Buzz: What we're hearing on the Giants, Mahomes' early play, RB situations and more

We're onto Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season, and insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been making calls to sources around the league for the latest news and notable buzz. There was optimism around the Giants coming into Week 2, but things went south quickly Monday night. They lost their quarterback on the first drive and lost the game in a 28-6 blowout. How are the vibes in their building and where do they go with Jaxson Dart out? On the other end of the spectrum, the Chiefs moved to 2-0 with Patrick Mahomes back from last season's torn ACL. What are people saying about his play? Around the league, we have a sample size to draw some conclusions. What looks different through two weeks from our preseason expectations? And which previously uncertain running back hierarchies are getting clarity? It's all here, as Jeremy and Dan answer big questions, hand out useful fantasy football nuggets and empty their reporting notebooks heading into Week 3. Jump to: Next steps for the Giants Early thoughts on Mahomes Preseason take do-overs Updates on RB depth charts Fantasy football advice What are you hearing out of the Giants' building? Graziano: They're disappointed, obviously. They had designed a game plan for their Monday night game against the Rams around Jaxson Dart, believing his mobility would help mitigate the interior pressure they knew they were going to face from Aaron Donald and the L.A. defensive front, and they suddenly had to play a far less mobile Jameis Winston. The run game was limited once the Rams didn't have to worry about the quarterback run threat. They thought they could get more pressure on Matthew Stafford than they did. Very disappointing night all around. They do believe Winston will be better with a full week of practice as the starter and with a game plan built around his strengths. We are waiting to find out whether they will have Malik Nabers, Andrew Thomas or Brian Burns, all of whom also left Monday night's game due to injuries. That becomes much more important because the Dart injury has turned out to be more serious than they believed Monday night. Fowler: Your point about the game plan is an important one -- the Giants entered Monday's game with a plan tailored around Dart's skill set. But now the Giants' offense is in the hands of Winston, who signed a two-year, $13 million extension on Sept. 6. Winston is comfortable operating out of the shotgun, which offensive coordinator Matt Nagy -- with his ties to Kansas City and Andy Reid -- can accommodate. But man, the Giants offense looked so good in Week 1 with Dart under center, operating at a high level and making quick decisions (Dallas' defense contributed to that, to be sure). And then it looked so sloppy without him, especially in that end-of-half sequence in the red zone Monday night. This is where Nabers enters the fray. He has been slow to launch through two games, which is understandable given his recovery from a torn ACL. But elite receivers can make backup QBs look like starters. The Giants will need Nabers to have that effect. And Winston did provide a spark last season, so perhaps he finds that groove again. Graziano: The problem with Winston -- or any backup, really -- is that while he can probably get you through two or three games, his deficiencies are likely to show up the longer he plays. The Giants will need to bring in someone else, even if it's just for depth. Jake Haener is on their practice squad, so he's obviously a candidate to be elevated. But there's no magic solution here. Jimmy Garoppolo is a free agent. Maybe they could talk the Steelers out of Mason Rudolph for a draft pick. At some point this season, maybe guys such as Jacoby Brissett (Arizona) or Kirk Cousins (Las Vegas) get replaced by younger QBs and become available in trade. But it's way too early for that now, and it looks like the Giants will have to go with Winston and work to help him play better than he did in relief Monday night. Fowler: Yeah, the quarterback options are scarce. Garoppolo appears to be in that half retirement phase. It might be worth a call to Minnesota, where J.J. McCarthy toils on the bench. General manager Joe Schoen did a lot of homework on the 2024 draft class of quarterbacks, so he knows the pros and cons of McCarthy's game. Rival teams believe McCarthy can be acquired at a value since Minnesota doesn't appear to have him in the long-term plans. Luckily for the Giants, the Thomas and Burns injuries are not believed to be serious. The Giants' strength is in the offensive and defensive lines, and the defense has enough players to maintain respectability. The Giants must find a way to run the ball effectively and keep Winston on time from the pocket. He can still throw to all levels of the field when he's decisive. Scramble plays are probably something New York wants to avoid due to the turnover threat that plagues Winston in those situations. What's the leaguewide buzz about Patrick Mahomes' first two games back from his knee injury? Fowler: That Mahomes might not be all the way back ... but he's not far off. He looked more fluid and confident in Week 2 vs. Indianapolis. "His ability to drive throws -- I thought he was ripping the ball," one NFL personnel evaluator said of Mahomes' performance against the Colts. The confidence he showed throwing the ball was something which he can build upon. It was an improvement from Week 1 vs. Denver, where Mahomes was a modest 15-of-27 for 184 yards and looked choppy as a runner. That's to be expected early as he strengthens his knee flexion. But overall, throwing five touchdown passes, taking four sacks and winning back-to-back games is a roaring start for Mahomes coming off