1 hr. ago
A rebuild was always on the cards on Tyneside this summer, not least in the goalkeeping department.
Leaky Newcastle kept just eight clean sheets in the Premier League last season and conceded 55 goals, 15th overall with only relegated Burnley, West Ham and Wolves plus Leeds and Tottenham below them.
Newcastle's outfield players clearly did not offer enough protection, but goalkeeper Nick Pope made a handful of significant errors leading to goals while Aaron Ramsdale never fully convinced during his loan spell and has since returned to Southampton.
A new number one was therefore a priority and Newcastle have once again looked to the continent.
The club have mainly targeted players aged 20 and under from abroad, having already recruited Jaouen, Sean Steur, Bazoumana Toure and Aladji Bamba, so Lukas Lukas Hornicek will feel like something of an elder statesman in comparison.
#lukas #leaky #league #west
Leaky Newcastle kept just eight clean sheets in the Premier League last season and conceded 55 goals, 15th overall with only relegated Burnley, West Ham and Wolves plus Leeds and Tottenham below them.
Newcastle's outfield players clearly did not offer enough protection, but goalkeeper Nick Pope made a handful of significant errors leading to goals while Aaron Ramsdale never fully convinced during his loan spell and has since returned to Southampton.
A new number one was therefore a priority and Newcastle have once again looked to the continent.
The club have mainly targeted players aged 20 and under from abroad, having already recruited Jaouen, Sean Steur, Bazoumana Toure and Aladji Bamba, so Lukas Lukas Hornicek will feel like something of an elder statesman in comparison.
#lukas #leaky #league #west
5 days ago
NFL training camp season has arrived. Prepare for the onslaught of information, rumors and hype pieces. But fantasy football managers shouldn't be wary of the influx of info — Scott Pianowski has you covered with one key nugget to know for every team in each division. Next up is the AFC North.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
Harold Fannin Jr. has a Yahoo ADP in the mid-60s, and it makes sense. He finished as the TE6 last year, and fellow tight end David Njoku was not retained. But Cleveland significantly improved its receiver group this year (widening the passing tree), and the quarterback collection is still suspect. So much of fantasy success is tied to environment, and I'm worried the uber-talented Fannin will have a difficult time overcoming his context this fall. The talent leaps off the screen, but he's not a cheap pick like he was last year.
I often have a soft spot for veteran players who command a boring discount, but I can't quite commit to DK Metcalf this year. He's entering his age-29 season and his yards per target has fallen the last two years. More importantly, the Steelers brought Aaron Rodgers back for his age-43 season – so we have to be muted with our expectations about this team's pace and passing volume. For all of Metcalf's talent, he'll probably miss out on 1,000 yards for the third straight season.
We think of the Bengals as a carnival team (fun offense, leaky defense) and that means it's a blast to invest in the passing game. But save some room for Chase Brown, too. Brown is coming off an RB8 season (despite Joe Burrow missing nine games) and there's little on the depth chart after Brown. And while Brown is a capable runner, his receiving chops (69-437-5 last year) keep him in the field in all packages. Brown makes a lot of sense as a mid-second-round pick.
#last #fantasy #passing #Football
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
Harold Fannin Jr. has a Yahoo ADP in the mid-60s, and it makes sense. He finished as the TE6 last year, and fellow tight end David Njoku was not retained. But Cleveland significantly improved its receiver group this year (widening the passing tree), and the quarterback collection is still suspect. So much of fantasy success is tied to environment, and I'm worried the uber-talented Fannin will have a difficult time overcoming his context this fall. The talent leaps off the screen, but he's not a cheap pick like he was last year.
I often have a soft spot for veteran players who command a boring discount, but I can't quite commit to DK Metcalf this year. He's entering his age-29 season and his yards per target has fallen the last two years. More importantly, the Steelers brought Aaron Rodgers back for his age-43 season – so we have to be muted with our expectations about this team's pace and passing volume. For all of Metcalf's talent, he'll probably miss out on 1,000 yards for the third straight season.
We think of the Bengals as a carnival team (fun offense, leaky defense) and that means it's a blast to invest in the passing game. But save some room for Chase Brown, too. Brown is coming off an RB8 season (despite Joe Burrow missing nine games) and there's little on the depth chart after Brown. And while Brown is a capable runner, his receiving chops (69-437-5 last year) keep him in the field in all packages. Brown makes a lot of sense as a mid-second-round pick.
#last #fantasy #passing #Football
25 days ago
The Chicago Bears were one of the NFL's biggest surprise teams in 2025, as they rebounded from a 5-12 campaign in 2024 to make the playoffs, achieving an 11-6 record including reaching the NFC Divisional Round after defeating the Green Bay Packers.
