RC's Daily Notes 2026: For the Week of 5/11-to-5/17 (The Week That Was...)

: R.C. Fischer; FreeView; 17 May 2026

RC's daily streaming notes on football, and other, things going on this week...

5/17 SUN

(6:58amCST)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- Back on with our SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series today, which went underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

-- FAUX 2026 Computer Simulated season 1.0 debuts either Friday midday or Saturday...a 10-part daily series studying, going through the win-loss projections of the season a couple weeks at a time.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming/debuting 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at Jam Miller, Kaelon Black, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

-- New coaching staff hire’s analysis series...going through the entire staff...I am working on the framework of how I want to present that. This will be a first ever series (for me) where I go beyond ‘just the new head coaches’. ETA in May/June to start it up.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- HEADLINE: Steelers re-signed Aaron Rodgers to a one-year contract. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is worth “up to” $25 million. It includes a base salary between $22 and $23 million, with some extra money tied to incentives.

Well, well, well...it’s finally done. I didn’t think there was much of a chance it wouldn’t get done, but it went on much longer than expected. Rodgers was holding the cards. The Steelers may have been trying to get cute in negotiations for the reason it was going on too long...but they finally did the right thing...the only thing they could do.

Drew Allar DRD rankings will take a dip based on a drop in his consensus/marketplace value. Germie Bernard will start to rise in ADP.

On everything from projections or rankings/valuations to faux simulated season...our FFM items have all been done with 95-99% confidence that Rodgers would be the Steelers 2026 starting QB, so nothing changes radically with this news for us or the related weapons.

-- RC’s ‘Tales from the Road’...

Another nice day in Houston.

I got recommended to get some local Kolaches for breakfast...known for being a fluffy Danish-type pastry but I discovered they also have this bread ‘ball’ version with breakfast inside...like bacon, egg, and cheese in a complete pastry ball. It’s a kind of enclosed sandwich/filler holder...like a fresh made bread baseball with filling inside.

It was OK...didn’t rock my world like was predicted by the person who recommended it, but it was all OK/just fine to try.

We went to the famous ‘Original’ Ninfa’s for some Tex-Mex and that was a great time/meal experience. It was really good food and service...with the real bonus being we could take the restaurant’s shuttle from Ninfa’s to the stadium and back for the Astros game.

We got there at 3:15pm for ‘dinner’ (with our reservations made a week ago) and there were probably 20 people trying to get in/waiting for a seat and this vast place had maybe 150-200 people already seated eating? It was a massive operation that still had a bit of a quaint throwback charm despite the mass of humanity...and servers. As we left, there were probably 30-40 people waiting for seats to open up. The Texas economy is looking pretty strong.

Now, someone just needs to clean up that surrounding downtown and make it cleaner/safer again.

My sons and I did the ‘we each pick a player’ for a 3-way parlay, but then we always add ‘the Astros winning’ straight up to make it a 4-way. A $10-15 parlay for $850 payoff to split/try to pay for the boys’ plane tickets out there.. Our picks were...

1) Astros to win = CHECK!

2) Yordan Alvarez homerun...and he hit one in his first at-bat = CHECK!

3) Zach Cole 2 or more total bases in the game...he hit a homerun (4 total bases) mid-game = CHECK!

4) Just needed Issac Parades to get 2 or more total bases to cash the ticket...AND...0-fer. Fell just one leg short, but this final 4 innings of hope made the event a great time as the players stepped to the plate.

Another Astros win! Two in a row, for a struggling team trying to stay in the race and overcome mass injuries.

Tomorrow is my last day/night in Houston. The final game of the Rangers series. Looking forward to the sweep!!!

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- Windy City Gridiron has learned that if the NFL went a different direction and didn’t select the Patriots for that game, they would have selected the New York Giants. The NFL believes the Giants are a team on the rise, and with John Harbaugh coaching his first game in New York, the NFL felt that that would have been the best option after the Patriots.

In the end, the NFL decided to have the Patriots be the choice and have the Giants open at home on Sunday Night Football. That Sunday is September 13th, just two days after the 25th anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11, and the NFL felt it was best to have the Giants play at home to open the season to honor that anniversary.

-- The ‘accelerator program’ of assistant coaches and assistant GMs/personnel guys that the NFL deems are names expected to be the head coaches or full GMs ahead...

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/48787734/chargers-oc-mike-mcdaniel-part-nfl-accelerator-program

Your moment of Zen for this day...

https://x.com/markgadala/status/2055486130183622769

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

The NFL does that series each summer where the players (and maybe others?) vote on the top 100 for the prior season, and the outcome (to me) is like a voting by people who never watch football besides highlights and people without a clue voting in very bizarre ways. You know this series, right?

Well, I was wanting to do a kinda top 100 type thing myself, but I am going to tone it down to the top 64...but using two players from each team, so it may be more of a true top 40-50(?) with some forced stragglers on there for the player’s after 40-50+...but it should be ‘close enough’ and ‘interesting enough’, and I guarantee my rankings will be way different than the NFL voting.

I’ll do a team a day, two players from it and when we get enough you’ll see 4-5 tiers develop. I’ll go alphabetical order, but to switch up my usual pattern...I’ll do a reverse alphabetical order. We start with Washington and add two more each day until we get to Arizona.

*When I have an offensive lineman, I’m going to add their overall grades from PFF last year for some context...XX Overall Grade/rank at their position...XX/x, XX/x Pass/Run Block grade with the rank at their position for 2025.

Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield

Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jayden Daniels, Creed Humphrey (89/1st OC...84/1st, 89/2nd), Puka Nacua, Andrew Thomas (90/4th OT...87/3rd, 85/7th), Rashawn Slater (2024 numbers: 91/2nd OT...90/3rd, 78/15th), Justin Jefferson, Drake Maye

Sauce Gardner, Derek Stingley, Christian Darrisaw (healthy...he’s top tier, but injuries are killing him), Tyler Linderbaum (80/4th OC...63/22nd, 84/4th), Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Peter Skoronski (79/5th OG...85/2nd, 73/10th),

Travis Hunter, Joey Porter Jr., Armand Membou (73/31st OT...74/31st, 72/27th), Kelvin Banks (74/29th OT...70/41st, 76/19th), Malik Willis, Breece Hall, Parker Washington, Will Anderson, Erik McCoy (68/16th OC...84/1st, 62/25th)

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=====================

5/16 SAT

(6:44amCST)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- Back on with our SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series today, which went underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming/debuting 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at Jam Miller, Kaelon Black, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- HEADLINE: Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander declined the Vikings’ request to interview him for their general manager vacancy. According to Breer, Alexander is comfortable in his current position and “wanted to see the building of the 2026 team through.”

There are not many franchises in the 2020s who’ve had a harder time with hiring key personnel or having them jump ship in an offseason more than the Vikings this year. What is going on? This was like the top-rated franchise on the player voting a few years ago and it’s been falling for years how and then this 2026 has been totally turbulent. I really have no idea what is going on, but I know I keep seeing ‘things’.

General Manager: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah out / Rob Brzezinski in (Interim)

Assistant Head Coach: Mike Pettine out / Frank Smith in (this is a huge loss...and a sign something is wrong...and I think that thing is Brian Flores, everybody hates Flores. The Vikings keep letting him try to find another job...and no one wants him.)

