Get to Know Some Guys

It’s time to meet some guys who are making major contributions to their teams’ hot starts, including:

• A right tackle looking to boost his Madden ratings.
• A defensive lineman who has learned to believe in himself.
• A fantasy-football folk hero, thanks in part to his quarterback.
• A safety who clawed his way off the bench to thrive in a new role.

Let’s start with a return man who may also be …

The Oracle of Eagan

Minnesota Vikings kick returner Myles Price sometimes dreams about kick return touchdowns.

Perhaps that isn’t so surprising. 

“True story, Thursday night I had a dream that I took one to the house,” Price said last Sunday, after the Vikings beat the Buccaneers 23-16 to raise their record to 3-0. (Quotes via Joseph Lemelin of Dakota News Now.)

“Me and KO [Kevin O’Connell] talked about it last night during meetings … I said I had a dream. Sure enough, I’m taking a nap today, and I promise you I had another dream, and I said I was going to have it. So I thought today is going to be the day. And sure enough it happened!”

It sounds like Price is able to nap before late-afternoon kickoffs, which is more surprising than what he dreams about. No pregame jitters or adrenaline rush for Price! His 83-yard punt return against the Bucs was the first Vikings punt return touchdown since Marcus Sherels returned a pair of them in 2016.

Price also returned a third-quarter kickoff 68 yards against the Packers in Week 1. That return set up a short touchdown drive and sparked the Vikings comeback. With the Vikings juggling quarterbacks and Justin Jefferson enduring aches and pains, Price has practically been the team’s offensive MVP. 

Price spent four seasons at Texas Tech before portaling to Indiana in 2024. He was the Hoosiers’ primary punt returner that year, but his 12.6 yards per return and 5-foot-9 frame didn’t set draft boards ablaze. 

Price went undrafted in 2025, then won both Vikings return roles in last year’s training camp. He had his moments in 2025, including a long kickoff return to help the Vikings upset the Lions in Week 9. So far this season, Myles leads the NFL with 21.7 yards per punt return while adding 29.4 yards per kickoff return.

Price’s “ordinary” returns have looked almost as impressive as his long ones. He weaved around two would-be tacklers and hurdled a third one along the left sideline on a 36-yard kickoff return against the Packers. He fielded a coffin-corner punt at his own three-yard line against the Bears – not the best decision, admittedly – and appeared to be corralled at the six-yard line before reversing field Marcus Allen-style and knifing up the sideline for 11 yards to give the Vikings breathing room.

The first defender never quite tackles Price, who gets upfield quickly on kickoff returns while getting creative with the combo moves on punt returns.

The Vikings, who face the woeful Dolphins in a Brian Flores Revenge Game (This time it’s personal. And professional. And litigious.), are hoping to reach the Super Bowl with a vicious defense, an All-Pro receiver, a reclamation-project quarterback and – thanks to Price and kicker Will Reichard – the best special teams in the world. When was the last time that worked? Oh yeah. Last year, with the Seahawks. 

Despite sneaking in a snooze before the game, or perhaps because of it, Price has also provided a jolt of pregame energy to his teammates. 

“When I seen him walk out of the tunnel. I’m walking behind him, feeling the energy,” Dallas Turner told Andrew Krammer of the Minnesota Star Tribune. “I’m like, ‘Jugs is gonna touch paint today.’”

Maybe hindsight is 20-20. Or maybe premonitions are contagious.

A Ratings Boost for 2026

Las Vegas Raiders right tackle DJ Glaze is well aware of both his reputation and his Madden ratings.

Glaze, per an offseason profile on the Raiders website, is a dedicated video gamer: Call of Duty, Fortnite, WWE and (of course) Madden. So he knows that his Madden rating entering the 2026 season was a lowly 72.

"Me playing Madden, it's definitely something I want [those numbers] up, but at the end of the day, it's a game," Glaze said. "It's just a number. It doesn't really matter.”

(Note, by the way, that the official Raiders website characterized Glaze’s gaming as if it were a traditional, tough-guy approved hobby, like elk hunting or fly fishing. We’ve come a long way. Al Davis is either doing tumblesaults in his grave or, I prefer to think, nodding who gives a f**k what the fellas do in the offseason as long as it’s not heroin with approval.)