reconstructive knee surgery. The Chiefs were pleased with how Mahomes looked all camp and that has spilled over. And his supporting cast looks more equipped to perform for him over 17 games. Graziano: And he will look even better equipped to perform once the Chiefs get left tackle Josh Simmons back from his injury. They've been leaning on the run at least in part because they've been starting undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson at left tackle. But they're earning praise around the league for the extent to which they've been willing to run it with Kenneth Walker III. He was their big free agent signing, and they talked throughout camp about using him as their primary rusher and in the passing game. But to see Reid actually commit to it has been surprising to many. I believe the Chiefs will involve the downfield passing game more as the season goes along and they get more whole, but people around the league are noticing that they have embraced the run game as a means of creating explosive plays. Their offense has lacked big plays in recent years and needed to find a way to get them back. Mahomes is a marvel, and while it's objectively amazing that he looks this good so soon after that injury, I don't know if anyone is surprised by anything he does anymore. Fowler: You're right, Mahomes' success this season feels directly tied to Walker, who has been a revelation. Eventually, the Chiefs will want to spell him. He has 56 touches through two games (47 rushing attempts), equating to 476 over a full season. Reid game plans based on what it takes to win, and leaning on the running game early has helped Mahomes reacclimate. But that could vary depending on the week. The good news is rookie Emmett Johnson looks capable of being the RB2 and can aid the offense in stretches. He's not only gifted in the open field but also eager to take on tough yards. When Simmons returns, perhaps Reid can do more offensively. But Benson, to his credit, has acquitted himself well at left tackle. Graziano: He has! Benson is quite a story. He was so good in the spring that they opened camp in late July with him competing a bit with veteran Jaylon Moore for the starting right tackle spot. While he didn't win that job, he showed enough that they felt comfortable throwing him at left tackle in a pinch to start the season. Mahomes being able to trust his protection is absolutely huge, and the newly configured run game is a big part of that protection. I would be remiss if I didn't note -- as some around the league have noticed -- that the return of Eric Bienemy as offensive coordinator appears to be having a positive impact. The Chiefs brought in several new offensive coaches this offseason, including former NFL running back DeMarco Murray as running backs coach and Chad O'Shea as wide receivers coach, and the players seem to be responding to the changes. What is one thing you have changed your mind about since the start of the season? Graziano: The Chargers have fooled me for the last time. What a horrendously disappointing first two weeks for one of the teams we were most excited about entering the season. The Mike McDaniel/Justin Herbert pairing has not clicked at all -- quite the opposite, in fact. Everything looks difficult and exhausting for the Chargers' offense. And now the schedule is about to become brutal and injuries are setting in. Do I believe Jim Harbaugh can turn this around and steer this team into the playoffs? Yes. He's that level of coach. But I'm not predicting it, and it's going to be a long time before I feel good predicting high-level success for the Chargers again. If this season doesn't turn around, I think we're at the point where it's worth having a real conversation about whether Herbert will ever really be the high-level quarterback his talent says he should. Fowler: The Herbert discussion is hard to ignore. His trajectory is not good, dating to last season's playoffs. But I'm still a believer. McDaniel is a proven playcaller and should be able to make adjustments. And the play around Herbert has been horrendous. Houston was my Super Bowl pick ... not feeling great about that right now, Dan. The Texans sit at 0-2, and three teams in NFL history have lost their first two games and won it all -- the 1993 Cowboys, 2001 Patriots and 2007 Giants. It can be done but rarely is. Coach DeMeco Ryans is already challenging his star players publicly to make more plays. The offensive line has struggled. My caveat for the Texans winning a championship was them needing to run the ball effectively all season to allow C.J. Stroud to properly manage games. The vaunted defense could do the rest. But Stroud threw the ball 55 times Sunday, hardly a recipe for success. So, while I'm still bullish on Houston -- its schedule is manageable and the division winnable -- the Super Bowl sheen is wearing off slightly. Graziano: I was right there with you on the Texans, and I'm not going to give up on them just yet either, but I'm skeptical that they've actually fixed their offensive line and their run game. I'm going to need to see major improvement there. If there's any consolation, it's that they tend to do this. Heck, they were 0-3 last season and still ended up in the divisional round of the playoffs. I thought the Buccaneers would bounce back from last season and reclaim the NFC South title without much difficulty, but it doesn't look as if that's going to be the case. (They might well reclaim the NFC South title, but it will be difficult.) Baker Mayfield's turnover problems are costing them, the wide receiver room isn't coming together the way we expected and the defense (which was in a tough spot in Week 1 due to the short fields created by the turnovers) hasn't looked great, either. The bigger problem might be how good the