Offensive Line Coach: Chris Kuper out / Keith Carter in

Front Office / Football Administration Consultant: Matt Thomas added

Defensive Passing Game Coordinator & DBs Coach: Gerald Alexander added

Tight Ends Coach: Ryan Cordell promoted into role

Assistant Offensive Coordinator: Chris O'Hara promoted into role

Offensive Passing Game Coordinator & QBs Coach: Josh McCown promoted with expanded title

Assistant Quarterbacks & Passing Game Specialist: Jordan Traylor promoted with expanded title

Discounting assistants, and ignoring teams who changed head coaches/staffs, I asked GEMINI to tell me what team changed the most combined coordinators, position main coaches (not assistants), and/or GM and/or Assistant head coach. Here’s the count they gave me:

6 = Minnesota Vikings (General Manager, Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Line Coach, Tight Ends Coach, Defensive Backs Coach, Defensive Line Coach)

5 = New York Jets (Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach, Tight Ends Coach, Passing Game Coordinator)

--------------------------------------------

*Turmoil changes with the top two*

*Teams stealing their coaches for other, bigger jobs has GB-LAR-DEN on here*

--------------------------------------------

5 = Green Bay Packers (Defensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach, Linebackers Coach, Defensive Backs Coach, Wide Receivers Coach)

4 = Los Angeles Rams (Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach, Wide Receivers Coach)

4 = Denver Broncos (Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach, Wide Receivers Coach, Cornerbacks Coach)

3 = Detroit Lions (Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Assistant Head Coach)

3 = Dallas Cowboys (Defensive Coordinator, Cornerbacks Coach, Inside Linebackers Coach)

2 = Jacksonville Jaguars (Defensive Backs Coach, Run Game Coordinator)

2 = San Francisco 49ers (Defensive Coordinator, Assistant Head Coach)

2 = Kansas City Chiefs (Offensive Coordinator, Running Backs Coach)

2 = Los Angeles Chargers (Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator)

2 = Washington Commanders (Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator)

1 = New England Patriots (Defensive Coordinator)

1 = Philadelphia Eagles (Offensive Coordinator)

1 = Houston Texans (Offensive Coordinator)

1 = Carolina Panthers (Assistant Head Coach)

1 = Indianapolis Colts (Defensive Line Coach)

1 = Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Offensive Coordinator)

1 = Seattle Seahawks (Offensive Coordinator)

1 = Chicago Bears (Offensive Coordinator)

0 = Cincinnati Bengals

0 = New Orleans Saints

Looking at the list, it made me wonder... If a team kept its head coach but replaced both coordinators...was that a sign of trouble for the season ahead?

2024 to 2025 double coordinator changes:

1. Detroit Lions

The Lions experienced a massive brain-drain in the 2025 offseason as both of their highly successful coordinators were hired away for Head Coaching jobs, leaving Dan Campbell to replace his top two assistants.

Head Coach: Dan Campbell (Retained)

Offensive Coordinator: Changed from Ben Johnson (left to become Head Coach of the Chicago Bears) to John Morton (hired away from his role as the Broncos' passing game coordinator).

Defensive Coordinator: Changed from Aaron Glenn (left to become Head Coach of the New York Jets) to Kelvin Sheppard (promoted internally from Linebackers Coach).

2. San Francisco 49ers

While Kyle Shanahan is the primary offensive architect and play-caller, the 49ers officially shifted the titles for both top coordinator roles underneath him heading into 2025.

Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan (Retained)

Offensive Coordinator: Changed from Klint Kubiak (who served as the top offensive passing game specialist in 2024 before leaving to become the Seahawks' OC) to Klay Kubiak (promoted to the formal OC title).

Defensive Coordinator: Changed from Nick Sorensen to Robert Saleh (who returned to coordinate the 49ers' defense after being fired as the Jets' Head Coach in 2024).

2023 to 2024 same search:

1. Chicago Bears (fired soon after)

Head Coach: Matt Eberflus (Retained)

Offensive Coordinator: Changed from Luke Getsy (fired after the 2023 season) to Shane Waldron (hired from the Seattle Seahawks).

Defensive Coordinator: Changed from Alan Williams (resigned early in the 2023 season, with Eberflus taking over defensive play-calling duties for the remainder of the year) to Eric Washington (hired from the Buffalo Bills).

2. Philadelphia Eagles (won a Super Bowl)

Head Coach: Nick Sirianni (Retained)

Offensive Coordinator: Changed from Brian Johnson (fired after one season) to Kellen Moore (hired after spending 2023 with the Los Angeles Chargers).

Defensive Coordinator: Changed from Sean Desai / Matt Patricia (Desai was demoted mid-season in favor of Patricia; both were let go after the season) to Vic Fangio (hired after one season with the Miami Dolphins).

3. Buffalo Bills (was a sign of ‘the end’ for McDermott)

Head Coach: Sean McDermott (Retained)

Offensive Coordinator: Changed from Ken Dorsey (fired mid-season in 2023) to Joe Brady (took over as interim OC for the second half of the year, then given the full-time job for 2024).

Defensive Coordinator: Changed from Sean McDermott (took over defensive play-calling in 2023 after Leslie Frazier stepped away) to Bobby Babich (promoted internally from linebackers coach).

-- A correction on the Jam Miller scouting report from yesterday, we had a bad data point given by GEMINI. They erroneously showed he had 30 reps on the bench this pre-draft, but I didn’t catch it before publish.

An FFMer asked about it, so I double checked--because I would’ve remembered that...I hope. 30 reps made no sense to me.

MY QUESTION: did jam miller really do 30 reps on the bench pre-draft, i dont show it anywhere

GEM ANSWER: It looks like you've uncovered a mix-up from some recent draft coverage!

Jam Miller actually did not participate (DNP) in the bench press at the NFL Combine.

The 30 reps you are seeing likely belong to Gabe Jacas, an EDGE rusher from Illinois. Several articles covering the New England Patriots' 2026 draft class analyzed both players in the same write-up. In those breakdowns, it was noted that Jacas did 30 bench press reps at the Combine (the fifth-most overall) and has an NFL.com scouting report describing him as having a "very rugged demeanor with a taste for physicality."

Officially, Jam did not do the bench pre-draft.

Our model projections had him at 20 reps as an estimate.

-- The highs and lows of Thursday night and Friday midday for me in Texas...

Thursday night, I finally did it. For 30+ years I’ve been hearing about how great In-N-Out Burger was, and I was so mad/jealous it was only a West Coast thing. I used to hear tales about the long lines waiting to get In-N-Out. So, I always wanted to try one for myself, but in all my travels it never happened...I was never near a location.

BUT, where we’re staying outside of Houston there is an In-N-Out 20 minutes away. So, we made a special trip Thursday 7pm+ to go get some...me and my boys. I was so pumped to finally get to try it.

I’m no food critic, but I’ll take my best shot at it to write an eloquent breakdown of this experience.

OK, my first reaction to my first bite... My mind and mouth instantly went: This burger SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

What the hell is wrong with you people in California?

Spencer Pratt’s first order of business post-election...either shut all these In-N-Outs down in the LA and surrounding area or get them to change their ways.

Probably not gonna shut them down because this freaking place was packed in Texas. I kept looking around and wondering what had happened to society. Everyone was eating these burgers without thinking...not their first times there for any of them it looked like. How? Why?