Glaze might not have been aware of his 2025 ratings from offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn, who ranked him as the worst starting offensive lineman in the NFL, with a grade of 51. Just a number, perhaps, but also an alarming scouting report. 

“Glaze played every snap in 2025 inside a subpar Raiders environment, where a lethargic run game and frequent obvious passing situations lowered the floor of the entire offensive line,” Thorn wrote. “Glaze was particularly exposed in protection, where below-average movement and redirect skills led to too many glaring losses against higher-end rushers.”

Thorn did offer a note of hope at the end of his appraisal of Glaze. “A more stable, offensive line-friendly structure under head coach Klint Kubiak offers some room for improved functionality this fall.”

Stability and structure achieved! Through three games, Sports Info Solutions has charged Glaze with just one blown block, plus a holding penalty. Pro Football Focus charged Glaze with just one sack: Khalil Mack knifed inside him to wrap up Kirk Cousins in Week 2. Per PFF, Glaze didn’t allow a single pressure against the Dolphins or Saints.

Through two seasons, Glaze’s best ability was availability. He won a starting job at right tackle from Thayer Munford as a third-round rookie from Maryland early in the 2024 season. Glaze was penalty-prone and (as Thorn states) vulnerable against better defenders, but he was always healthy, and the forever-rebuilding Raiders didn’t have the resources to replace him.

Last year’s Raiders offensive line was, to use technical parlance, an absolute shitshow.

Pete Carroll appointed his underqualified son Brennan as offensive line coach. Brennan wasn’t a “detail-oriented guy” and was rumored to never be on the same page as offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. So Pete Carroll fired Kelly. Carroll binkies like Stone Forsythe ended up in the starting lineup. Expected starters like Jackson Powers-Johnson ended up in the doghouse. Hence, Thorn’s “subpar Raiders environment.” It was weird, and it sucked. Ratings aside, Glaze deserves a little credit for staying in the lineup and steering clear of the drama.

The Raiders offensive line remains a work in progress. Left tackle Kolton Miller (back from last year’s ankle injury) and zillionaire center Tyler Linderbaum have been solid, but Powers-Johnson has been up-and-down at right guard, while Spencer Burford has been mostly down at left guard. The Raiders are 3-0, however, and Cousins hasn’t been pulverized. Kubiak’s scheme has much to do with the Raiders’ success, as well as Glaze’s success: no offensive lineman this side of Joe Thomas can look good when surrounded by chaos. 

The Raiders face some tough tests over the next month, starting with the Chiefs on Sunday. No one, including Kubiak, expects perfection, however. Just progress.

I don’t play Madden anymore, so I don’t have access to the game’s in-season updates. I’m guessing that Glaze’s ratings have crept up a point or two from 72. And Thorn is likely to be a smidge more charitable as well.

Shhh. The Substation is Listening.

Week 1, Melbourne, Australia. Rams running back Blake Corum broke through the 49ers defense for a nine-yard gain. Corum was about to burst into the open field for more yardage. But Marques Sigle was there to trip him up before he did any more damage.

Later in the first quarter, Puka Nacua caught a deep pass along the right sideline and turned upfield, breaking two tackles. Sigle sprinted from the far side of the field to help bring Nacua down before he could reach the end zone. The Rams scored a few plays later, but it was still a touchdown-saving tackle.

In the second quarter, Corum found a big hole off left guard and was about to shift into fourth gear 10 yards downfield when Sigle stopped him dead in his tracks. A few plays later, Corum bounced to the outside and gained 13 yards up the left sideline before Sigle knocked him out of bounds. These touchdown-saving tackles actually saved touchdowns: Matthew Stafford threw an interception to end a promising drive, and the Rams then ran out of guzzoline. 

Sigle notched the first sack of his career in Week 2 against Malik Willis and the Dolphins. It wasn’t the stuff of song and story – a routine safety blitz against a weak opponent in the middle stages of a blowout victory – but it underscored the difference between the Sigle of 2025 and this year’s model. 

“He’s always been fast,” 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir told Dieter Kurtenbach of the San Jose Mercury-News last week, “But now he’s finishing in the right position, playing fearless. He’s been flying around … to the wall.” (Kurtenbach edited out a naughty word.)

