Snatch ‘Em Up Now
If they weren’t already drafted in your league, these guys will be hot commodities on the wire this week.
Quarterbacks:
N/A – No must-adds this week.
Running Backs:
Caleb Hawkins, North Texas – The freshman running back has fully taken over the RB1 job over Makenzie McGill after accounting for over 50% of North Texas’ total scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in the win over South Alabama. Seven total touchdowns now in the last two games alone. We knew the North Texas offense would be explosive but did not foresee the Mean Green ranking in the top third in the country in rushing – 180.4 YPG ranks better than Penn State, Iowa and Notre Dame.
Kenny Tracy, Miami (Ohio) – We went a decade with Miami (Ohio) being a full-fledged running back by committee under Chuck Martin. That philosophy has changed in the last two years, and we’re seeing the emergence of an RB1 now with senior Kenny Tracy. Consecutive 100-yard rushing performance, with 20 attempts vs. Lindenwood on Saturday.
Wide Receivers:
KJ Duff, Rutgers – The sophomore wideout continues to be weekly fantasy contributor, scoring double-digit fantasy points in every game thus far through five weeks. Rutgers is spreading the ball around equally between fellow receivers Ian Strong and DT Sheffield, so don’t expect any 40-point fantasy performances, but Strong is one of the few WRs on waivers still that can be a week in, week out starter. Just imagine if Fantrax kept his TE eligibility.
Ryan Davis, Utah – The efficiency has been off the charts for Davis, converting on 84 percent of his targets this season, now with 27 receptions combined over the last three games. Davis’ 36 catches in 2025 are 6x more than the next closest Utah receiver.
Cortez Braham, Memphis – Braham hit 100+ receiving yards for the second time in as many weeks, now with 53 combined fantasy points in that span. He’s the clear WR1 with his rapport with QB Brendon Lewis, both having played with each other last season at Nevada.
Tight Ends:
N/A – No must-adds this week.
Worth A Look
If you have the roster room, these prospects are worth a look.
Quarterbacks:
CJ Carr, Notre Dame – You can see the confidence growing with Carr, and the rapport developing with these transfer receivers with each passing week. The redshirt freshman tossed a season-high 354 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday vs. the Razorbacks. Notre Dame opponents won’t be the dead body that Arkansas is currently, but Notre Dame’s upcoming schedule is juicy with three straight home games against average defenses. With two losses already, we know Notre Dame needs to run up these scores with the rest of their schedule to be in contention for the CFP. Good for fantasy purposes.
Liam Szarka, Air Force – Hesitant to put an Air Force quarterback any higher than this, because the position has been mostly irrelevant in CFF over the last decade. Tough to deny the results the last three games, though, with a combined 96 fantasy points, including 100+ rushing yards in the last two weeks. Szarka should also benefit from Air Force’s defense being abhorrent.
Running Backs:
Nate Sheppard, Duke – You started to see the momentum building each week. 75 yards in Week 3. Then 14 carries in Week 4. The staff then rewarded Sheppard with 15 rushing attempts, resulting in 168 yards and two scores in the blowout win over Syracuse. The freshman is now averaging over eight yards a carry and the remaining schedule is very appetizing with several bottom-end ACC defenses and a non-conference opponent in UConn remaining.
Terion Stewart, Virginia Tech – A healthy Terion Stewart has always been a difference-making running back dating back to his Bowling Green days. But the staying healthy part has been a struggle. He looked healthy on Saturday, rumbling for 174 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts. Favorable matchup for Stewart next week against Wake Forest.
Wayne Knight, James Madison – Knight is likely to be the starter moving forward for JMU with injuries to both George Pettaway and Ayo Adeyi, with Pettaway’s injury described as “pretty significant.” Knight rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown in the win over Georgia Southern, though isn’t listed higher here because he’ll likely be sharing carries with Jordan Fuller.
Braylon McReynolds, Louisiana-Monroe – Another productive week for McReynolds, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown in the win over Arkansas State. McReynolds remains the starter for the foreseeable future but also notice that preseason darling Zach Palmer-Smith had a mini breakout with 84 yards and a score on eight attempts. Something to monitor.