Oh, and special thanks to In-N-Out for the unsalted fries (that’s how they serve them) that were cooked fresh but tasted stale. Oh good, I get to take one of those paper salt things and try to shake it out properly to try to salvage these pieces of wood/fries.

A dingy, flat, tasteless burger...lesser taste than McDonalds or Burger King, among others. Stale-tasting, unsalted fries. It was horrible. My youngest son had it on a visit to Cali a few years ago and tried to warn me.

I’d like to thank the God of heaven and earth that my sons forced me to go to Killian’s Burger joint (the one famous for BBQ has burger places now, apparently) nearby for lunch on Friday. Their grandmother had taken them there when they flew in Wednesday and they both raved about it.

So, we went for lunch there Friday, my first time, and...I’m no food critic but I’ll try to paint the picture. Here goes... The best cheeseburger I have had in the last 10-20 years or so, at a minimum. Excellent/perfect fries. I got cheese curds for my side...and they were as good as I’ve ever had too. A++ visit...so much better than In-N-Out that I couldn’t explain the chasm between them using existing human language.

If you’re in the Houston area, and you like cheeseburgers...give them a try at the Killan’s Burger place...not the BBQ place. I’ve never been to the BBQ place, so I don’t know it...but if they make BBQ as good as they do burgers, I gotta get me there ASAP.

Today, we’re going to Houston’s famous Tex-Mex place downtown, Ninfa’s. Then taking a shuttle from there to the game for a Saturday night Astros game attendance.

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- However, for FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd, the Bears' schedule isn't the toughest in the league.

"I was told the toughest schedule in the NFL is the Chicago Bears. I don’t see it. The Bears do not face any team off a bye. Not once. Secondly, look at the games before their toughest games. They’ll either be a game before or after where they will be a significant favorite," Cowherd said on Friday's edition of "The Herd."

-- Chiefs head coach Andy Reid didn’t rule out the possibility of quarterback Patrick Mahomes returning Week 1 after he suffered a torn ACL and LCL in December.

During a Friday appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Reid gave an update on Mahomes after hearing rumors that his star quarterback is “ahead of schedule” in his rehab.

“I’m not Confucius at all, but I can tell you that… I hear people say ‘he’s ahead of schedule,'” Reid said. “I’m not sure who makes the schedule. So, everybody’s different. He’s spent a ton of time here.”

“He’s getting better every day. He’s not taking any setbacks and that’s what you look for. You’re making sure that as you push him, which Julie, our trainer, is doing … and he wants more.”

“So I would tell you he’s doing very well, but it’s a day-to-day thing. As long as he he keeps making the progress forward maybe we’ll have a chance at seeing him the first game [of the season]. But again, we’ll play that as we go.”

-- Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is "making progress" in his rehab from major knee surgery, coach Andy Reid said Thursday. Reid, though, made it clear that it's still uncertain whether Mahomes will receive clearance to return for the season opener.

But Mahomes is back playing golf, and his left knee looked good on the social media video he posted of a tee shot during his 15 and the Mahomies Vegas Golf Classic on Friday.

That's a good sign as he continues to work his way back. Mahomes underwent surgery on Dec. 15, a day after he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee.

-- What? https://x.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/2055418361111072775

-- Not. Good. https://x.com/MySportsUpdate/status/2055308330134880649

Your moment of Zen for this day...

https://x.com/TylerRatcliff17/status/2055188418552869361

https://x.com/DAZNBoxing/status/2055376459665932326

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield

Sauce Gardner, Christian Darrisaw (healthy...he’s top tier, but injuries are killing him), Tyler Linderbaum (80/4th OC...63/22nd, 84/4th), Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Peter Skoronski (79/5th OG...85/2nd, 73/10th),

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=====================

5/15 FRI

(8:13amCST)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- Back on with our SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series today, which went underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at Jam Miller, Kaelon Black, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- The Seahawks will host the Patriots for the first game of the 2026 NFL season.

Anyone else disappointed by this matchup as a season opener? A Wednesday night opener. It’s so cheesy. A Super Bowl rematch? Wow, how scintillating...how clever. Remember how you hated/were bored by the recent SEA-NE Super Bowl? So...let’s do a rematch...only take away the game’s MVP (Walker) and the losing team’s coach embroiled in controversy off the field.

The fact that Vrabel-Russini will be the lead story of that game is incredibly poor planning from a football sense.

Super Bowl rematches as season openers seemed cool 10+ years ago, but it seems dull in 2026, especially with these two teams. I’m much more into the Thursday night game in Australia between the Rams and 49ers.

I like the idea of a Wednesday opener followed by a Thursday game, but why not go all the way and have a Friday night opener too? I guess the high school football Friday nights factor is too much.

Making the SEA-NE opener even more sad is comparing it to the other solo night Week 1 games. I like the SF-LAR TNF opener. I really like the DAL-NYG Sunday night matchup...very interested to see the new Giants. I like the DEN at KC MNF assuming Mahomes is back, and he must be if they are putting KC in Week 1). I have not one urge for that NE-SEA game by comparison. Not that I won’t watch it, but...

If I could only watch one game from the entire Week 1 schedule, it would be: SF-LAR.

CHI at CAR has my attention as well.

-- RC’s Tales from the Road (Thursday edition)...

A truly awesome day that ended on a bad/bizarre/annoying note.

My whole gang went to the Mariners-Astros game, a 1pm Central affair...and it was one of the best days I have had in a long time.

First off, driving up to/through downtown Houston to the parking garage at 10:30am...there was barely any/no traffic. Perfect start.

We left for the stadium early because my parents used their season ticket holder perks/points to secure us all tickets to a special club/suite level thing where they put on a full access buffet from 11am through to the 7th inning. And we (over)ate overlooking the field as the teams warmed up. Really great setup and good food, and excellent service. A special way to go to a game.

After stuffing our faces, we went down to my parents’ season ticket seats and the nearby seats they secured for me and their grandkids...and my parents have like the greatest season tickets ever. I had not been to a game since they got these specific seats years ago. I can hardly describe it to do it justice...but they have their own special row about halfway up the stadium behind home plate area. A perfect vantage point and it is not the typical seats connected together row; it was like a section design that didn’t get finished where it’s two seats connected with no seats to their left or right. Then a single seat to the left and right of the empty spaces. And it was like its own level, so there was a ton of space in front of us to stretch our legs and it is the end of the seating on that level behind them...so no one behind you to bother you. It’s an amazing setup they stumbled into. They put soft/padded folding chairs down in the spaces in-between for us to have seats altogether.

The stadium was about 20% full because the Astros suck right now...which was awesome because it felt like a Spring Training game that we’ve gone to for the Astros in past years when my parents go down to Florida spring training for weeks to watch all the Astros spring games...it felt like those events...it felt like we literally had the stadium to ourselves. No waiting in line for anything. Food was available ‘at will’ anywhere...but we just went up to the special club level thing we had to get whatever and go back to our seats...and that club area had really nice private bathrooms there.

My parents are passionate about the Astros...and are passionate about their grandkids, my sons, who are just now getting into baseball...so, they wanted to make it special for all of us...and they did.

