The cheat code

Featuring Cam Skattebo, Mike Evans, and more.

August 11, 2026

In partnership with

🏈-Advertise-|-Website-🏈 

Yooo!

ICYMI - our website got a major upgrade over the weekend.

We’ve now added category tags to all insights so you can quickly find the insights most relevant to you, including:

  • Red flags

  • Buy / sell

  • Usage & role

  • Season outlook

  • Breakout watch

  • Underlying stats

  • and more

All player profiles are organized this way as well, so go poke around on the updated site and let us know what you think!

Want all the insights in your pocket? Check out our mobile app for more daily insights:

In the last newsletter, I asked you all: “Will George Kittle perform as a top-6 TE on a points per game basis when healthy this season?”

62.2% of you said, “No”

Best subscriber comments:

  • No: “Coming off major surgery and being 32, it will take him a while before he gets back to his old self.”

  • No: “'Niners went from no pass catchers, to suddenly an old, messy, crowded group. Even without the injury - I'd only target if I was contending and he was super cheap. Now with the injury.. 2027 Late 3rd or 4th as a dart throw, at best.”

  • Yes: “TE is deeper than most years but top 6 when playing is neither outlandish nor an unrealistic expectation. Not to mention SF is surely to suffer more injuries throughout the year. The volume will be there.”

  • Yes: “We know who Kittle is. His recovery has been all positive, not to mention doctors called it “the best-case scenario” for an Achilles tear. He might see a slow start, but even at age 33, I expect him to be clicking with Purdy yet again.”

Our take: I voted “No.” Pretty much for same reason as that first subscriber comment. Even if he’s out there, I have my doubts about his explosiveness at his age coming off such a significant injury. Bowers, McBride, Loveland, Kraft, Pitts, LaPorta, and Fannin are 7 names I could see outperforming him.

Alright, now let’s get to some news you might’ve missed.

Giddy up.

One Death, Higher Taxes

Here's the math most couples never see coming.

When one spouse passes, the survivor usually keeps most of the household income — but starts filing as a single taxpayer. Same IRA. Same required distributions. Roughly half the standard deduction, and tax brackets that compress to nearly twice the rate at the same income.

It's called the survivor's tax trap, and it's one of the most preventable problems in retirement — if you act while both spouses are alive and rates are still low.

Craig Wear, CFP®, has walked 3,000+ families with $1M+ in IRAs through exactly this planning. His new book, Roth Conversion Reset, lays out the year-by-year framework for converting at today's rates so the tax problem never lands on the person you love most.

The book is free. Full PDF, in your inbox in minutes.

NEW: All links go to a summarized Dynasty Pulse page where you can see quick insights and also get the link to the original article/podcast if you want the full content:

Christian McCaffrey (RB, SF): One fade case flags his 413 touches and career-low 5.1 yards per touch last year, plus a history of significant injuries following his two most recent league-leading touch seasons, as reasons to avoid him in Round 1 despite remaining capable of difference-making production.

Jaylen Waddle (WR, DEN): Miami ranked 24th in TDs/game and 21st in pass attempts per game last season, capping his ceiling there. Denver led the NFL in pass attempts last season. He's projected for a Z role that previously produced 8+ targets per game in this offense.

Jonathan Taylor (RB, IND): One fade case notes that from Week 12 on last season he fell to RB21, with a 0.7% explosive-run rate, a 36th-ranked yards-after-contact mark and just three rushing TDs over that stretch, calling him too expensive at a 1.04 price.

Lamar Jackson: (QB, BAL): Priced as the QB3 on the board behind Josh Allen and Drake Maye. Declan Doyle's arrival is expected to mean fewer designed runs and more RPO usage and edge movement, a shift seen as preserving his rushing value while cutting down on hits up the middle.

Malik Nabers (WR, NYG): His 33% rookie target share and no real competition for Giants targets underpin expectations for another big season. His ADP is expected to climb from the 2-3 turn toward the top of Round 2, with one analyst ranking him WR8 among receivers.

A.J. Brown (WR, NE): Priced as a WR10 with top-three-to-five upside if Patriots passing volume rises. Among 109 qualifying receivers last season, he ranked 16th in route win rate and top 20 in both yards per route run and first downs per route run, despite age and knee concerns.

Mike Evans remains a high-variance WR1 candidate in San Francisco, with a precautionary quad issue improving but age, recent injuries, scheme fit and weekly volume keeping his valuation divided.

