Nacua Concerns, Collins, Flowers, Moore, Evans, and More [Footballguys Daily Update 9/25]

The Football Guys Daily Update covers Thursday-into-Friday injury and depth-chart news for Week 3, with Mike Dempsey and Bob Harris running through practice reports across the league. The through-line of the episode is that several ambiguous "improving" injury designations (Nakua, Collins, Flowers, Evans, AJ Brown) deserve real skepticism rather than optimism, and hosts flag specific backup/replacement targets to act on now.

The arguments

Puka Nakua's outlook is worse than the Rams are letting on. Bob Harris argues that Sean McVay's public confidence in Nakua's long-term outlook is actually a red flag — the more a team insists everything's fine, the less he believes it. He notes conflicting characterizations of the injury (hip vs. pre-hernia groin) as evidence the situation is murky, and points to Demarcus Robinson and Terrance Ferguson performing well in Nakua's absence as the real signal.

Nico Collins' absence makes Dalton Schultz a top-three tight end play again. With Collins missing a second straight practice day, Bob ranks Schultz his tight end three behind Trey McBride and Dalton Kincaid, citing Schultz's track record of two top-ten tight end finishes in the last three seasons and noting Indianapolis' defense already struggled to contain Travis Kelce-style usage.

Zay Flowers' hamstring issues reopen a big week for Rashad Bateman. Bob says two missed practices to open the week is never a good sign even though Flowers made the trip to Rio, and combined with concerns about field conditions, he expects Bateman to again be Baltimore's de facto WR1 — calling him a legitimate WR2 this week given Lamar Jackson's trust in him. Both hosts flag OC Declan Doyle's public praise of Devontae Walker as worth monitoring too.

Buffalo's receiver absences funnel volume to Kincaid, Shakir, and Palmer, in that order. With DJ Moore and Keon Coleman not practicing, Bob ranks Kincaid as his tight end two this week (behind only McBride), explicitly because he expects Buffalo's receivers to be limited, with Shakir and then Chargers' Josh Palmer next in line to benefit.

Mike Evans' side-field work isn't a real worry yet, though the hosts differ slightly on confidence. Bob says he hasn't been concerned about Evans since August and that's worked out so far, framing the side work as similar to McCaffrey's planned rest days rather than a genuine setback. Dempsey is more cautious given the late afternoon kickoff, floating Denzel Boston as the direct replacement if Evans is ultimately ruled out.

The Giants' QB carousel doesn't inspire much confidence, and Malik Nabors' ranking is shaky. Bob says of the rumored trade targets (Garoppolo, Minshew, Mac Jones), Mac Jones would excite him most given his 2024 stretch run with Jacksonville, while Winston and Garoppolo share a tendency to overestimate their arm and turn the ball over. On Nabors, Bob ranks him WR25 this week but immediately second-guesses it live, noting Nabors is actually playing like WR55 through two games (7 points/game) and admits expectations should probably be lower.

AJ Brown's injury timeline has grown from four-to-six weeks to six-to-eight, creating real roster-management pressure. Bob says in leagues without IR spots, other injuries are forcing tough calls, and while he hasn't cut Brown yet and doesn't want to, he acknowledges some managers will have to before Brown returns — arguing a healthy second half of Brown could still be worth stashing if a team can stay competitive without him.

What it means for your roster

• Bench/downgrade Puka Nakua for Week 3; don't buy the Rams' "long-term confidence" messaging.
• Start Dalton Schultz as a top-three tight end this week with Nico Collins compromised; he's Bob's TE3 behind McBride and Kincaid.
• Play Rashad Bateman as a WR2 with Zay Flowers banged up, and monitor Devontae Walker as a cheap upside add given OC comments.
• Prioritize Dalton Kincaid (TE2 this week), Khalil Shakir, then Josh Palmer as direct beneficiaries of Buffalo's receiver absences.
• Hold Mike Evans in lineups unless he's officially questionable at the late-afternoon deadline, but have Denzel Boston ready as the emergency plug-in.
• Downgrade Malik Nabors' floor expectations under Jameis Winston, and watch the Giants' backup QB market (Mac Jones would be the best-case scenario if traded in) rather than assuming Winston stabilizes things.
• Make the tough call on AJ Brown now if your league lacks IR flexibility — his return is six-to-eight weeks out, and stashing him only pays off if your team stays competitive that long.