Me and my two boys picked a 3-way parlay on Kalshi...we each made one pick. I picked a player to get 2 total bases (Cam Smith), my youngest picked 3 total bases by Brice Matthews, and my oldest picked Yordan Alverez to hit a homerun. A 3-way parlay that I put $20 on for a $750 payout, a fun way to try to pay for their flights to this special get together. Alverez hit a bomb to dead-on centerfield, and my oldest son lost it with excitement with his prediction/pick. And then as the Astros were getting stomped, we were totally engaged in Smith and Matthews getting their parts of their parlay.

Spoiler Alert: They did not. Neither of them had a hit the whole game.

We’ll try again tonight to win airline ticket costs. We’re watching the Friday game on TV at my parents’ and having pizza and playing family poker. Saturday night we’re going back to the stadium for the night game to see how that experience is.

If the Astros lose Saturday and Sunday, I think heads are gonna roll and players are gonna get traded off to start a rebuild.

The day was great...’special’ considering all the core family was together and everything was first class pampering. What a day.

Now, the evening ended with an odd twist (nothing really, seriously bad)...but that’s gonna be a huge rant by me that I will write up for tomorrow’s travel note. Too much to write here.

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- Deion Sanders said he plans to travel to Cleveland to meet Todd Monken.

"I want to meet him because I think it's vital that as a coach, not the dad, I can tell him a few things about [Shedeur], how to get him going," said Deion, who was Shedeur's head coach through high school and college. "That wasn't asked of me a year ago. I don't understand it. Even a guy like Travis Hunter being drafted to Jacksonville and I've had him for the last three [years], don't you think you would want to talk to me to ask me what gets him going and what backs him off? You would want to know that.”

-- What NFL games are on Netflix in 2026?

Week 1 (Sept. 10): Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers, 8:35 p.m. ET

Week 12 (Nov. 25): Los Angeles Rams vs. Green Bay Packers, 8 p.m. ET

Week 16 (Dec. 25): Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. ET/Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills, 4:30 p.m. ET

Week 18 (Jan. 9): TBD vs. TBD

-- The NFL does not expect the Jets, Cardinals, Titans, Dolphins or Raiders to be any good this season. They are the only teams not to get a primetime game.

-- NFL Thanksgiving games 2026:

Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox

Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC

-- NFL Christmas games 2026

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. ET, Netflix

Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills, 4:30 p.m. ET, Netflix

Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m., Fox

-- The Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champions, but the Rams were given the most primetime games in 2026.

The Rams' seven primetime games tied the all-time record for most primetime games. The 2025 Chiefs and the 2023 Bills also played in seven primetime games.

Your moment of Zen for this day...

https://youtu.be/TGFd1bj-GpY?si=1wlrI5toZ8_ltW-p

https://youtu.be/Tw2w4koO-kY?si=-Ywcvq7qeDZYMM9B

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield

Christian Darrisaw (healthy...he’s top tier, but injuries are killing him), Aaron Rodgers, Peter Skoronski (79/5th OG...85/2nd, 73/10th), Tyler Linderbaum (80/4th OC...63/22nd, 84/4th),

Joey Porter Jr., Armand Membou (73/31st OT...74/31st, 72/27th), Kelvin Banks (74/29th OT...70/41st, 76/19th), Malik Willis, Travis Hunter, Breece Hall, Parker Washington, Erik McCoy (68/16th OC...84/1st, 62/25th)

----------------------------------------------------------

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*Our Betting Subscription offering (including private Discord chat access): https://ffmetrics.com/betting/betting

=====================

5/14 THU

(7:28amCST)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- Back on with our SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series today, which went underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

-- FAUX 2026 Computer Simulated season 1.0 begins probably Friday...a 10-part daily series studying, going through the win-loss projections of the season a couple weeks at a time.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at Jam Miller, Kaelon Black, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- Schedule release day...enjoy the pomp and circumstance of it.

I remember when the schedule just got ‘released’...without a lot of fanfare. Now, smartly, the world has made it its own ‘event’. Schedule analysis shows with projected wins and losses by people who have little idea of what they’re talking about...but it’s fun for the next couple days. Enjoy it.

I’ll be breaking down the schedules over the next week or so and will weigh in on what WE think are the toughest schedules and FF schedule opportunities. It’s something that takes a little time to digest and analyze.

I don’t know how (I do know how/why) the media can have same day ‘reactions’ and ‘toughest schedules’ entire shows/gut reactions and basic formulas to spew analysis. There’s some nuance and flow considerations and travel considerations and checks on the history of certain situations (coming off byes, coming off divisional games road/home, etc.). It isn’t a simple math formula that doesn’t matter what time of the season certain teams play certain opponents.

It should be a week+ long study and analysis, but the media wants to be ‘first’ and ‘entertain’ because ‘being right’ doesn’t matter...no one will ever go back and judge these next few days of reaction. It’s entertainment for the masses.

So, enjoy this ‘fireworks’ display of analysis.

The way that the media/NFL does ‘toughest/easiest schedules’ calculations is absolutely ridiculous.

Warren Sharp nails it...

https://x.com/sharpfootball/status/2053897471374377072?s=43

And there’s a difference of easy/hard NFL schedules and easy/hard FF schedules...and, again, analysts do the most simplistic calculations for that impact for FF...and they spew it to the world, and then the world laps it up. It takes time and different/better analysis of the teams and personnel changes AHD a big key -- any coordinator and head coaching changes, and its impact.

I won’t be able to properly analyze the FF set up for a week+...and that’s just the first interpretation. It’s a moving target with more and more study of the coaches and changes with teams all summer.

And please do not start judging players for all of 2026 by what their ‘FF playoff’ schedule looks like to the media/analysts the next 48 hours. You’re not clever; you’re not a ‘visionary’...and you’re using bad information because even with the most clever of information/analysis/calculations any of us thinks we know about the 2026 late season schedule in May or June or July or August or September...it’s gonna totally change upon the first major injury of the thousand injuries that will happen all season. Don’t even bother with ‘FF playoff schedule’ analysis right now for 2026 strategic thinking.

But we do need to be aware of what our opponents are being fed. So, see what the media is pushing, but don’t consider it for yourself at all right now. Give it no ‘weight’ yet.

-- HEADLINE: Dolphins signed RB De’Von Achane to a four-year, $68 million contract extension.

Well, the Dolphins weren’t bluffing...they really did value Achane, as they said upfront. Good for Achane’s wallet. Not so great for Achane for FF/PPR value given Malik Willis is not a ‘check down to the RBs’ kind of QB...but Achane will be fine.

Ollie Gordon? Just another handcuff hopeful that has similar value to most other #2 RBs hoping for a break.

-- This is quite the mentor for Jordyn Tyson...

https://x.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/2054663417005236702

-- Malik Nabers medical opinion on his latest item...

https://x.com/jmthrivept/status/2054648178029510986

-- Tucker Kraft note...

https://x.com/SleeperPackers/status/2054261068298346851

-- Parker Washington info...

https://x.com/DanDGriffis/status/2054227966217883987

-- RC’s Tales from the Road...

Arrived in Houston yesterday, finally. A peaceful drive from LA. To Houston. A 3-day journey is complete.

I forgot that Texas has 75mph speed limits! Awesome!!

Got in safely. Met up with my boys who flew in same time range. We got settled in at our AirBNB, which was a terrific find by me! Great place for homebase this trip. Went out to a BBQ place for dinner...good ol’ Texas BBQ. And then...we went to do something that is on my Texas trip ‘bucket list’.