Caleb Komolafe, Northwestern – Komolafe got the start with Cam Porter out for the season and rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 27 rushing attempts – triple the amount of his closest competition Joe Himon. Potentially two startable matchups for Komolafe in the next three games with Louisiana-Monroe up next, and then Purdue in three weeks.
Bo Jackson, Ohio State – We haven’t seen a consistent fantasy producer in the Ohio State backfield in over a year and a half, so we’re not instantly putting Jackson in the must-add section after his impressive 80-yard performance against Washington. CJ Donaldson will continue to be a factor, particularly in the red zone, but this backfield looks to have been turned over to the true freshman.
Trequan Jones, Old Dominion – Jones didn’t find the end-zone vs. Liberty but had another solid outing with 87 yards on the ground on 16 attempts. Jones’ yards per carry average did take a hit, falling to a season total of 10.5 yards per attempt.
Zylan Perry, Louisiana – Perry started over Bill Davis – even though they split the carries 50/50 – and finished the night with 75 yards and two touchdowns, giving him five scores in the last three games. With a dual threat at quarterback now in Lunch Winfield, perhaps that opens up the run game a bit with a more dynamic offense.
Wide Receivers:
Cyrus Allen, Cincinnati – Allen had a season-best 11 receptions for 128 yards and two scores on 13 targets in the win over Kansas and now has five scores in his last three games. The upcoming schedule for Cincinnati is very appealing with a home matchup with Iowa State, followed by three bottom-tier defenses in the B12 in Central Florida, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
Cooper Barkate, Duke – Double-digit fantasy points in all five games for Barkate with three touchdowns in the last two weeks. Barkate now leads the team with 409 yards at over 19 yards per reception, with room for improvement if he eliminates his drops (4).
Braden Pegan, Utah State – Pegan has been a bit hit-or-miss, double-digit fantasy performances in each of the last four games, including a season-best 10 targets and a touchdown in the loss to Vanderbilt. Now we wait for the status of Bryson Barnes, who left the contest due to injury, though not believed to be serious. Utah State has a bye this week, which should allow for Barnes to heal, before hitting conference play with Hawaii and San Jose State upcoming. Both matchups hopefully will be epic shootouts.
Camden Brown, Georgia Southern – The former Auburn transfer has now hit the century mark in receiving yards in consecutive games and has scored double-digit fantasy points in all five weeks to begin the year. Impressive considering how inconsistent the QB play has been for the Eagles.
Kam Perry, Miami (Ohio) – Three straight 100-yard performances for Perry who found the end-zone twice against Lindenwood. Not necessarily high-volume targets for Perry, averaging just five targets per game, but who cares about that when you’re averaging close to 30 yards a catch.
Griffin Wilde, Northwestern – Wilde now accounts for 30% of the team’s target share with nearly 50 percent of Northwestern’s receiving production. Same argument as Caleb Komolafe above – Wilde is definitely startable in two of the next three games.
Jackson Harris, Hawaii – A fully healthy Micah Alejado can do wonders for the Hawaii offense, and Harris was the primary beneficiary on Saturday with 144 yards and two scores. Facing the 131st scoring defense in Air Force helps as well, but there’s some enticing matchups upcoming after the bye week.
Kyri Shoels, San Jose State – Twice in the last three games now Shoels has caught nine passes on 11 targets. All the talk in the offseason about Leland Smith and Matthew Coleman, and it is now Shoels that is second on the team in targets (29), receptions (23) and yards (275).
Longshots
Need to see more from these guys before pulling the trigger unless you are in the deepest of leagues.
Quarterbacks:
Broc Lowry, Western Michigan – In games facing non-B1G opponents this season, Lowry is now averaging 25 FPPG, with 40 or more rushing yards in each of his last four games. Lowry has another plus-matchup this week facing UMass.
Lunch Winfield, Louisiana – All-Name team candidate Lunch Winfield came on to give the Louisiana offense a spark when trailing to Marshall, combining for 252 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in the comeback victory. Need to see more than one performance against a team that isn’t expected to be at the bottom of the Sun Belt before believing in Winfield as a weekly option.
