What I'm Presuming

We’re less than a week out from the biggest day on the FCS calendar. I’m taking a page out of the Schrager playbook with this one. I won’t beat around the bush— this league sucks at keeping secrets. I, like many of you, know of some deals that have been completed. I’m not going to blow anyone’s cover. This article is me trying to put two plus two together. So, I may take some tidbits that I know to be true, and use that to make some reasonable presumptions, but I don’t know any of this to be factual. These may be spot on. They may also be ass-backwards. This is me saying, “take this with a grain of salt”.

Charleston- One thing that has proven to be true about AJ is that he’s not one to throw in the towel before the season starts. As currently constructed, the roster needs help if he wants to give it a whirl in 2026. It’s been eerily quiet in Charleston. I don’t think he’s just sitting back twiddling his thumbs while his rival, Nashville Riflemen, have been very active. While money is tight with Saquon on the books, I forsee Enloe being aggressive to get some fire power in RFA, whether that’s in the form of winning a bid or through sign and trades.

Big Easy- In his league intro pod, Jackson expressed his intention to embrace the rebuild. I have no reason to believe that won’t be the case. I expect a somewhat quiet FCS Day. The Roo still possess their 27 first round pick, and I think 2026 will be a year of trying to find diamonds in the rough.

Colorado- Speaking of quiet, Chris Webb has been predictably hush hush. Part of that may be because he is somewhere in Europe, but I also believe there is some strategy there. The glowing need on his roster is a counterpart to Walker at the RB position. I fully expect him to land a mid-low tier RFA back. However, I have put together that Webb is extremely smitten of Jadarian Price, who could potentially be there when he picks at 1.05 of the rookie draft.

DC- Per usual, Zach has been extremely active this offseason. I believe he has multiple deals in place to announce on FCS Day. I was pretty shocked when he traded the presumed rights of his beloved Jeremiyah Love. Despite this move, I have heard rumblings that he is a fan of Makai Lemon. The expectation is Lemon is locked into a top 4 pick. I believe it would take some serious creativity in trades to get himself back into that slot, but it is something I’m going to be keeping my eye on for Sunday.

Kentucky- I think this is my team to watch on FCS Day. I am hearing conflicting things out of The Commonwealth. Here’s where I’m currently leaning— I know Cole, like many others, is a huge fan of the 2027 rookie class. That said, he has already laid the groundwork and currently possesses 3 first round picks. Most of the offseason, the assumption was that Walker was going to actively tank. I no longer believe that to be the case. I’m expecting an RFA strategy similar to Nate’s of 2024– extremely aggressive and hoping to wreak havoc. The Bolters have a mountain of cash. The thought is, “I’m not going to allow bargains for anyone. Worst case scenario, I land a superstar”. I think that’s starts at the very top of RFA with CMC.

Little Rock- Two big talking points from the Natural State. The first of which is I believe the Caps want to do everything they can to keep James Cook in red and blue. I think the group chat bargaining is all smoke. When looking at his current cap number, that would appear to be near impossible. This doesn’t take an expert, but I think if Cook is to stay in Little Rock, Ceedee Lamb will likely be packing his bags via trade. The second talking point is in regard to his top two picks in the rookie draft. The Caps are in a position to potentially take Love with the #2 overall pick to save money on slot value and to lower a potential rookie tag contract from $48 to $36. Another hunch of note: If this scenario was to play out, I believe Miller preferred Tyson to Tate pre-draft. The draft capital may cause some to pause or even tilt in favor of Tate, but my current bet is that he decides to make both of the top picks with Jordyn Tyson going #1 overall and Love going at #2.

Nashville- I’m expecting a very quiet FCS Day from Nashville. No picks, and not a lot of cash. With contracts and projected cuts of Kamara and Pacheco, the Riflemen only have a projected $26 to work with for their final 3 roster spots. I look for them to be scavengers. If a team is left after FCS Day with more players than available slots, I figure Brown is going to take a buy low opportunity and run with it.

NorCal- I believe the Goldies are approaching FCS Day with the primary objective of retaining two of three of their RFA players. Despite a gaping hole at the RB position, I think Drake London is their top priority and is almost guaranteed to be matched. That said, I don’t think that’s going to stop them from throwing out a few offers for guys at the top of the RFA lineup. I believe Josh Jacobs is priority number two. However, if Jacobs goes in a range that is too rich for Beaumont’s liking, I anticipate he will opt to match a cheaper Kyren Williams. Once that plays out, I believe he will shift his focus to cheap upside to round out his keepers.

Portland (written by Trent)- The Rippers aren't going to go through a rebrand to just sit on their ass. It's been three years since their last VB appearance plus a second Javie title; this team doesn't need any more motivation to push all the chips in and compete now. We've seen that already with the Puka trade. Now that they have a young star in Hampton, why not balance that with some proven talent to lead the charge? Everything is going to hinge on CMC. I believe Hendricks has two plans locked and loaded depending on his asking price. If McCaffrey comes in too high and he waves goodbye, everyone brace for some fireworks with the studs at the top - the Rippers will be roaring and not leave empty handed.

Reno- This is another interesting team. I am not expecting a rebuild for Reno, but I am anticipating a reset. My read is that one, or possibly both, of Flowers and Harrison Jr. are no longer going to be a Cutthroat come Sunday evening. I’m expecting future picks as the return. I think the plan is to fill their shoes in RFA with tier two WRs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m expecting there to be Cutthroat bids on the tier one guys, but I think retaining Tee Higgins or landing Jameson Williams is the vision. As for the 1.03, I think Nate may prefer Carnell Tate to Jordyn Tyson, but he doesn’t get the luxury of picking.

Tucson- Daniel has been vocal about his shift in philosophy from punting the QB position to prioritizing superstars. I think his hope has been that he would keep his roster in tact and have enough to match Allen. But as we inch closer to FCS Day, my hunch is that reality has sunk in for the Javelinas. He is now under the assumption that he needs to carve out cap space to keep QB1 in Arizona. The new plan? A Ja’Marr Chase trade. I’ve got my eyes on two potential landing spots— Kentucky and Colorado.

Twin City- After making a couple biggest splashes of the offseason early in the trading period the Boots have been pretty quiet. Here’s what I know to be true— Blankenship isn’t making the Puka trade to not throw his hat in the ring for 2026. I don’t believe he is going to go into the year with Judkins (coming off an injury) and Tuten (unproven) as his only two backs. I think he is eyeing a tier two RB in the Breece-Kyren-Etienne range. Of those three, I’m slating Kyren as most likely to be in yellow and blue for 2026.