We went to the infamous grocery store H-E-B. I’d never been before. Heard a lot of praise about it on ‘Kill Tony’. At first, where we entered the store at, it seemed like any typical large grocery store...but then we went over to their fresh food and bakery area and that was pretty impressive. You’d have to see it to understand. We got a sample of fresh made brisket chorizo mac-n-cheese...and it was one of the best mac-n-cheese offerings that I’ve ever had. So much fresh food and options for a grocery store. Impressive.

I want to do three ‘firsts’ (for me) while in Houston...

1) Go to an H-E-B (complete)

2) Go to Killian’s BBQ...but to their hamburger spot that both my boys got for lunch before I arrived Wednesday...and they both said it was maybe the best burger they’ve ever had.

3) Go to In-n-Out for a burger. I have never been. Some people swear by it...others are just ‘ok’ with it. I’ll be the judge! Hopefully...

Today, we’re off to see the Astros for a day game affair. We’re bringing the good luck as we got the Astros an extra-inning win yesterday.

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- RB Keaton Mitchell says he was shocked the Ravens had no interest in bringing him back — to the point that neither he nor his agent even heard from them. "I was surprised. I ain't gonna lie."

https://x.com/MySportsUpdate/status/2054597807655281074

-- The new Netflix season of ‘Quarterback’...

https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/2054637030924063153

-- Dolphins OC Bobby Slowik: Malik Willis’s running ability “lets you equalize some advantageous situations

Your moment of Zen for this day...

https://x.com/Chris_Breezy93/status/2054510491595145463

Randomly came across my X feed and I was cracking up.

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield

Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jayden Daniels, Creed Humphrey (89/1st OC...84/1st, 89/2nd), Puka Nacua, Andrew Thomas (90/4th OT...87/3rd, 85/7th), Rashawn Slater (2024 numbers: 91/2nd OT...90/3rd, 78/15th), Justin Jefferson, Drake Maye

Christian Darrisaw (healthy...he’s top tier, but injuries are killing him), Aaron Rodgers, Peter Skoronski (79/5th OG...85/2nd, 73/10th), Tyler Linderbaum (80/4th OC...63/22nd, 84/4th),

Joey Porter Jr., Armand Membou (73/31st OT...74/31st, 72/27th), Kelvin Banks (74/29th OT...70/41st, 76/19th), Malik Willis, Breece Hall, Erik McCoy (68/16th OC...84/1st, 62/25th)

----------------------------------------------------------

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=====================

5/13 WED

(6:31amCST)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- Back on with our SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series today, which went underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at Jam Miller, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- HEADLINE: ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reports Jacoby Brissett has been informed by the Cardinals that he is their starting quarterback.

I want to hear it from Arizona officially...because I don’t trust their HC or O-C or GM. I could see them telling Brissett whatever they think he wants to hear/what gets them out of a confrontation with a player would probably be a better coach, O-C, or GM than either of the current trio...today.

The real Cardinals starting QB is so critical for Trey McBride and Michael Wilson/MHJ FF projections.

-- HEADLINE: Pewter Report reports Bucky Irving (shoulder) “has not been cleared to participate yet.”

This is not necessarily an alert/scare, but you really have to wonder about Irving’s ability to hold up over any long-term as a ‘workhorse’...and this shoulder issue went on forever last season, and a leg issue, and then a ton of discussion about his ‘mental’ state...and the ‘mental’ is something he battled back to college. Red flags...pink flags...are popping up around Bucky.

I believe they got Kenneth Gainwell as a ‘Bucky duplicate’ for insurance, but also I could see Gainwell winning the hearts & minds of the staff if Bucky starts struggling again (on or off the field). And Sean Tucker got $3.5M to return as a #3? I do not like the setup around Bucky right now/2026. Todd Bowles must win this division, at a minimum...he doesn’t have time for a Bucky physical or mental breakdown.

I think we’re gonna start hearing a lot of praise on Gainwell, and then a lot of talk about ‘keeping the backs fresh’, ‘keeping Bucky fresh’, ‘getting everyone involved’...as ‘code’ for pulling back a bit on the Bucky love. A new O-C typically is against the existing thing and ‘pro’ the thing he helped/encouraged to bring in (Gainwell in free agency).

-- My favorite coach in the NFL: https://x.com/maxmarkhamnfl/status/2054336359163388133?s=46

...and I thought he was an idiot for choosing to go to the Bears.

Apparently, I was the idiot.

-- RC’s ’Stories from the Road’...

Tuesday, I went to Baton Rouge to spend the/a night for the first time in my life. I picked a hotel in their ‘kinda’ downtown, I guess. Near LSU. I saw a Ruth Chris and other notable restaurants in the area around the hotel and was hopeful, and not Waffle Houses, so I booked a Courtyard/Marriott that was decently rated.

Monday, I was in pure heaven in Huntsville, AL...which was arguably the best hotel area and one night stay (upgraded to the penthouse suite) that I’ve ever had at a Marriott brand stay. An 11-out-of-10. I wish that I would’ve had more time there. I lamented leaving.

Tuesday, my stay in Baton Rouge...compared to Huntsville...Huntsville was heaven on earth...my stay in Baton Rouge was a garbage dumpster set ablaze by comparison. A ratty Courtyard. All the businesses looked aged and dirty. I felt like I went back in time 40-50 years for my hotel stay in Baton Rogue v. Huntsville. This was my first and last planned stay in Baton Rouge.

As to what I did in LA. Yesterday...

I had a brief visit with a family friend and then I connected with a great football source of mine that must remain anonymous. But I will give you six highlight things we spoke about/he told me of interest, that he is OK with me generically speaking about...

1) Saints management thinks the way they finished last year, and the general fade and flaws of the rest of the NFC South...the Saints are ‘going for it’ in 2026. They do not see this as Year Two of a rebuild. They thought it would be the Year Two of a rebuild, but now they see a chance to take the division. And that’s an important thing for the next two notes...

2) My source expects Chris Olave to stay this season...because they see the division title hope. They will go into battle with Olave, but if things flop they will trade him at the deadline.

They don’t want to give him a long-term deal with his history, and no one wants to trade hot to get him...and they think they can be really good and win a division with his help now...and get a compensatory pick if he leaves to free agency, which isn’t far off what they’re being offered now in trade.

3) Alvin Kamara is very likely to stay with the Saints under the same circumstances...he helps the division title push, but if it goes sideways they can deal him at the deadline (if AK agrees to go). Etienne will be the lead in a co-backfield, is the expectation. They’d rather move on from AK, but he’s a bit of a legacy player...similar to them holding onto Taysom Hill too long last season.

4) They do think the world of Tyler Shough...but don’t be shocked if they sign/trade for a veteran QB and deal away Rattler, assuming Zach Wilson doesn’t work out.

5) My source thinks 2nd-year CB Quincy Riley (who I really liked, as a scout last pre-Draft) is the breakout name/performer to watch for in 2026.

6) They have not given up on Bub Means or Kendre Miller, but those guys need to stay healthy or the sentiment could turn.

OK, on to Texas/Houston today!