Sigle, a fifth-round pick from Kansas State in 2025, earned a starting job as a rookie the way most 49ers non-superstars earn starting jobs: incumbent Malik Mustapha suffered an August injury. 

“Sigle gained an early reputation as a hard-hitting defensive back, albeit one lacking some discipline,” wrote FanSided’s Peter Panacy. “Hard hits don't matter much if they come at the expense of chunk gains.”

Mustapha returned, and Sigle returned to the bench, rarely playing after Week 8 of 2025. Imagine: a healthy 49ers defender not even sniffing the field. Sigle returned to the lineup when the 49ers ran out of bodies in the playoffs and struggled in a lost cause against the Seahawks. 

What’s different this year? Well, experience matters. “Going into that year two, you’ve got a feel of the game, you’ve got a feel of the space, the speed,” Sigle told Kurtenbach. “I’ve built the confidence up to where I feel confident enough to make the plays and trust what I’m seeing out there.” 

The less-than-apocalyptic condition of the defense in front of Sigle has surely contributed to his development: it’s easier to trust when you see when it isn’t mostly mismatches and mayhem. But there’s something else. Robert Saleh often used Sigle as a box safety and slot defender: a tough set of roles for any rookie. Raheem Morris, with a different scheme and healthier secondary at his disposal, deploys Sigle almost exclusively as a deep safety. Mustapha, meanwhile, has been relegated to the bench.

The 49ers face the Broncos in Week 4, then the Seahawks in Seattle. Both opponents are tough, but both lead with their defense. A touchdown-saving tackle or two by a deep safety in the right position could potentially shut both offenses down. Sigle is proving that he can be the guy who can prevent a positive play by the opponent from turning into a disastrous one.

That’s the second step toward becoming an outstanding free safety.

The first step, the hardest one for anyone wearing a 49ers uniform, is staying healthy.

A Mammoth in the Middle

Too Deep Zone readers first met Deone Walker in 2025’s Too Deep 96:

Walker stands a hair over 6-foot-7, weighed 330 pounds at the Senior Bowl, can be as explosive as a tight end in his first three steps, hustles in pursuit, and I am not sure why you need to read any more about him.

I met Walker at the 2025 Senior Bowl, where he really shined in pit drills. Standing next to him was like meeting a frost giant. But Walker’s game tape and reputation gave me pause. He notched 7.5 sacks in 2023, then all but disappeared in 2025. On tape, he appeared to have leverage issues. Kentucky fans thought he was dogging it and protecting himself for the pros. Walker was actually dealing with a back injury that wasn’t widely publicized.

Not knowing about the injury when I spoke to him, I asked what he was doing to improve his leverage and conditioning. “Bear crawls,” he told me. “Lots of bear crawls.” Walker was zigzagging across football fields on all fours in his free time, essentially punishing himself in an effort to learn to stay low at the line of scrimmage.

The Bills drafted Walker in the fourth round in 2025, having already added fellow defensive tackle T.J. Sanders in the second round. Walker started on the interior defensive line as a rookie, but was rotated out of the lineup frequently. 

Tim Graham wrote an in-depth feature on Walker after his breakout performance against the Lions. The feature paints a picture of a young man whose self-confidence and motivation sometimes need a jumpstart. For example, Walker was getting pushed around in last year’s loss to the Falcons until one of his coaches asked him why he didn’t believe in himself. That challenge hit home for Walker.

“I was scared,” Walker said, per Graham. “I didn’t know if I was going to get cut the next day, or if my back was acting up, if I could stay on this team. But then I realized these other guys bleed just how I bleed. They went to the same colleges I played against. It doesn’t matter.”

Walker improved as a run stopper and pass rusher as the 2025 season went on. He made a few splash plays in playoff games against the Jaguars and Broncos. Sanders’ early career has been derailed by injuries, making Walker's emergence critical. 

Walker has already notched 14 pressures this season; he recorded just 16 in the 2025 regular season. He batted down three Jared Goff passes in Week 2. With Ed Oliver injured in Week 2 and on a snap count in Week 3, Walker has become the primary disrupter on the Bills interior line.

Walker, now listed at 345 pounds, wouldn’t be the first mammoth defensive lineman to require the occasional kick in the butt. But success has a way of soothing self-doubt. And playing on a Bills line that also features Oliver, Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb should provide plenty of future opportunities for validation.