Running Backs:
Trent Howland, Oklahoma State – Rodney Fields got the start, and was impressive with his limited reps, averaging nearly eight yards a carry with a heck of a diving 47-yard reception in the second quarter. But for some reason, he gave way to Trent Howland who finished the day with 84 yards and two scores on 16 attempts. Looks like someone will be valuable in the Oklahoma State backfield, just not quite sure who that will be at the moment.
Diore Hubbard, West Virginia – Hubbard was a spring standout but did not crack the two-deep once the season started. Due to injuries, Hubbard got the start against Utah, finishing with 61 yards and a touchdown. Tye Edwards did not play on Saturday, but was in uniform on the sidelines, so his injury doesn’t seem to be long-term.
Kendrick Raphael, California – Second time on the list this season for Raphael tells you that (1) he’s been productive at different points in the year, but also (2) there’s not much consistency to speak off. Raphael hit the century mark for the second time this season on 25 carries in the win over Boston College. There aren’t many (or any) challenging defenses remaining on Cal’s schedule.
Javin Gordon, Tulane – Pretty sure Gordon is the third or fourth Tulane RB that we will be including this season in the WW article. Notable that all five running backs did play against Tulsa on Saturday, but it was the freshman who led the way with 78 yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts. At this rate, though, we might be writing about a fifth Tulane running back later in the year.
Je’Kail Middlebrook, Middle Tennessee – After averaging over 14 yards per attempt in Week 4 vs. Marshall, the MTSU staff gave Middlebrook a season-high 20 rushing attempts against Kennesaw State, finishing with 109 yards and two scores. Middlebrook’s next two opponents, Missouri State and Delaware, have allowed a combined 21 rushing touchdowns this season.
Michael Allen, Marshall – The Herd have leaned into the run game the last two weeks, specifically with Allen the former NC State transfer, who has over 220 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in that span.
Wide Receivers:
Collin Dixon, Illinois – We’re starting to see a true rotation form with the Illini receivers, and one will no longer be in the mix with Malik Elzy announcing he’s entering the portal. Dixon is starting to emerge as the secondary option to Beatty, now with 176 yards receiving over the last two games.
Johntay Cook, Syracuse – And we see exactly why Steve Angeli beat out Rickie Collins. That said, Cook is starting to emerge as the team’s top option with seven receptions in each of the last two games with a combined 20 targets. I also feel like I’ve said this exact same thing about three other Syracuse receivers in the last few weeks too.
Jordan Napier, San Diego State – Nothing overly impressive about 6-52-0, but Napier has now led the team in targets in the last three games with a combined 29 targets in that span. That volume can lead to productive weeks, specifically in PPR formats.
Jacob de Jesus, California – Volume is there for the UNLV transfer with 10 targets in each of the last three games. Full-point PPR leagues only, though, as de Jesus is averaging just 8.8 YPC.
Keagan Johnson, New Mexico – Johnson was targeted nine times in the opener against Michigan and then suffered an injury in Week 2 that has kept him out the last two weeks. Against New Mexico State, it was the passing game that was clicking for the Lobos, with Johnson catching five passes for 117 yards and a score. So, in two full games played, Johnson has been targeted 15 times.
Gabriel Benyard, Kennesaw State – The running back turned receiver has made a successful transition, having now found the end-zone in each of the last three games with a receiving touchdown.
Ja’Corey Thomas, Old Dominion – Season-high 114 yards and two touchdowns for Thomas against Liberty, now with 80+ receiving yards in each of his last three games.
Jayshon Platt, Florida Atlantic – Platt looks to be solidifying his role as WR2 behind Easton Messer with 90+ receiving yards in each of the last two games. Platt was targeted 14 times in the loss to Memphis.
Demarcus Lacey, Marshall – Tough to believe in a receiver week to week when it’s Carlos Del Rio Wilson throwing the football, but Demarcus Lacey has scored a combined 64 fantasy points in the last two games, hitting 100+ receiving yards in both weeks.