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- Gainwell and Irving “can kind of match each other in certain ways with what they can do in the pass game,” O-C Zac Robinson said during a Tuesday press conference

-- When asked about rookie WR Ted Hurst, Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said, “having a true X is a weapon as an offense.”

-- Netflix wants events, not a full-season package. It apparently wants the event that commemorates the best performers of the most recent full season.

Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reports that Netflix "is closing in on a deal" to stream the 2027 NFL Honors ceremony.

Via John Ourand of Puck, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said in an appearance on Fox Business that the company doesn't want a full-season package of pro football games.

“We’re leaning into the eventized event,” Sarandos said. “We’re not bidding on whole seasons of sports, including the NFL.”

-- “I feel like last year I was in my head a little bit,” Andrei Iosivas said, via Ben Baby of ESPN.com. “I had those drops in those games and people were telling me to kill myself and all that kind of stuff. I never had that kind of stuff happen to me before. So it got in my head a little bit when people — you know, when your DMs are flooded with people telling you to kill yourself.”

Your moment of Zen for this day...

https://x.com/drclownphd/status/2054340173479973053?s=43

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

Justin Herbert, Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jayden Daniels, Puka Nacua, Andrew Thomas (90/4th OT...87/3rd, 85/7th), Rashawn Slater (2024 numbers: 91/2nd OT...90/3rd, 78/15th), Justin Jefferson, Drake Maye

Jordan Mailata (88/6th OT...82/6th, 82/6th), Laremy Tunsil (85/8th OT...89/2nd, 75/21st), Grey Zabel (From Wk14 on, the SEA march to SB: 82/8th OG...79/10th, 82/5th...9 grades in the playoffs), Brock Purdy, Quinyon Mitchell, Christian Gonzalez, Sam Darnold, Aaron Brewer (87/2nd OC...71/10th, 92/1st), Kolton Miller (hurt 2025, 2024: 81/14th OT, 82/11th, 72/25th), Christian Darrisaw (healthy...he’s top tier, but injuries are killing him), Aaron Rodgers, Peter Skoronski (79/5th OG...85/2nd, 73/10th), Tyler Linderbaum (80/4th OC...63/22nd, 84/4th),

Joey Porter Jr., Armand Membou (73/31st OT...74/31st, 72/27th), Kelvin Banks (74/29th OT...70/41st, 76/19th), Malik Willis, Breece Hall, Erik McCoy (68/16th OC...84/1st, 62/25th)

----------------------------------------------------------

*How to sign up for our monthly or annual access: https://ffmetrics.com/total-football-advisor/total-football-advisor

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=====================

5/12 TUE

(6:36pmCST)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- Back on with our SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series today, that went underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at Jam Miller, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- I totally get why the Chargers signed David Njoku. It makes sense. The Chargers have to see themselves like I do...arguably the best all-around team/roster in the NFL. If you’re gonna go for the Super Bowl and you can add a legit, experienced tight end--Why wouldn’t you? It’s a smart, strategic thing to do.

I’m just FF pissed is all.

I accumulated a lot of free or cheap Oronde Gadsden stock that’s now going to be virtually useless in FF 2026. For the future/Dynasty on Gadsden…who knows? Depends on what other TEs LAC signs. Jim Harbaugh LOVES tight ends as much as Mike McDaniel lusts after 40-times, so with the wave of teams loading 6-17 TEs onto the roster to be like Sean McVay, Harbaugh needs to get more cowbell/tight ends.

This is the future of fantasy football—too many players that allow NFL teams to be stocked with offensive weapons, and they are stocking their depth charts with all kinds of players that they think they are gonna use equally/powerfully...kinda like having a ton of kitchen utensils sitting around just in case you need one thing for that one type of item you’re cooking every year or two. It’s nice to have all the options if you get the bug to use one of them someday.

I’m sure Mike McDaniel is drawing up different, special plays for all the weapons the Chargers have right now...planning to use all of them and make everybody on the team a star. Then reality will strike when the season starts, and the coaches typically all go right back to using the same one or two guys to lead the offense...but they talk a big game in the preseason.

Regular season Mike McDaniel is gonna try to use all of his tricks in his gigantic bag in Los Angeles in Week 1...and then all of us will freak out because there’s no discernable pattern for us FF GMs to roll with. Then when they settle back into a more normal pattern of using the same player or two to run the offense around Weeks 3-4, then we will all have to adjust again and are kicking ourselves from overreacting to the ‘spread it around’ plan they tried early on. There’s almost no way to avoid it in the NFL...this is the future of fantasy football. Too many weapons and ever-changing patterns from coaches throughout the season. They are not many Christian McCaffrey‘s or Jonathan Taylor’s or JSN‘s with no real challenge to their touch counts from the roster/depth chart or from the coaches changing plans.

I would not be over the moon with Njoku for FF on this move because now it’s crowded. Charlie Kolar is gonna play the most snaps as a blocker who can catch occasionally. Gadsden will be used on passing downs. Njoku will be used as a little bit of everything in-between. It’s good news for a Njoku owner versus what he was worth yesterday, but I don’t think this is gonna be as good as people think. I’m a Njoku seller on the news.

What do you do with Gadsden? He is going to tumble in our Dynasty rankings, and he’s really gonna drop in our 2026 projections.

This is all fantastic for Justin Herbert, but all the offensive individuals are now seeing an over population of talent and none of us knows what Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel are really gonna do with it.

-- HEADLINE: ESPN’s Brooke Pryor said reports of the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers meeting over the weekend do “not appear to have come to fruition.”

Rodgers is smart. He has ALL the leverage, and he is using it...or he walks.

Eventually, the Steelers will cave and Rodgers and his team knows it.

-- RC’s Notes from the Road...

A great day one. A quiet, peaceful drive. No traffic to speak of. Got to my hotel and they had already upgraded my room...my years of travel in corporate life paid off with my lifetime top status with Marriott. I get to my room and realize that they upgraded me to a penthouse suite. My $150 single king was now a 1,500 sq foot room that I didn’t even know existed in this hotel. Two huge bedrooms both with walk-in closets (never seen a hotel room with a big walk-in closet much less two), with two full bathrooms and a half bath. A giant living room with all glass windows/walls overlooking a man-made pond. It was very impressive...a little dated on some stuff but still one of the greatest rooms I’ve ever been upgraded to.

The topper... Two full showers, one in each bed room (and a half bath in the living room area), but the showers were that tile and glass enclosure kind which is nice but nothing radical...except it was radical because it had four big jets embedded into the wall from my head to my waist with a giant rainfall showerhead above it. I turned it on and five powerful water sources came flying out...the best shower I have taken in forever (my home water pressure SUCKS). I was actually late to dinner because I couldn’t tear myself away from the shower ahead of the event.

Got to visit with and take my mom to dinner, who just became a trained ‘Crisis Negotiator’ for the police department...in her 70s...by far the oldest person in her training class. We celebrated Mother’s Day and talked for hours at the Cheesecake Factory. I wanted to thank her for her support of me for my time in Jacksonville getting radiation (and before and after) because she rallied so many people in her community...church group, Elk’s club, family and friends to my cause for prayer...and she checked in with them and made sure they were praying. They knew they better had!! She created a Facebook friend’s group of her contacts to make a private page for me just for a prayer group with her extended friends and contacts. So many people were amazing in rallying prayer support, but my Mom took the crown for chief among everyone.