It was nothing short of a smashing success, as newly-hired head coach Ben Johnson developed young quarterback Caleb Williams into a star, bringing a high-powered offense along with him. However, the defense was spotty at times — especially the secondary. Chicago allowed the 25th-most passing yards per game in 2025, proving leaky in a number of contents that the Bears had to win in shootout fashion.
Heading into 2026, the goal of the Bears front office was to turn that group around. In addition to overhauling the secondary via free agency, Chicago also found themselves in position to select Oregon Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman with the 25th pick in the first round. They jumped at the opportunity, making the former Duck a Bear.
After showing off his talent in rookie minicamp and OTAs, The Athletic tabbed Thieneman as the Bears' most intriguing newcomer heading into training camp.
"Through months of the pre-draft process, the Bears played out scenarios for whom they might land with the 25th pick in Round 1, but mostly felt like it was a long shot that Thieneman would fall to them," The Athletic's Dan Wiederer. "When he did, general manager Ryan Poles pounced. What the Bears saw on Thieneman's college tape came to life during the spring at Halas Hall. Speed. Instincts. Versatility. Aggressiveness. Passion. Thieneman is a long-term building block for the defense and his pairing with another newcomer, Coby Bryant, offers a dangerous edge to the back end of the secondary."
It was nothing short of a smashing success, as newly-hired head coach Ben Johnson developed young quarterback Caleb Williams into a star, bringing a high-powered offense along with him. However, the defense was spotty at times — especially the secondary. Chicago allowed the 25th-most passing yards per game in 2025, proving leaky in a number of contents that the Bears had to win in shootout fashion.
Heading into 2026, the goal of the Bears front office was to turn that group around. In addition to overhauling the secondary via free agency, Chicago also found themselves in position to select Oregon Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman with the 25th pick in the first round. They jumped at the opportunity, making the former Duck a Bear.
After showing off his talent in rookie minicamp and OTAs, The Athletic tabbed Thieneman as the Bears' most intriguing newcomer heading into training camp.
"Through months of the pre-draft process, the Bears played out scenarios for whom they might land with the 25th pick in Round 1, but mostly felt like it was a long shot that Thieneman would fall to them," The Athletic's Dan Wiederer. "When he did, general manager Ryan Poles pounced. What the Bears saw on Thieneman's college tape came to life during the spring at Halas Hall. Speed. Instincts. Versatility. Aggressiveness. Passion. Thieneman is a long-term building block for the defense and his pairing with another newcomer, Coby Bryant, offers a dangerous edge to the back end of the secondary."
2 months ago
Entering the season, I would guess that Paul Toboni fully anticipated being sellers at the trade deadline. However, year one under this new regime has exceeded all expectations. The Nats are currently 39-36 and tied for the third wild card spot. This could create a conundrum for the Nats new President of Baseball Operations at the August 3rd trade deadline.
Yesterday, Jeff Passan released an article ranking trade candidates and also listed some potential suitors. There were 100 names on the list, but he only gave a suitor list for the first 25. The Nats were listed as a potential fit for Joe Ryan, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman. With that news out there, this could turn out to be a very entertaining deadline.
The last time the Nats were buyers was all the way back in 2019, when Mike Rizzo patched up a leaky bullpen. Since then, the Nats have still been very active at trade deadlines, but they have been selling pieces off instead of buying.
We still have a long way to go before August 3rd, but the fact the Nats are listed as potential buyers is exciting. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the names listed as fits for the Nats have team control beyond 2026. The only rental listed is Luis Arraez, who seems like an unlikely target to me.
In my opinion, the cleanest fits for the Nats are either of the two Angels pitchers. Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano would both slide into the top of the Nats rotation alongside Cade Cavalli. Both have premium stuff and are under control for two years after this one. If the Nats want to maximize CJ Abrams, who is on the same timeline, these would be fun fits.
Yesterday, Jeff Passan released an article ranking trade candidates and also listed some potential suitors. There were 100 names on the list, but he only gave a suitor list for the first 25. The Nats were listed as a potential fit for Joe Ryan, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman. With that news out there, this could turn out to be a very entertaining deadline.
The last time the Nats were buyers was all the way back in 2019, when Mike Rizzo patched up a leaky bullpen. Since then, the Nats have still been very active at trade deadlines, but they have been selling pieces off instead of buying.
We still have a long way to go before August 3rd, but the fact the Nats are listed as potential buyers is exciting. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the names listed as fits for the Nats have team control beyond 2026. The only rental listed is Luis Arraez, who seems like an unlikely target to me.
In my opinion, the cleanest fits for the Nats are either of the two Angels pitchers. Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano would both slide into the top of the Nats rotation alongside Cade Cavalli. Both have premium stuff and are under control for two years after this one. If the Nats want to maximize CJ Abrams, who is on the same timeline, these would be fun fits.