The Bills face a Patriots team reeling from quarterback doubts and plagued by interior line injuries in Week 4. They will be seeking revenge for the early-season upset that cost them the AFC East title last year. Walker sacked Maye in that 2025 game. Look for him to be in the thick of things on Sunday. He is never hard to spot.

Dear Mister Fantasy, Play Us a Tune

Trevor Lawrence scrambled toward the left pylon with over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Jaguars leading the Patriots 28-3. But with nothing but endzone and Florida sunshine in front of him, Lawrence suddenly stopped and took a knee at the one-yard line.

Did we mention that there were over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter?

Lawrence acknowledged after the game that he should have just scored the touchdown. But then he quipped: "I'm trying to help support the Bhayshul Tuten fantasy people out there."

Indeed, Lawrence handed off to Tuten for a stat-padding touchdown on the very next play. 

Tuten needs absolutely no introduction to the fantasy crowd. He was one of fantasy football’s main characters in the offseason: a second-year running back suddenly handed a featured role for a playoff team when the Jaguars decided to allow Travis Etienne leave as a free agent. There’s nothing like a relatively-obscure, untested workhorse running back to get the statistical speculators buzzing.

Tuten rushed for 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns for Virginia Tech in 2024. The Jaguars selected Tuten in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. Fantasy gurus kept Tuten on their radar. In fairness, they keep every midround running back with gaudy college statistics on their radar. 

Tuten backed up Etienne in 2025. His performance was an eye-of-the-beholder situation. There were lots of games where Tuten carried four times for five yards, or four times for six yards, or seven or eight times for 17 yards. Tuten was often used in short-yardage situations, which skewed his per-carry averages. But it’s still hard to extrapolate how someone who often averaged two yards per carry might perform in a traditional role.

The Jaguars had enough confidence in Tuten to not draft or sign a serious challenger for him; Chris Rodriguez, a former Commanders role player coming off a foot injury, does not count as a “serious challenger.” The Jaguars braintrust, it should be noted, is never at a loss for confidence. 

So far in 2026, Tuten has rewarded both the Jaguars and fantasy gamers for their faith in him. He’s 11th in the NFL with 204 yards. He has run for two touchdowns, with an assist from Lawrence. 

Tuten is averaging 3.1 yards after contact per rush, ninth among running backs, per Sports Info Solutions. His broken/missed tackle rate of 27.9% ranks third among running backs with more than 20 carries. He has been stuffed for no gain or a loss just six times. The Patriots thought they had Tuten stopped in the backfield on a sweep late in the second quarter, but he stiff-armed Robert Spillane, got north-south quickly and manufactured six yards to set up a Lawrence touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers. Liam Coen singled out that relatively-minor six-yard gain as evidence of what Tuten brings to the Jaguars offense. 

So Tuten isn’t just getting lots of carries and gaining the yardage blocked up for him. He’s barreling through tackles, finishing runs with authority and consistently creating yardage on his own.

Most of the chatter surrounding Tuten still focuses on his fantasy impact. Search for Tuten on the Internet, and just about everything you find, even from Lawrence, involves fantasy production. Maybe that’s because the Jaguars press pool is tiny. Or because Liam Coen and James Gladstone speak in tech jargon and riddles. (I could not find a Coen press conference quote about Tuten that wasn’t indecipherable.) Or because the Jaguars were upstaged by the two opponents they pummeled through three games: it’s more fun-and-profitable to rip Deshaun Watson and Drake Maye than it is to single out a running back who contributed to a blowout without lighting up the stat sheet.

Tuten is turning into a real asset, keeping the Jaguars offense ahead of the sticks and humming. And the Jaguars have looked dominant except for a quarter-and-a-half against the Broncos, who make lots of opponents look silly for a quarter-and-a-half. Tuten should have an impact on this year's Super Bowl chase.

Should you start Tuten in fantasy? Don’t ask me! All I know is that you should not start Brian Thomas Jr.

Thanks to all of the regional beat reporters like Graham, Kurtenbach and the others, as well as analysts like Thorn, who make features like this possible. Without them, we would rarely hear from players in their own voices, and NFL journalism would devolve into nothing but big names, hot takes, agent-approved spin doctoring and AI slop. Support your local media! And independent media! And also me!!!!!!