My mom was dealt one of the toughest lives a young person/kid could ever imagine, and then a turbulent adulthood...but she got up off the ground and turned her life around and is now thriving in the second half of her life. No one put such personal effort on my behalf for my cancer story as my mom did, so I was grateful to go out of my way on this big trip to stop and see her and honor her.

Let’s go for a great day two of travel today! Going to Baton Rouge to meet with some contacts who have been so helpful to me on the football side and a meet up with a family member.

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- (NBC) Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud believes WR Ted Hurst “owned the Bucs’ first rookie minicamp.”

Per Stroud, Hurst earned more targets and caught more passes than any other Buccaneer over the last two days of practice. Hurst, 21, has a chance to compete for the Buccaneers’ X-receiver role this summer. He has the frame (6'4/206) and speed (4.42-second 40) to do it. With WRs Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, Tez Johnson and Jalen McMillan already in-house, the Bucs can field an effective three-receiver set this year, if Hurst is not ready to contribute. Buccaneers assistant general manager Rob McCartney made clear that the team is “not expecting for him to just come in and just take over and be a big part of our offense,” but at the same time, “there’s nothing that says he can’t if he comes in and proves himself.” Should he impress coaches in training camp this spring and summer, he could work his way into a fantasy-relevant role. Keep an eye on him.

-- (Yahoo) Bears coach Ben Johnson said “we need to continue to get the ball in his hands as often as we possibly can” when asked about Luther Burden.

Your moment of Zen for this day...

Maxx sings: https://x.com/nfl_dovkleiman/status/2052773094305964146?s=43

It’s not the worst rapping I’ve ever heard...

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

Justin Herbert, Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jayden Daniels, Puka Nacua, Andrew Thomas (90/4th OT...87/3rd, 85/7th), Rashawn Slater (2024 numbers: 91/2nd OT...90/3rd, 78/15th), Justin Jefferson, Drake Maye

Jordan Mailata (88/6th OT...82/6th, 82/6th), Laremy Tunsil (85/6th OT...89/2nd, 75/21st), Grey Zabel (From Wk14 on, the SEA march to SB: 82/8th OG...79/10th, 82/5th...9 grades in the playoffs), Brock Purdy, Quinyon Mitchell, Christian Gonzalez, Sam Darnold, Aaron Brewer (87/2nd OC...71/10th, 92/1st), Christian Darrisaw (healthy...he’s top tier, but injuries are killing him), Aaron Rodgers, Peter Skoronski (79/5th OG...85/2nd, 73/10th)

Joey Porter Jr., Armand Membou (73/31st OT...74/31st, 72/27th), Kelvin Banks (74/29th OT...70/41st, 76/19th), Malik Willis, Breece Hall, Erik McCoy (68/16th OC...84/1st, 62/25th)

----------------------------------------------------------

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=====================

5/11 MON

HAPPY DAY OFF TO ME! (I think it’s my second one of 2026)

(4:44amET)

Today/tomorrow

-- DRD rankings will now settle into once a week (min.) publishing the DRD top 300+ updates and adding/updating commentaries, etc. Likely every THU or FRI the rest of the preseason.

-- SuperFlex/2QB Mock DRD 12-part series underway 5/4-5/16, 5/11 off).

-- Miscellaneous reports on things that come my way and more scouting reports to come. I have a backlog of them to get published already.

This Week’s/Month’s Agenda…

-- 2026 Draft Guide studies and commentary writing is about to start...all month of May. More info on timings of the first reports to hit, etc., coming 2nd-half of May.

-- DRD valuations/rankings top 300+ board updates/adds to everyday post-NFL Draft week and every week through the entire offseason.

-- Prospect grades by position and rookie rankings boards are being debuted, updated and added to daily/weekly up to kick off 2026.

-- Dynasty and Best Ball rankings audits/updates daily/weekly. IDP studies/projections may not hit until early May.

-- Holy series QB and RB done. Holy RB Handcuffs underway (on hold for draft, since we’re this close)

-- Full scouting reports on various prospects from now until the NFL preseason. Deeper looks at De’Zhaun Stribling, Jam Miller, Cyrus Allen all on deck.

-- Any FFM News & Notes or Special Reports during the day as I get them.

== NEWS & NOTES & Xs ==

-- I’m taking the day off today!

I think it is my second day off of the calendar year. Which is crazy considering how sick and tired I was for 8 weeks of radiation, as I was thinking about it. I think I took the bell ringing ceremony day in Jacksonville off when all my family came in, so I believe this is my next day off of 2026.

There’s been little chance for time off in 2026 since I’ve had to sleep a lot or been sick a lot most every day of 2026 due to the radiation months and then the post-radiation recovery, so when I was awake I needed to work diligently because I never knew when the next wave of sickness and/or tiredness would hit.

I am going to take some time off for the next week, actually. I’m going to try to take like a real vacation of sorts, which for me is only working 4-6 hours a day.

It’s not a vacation, per se, but more of an ‘RC Gratitude World Tour’/vacation. I am driving to various places to thank various family and friends for their support of my 8-week radiation stint in Jacksonville. And I mean ‘support’ in all the kinds of ways that the word means/infers. So much went into that financially and otherwise. I don’t know how we did it. I’m visiting a lot of the people/family that aren’t geographically close to me, so it’s hard to just drive over real quick and honor them and head home. It’s a purposefully laid out trip that I crafted while I was in Jacksonville in the middle of the hardest days there.

I will share with you the where and what and why that I did a thing the day prior here on RC’s notes...a travel log...a record for me to look back on later in life. If you’re not interested in reading it, it’s cool. I just don’t want to forget all these beautiful moments and people who went above and beyond for me, so I am chronicling it of sorts. I will also likely vent at/record and report any stupidity I see on the road as well.

I love driving on the open road and just listening to music or podcasts (anything but football, hopefully the new cycle stays slow...until the schedule hits) and just peacefully thinking up new ideas and whatever. A lot of driving is coming up this week+, on purpose. I am taking it slow to not overburden myself. So, lots of stops along the way. Not gonna be a long-haul trucker about things, like I did in my younger days...I’m just gonna drive and veg out and experience life. Also, I need to have extra overnight stops to get midday sleep and get football work done all night on the road!

There’s also gonna be fun things on this trip! A first of its kind thing/trip that I have been invited to do in the past but never seemed to have the time (cue *Cat’s in the Cradle*)...but now I am making time. Because midweek I arrive in Houston to meet up with my boys flying in and we’re getting an AirBNB and visiting my Dad/my boy’s grandpa and he and his wife are taking us all to several Astros games (they are long-time season ticket holders) and taking us to various Houston eateries and things-to-do downtown pre-game and/or post-game. I am so looking forward to some time away from the day-to-day and just getting some downtime and chillin’ watching baseball, which is the BEST sport to just chill and enjoy at a leisurely pace.

We’ve got some good material/reports written up ahead to release during my heavier time off periods in a day, and I’ll work early morning and then again late into the night at a minimum, so I will be staying on top of any breaking news things. And Mr. Ross is working his butt off to have more scouting reports, etc., for the days that are more busy/(chillin’) for me.

I will be doing/starting the Faux 2026 regular season version 1 computer simulated series starting the day or two after the schedules are released. So, like 5/15 or 5/16 the series begins and runs for like a week+.