Fantasy coverage remains sharply split. The bullish case has Evans starting as San Francisco's primary outside receiver and absorbing a meaningful share of 145 available wide-receiver targets, with his red-zone history, downfield ability and quarterback environment creating a path to roughly 1,100-plus yards and 10 or more touchdowns if he stays healthy. The bearish case points to his age, 12 missed games over the last two seasons, declining recent efficiency, reduced deep-route separation and uncertainty over whether a middle-focused 49ers passing structure will consistently reproduce his traditional outside role. His quad issue has progressed from an unspecified camp concern to a beat-reported precautionary absence: he is expected back at practice soon, but San Francisco still wants him practicing before using him in games and plans to rotate him rather than play him every snap. Rankings range from the WR21-WR25 area to potential top-12 or top-15 territory, while draft opinions range from strong value in the sixth round to a fifth-round avoid.

Our take: I think we’ll see top-15 numbers from Evans when healthy, but it seems foolish to expect a full season out of him. If I had him on my team, I’d make sure I have the WR depth to support that scenario.

Dalton Kincaid's breakout case is gaining support from his health and efficiency profile, but a full-time route role remains unproven.

Coverage has grown more favorable since the prior profile: Kincaid says he feels better than he has in years, was described as healthy after a minor training-camp groin incident, and saw Buffalo exercise his fifth-year option. Fantasy analysts remain divided over whether his improved health will produce a larger route share, with bullish views assigning substantial upside to participation near 65-76% and skeptical views citing his recurring knee/PCL history, declining snap rates and Buffalo's continued use of multiple tight ends. His efficiency remains the strongest evidence for a breakout: despite limited playing time, he has ranked first or among the best at tight end in target rate, fantasy points per route run, yards per route run, yards per target and deep-target share. The latest valuation coverage views his current cost as favorable if he retains his prior role, while other analysts see a price that already assumes a breakout that has not materialized.

Our take: I still can’t really tell how much his limited snap rates are driven by injuries vs. scheme and game planning. His TE10 redraft ADP feels about right. I don’t think that assumes a “breakout that has not materialized” as mentioned at the end of this paragraph. I think there’s room for him to blow past that if the snap rates increase.

Tua Tagovailoa holds the early edge to start Week 1 in Atlanta, but performance, health and a possible rotation leave his full-season role unsettled.

Beat reporters and national evaluators continue to give Tua the practical advantage in Atlanta's quarterback competition because he has handled most first-team work and full-team 11-on-11 repetitions while the competing quarterback's recovery remains uncertain. The latest coverage presents a sharper performance test: Tua has been efficient in the red zone, but hesitation under pressure, a pressure-to-sack ratio near 23%, limited rushing production and questions about his deep passing could keep him from securing the job beyond the opening weeks. Fantasy analysts remain split between viewing him as a timing-based facilitator who can distribute to Atlanta's playmakers and as a low-ranked quarterback whose 62.1 recent PFF grade, 18 interceptions, injury history and uncertain transition to a new system leave room for a shared-start arrangement. Since the prior profile, the coverage has shifted from general camp concern to specific evidence involving pocket management, red-zone efficiency and the possibility that both quarterbacks start games.

Our take: I’d be doing everything I can to sell Tua in dynasty. I just haven’t seen anything to get me back on board the Tua train.

Cam Skattebo (RB, NYG)

❝

"I feel like more and more analysts are getting behind Cam Skattebo... I moved Cam Skattebo up to 42 overall in my rankings... Skattebo last year averaged 19.8 touches per game. He averaged the highest points per game average of any rookie running back... He really is the cheat code archetype that we want to look for... You have a guy that can handle the receiving workload, a guy that can score the touchdowns down inside the five... I think all of these things just stack up so well for Cam Skattebo and I think he's an absolute smash in round four of fantasy drafts."

RotoWire Fantasy Football With Theo Gremminger (podcast) — "10 Players We Can't Stop Drafting In 2026 Fantasy Football (Dwain McFarland)"

Our take: Will share my thoughts in the poll recap at the beginning of the next newsletter.

Will Cam Skattebo finish as RB16 or higher in PPR this season?

(Vote to see live results)

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

That’s all for tonight!

See ya pizza,

Joe

P.S. In case you missed it, catch up on our most recent newsletters below:

🏈 Advertise-|-Website-🏈