be a likely degree of regression from that current 81 number. That said, he’s averaging 23.5 fantasy points, third best in football, and even a 20-point weekly performance would probably carry most of his teams through the playoffs.
Speaking of NFC North players and the schedule factor, Caleb Williams could be in for a rocky finish. He has faced the easiest quarterback schedule of any player, during which time he has scored 22 more fantasy points than expected. Unfortunately, Williams’ remaining schedule is the third toughest and includes matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 13), Green Bay Packers (Weeks 14 and 16) and Cleveland Browns (Week 15) the next four weeks. He’s a dangerous “go with the guys who got you here” play for the fantasy playoffs.
This season, Brock Purdy has completed just 54.0% of throws of 10-plus yards downfield, which puts him on pace for the lowest mark of his career. His six interceptions on those attempts are already one shy of his career high of seven from 2024, despite him playing only four games so far in 2025. That inefficiency could push more targets to Christian McCaffrey, who just recorded his 38th career game with at least 50 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards, second most in league history behind Marshall Faulk.
It should also be noted that Ricky Pearsall played on over 70% of the 49ers’ offensive snaps for the second straight game. More importantly, he saw increased usage in 12 personnel, pushing Kendrick Bourne even further out of the rotation. Unfortunately, Pearsall totaled just six targets and 3.8 fantasy points during that stretch. However, it’s worth mentioning that he faced teams in those two contests (Cardinals, Panthers) that lean heavily on zone coverage, and Pearsall has been more productive against man coverage. That’s why I believe better days are ahead and fantasy managers should continue to keep Pearsall on rosters.