Panthers and Saints looked in Week 2, signaling that there might be a real race in the NFC South. The Bucs will need to get things together soon if they want to win it. Fowler: Tyler Shough and Bryce Young are first and second in passing yardage, respectively, through two weeks, which wasn't on many bingo cards to start the season. The division feels as open as it has been in years because of the offensive uptick in New Orleans and Carolina. Mayfield's accuracy is a concern, and it looks like he's pressing from the pocket. But the good news is the Bucs have proof of concept with him over a three-year period. He should be able to correct those issues, especially with a steady run game. The defense's sluggish start is perhaps the bigger concern. And Dan, I was wrong about the Bengals defense. I expected it to improve from bad to middle-of-the-road. It's better than that, at least through two games. A deep defensive front led by Dexter Lawrence II has changed the math for Cincinnati. Which cloudy running back situation has gotten the most clarity through two weeks? Fowler: Despite an 0-2 start, Bucky Irving looks rejuvenated in Tampa Bay. Irving is coming off a down season marred by injuries, and free agent acquisition Kenny Gainwell figured to be a viable backfield option who could cut into Irving's bottom line. But Irving has served as the clear RB1, with 25 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown. His explosion is back. Gainwell was always more of a versatile chess piece than a back carrying a heavy load, but he was the Steelers' team MVP last season, with 1,000-plus total yards and eight touchdowns on 187 touches. But he has only 33 yards on 11 touches so far in Tampa. In an ideal setup, Gainwell enhances his do-it-all profile as a rusher and receiver while Irving remains the lead back. Graziano: They do love Bucky in Tampa, and they're glad he's healthy. They also believe they need to keep an eye on his workload since he has had some durability issues, but he's clearly the No. 1 back and will remain so as long as he stays healthy. Third-year Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks was a player the fantasy community was excited about. Carolina is excited about him, too, and happy he was healthy to start the season. But as we tried to tell you in the preseason, the Panthers love Chuba Hubbard and were never ready to hand the starting RB job over to Brooks (who's already dealing with another injury) without representative evidence that he could handle the job at the NFL level. That might still come at some point, but it's clear that Hubbard is the main guy, and I don't believe they're upset about that. Fowler: One situation that isn't clearly defined but should be soon is in New England. TreVeyon Henderson provides much-needed juice for the Patriots offense. Coach Mike Vrabel has been hesitant to wholly commit to Henderson, who averaged 10.5 carries per game as a rookie. And Rhamondre Stevenson is a steady veteran. But with wide receiver A.J. Brown out for a while and quarterback Drake Maye yet to find his 2025 form, New England badly needs Henderson's breakaway speed. His 16 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown in his season debut Sunday was a good start. Graziano: Yeah, and Stevenson fumbled again Sunday, which he did twice in the loss to Pittsburgh early last season, so I guess only one fumble constitutes improvement. I just don't know about this one, though. You're right that the Patriots need Henderson's explosive play ability since they don't show much ability to do that otherwise. But talking to some of their people Sunday morning, it sounded like they thought this was a particularly good matchup for Henderson because of the amount of zone defense Pittsburgh plays. I wonder if the Patriots will be as comfortable leaning on him that much every week or whether it remains a timeshare. They value Stevenson's abilities as a pass protector, and he certainly was vital for them as a runner last season on their way to the Super Bowl. Vrabel stood by Stevenson during last year's early-season fumble issues, and there's no indication he won't do so again. The Vikings' RB situation got some clarity in Week 2, but for unfortunate reasons. Jordan Mason landed on IR and veteran Aaron Jones Sr. got the bulk of the work in Sunday's victory over the Bears. I am curious whether that keeps up, or if they find more work for DeeJay Dallas or rookie Demond Claiborne in the coming weeks to avoid overusing the 31-year-old Jones until Mason returns. What is your best piece of fantasy football advice for this week? Graziano: I would pick up the Chiefs' defense this week and leave it in your lineup for a couple games. The Chiefs get the Dolphins this week and the Raiders in Week 4. Their next game after that is against the Chargers in Week 6, but you'll need someone else during Kansas City's Week 5 bye. But if you can somehow hold K.C.'s defense through the bye, it looks as if it will be a good play then, too. The Chiefs haven't generated eye-popping sack or turnover totals, but they've done well at limiting yardage and believe more big plays are coming from young guys such as rookie edge rusher R Mason Thomas. Fowler: Don't be surprised if Quinshon Judkins bounces back as early as this week. Judkins has been disappointing thus far, held to 54 yards on 24 carries and zero scores. But this week the Browns get Carolina, which has allowed a league-worst 448 rushing yards through two weeks. Judkins has too much ability to be bottled up for long. Also, Seattle running back Emanuel Wilson is a good pickup in case Jadarian Price's minor chest issue affects his snaps. And Saints receiver Devaughn Vele seems to have chemistry with Shough that could last, though he might be more of a week-by-week evaluation.