Tomorrow, I am departing kinda early (if all goes well)...like 6am or prior to head to go see my Mom in Alabama to take her to dinner for her Mother’s Day and to thank her for what she did for me while I was in Jacksonville.

I’ve never had a planned ‘lots of relaxing’ week like this basically in over a decade, probably two...no make that three decades I’d say. I was always working or the kids had events...or I had no money/job to do such a thing. I am so looking forward to half-unplugging for a week...but I am also afraid I’ll hate it and get football/work withdrawals (which I usually do 2-3 days into a vacation and end up working in the room while everyone else relaxes). We shall see!

You can follow my adventure (or descent into madness) here every day on RC’s Notes. I never miss a day of RC’s Notes (knock on wood). Even through gallbladder surgery, kidney stones, Covid, and cancer scans and radiations...I show up, a ‘No Days Off’ workhorse.

Not this week. I’m going into ‘chill mode’ a bit, if that’s even possible. I don’t know if my programming comes with a ‘chill mode’.

-- HEADLINE: Mike McDaniel on Quentin Johnston: “I think he’s a guy that has some traits in his game that are similar to some very powerful, explosive, productive receivers that I’ve had in the past, namely like Julio (Jones) and Andre (Johnson) and so we’re pushing him.”

Well...it’s May 11th, and I am already fully sick of Mike McDaniel as the Chargers O-C. I thought Jim Harbaugh was over the top with ‘positivity’, but he can’t reach the bullshit meter that McDaniel has hit.

So, like in the past week, McDaniel has claimed Quentin Johnston is a Julio Jones equivalent and rookie Brenen Thompson is a Tyreek Hill.

I’m waiting for Ladd to be compared to Jerry Rice and Tre Harris to Calvin Johnson. If you follow along all the players McDaniel is hyping and he has said this past week something like the whole WR room was gonna have career years, well then Ladd’s gonna be a top 3 FF WR...QJ and Thompson might just be top 10-15 FF overall WRs. I guess Tre Harris hype has him as a WR2...and Derius Davis and KeAndre Lambert-Smith will be sneaky WR3s. And then just wait until they sign Keenan Allen back!

I assume all this is true because Mike McDaniel would never overpromise and underdeliver.

And if it is all true -- then Justin Herbert is about to go on the most epic statistical season a QB has ever had in the history of football, so he’s got that going for him.

I don’t pay one second of attention to Mike McDaniel, from the perspective of playing my FF cards around what he says. He runs off at the mouth and hopes fans and the players themselves will lap it up. I’m all for praising players to motivate, but Brenen Thompson’s career is almost sunk already as McDaniel has linked him to Tyreek Hill, which is an insult to everyone’s intelligence. And if McDaniel really means it (in his own head), after being able to coach Tyreek personally and now getting to see Thompson up close and compare them...if he thinks their the same, then this whole LAC situation is going to underperform because McDaniel is a loon.

I’m starting to wonder if the Chargers are about to kill the Golden Goose.

Ben Johnson is like...we gotta get better, we didn’t do as well as we could have...players and coaches need to step up!

Hype man McDaniel is like...everybody we have is gonna have a career year (subtext...because I’M HERE)!!

We’ll see which team lives up to their promise between LAC and CHI.

== QUOTES & QUOTABLES (pulled from an internet A.I. search, I try to make sure it’s accurate but some of it is ‘trust in AI’) ==

-- (PFT) A year after the Browns used a fifth-round pick on quarterback Shedeur Sanders, they took a sixth-round flier on quarterback Taylen Green.

Green is undeniably a high-level physical talent. The first order of business in Cleveland is to get to work on his fundamentals as a passer.

“Well, first thing was . . . footwork,” coach Todd Monken told reporters on Saturday. “Cadence — getting used to our cadence early on, and he was better today, but [Saturday] morning and [Friday], choppy with his cadence. So just getting our guys into a rhythm at the line of scrimmage, I think that was the second thing he needed to work on.

“He did a nice job today of working through his progressions. I did like that part of it. We’re gonna have to be really diligent in trying to tighten down his release. When you’re talking about check downs taken from as long of his release or long release he has, to really just being able to dart it to get it quickly out of his hands into the hands of whether it’s a running back or a tight end. But I’ve been super impressed with his ability to really learn, process and take it to the field and then getting through his progressions, really impressive.”

-- (PFT) “They envision it being a true competition: Kyler Murray versus J.J. McCarthy,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network recently said on The Rich Eisen Show, via NFL.com. “And both these guys are going to go into this believing they’re gonna win this job. I don’t know frankly how friendly that quarterback room is going to be. It’s going to be a very competitive quarterback room. “From everything that I’ve understood, it is truly wide open. They’re keeping an open mind as a coaching staff.”

-- Payton was then asked what 2nd-year TE Caleb Lohner is doing better this year compared to last year. He simply said “everything”.

“Everything. In fairness to him, remember [he] was a basketball prospect that had limited snaps of a year. So, one year into the program, and how he’s moving, what he’s doing, everything looks entirely different. That learning curve and growth curve was greater for someone who had far less experience maybe than others, if that makes sense. It’s entirely noticeable, and he’s in great shape. You see his athleticism. I would say the one thing that you don’t know is… [Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach] Bill [Parcells] used to say, ‘If they don’t bite when they’re puppies, they’re probably never going to bite.’ There’s a physical aspect to the way he plays. Even on look team last season, he’d play an outside linebacker rushing our tackles. He’s 6’7”, 265 pounds and he’s not afraid of the contact. So, it’s been good to see him in Year 2. You knew there was going to be a developmental upside, but that was encouraging.”

-- In an interview with Full Measure, President Donald Trump was asked if he thinks the NFL is engaged in “price gouging” by putting games on paid platforms, and whether the federal government should do something about it.

So, does he think the government will intervene?

“I don’t know,” Trump said. “But I don’t like it. I don’t like it. They’re making a lot of money. They could make a little bit less. They could let the people see. You have people that live for Sunday. They live — they can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden, they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game. It’s crazy. So, I’m not happy about it.”

Reporter’s edit/add: Obviously, no one is paying $1,000 per game. He likely meant to say that it costs nearly $1,000 per season to watch all games.

Your moment of Zen for this day...

Someone play this video at my funeral.

You want an inspirational story AND another glimpse at how ridiculous the NFL system is, please take out of your day to watch this one...

https://youtu.be/a1-UAM1c224?si=A9BASvfYenxODra2

== New Daily Series ==

Let’s rank The Best players/The Most Important players in the NFL!

Trent Williams (92/3rd OT...80/12th, 93/2nd), Tristan Wirfs (93/2nd OT...85/4th, 92/3rd), Matt Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jayden Daniels, Puka Nacua, Andrew Thomas (90/4th OT...87/3rd, 85/7th), Justin Jefferson, Drake Maye

Joey Porter Jr., Armand Membou (73/31st OT...74/31st, 72/27th), Kelvin Banks (74/29th OT...70/41st, 76/19th), Malik Willis, Breece Hall, Erik McCoy (68/16th OC...84/1st, 62/25th)

----------------------------------------------------------

*How to sign up for our monthly or annual access: https://ffmetrics.com/total-football-advisor/total-football-advisor

*How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app

*Our Betting Subscription offering (including private Discord chat access): https://ffmetrics.com/betting/betting

=====================